“Would It Help If I Apologized For Kissing You Last Night?”

“A lady usually doesn’t like to hear a man say he’s sorry for kissing her,” Ella replied, stepping away from the stove.

Hawk had expected her to give a sigh of relief. Instead, she faced him down with a spatula and the most refreshing sincerity he’d encountered in years.

“What do you suggest we do, then? Would silverware at ten paces be fitting?”

“I prefer steak knives myself.”

“Perhaps if you’d be willing to call a truce, I’d offer to set the table.” Hawk reached around her to open the silverware drawer.

The lightest touch of his arm against her body was enough to set her imagination sailing for erotic destinations. The thought of those arms wrapped around her waist… Of his big, masculine hands caressing her… Of stepping back and cuddling her body against his in a fit as perfect as the two spoons he lifted out of the silverware drawer…

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the world of Silhouette Desire, where you can indulge yourself every month with romances that can only be described as passionate, powerful and provocative!

Fabulous BJ James brings you June’s MAN OF THE MONTH with A Lady for Lincoln Cade. In promising to take care of an ex-flame—and the widow of his estranged friend— Lincoln Cade discovers she has a child. Bestselling author Leanne Banks offers another title in her MILLION DOLLAR MEN miniseries with The Millionaire’s Secret Wish. When a former childhood sweetheart gets amnesia, a wealthy executive sees his chance to woo her back.

Desire is thrilled to present another exciting miniseries about the scandalous Fortune family with FORTUNES OF TEXAS: THE LOST HEIRS. Anne Marie Winston launches the series with A Most Desirable M.D., in which a doctor and nurse share a night of passion that leads to marriage! Dixie Browning offers a compelling story about a sophisticated businessman who falls in love with a plain, plump woman while stranded on a small island in More to Love. Cathleen Galitz’s Wyoming Cinderella features a young woman whose life is transformed when she becomes nanny to the children of her brooding, rich neighbor. And Kathie DeNosky offers her hero a surprise when he discovers a one-night stand leads to pregnancy and true love in His Baby Surprise.

Indulge yourself with all six Desire titles—and see details inside about our exciting new contest, “Silhouette Makes You a Star.”

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Wyoming Cinderella

Cathleen Galitz

To my personal fairy godmother, my agent, Denise Marcil, who has dedicated her life to making others’ dreams come true.

CATHLEEN GALITZ,

a Wyoming native, teaches English to seventh to twelfth graders in a rural school that houses kindergartners and seniors in the same building. She lives in a small Wyoming town with her husband and two children. When she’s not busy writing, teaching or working with her Cub Scout den, she can most often be found hiking or snowmobiling in the Wind River Mountains.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

One

“What kind of a father are you?”

Bleary-eyed, Hawk looked up from his computer screen to discover what appeared to be a crazy woman standing before him. Surveying her from head to toe, he was struck first with male appreciation of her lush, young figure. Next he noticed that hair the color of flaming autumn leaves had escaped its once tight bun and was now hanging to the side like a hat askew. A tear in her nylons ran up the front of one shapely leg, disappearing beneath a faded skirt that he found too short to suit his own professional standards. On a personal basis, however, he found it quite pleasurable to consider. The angry sparks shooting out of those astonishing green eyes made him glad the stranger didn’t appear to be armed.

It had never occurred to him that he might need a guard in such isolated Wyoming backcountry.

The question the woman posed resonated in Hawk’s mind like a sonic boom echoing off canyon walls. It was the same question he’d been asking himself ever since his wife had died, turning his life upside down and leaving him to assume full parental obligations without a clue as to how difficult that was going to be. It had come as quite a shock to this well-respected corporate executive to discover that it was far harder keeping track of two headstrong children than overseeing a company of fawning employees tripping all over themselves to do his bidding.

And speaking of independent children, one didn’t need particularly impressive powers of deduction to figure out who had let this intruder into his house. Flanking her on either side, the culprits, his children—five-year-old Billy and his four-year-old sister, Sarah—each held one of the interloper’s hands.

Not the kind of man used to having his parenting ability questioned, Hawk didn’t take well to such impolite interruptions—even on those rare days when everything was going right. Today was not such a day. He had burned breakfast, fought with Sarah over the necessity of combing her hair, stubbed his toe on a toy truck parked in the middle of the kitchen and spilled orange juice on an important contract. All the while trying to juggle a multi-million-dollar deal in cyberspace. One more power outage like the last one and Hawk vowed to throw his state-of-the-art computer right out the window and purchase one-way tickets back to New York for the whole family.

“I beg your pardon,” he said in a chilling voice that he usually reserved for imbeciles and unwanted salesmen.

“As well you should,” the crazy lady responded, waving a broken high heel at him. Clearly the businesslike demeanor that set many a corporate executive trembling in his expensive Italian shoes didn’t affect her in the least. “I have half a mind to report you to Social Services!”

“Half a mind?” Hawk mumbled in feigned confusion, making the threat sound like an indictment of the woman’s mental state.

As if laboring under the impression that he suffered from a dull mind, she formed her words carefully and delivered them slowly.

“I am your neighbor, Ella McBride, and at the risk of offending you, I’ll repeat myself. I want to know exactly what kind of a father lets his children wander willy-nilly about the countryside without any regard to what might happen to them. Do you have any idea how dangerous that can be? Need I mention snakes, bears and ne’er-do-wells?”

Shaking his head in confusion, Hawk turned his full attention upon his children who quickly ducked behind their unlikely protector. Dawning comprehension registered in his rugged countenance. Terror leapt in his eyes. His stomach churned at the thought of what could have happened to his children all the while he assumed they were safely tuned in to their favorite cartoon in the den.

“Do you mean to tell me that you two left this house without my permission?”

A roar would have been less frightening than that softly put question.

Ella felt a twin tremor run through the children cowering behind her.

The children felt her quiver as well.

Never in all her life had a voice affected her so. Like whiskey, it had the power to make her feel loose-limbed and giddy. Making an improvised comb of his fingers, the man ran them through a thick shock of hair the color of molasses. His sideburns were tinged with silver. Very distinguished looking, Ella decided, tucking a stray tendril of her own unruly hair behind her ear. Instantly she regretted the self-conscious gesture.

She wasn’t here to gawk at this gorgeous hunk of manhood, but rather to give him a well-polished piece of her mind. Ella knew better than to accept his sudden concern and elegant surroundings at face value. Some of the nicest homes in which she’d been placed had housed the worst monsters.

How dare her hormones sabotage her self-righteous anger!

It mattered little to Ella that he didn’t look at all like the villain she had envisioned on her death march over here. He had neither the broken blood vessels nor bulbous nose characteristic of a heavy drinker, nor the hooded eyes of someone who has something to hide. In fact, the man surrounded by stacks of important-looking papers was exceedingly handsome.

That all too feminine observation only served to make Ella even angrier. As far as she was concerned the question she asked was purely rhetorical. The fact that he was more interested in what was going on with his computer than with his children was answer enough.

“Just because you have money doesn’t give you the right to divest yourself of your parental obligations,” she snapped.

After traipsing first from her property to his and then from one exquisite room after another, searching for someone to accept responsibility for these two dirty-faced cherubs, Ella’s sense of moral indignation was on full burn. Surely anyone living in such luxury should be able to afford decent child care.

“Come out from behind there, you two,” Hawk said, rising from his chair. “And tell me what’s going on.”

It irritated him to see Billy and Sarah cowering behind a complete stranger like she was Saint Michael the archangel sent expressly to rescue them from his fury. Hawk knew that they were giving this young woman the impression that, on top of being negligent, he was an ogre, too.

The pair stepped timidly out from behind her to face their father’s anger. Ella kept a hand glued to each child’s shoulder, giving them both a reassuring squeeze.

Though the concern reflected in this man’s eyes made her doubt he’d ever actually laid a finger on either of them, Ella remembered being beaten for far less in the name of “discipline.”

“Maybe it would be better if I talked this over with the children’s mother,” she suggested.

Hawk couldn’t have agreed more. “I’m sure it would. Unfortunately, since their mother just recently died, I’m afraid I’ll have to do.”

Ella was taken aback. Despite her best effort to remain angry, her heart softened.

“I’m sorry,” she offered lamely. “How long ago?”

“Not quite a year.”

She was sorry for asking. Aside from it being none of her business, there was little she could do to help other than to bend down and give both children a deeply felt hug. As tears welled up in little Sarah’s eyes, Ella felt moisture rise to her own. She knew firsthand what it felt like to lose a mother at such a young age.

As much as she would have liked to comfort the poor child, time was a commodity that she scarce could afford. Glancing at her watch, she wished she could somehow stop its hands from ticking onward by sheer willpower alone. Regrettably, time refused to accommodate her. Any other day, she might have welcomed an adventurous hike through the thicket to meet her rich new neighbors. Today, however, she was late for an interview. And while it may not be the most glamorous job in the world, it was one she desperately needed. The growing mountain of rejection letters piled atop her desk confirmed the dismal reality that unrecognized creativity paid even less well than slinging hash.

Ella checked her watch again.

If her truck decided to cooperate, the trip into town would take the better part of twenty minutes, leaving barely enough time to compose herself before facing the prospect of yet another dead-end waitressing job. That time frame did not allow for the return hike over a game trail connecting her property to that of the children who had shown up unannounced on her doorstep earlier that morning.

The pair had looked as bedraggled as the litter of kittens that somebody had so “kindly” dumped on her property a couple of weeks ago. Mewling in the rain, they begged to be taken in and properly cared for. Belatedly Ella realized that it had been as great a mistake to offer these young callers their fill of chocolate chip cookies and milk as it had been to feed the kitties that had promptly taken up permanent residence beside her rusty wood-burning stove. An orphan herself, Ella had a soft spot in her heart for any abandoned creature.

Telling herself that these children were not her responsibility did little to ease her conscience. When those chocolate-smeared faces looked at her as if they’d somehow stumbled upon the home of the good fairy, she could no more abandon them than she could have let any hapless stray starve to death.

“We’ve been living with our grandma and grandpa,” Billy offered helpfully.

“Just until I could arrange to move the family out here,” Hawk interjected. He didn’t want this young woman to think he was the kind of father who dumped his responsibility on his aging parents. Parents who were no longer physically up to the challenge of raising young children.

“I was hoping a geographic change would do us all good,” he continued. “Unfortunately, I misjudged the difficulty of running a business via computer. Power outages are such common occurrences way out here in the boon-docks that I have to admit to having second thoughts.”

The look of chagrin upon that handsome face made him appear far less formidable than he had only minutes before. In fact, Ella found herself fighting the surprising urge to gather him up in her arms and comfort him as well. The provocative thought sent blood rushing to her face, making her feel all of sixteen again.

“On top of everything else,” Hawk proceeded, eager to share his worries with another adult. “The lady I hired as a nanny ran off with a truck driver two days ago, leaving me completely in the lurch.”

By way of explanations, Ella had to admit this one was first class. She’d come marching over here all set to turn this man into the local Social Services agency and found herself mentally retracting every rotten name she had called him on the way over. All things considered, some of them had been unusually harsh.

“I’d plugged the kids into a video an hour ago hoping I could buy enough time to complete a crucial business transaction. It never occurred to me that they would wander out of the house. I know it’s no excuse,” he scolded himself.

Squatting down to look his children directly in the eyes, he did something that took Ella totally by surprise. He gathered them into his arms and said, “I don’t know what you two were thinking, but don’t ever, ever do that again. I don’t know what I’d do if anything were to happen to you.”

Had she not been standing there, Ella wondered whether this macho man might have actually allowed himself a tear or two of relief. Watching him, it was hard not to wonder how differently her own life might have turned out had her own father shown half the concern that this man was displaying.

Glancing up in her direction, Hawk suddenly became very businesslike. “I’m sorry to have burdened you with my troubles, Miss McBride.”

“Please call me Ella.” She wanted to make certain these children knew she wasn’t completely forsaking them. “As your closest neighbor, I’d be more than happy to take both of you for a walk sometime so your daddy can get caught up on his work. Just make sure you ask in advance and that he escorts you over to my place.”

Checking her watch again, she came to accept how hopelessly late she was. Short of catching a flight with the next scheduled superhero, there was no way she was going to make that interview on time now.

“I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you,” Hawk said, genuinely contrite. “I’m deeply indebted to you. If you haven’t already gathered as much, my children mean everything to me.”

Even so, Hawk hated to be beholden to anyone. If there was a way to settle the score, he would like to get it out of the way now before this young woman discovered how truly wealthy he was. Having encountered more gold diggers in his life than he could count without the aid of a calculator, he was leery of accepting favors from anyone. Long ago he had given up on the idea of anyone doing him a good turn without an ulterior motive.

“I’d be more than happy to pay you for your trouble,” Hawk offered, reaching into his pants pocket for his wallet.

Ella looked startled.

Hurt.

“Certainly not,” she responded stiffly. “But if you wouldn’t mind me placing a long-distance call on your phone, I’d really like to try rescheduling an interview that I’m in the process of missing right now.”

Again she felt the man’s eyes perusing her appearance. Knowing she must look frightful after trekking through the underbrush, Ella scowled at him. After all, it was his fault that she looked so disheveled. Her sense of moral obligation had taken its toll. Beneath the heat of the day, she had wilted like a store-bought rose. Her best shoes, which had not been designed for overland excursions through tangled brush, were completely ruined. And a glance in the mirror near his desk showed red marks across her cheek, scratches that attested to branches smacking her in the face. By the time she straggled inside this luxurious home, she looked better prepared to apply for a job as a safari guide than a waitress.

She most certainly did not need this particular hunk to make her feel even less attractive than usual. Abandoned by her father at birth and orphaned by her mother’s premature death ten years later, Ella was past the preferred age of adoption when she entered the state’s social system. Each time a prospective parent passed her over for a baby, a toddler, or a prettier, blond, blue-eyed little girl, she became convinced that her own freckled-faced, red-haired—the bane of her existence—plain looks were not going to get her anywhere in this world. So instead she chose to cultivate other attributes like diligence, competence, loyalty and a fertile imagination that could take her far beyond any institutional walls.

The children’s father didn’t return Ella’s scowl. Instead a dazzling smile spread across his face. One could almost see the proverbial lightbulb going on over his head.

“I’ve got a better idea,” he said, stepping forward and pinning her with a gaze that could best be described as predatory.

Startled, Ella took a step backward and tripped over the arm of a plush chair.

Hawk reached out a hand to stop her tumble in midair.

At his touch, Ella felt a whoosh of air leave her lungs. Her lips formed a perfect “O” that filled the room with an exclamation of astonishment. A zing of electricity passed from his hand to hers, locking them in a current of pure sexual energy. Ella’s pulse skittered. Her eyes widened in surprise. His, she noted, were the most remarkable shade of gray shot through with golden flecks, and they sparkled with male awareness. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he was no more immune to the electricity generated by their touch than she was.

Ella wasn’t sure what had gotten into her. Never in all her life had a man affected her so immediately. So entirely.

“Are you okay?” he asked, a knowing grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Had her knees actually turned gelatinous? Ella wondered as she attempted to steady herself. She might not be the prettiest doll on the shelf, but she’d always prided herself on being graceful. And relatively quick-witted.

This klutz act was downright embarrassing.

She hastened to assure herself as much as him. “I’m fine. Really.”

Removing her hand from his was like tearing two magnets apart. It took an act of supreme willpower. Grateful that she had somehow managed to break contact with him physically, Ella deliberately stepped around the offending chair and placed it between them as a barrier.

Hawk suppressed a grin. Surely this sweet little thing didn’t think he was going to chase her around the furniture like some lecherous villain in a moldy, old situation comedy. As a successful international business entrepreneur and widowed father of two, he was way past playing those kinds of silly games. Burdened by responsibilities which he shouldered himself, he hadn’t entertained thoughts of a sexual nature for so long that it was actually comical. For goodness’ sakes, Ella McBride was just a child herself. A virgin, too, he’d bet by the way she’d reacted to his touch. Why, the poor thing was practically hyperventilating.

“There’s no need to look so frightened,” he said, hoping to avoid having to instruct her on how to breathe deeply into a paper bag. “I have no intention of forcing myself on you. I just want to offer you a job.”

Ella’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What kind of job?”

“None that requires you dressing up in a sexy French maid’s outfit if that’s what you’re worried about,” he assured her with an irresistible smile that had her reaching for that chair all over again.

Digging her nails into its velvet upholstery, Ella did her best to look aloof and sophisticated. It was obvious that this man found her a funny, naive little fool. Which, of course, she was. What would anyone as obviously rich and handsome as this man want with an ugly duckling like her? Certainly not the sexual dalliance that she had imagined for the split second that had sent her pulse racing full speed down that long, well-traveled road of her imagination.

“Not only do I feel terrible about causing you to miss your interview,” Hawk assured her. “I really could use your services. Clearly my children are taken with you.”

Considering that it might well take a crowbar to pry them from her side, it was a gross understatement.

“And I really do need your help.”

“Are you asking me to be your nanny?” Ella asked in dismay.

What was it about her that gave off such strong maternal vibes? She felt far too young to be pigeonholed so early as a full-time caregiver. Having just discovered how full life could be on her own, she wasn’t overly eager to give up her freedom just yet.

Misunderstanding, Billy began jumping up and down in excitement. “Yeah, you can be our new mommy!”

Even though she didn’t know exactly what was going on, Sarah, too, began dancing in place and chanting, “Mommy, mommy, mommy!”

“Nanny!” Ella and Hawk corrected in chorus.

Seeing the becoming blush coloring her cheeks pink as apple blossoms, Hawk tried smoothing over the awkwardness of the moment. “That word has such a menial connotation. Couldn’t you just think of it as helping out a desperate father and children?”

Desperate was too mild a word for how Hawk was feeling. Over the past year he had developed a new appreciation of what such “menial” work entailed. Backbreaking, exasperating, and unappreciated, it nonetheless had intrinsic rewards that could never be found in a boardroom. After Lauren’s death, Hawk came to realize just how much distance his job had put between him and his family. For a time he’d felt more like a stranger than a father. The children were only just now beginning to open up to him. Being included in their nighttime prayers, reading them their favorite stories and feeling their little arms wrapped around his neck in a tight hug was all the incentive he needed to work out whatever problems might arise. Working at home would give him the opportunity to forge that precious connection with his children. Having someone to help him oversee them while he attempted to run a business was the perfect solution to provide for their safety and his sanity.

Price was no object in procuring this young woman’s services, and “no” was not an answer Hawk was accustomed to accepting.

Ella fended off the suggestion with a wave of her hand. “It’s kind of you to offer, but I really don’t think so.”

“Please,” little Sarah implored, her huge blue eyes filling with hope.

Ella groaned.

She recognizing the throbbing behind her right eyeball for what it was.

Obligation overload.

That all too familiar sense of having to put others’ needs before her own was so deeply ingrained from years of service that it had left worry lines permanently etched upon her forehead. Passed over for adoption herself time and time again, Ella was frequently farmed out to foster homes in need of a strong back and free baby-sitting services. Her friends had called her Sister Mac in jest, making fun of her devotion to other people’s children—and reminding her of the heartbreak she inevitably suffered every time those ties were severed.

Years of being used by the system had taught her the folly of putting herself second to others more fortunate.

“Pleeeeeease,” echoed Billy, dragging the word and her heart into several pieces.

“Do you mind my asking what you planned on making if you got that job in town you mentioned?” Hawk asked before the final decibel of his son’s pleading had died away.

The offended look on Ella’s face indicated that she did indeed mind. Nonetheless she rattled off a figure that included a fair margin for gratuities. She may not be the prettiest girl George Abrams would ever hire on at the Watering Hole, but she had a way with customers that unruffled feathers and transformed frowns into smiles. People found Ella’s genuine interest in them so refreshing that even the crustiest curmudgeons usually left a generous tip behind.

Hawk didn’t so much as blink at the sum she quoted. “I’ll double it. And include room and board as well as a generous up-front signing fee. How soon can you move in?”

“Move in?” Ella squeaked. “Why, I don’t even know your name!”

“William Fawson Hawk III,” he supplied in a formal tone, extending her a smile and his hand once again. “But you can just call me Hawk.”

Ella backed away from it as she would from a snake curled up in the grass. She wasn’t about to risk physical contact again with anyone who held such phenomenal power over her sensibilities.

“If you’re a decent cook, I’ll triple the amount. The kids can testify to the fact that I can even manage to screw up a basic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and even their unnatural fondness for microwave macaroni and cheese has worn thin.”

“I can cook, and I can provide you with references, too,” Ella admitted grudgingly, feeling herself slipping into the vortex of the tornado which was gathering speed around her. Her head was spinning. Was this guy for real?

Looking around at the sophisticated decor, Ella knew she wasn’t dealing with just any crackpot. It appeared this man was an excellent businessman, just as smooth as the expensive bourbon she’d spied behind the wet bar. Did he realize that he was offering her an opportunity to make enough money over the course of a year to pay for the college education that had been eluding her since high school graduation? If she continued taking classes one at a time as she could afford them, Ella figured she’d be old enough to collect Social Security by the time she actually earned a degree.

Why she wasn’t jumping all over this man’s extraordinary offer was beyond her.

It certainly wasn’t because she minded doing an honest day’s work. She had been doing that for as long as she could remember. Nor did it have anything to do with not liking the two little imps who had wolfed down an entire sack of cookies at her rough-hewn table. They were utterly adorable. Not to mention that they could well prove to be the most valid audience to whom she could safely subject her stories. Even though a heartbreaking stint of trying to make it as a full-time writer/illustrator hadn’t yielded the slightest opportunity of being published, Ella wasn’t ready to part with her dream until she absolutely had to.

Perhaps it was because as an aspiring artist, she was reticent about giving up her solitude.

Perhaps it was simply that she had already wiped enough runny noses and bottoms to last her a lifetime.

Or perhaps it was because the impact of this man’s eyes was as powerful as his touch. A touch, she reminded herself nervously, that sent her tumbling over a chair like some cheap slapstick comedian.

“How soon can you start? Will you need help moving in?” Hawk pressed.

The lopsided smile he had passed on to his son deepened the dimple in his chin that Ella found so fascinating. Such charm ought to be bottled, she thought, dimly aware that she was being danced into a corner without so much as feeling her feet touch the ground.

“I can help,” Billy volunteered, throwing his little chest out in a manly fashion.

A woman would have to be made of marble to have resisted such chivalry.

Ella capitulated with a sigh that said she already regretted the decision. “Moving isn’t a problem. I don’t have much to bring over,” she explained simply, then added with an authority that belied her youth, “but if I’m going to work for you, we need to establish some ground rules.”

Hawk tried not to grin too broadly. He didn’t think he could keep a straight face if she started setting forth conditions to safeguard her chastity.

She didn’t. Instead Ella startled him with an admonition that had nothing whatsoever to do with protecting her lithe young body.

“I’ll agree to your terms as long as number one, I can have every Wednesday evening off to attend a college class I’ve already signed up for, and number two, you agree not to undermine my authority in any way. I want free reign to handle the children how I see fit. I have to warn you,” she added looking him squarely in the eye with all the earnestness of someone about to disclose a long, checkered criminal record. “My methods are less than conventional.”

“With hair such an outrageous color of red as yours, I’d expect no less,” Hawk proclaimed, filling the room with the warm resonance of a laugh that left Ella’s face flushed.

Two

The next day, as she snapped her suitcase shut, Ella was still fuming about Hawk’s parting remark. Scratched and scuffed from years of abuse, the old yellow luggage had indeed seen better days. But as it was one of the few things Ella had left to remind her of her mother, it was nonetheless an item she cherished. Setting the solitary bag out on the porch, Ella thought to herself that it was a good thing being a nanny didn’t require an extensive wardrobe. A couple of pairs of jeans, a few T-shirts, her favorite red sweater, and a pair of tennis shoes would have to serve her well.

As had the rustic cabin which she had called home for the past year and a half. The single room was large enough to house a bed, a rough-hewn table, a couple of chairs and an ancient but functional stove utilized both for cooking and heating purposes. An easel stood guard beside the front window. Colorful art supplies were neatly arranged in a box beside an unfinished work in progress. Log walls were decorated with vibrant paintings of castles and fairyland inhabitants, several wearing the latest in modern-day running shoes.

Others might turn up their royal noses at the thought of living as simply as Ella did, without such newfangled conveniences as running water and electricity. Disregarding their judgment as bourgeois, she laughingly referred to her home as a “studio.” Ella considered herself in good company with other artists who accepted hardship as a necessary encumbrance in maintaining the freedom of their unconventional lifestyles. Of course, there were times like yesterday when those two adorable urchins arrived on her doorstep that she would have given anything for a telephone to save her from the treacherous march from her place to the mansion next door. How much simpler her life would be now had she simply been able to make a call to the children’s workaholic daddy without ever having to look directly into his hypnotic gray eyes. The color defied the artist in her to capture it on canvas.

Never alone in the solitude of her imagination, Ella was content spending her days in the long, comforting shadows of the Wind River Mountains. Some of her happiest moments had been spent rocking contentedly on her front porch, listening to the joyful trill of the meadowlarks’ songs as she painted the world the way she thought it should be. Her new boss may have a veritable castle in comparison, but Ella was nonetheless hesitant to leave her own place behind. After years of thankless servitude, she thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of having no one to take care of but herself.

Remembering all the times she had given her heart to a needy family only to have them roughly return it when her indenture was up, Ella told herself not to get overly involved with Billy and Sarah. It wouldn’t surprise her if their well-to-do papa didn’t give up on Wyoming before the end of his first winter, soon tiring of the state’s harsh climate, forced isolation and dearth of urbane culture. Her new neighbor’s fancy furnishings suggested William Fawson Hawk III was more into highbrow society events and yuppie comforts than rodeos and ranching. Ella suspected that like many rich transplants, he considered the latter more a hobby than an actual profession.

Not that it mattered to her one way or the other. The extravagant salary he was offering her to take care of his children was enough to help Ella set aside any qualms about her “hottie” new boss. Haughty was more like it, she thought to herself, mentally engaging in an imaginary conversation with Phoebe, the long-time friend who introduced her to that latest college expression for an attractive member of the opposite sex.

Phoebe was certain to go wild over Hawk. Boy crazy since seventh grade, her best friend was still breaking her neck following any cute male butt that happened to sashay by. Secretly Ella suspected Phoebe had taken a college art course with her simply to ogle the nude male models who were paid to pose for the class. A hopeless romantic, Phoebe was one to create great love stories out of harmless flirtations and the most innocuous glances.

Depositing her treasured box of art supplies into the back of the pickup, Ella set about the task of gathering up the litter of abandoned kittens. Despite the affectionate petting they received beforehand, they mewled in protest at being confined to and transported inside a cardboard box. Though Ella doubted anyone would actually bother breaking in to her humble abode, she nonetheless locked the front door and said a silent farewell to her home. With a regretful sigh, she placed the kittens on the front seat of her pickup, tossed her suitcase in the back, and headed for her new job.

The distance between her cabin and Hawk’s Red Feather Ranch was relatively short as the crow flies. Wearing tennis shoes, Ella could make the trek through aspen groves and crisscrossing creeks in approximately fifteen minutes. Unfortunately since roads were not engineered according to a crow’s good sense, she was compelled to drive the perimeter of her few acres and around Hawk’s vast pastureland. She rolled down the windows to cross-ventilate the aging pickup. She didn’t mind the wind messing up her hair on such a glorious day as today.

The meadows clung tenaciously to the last green of the fading summer season. It wouldn’t be long before the aspen leaves would be devouring the hillsides in fiery bursts of red and orange. Ella was sorely tempted to pull over and capture the way the morning light cast a celestial halo around Gannet Peak. The highest summit in Wyoming, it towered above the granite back of the Wind River Range. Ella loved hiding fantasy creatures in the backgrounds of her paintings. Squinting against the rose-colored sunrise, she could just make out a satyr’s frosted beard in the snow that remained on the Peak all year long.

A black-and-white speckled kitten she’d dubbed Holstein crawled out of the nest of drowsy siblings and toppled over the edge of its box. Ella picked it up and set it on her lap with a gentle admonition not to interfere with the driving task at hand.

“Now that I’m back to punching a time clock,” she told the kitten, “there’s no time to tarry.”

Filing the memory of that panoramic scene in her mind for future reference, she continued down the washboard road that led to the Red Feather Ranch. A half an hour later, Ella was standing on her employer’s spacious front deck, pressing the doorbell. And pressing it again. And again. When both her finger and her patience wore out, expediency directed her to simply let herself in.

She was certain that she had not misunderstood either the day or the time they had agreed upon for beginning her employment. The instant she stepped inside it was apparent why no one had bothered answering the doorbell. It was impossible to hear anything over the television blaring out cartoons at full volume. She shook her head at the monstrous big-screen set. Why anyone would want a movie screen dominating their living space was beyond her understanding. Personally she considered television a major waste of time and was put off by the constant drone of commercialism trying to convince her that her wants and needs were one in the same.

Ella picked her way across a room littered with toys to shut the abandoned appliance off. Following the noise of a video game reverberating down the hallway, she proceeded to Hawk’s den where she found him once again glued to his computer.

He needed a haircut, she noticed. His dark hair was beginning to curl over the collar of his expensive shirt. Standing safely in the open doorway, Ella was free to study him without his knowledge or permission. She had little fear he would feel her gaze upon him. It appeared the entire house could fall down around those football shoulders of his without him losing focus.

That such a gorgeous hunk was in actuality a computer nerd would no doubt disappoint Phoebe, but Ella wasn’t about to argue with the facts before her. Or acknowledge the increase in her heart rate as she covertly admired her employer’s physical attributes. The ability to concentrate entirely upon one’s work was something Ella understood and respected. She had just never realized that business could hold the same all encompassing allure for someone as art did for her. Deciding it would be best not to disturb Hawk when he was so wrapped up in his work, she silently continued on with her search for Billy and Sarah.

Drawn to their playroom by the electronic sounds of alien destruction, Ella unearthed them at last. They were sitting slack-jawed in front of a video game, nimbly maneuvering their respective joysticks and mumbling incoherently.

“I think you’ve done your part to save the universe for today,” Ella said, getting their attention by shutting the game off.

They reacted as if she had cut off their oxygen supply.

“We were in the middle of a game!” Billy protested, an unpleasant whine tingeing his voice.

“Yeah!” Sarah reiterated, placing her little hands defiantly on her hips.

Billy reached over to reactivate the game. He was perplexed when the screen remained blank. Swinging the disconnected cord around in her hand like a modern-day lariat, Ella was determined to let them both know from the get-go who was in charge.

“Hey!” they hollered.

“Straw!” she rejoined with a grin.

Determined to limit the amount of time the children spent in front of a glowing screen, Ella informed them both that she needed their help unpacking. They groaned. Sarah threatened to “tell my daddy on you” if Ella didn’t plug the set back in immediately.

“Go ahead,” Ella told her, not in the least nonplused. She wasn’t about to be manipulated by two small children, no matter how precocious they were. Of course, she didn’t want to start her tenure off with an angry confrontation either. Hoping to avert a power struggle, she tried distracting them from the crisis of the moment.

“I brought you both a surprise,” she said.

Two pair of curious eyes studied her with sudden interest.

“What is it?” Billy wanted to know.

“A toy?” Sarah inquired.

“No, not a toy.” Ella laughed, thinking of all the discarded playthings strewn throughout the house. Without giving it a thought, she plopped down on the floor beside them to meet them at eye level. “It looks to me like you have more than enough toys than are good for any boy or girl. Tell me, do you like animals?”

They both nodded their heads enthusiastically.

“What do you think about taking on the responsibility of a pet? A living, breathing creature that would be dependent on you for its care?”

“Really?” Sarah asked in delight.

“Really,” Ella assured her, pushing a golden lock of the girl’s disheveled hair away from her face. “That is, if you two think you’re big enough and responsible enough to take care of them.”

Unable to contain their inquisitiveness a moment longer, they jumped to their feet demanding to know what manner of creature their new nanny had brought them. Billy said he hoped it wasn’t a fish because he’d had some of those once and they all had died on him. Grabbing Ella by both hands, they pulled her up from the floor. The next thing Ella knew, Billy was dragging her battered suitcase up the front steps and Sarah was helping bring her art supplies into her new bedroom. She didn’t so much as have time to check out her new surroundings before they were pulling her back outside, demanding to see what was making all the noise in that curious cardboard box in the cab of her pickup.

Ella knew full well that she should have obtained Hawk’s permission before bringing a litter of kittens into his home. She rationalized the oversight by telling herself every boy and girl should have a pet to love and care for. Besides, what would she have done had Hawk said no? She couldn’t very well dump the kittens on somebody else’s doorstep as had been done to her. Considering how much easier it often was to obtain forgiveness rather than permission, she planned on using the desperateness of Hawk’s situation to smooth things over.

Just watching the children giggling and playing with their newfound friends made Ella feel better about her decision. She may not have been raised with all the financial advantages these children had, but before she died, her mother had cultivated Ella’s imagination and planted the seeds of kindness in her daughter’s heart. There was no denying that money could buy many material things, but one look at those children’s excited faces reaffirmed something it couldn’t procure. The joy received from a real live kitten was better any day of the week than all the video games in the world.

Hawk glanced at the clock on the wall in surprise. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten so much pressing work done without the usual interruptions that had him pulling his hair out by the roots. Pushing himself away from the computer, he strained to hear the reassuring noise of his children at play—even if that meant they were bickering again. When nothing but the sound of silence reached his ears, his heart tightened in his chest. What was wrong? Where were his babies? And what in the world were they up to now?

Hawk checked his watch. The young woman he’d hired as their nanny should have been here quite some time ago. Though she had struck him as a flaky sort the instant he’d set eyes on her, something about her direct gaze, self-righteous attitude and firm grasp had given him the distinct impression that her word was good. The fact that her references had indeed checked out merely confirmed his gut feeling that she was a rare find. Where could she be?

He hurried from his office into the living room and was stopped by what he saw—or rather by what he didn’t see. It took Hawk a moment to figure out what was different. The toys were picked up, the laundry was off the floor and the big-screen television set was off. Hawk found the children’s bedrooms and playroom in a similar state of order. Since it seemed unlikely that a kidnapper would stop to tidy up, he could only assume that Ella had arrived like some fairy godmother to wave a wand over his life.

The calm for which he’d so often wished was nothing short of eerie as he realized that without his children this was what his life would be. Silent, still and empty.

Hawk suddenly felt the need to surround himself with the sound of his children’s laughter. Where were they? Glancing out the front picture window, he spied them at last. With bright handkerchiefs tied to the end of sticks, they were marching dutifully to a spot of shade beneath the old apple tree. Trailing behind was a parade of kittens. One even had a tiny flag attached to its swishing tail. It was almost as cute as their new nanny’s trim derriere swaying in time to the music they created with pots and pans and an old kazoo.

Hawk wished he had a camera handy to capture the moment on film. Sarah and Billy looked like little hobos following a red-haired pied piper. She was in the act of spreading a blanket upon the ground for this joyful, impromptu picnic. They all were smiling broadly, laughing and having a grand time. Something uncomfortably akin to jealousy twisted inside Hawk’s guts at the sight. He hadn’t witnessed such expressions of rapt fascination on his children’s faces since well before their mother’s funeral. Had he failed them so miserably that a virtual stranger could waltz in and steal their affection with little more than a sandwich and a bag of marshmallows?

And why hadn’t anyone bothered asking him to partake in this makeshift celebration?

While Hawk felt deeply grateful to Ella for her skill and inventiveness in entertaining his children and cleaning up the weekend’s accumulation of clutter, on a purely visceral level, he felt fear welling up inside the pit of his stomach as he studied his children’s beaming faces through a plate glass window. He took a closer look at the amazing young woman he’d managed to hire to look after Billy and Sarah. In a pair of jeans and a pale lemon sweater with her thick russet tresses unfurled around her shoulders, she presented a much less ridiculous figure than she had the day before. Here was Gidget and Ann Margret and every adolescent boy’s fantasy prom date all rolled into one.

The involuntary stirring in the lower part of his body at the sight of her falling down upon the blanket to instruct his children in the art of cloud gazing was tempered by a jolt of guilt. Why, she was but a child herself! Far too young and naive to have a grown father figure panting after her like some silly pup that didn’t know any better. Like someone who hadn’t already had his heart ripped out and stomped upon until it almost stopped beating entirely.

He hoped it hadn’t been a mistake bringing Ella here. The truth of the matter was Hawk didn’t need such a luscious complication in his life right now. Having buried his passion with his wife, he had no desire to resurrect it again. Certainly not with a younger woman in his employ.

A litter box was uppermost on Ella’s list of supplies that she was going to pick up in town. She had survived the first night in Hawk’s home, and though her employer had been clearly displeased that his new nanny came with a box of kittens, he hadn’t insisted that either the kittens or Ella be put out. To have done so would have risked the wrath of his children who had promptly fallen in love with their new pets. Though Holstein and Sly remained loyally attached to Ella, Chin and Chilla were fickle creatures who seemed to instinctively understand which side of their bread was buttered with gourmet cat flavors. They purred with delight in the new masters’ little arms, giving Ella a look that as much as said there would be no more Spartan table scraps in their future. Thank the gods of universal justice, their lives as paupers were over. Indeed, Hawk had instructed her to pick up all the amenities their new pets would need.

One white puff ball, dubbed Hissy Face, demanded her fair share of food without so much as a gracious exchange of allowing anyone to pick her up and pet her. If anyone so dared, she would unsheathe her claws from their velvet scabbards and spit in alarm. For some inexplicable reason Hissy Face affixed herself to the one person in the house who made it exceedingly clear that he wanted absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with her or any of her siblings. Hawk swore the beast purposely set out to trip him whenever he crossed a room. Ella assured him it was merely “puppy” love and advised him not to fight it.

At this choice of words, Hawk turned hooded gray eyes upon her. Ella seemed not in the least intimidated by his look of censure. She merely grinned as she stuffed his checkbook in the back pocket of a pair of cut off jeans that showed off the length and curve of legs that apparently remained stubbornly pale no matter how much they were exposed to the sun.

“Are you sure you trust me with several blank, signed checks?” she asked.

Hawk considered the question from a business perspective. If she ran off with his money or squandered it on luxuries for herself, it wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to take advantage of his generosity and his means. What was it about those wide emerald eyes of hers that encouraged Hawk to put his faith in this indomitably perky young woman?

“If I trust you with my children, how could I not entrust you with my money when one is so insignificant compared to the other?” he asked honestly.

Startled by the sincerity and wisdom with which Hawk had responded to her inquiry, all teasing left Ella’s eyes. Had she so grievously misjudged him? She had been under the impression that he had been desperate enough that day she had stumbled into his life to hire anyone with a pulse. Perhaps the same instincts that made him an extraordinary businessman made him a good judge of character as well. It had never occurred to Ella that capitalists might be driven by anything other than a provable bottom line.

“I want you to get whatever you want at the store,” Hawk told her, ignoring the look of surprise on her pretty face. She looked utterly enchanting with her glorious mane of russet hair pulled back and captured by a green ribbon that matched her eyes. “Please don’t feel the need to pinch pennies. Buy whatever is convenient to stick in the oven. We’re not picky eaters. Make things easy on yourself.”

Ella fingered the coupons in her front pocket. Never before had she had carte blanche with someone else’s money. She wasn’t sure whether she was capable of shopping without mentally tallying the bill as she put each item into her cart.

“Go ahead and take my car,” Hawk said, tossing her the keys.

Ella looked at him doubtfully. She had seen that expensive foreign job parked out front and wasn’t convinced she wanted to be charged with such responsibility. Realizing that Hawk probably didn’t think her rusty, old pickup was reliable enough transportation for his children, she bit her tongue. He was probably right. Ella’s mechanic maintained the only thing holding the vehicle together was bailing wire and a prayer.

Reading the doubt upon her features, Hawk assured her, “Don’t worry. I’m amply insured.”

Ella gave him a grateful smile. His red sports car was parked out front. The epitome of opulence in sports cars, this particular model nonetheless held four comfortably. She loaded the children into their seats, buckled them safely in, and turned the ignition. It purred like one could only imagine Hissy Face might some day under perfect conditions. The seats were low to the ground and took some getting used to. Settling down into the butter-soft leather upholstery, Ella told herself that given half a chance she could easily adjust to such luxury.

Hawk walked out to the car and answered any questions Ella had about how the BMW sports car handled. Like a dream, she suspected. It didn’t take long for Hawk to familiarize her with all the buttons and gadgets on the dashboard. As the children blew their father farewell kisses, Ella rolled down her window and tried to look at ease behind the wheel of a fifty-thousand-dollar vehicle.

Hawk thought she could have well posed for a glamour shot sitting behind the wheel looking as lovely and carefree as someone born to such extravagance. In her worn cutoffs and sleeveless cotton shirt, she looked the fresh-faced all-American girl. That her makeup was minimal simply added to her allure. Physical attributes aside, Hawk decided, it was Ella’s animated response to life in general that made her so appealing. Looking back on it, he couldn’t believe he had found her less than stunning the first time he’d set eyes on her. Just remembering her ragtag appearance of flaming hair and righteous outrage that day was enough to make him smile.

Glad to see the genuine affection between Hawk and his children, Ella returned his smile. Having spent time in any number of homes, she knew how truly rare such demonstrations of love were. Indeed, experience had taught her that sometimes the most elegant homes housed the coldest families.

Nonetheless Ella could not keep the look of chastisement from her face as Hawk gave his children twenty dollars each for whatever “trinkets” they might find on their excursion in town. She had definite ideas about spoiling children and teaching them the value of hard work by attaching it to earnings. It was her considered opinion that most parents needed to spend less money and more time on their children. While it may be spare change for Hawk, the forty bucks with which he’d just parted was more than Ella had in her own purse at the moment. Luckily, her employer had given her a check in advance for her services, and she was as eager to put that substantial amount in the bank before any of her bills came due.

The thought of pulling up in front of Phoebe’s apartment in this extravagant contraption caused the corners of her mouth to tug into a smile. All she was missing was glass slippers and an elegant ball gown to complete the picture. As Hawk placed a parting kiss atop Sarah’s golden head, a careless thought flitted through Ella’s mind as she imagined him stopping by her open window, bending down, and kissing her farewell, too. The thought sent blood pumping through her body in hot spurts that caused her to blush unaccountably.

When Hawk did saunter over to her window to offer his parting remarks, Ella was aware that her face rivaled her hair in its damnable shade of red. His suggestion that she pick up some sunscreen while in town only caused her to glow a deeper crimson. She hoped he was distracted from the glow by his children hollering, “See ya later alligator.”

To which, Hawk dutifully responded, “In a while crocodile.”

He stood in the driveway a long time, staring after them, eating the dust of their departure. He wasn’t quite sure how she managed to do it, but somehow Ella was able to make even a trip to the grocery store into an exciting adventure. He used to look forward to the one day a week when the previous nanny had taken the children off the ranch and out of his hair for an afternoon of shopping. Rather than that familiar sense of relief, Hawk trudged back to his workstation feeling oddly bereft.

The house was blessedly quiet. Nothing was stopping him from catching up on a truckload of work this afternoon. Nothing but the sense that he was being left out of his children’s lives and the vague memory of once upon a time knowing how to have fun himself.

Three

Ella quickly discovered that shopping with money was a whole lot more fun than her usual forays into the discount world. Under normal circumstances she left shops feeling emotionally beaten and harried. What a change to point her nose disdainfully in the air as she passed the “day old” bread and loaded her cart full with what she considered to be extravagant items. The foremost among them was a big bottle of bubble bath and a very small bottle of the most sensual perfume she had ever smelled. Not wanting to give her employer any reason to find her unworthy of his trust, Ella paid for these two indulgences out of her own pocket. The rest was going to bills and straight into her college fund.

Her first night at Red Feather Ranch had felt like a stay in a sumptuous hotel. Compared to her old feather bed, the new mattress and springs in her room were heaven. Next to the forced air heater which would keep her toasty warm on long winter nights, the undisputed best thing about her new living quarters was the attached bathroom complete with a shower and tub, which she wantonly had filled to the brim with steamy hot water. It had been in that deliciously relaxing bath that Ella had decided to add bubble bath to her shopping list.

Ah, the comforts that so many people dared take for granted, she thought to herself taking an appreciative sniff of the peach bubble bath she had selected from the store shelf. Still, old habits die hard, and so it was that Ella could not actually bring herself to buy the myriad of expensive gourmet brands that she had always fancied. She did, however, yield to the children in their choice of cold cereals with “fabulous prizes” inside, as well succumbing to the charm of a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers for the kitchen table. They would make a lovely still life if she ever found the time to capture it on canvas. Before leaving, she gave Sarah and Billy each a gleeful turn on the antique horse that had sat at the front of the grocery store for as long as Ella could remember. Lurching drunkenly in place, poor old Bullet bore the weight of multiple generations upon its worn saddle. He stoically endured the bit attached to the real leather reins which youngsters pulled on while slapping his paint-flecked rump urging him to gallop. For the price of a single penny, it was assuredly the best ride in town.

Just as Ella had feared, the children blew their money on useless junk that she knew would likely be broken or discarded before they even got back home. Her suggestions that they either save their money for a big ticket item or invest in rainy day art supplies was met with all the resistance two preschoolers with forty dollars between them could muster. In the end, Ella had surrendered to their wishes, reminding herself that it was neither her money nor they her children. A somber thought reinforced by past experiences reminded her to keep her emotional distance lest her tender heart be hurt again.

The first thing she did upon depositing their purchases into the trunk of the car was stop by Phoebe’s house. Both the fancy car and her friend’s good fortune overwhelmed the lively blonde. Phoebe purported that the only people who owned such cars were old goats trying to reclaim their youth and as such, she remained skeptical as to the owner’s real identity. As they all piled into the BMW sports car and headed to the Dairy Palace for ice cream, Phoebe made Ella promise to introduce her to the “hottie” aristocrat her best friend claimed as her boss. If indeed William Fawson Hawk III was too stodgy and business oriented for Ella’s freewheeling taste, Phoebe said she wasn’t above falling in love with a rich, handsome tycoon.

Before stopping for ice cream, they hung a couple of Mains on Lander’s major thoroughfare with their state-of-the-art stereo system turned up loud enough to make the children squeal with delight as they joined in on loud off-key choruses. Parking the car away from other vehicles that might cause a scratch or door ding, they stopped for ice cream. Outside, the sun was warm and the air pleasantly still. Sitting beneath the yellow-and-white awning of the old-fashioned ice cream parlor watching the traffic go by added to the charm of what seemed to be a town that time forgot.

Phoebe pasted a disgusted expression on her face. “One of the horses in this two-horse burg must have died last night.”

She made no secret of the fact that she was looking forward to shaking the familiar dust of her hometown from her feet, the sooner the better. Once she got her computer certification from the nearby community college, Phoebe Tyler was bound for more glamorous destinations. Convinced of her friend’s artistic talents she took every opportunity to encourage Ella to come along with her. After all, discovery by the art world in Lander, Wyoming, was about as likely as winning the state lottery—odds lessened considerably by the fact that the state didn’t have one.

Savoring her strawberry ice cream, Ella refused to be ruffled on such a glorious day as this. A country girl at heart, she felt no need to run off to the big city looking for fame and fortune. This quaint little town was as cosmopolitan as she needed, nestled as it was at the base of the mountains that held her heart. She wiped matching chocolate ice cream mustaches from the children’s faces with a napkin. They didn’t put up much of a fight when Ella announced it was time to go home. All in all, they seemed to have had a wonderful time sampling the sweetness of the day.

Promising to see each other at their art class Wednesday night, the two old friends departed. The sun was sinking low in the sky when Ella turned on a soothing CD in hopes of combating all the sugar racing through the children’s systems. It wasn’t long before their heads were bobbing and they were out, soundly napping for the duration of the ride home. She found them undeniably beautiful in their sleep. Billy with his thick mop of dark hair and open gray eyes was the very image of his father physically, though Ella doubted whether Hawk had ever displayed his son’s wonderfully mischievous, playful nature. More than likely, William Fawson Hawk III had been a serious and intent child whose favorite pastime was a Monopoly game. Ella assumed Sarah got her pretty blond curls and blue eyes from her mother. Having glanced at the pictures on the mantel in their home, she ascertained that the gorgeous creature enshrined there had to be their mother. Or a movie star.

Those pale reflections of what Mrs. William Hawk had been in the flesh were chilling reminders of how dearly missed she was by every member of this fragile family. And how hopelessly plain and boring she must seem to them. Despite Phoebe’s determination to make her life into a fairy tale, Ella knew better than to waste her time dreaming of men like Hawk ever paying her the slightest bit of attention as anything other than a paid employee. Sighing, she squinted against the setting sun and promised to buy herself a pair of funky sunglasses on her next trip to town.

Having had a whole, rare uninterrupted day, Hawk was surprised how difficult it had been to concentrate in all that solitude. After an hour or two of truly productive work, he found himself actually turning on the television set just to have the comfort of its droning noise in the background. Though a poor substitute for the sound of his children’s chatter, it was notably better than the silence for which he had so foolishly been longing. At odd times he would look up from his computer screen as if straining to catch pieces of conversation between his absent children and their new nanny. He had purposely positioned his desk against a blank wall so as to minimize distractions, but after a miserable lunch of potato chips and pop, decided to move it next to the window so as to have a better view of the backyard. Images of Ella casually dressed in cutoffs came unbidden to him throughout the day, disrupting his concentration and his peace of mind. He certainly hoped she took part of her advance paycheck and invested in more suitable attire.

Hawk became so bored and lonely that he actually sought out Hissy Face’s dubious company as comfort. He received a nasty scratch on his arm for his efforts. He wasn’t sure why he secretly liked the cursed animal—other than the fact that he felt somehow connected to a fellow creature who desperately wanted to be loved but was afraid of allowing anyone to do so.

By the time his dust-covered BMW sports car pulled into the driveway later that evening, Hawk was unaccountably irritated by the sight of three sunburned beauties bearing cold burritos and exciting tales of the day’s adventures. Despite Ella’s assurances that she was perfectly capable of bringing in the groceries herself, he allowed her to carry only a couple of smaller bags. She offered to heat up Hawk’s dinner in the microwave while the children filled him in on all the details of their day.

As excited as they were, one would have thought they’d just returned from an amusement park instead of a jaunt into town. It had been a long time since his children had displayed such enthusiasm for sharing much of anything with Hawk, and he was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to get close to them. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they somehow distrusted him after their mother’s death. Not that they blamed him for her demise or anything so sinister, it was just that it seemed a stranger had waltzed into their lives trying to take their mother’s place. And doing an abysmal job of it.

Hawk deeply regretted the way he had so neatly compartmentalized his life before Lauren’s death. That was as much her choice as it had been his. Still, that knowledge was of little solace to a man trying to piece his life back together like some gigantic three dimensional puzzle strewn over years of mistakes. Though not a particularly warm woman, Lauren had loved her children in her own way, setting them up to have the best of everything from designer clothing to prestigious preschools. Her insistence that Hawk’s primary obligation to his family was to provide them an income adequate to support her considerable tastes was something that had caused him a good deal of emotional turmoil in the past as well as the present.

Lauren had been from the kind of old and, unfortunately, dwindling money lines that understood children were to be molded into a commodity to advance one’s standing in society. To her credit, she had done an admirable job sorting Billy and Sarah into fashionably regimented activities that ensured they caused their parents as little trouble as possible. At the time of her death she had been determined that their children would attend one of the most touted boarding schools available.

That Hawk had hired a nanny who not only played with them but also encouraged them to get dirty would have surely horrified his elegant wife. As would Ella’s choice of casual attire and the unabashed exuberance with which she attacked each day. Hawk smiled. Because she was quite the opposite of his departed wife, his parents would love Ella. In the brief time the children had spent with their grandparents while Hawk was getting his life in order, they had begun shedding layers of inhibition. Like Ella, his parents didn’t prescribe to Lauren’s “children should be seen but not heard” philosophy.

As tempting as it would have been to leave Billy and Sarah in their grandparents’ care indefinitely, Hawk didn’t want to strain their failing health any more than absolutely necessary. Besides, he truly wanted to be part of his children’s life. Sadly, ever since he’d uprooted them and transplanted them to the Wyoming backcountry, where he himself had grown up so long ago, he’d gotten the feeling that they’d rather be anywhere but with him on a full-time basis. Perhaps they had simply become far too comfortable with the good-time dad image he’d portrayed for so long—that of the absent father who showed up between mergers to shower them with gifts, hoping to make up for the time he couldn’t afford to give them. Such tactics had extracted a heavy toll on his marriage as well as on Hawk’s relationship with his children. There was so much he regretted, so much he blamed on himself alone.

“Anyone up for a Candy Land game?” Ella asked, carrying a huge bowl of freshly popped buttered popcorn into the room along with a platter of reheated burritos for Hawk.

Immediately the children began clearing a space at the table. Famished, Hawk dug in.

“May I play?” he asked, halfway through his first burrito.

Startled by the request, the children looked at him as if he were a complete stranger to them.

“Certainly,” Ella interjected into the noticeable silence. “But I have to warn you, I am the Candy Land champion of the world.”

The children booed, promising to best both of the adults present. Ella was pleased that Hawk had asked to join in. She found him to be surprisingly patient in playing the child-centered board game. He really had a nice smile when he used it. Something about the curve of those sensuous lips made her go quite soft inside, and she quickly bent her head over the game when Hawk caught her gawking at him.

Ella was impressed by the fact that he was trying so hard to connect with his children. Her mother maintained that Ella’s father had been a magician. When she told him that she was pregnant, he disappeared. Ella had to admire a man who cared enough to stick around and see his children through the tough times. She found herself wondering if it wasn’t so much that William Fawson Hawk III was aloof, as he was simply ill at ease in the role in which fate had cast him. She wondered if his gorgeous wife had ever included him in such simple pastimes. The thought of the four of them nestled in front of a roaring fire made Ella’s stomach twist. Doing her best to dismiss the fear that she would never find such cozy contentment in a relationship, Ella turned over a card that allowed her to skip way ahead in the game.

Throwing a wink in Hawk’s direction, she said, “I told you I was lucky.”

A flicker of something dangerous danced in slate-colored eyes. “I think we’re the lucky ones,” he told her.

Ella cursed herself for blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush.

“You are very lucky to have each other,” she said, meaning it.

Despite her efforts to lose to one of the younger players, Ella was the undisputed winner of the evening. The children scampered off to brush their teeth as the grownups promised to put away the game. As she was clearing the board, her hand inadvertently brushed against Hawk’s. She flinched as if she had just been shocked by a stun gun. The tingling in her hand extended all the way up her arm, settling deep inside her in the most private places.

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