LITMIR.BIZ

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can tell you that. As long as you didn’t cosign anything, you’re not responsible. How do I know? When my husband Hank’s parents died, they had a boatload of debt and none of the kids had to pay. Now the repo company took everything his parents owned and that meant no inheritance for the kids, but the kids did not have to pay.” She frowned. “Why are you worried?”

      “These strange men have come to Benjamin Garner’s house. They remind me of the bill collectors who kept coming around when my mother was sick,” Coco said.

      “Well, if they’re angling to get some money out of you, they’re just crooked. You should tell Benjamin. He’ll take care of them in no time.”

      “But he’s my employer. It would be embarrassing to have to tell him about this,” she said.

      “If they keep coming around the house, he’s going to find out anyway. Better to nip it in the bud. And trust me, there’s no one better-suited to take care of someone trying to pull some sort of money scheme on you than Benjamin.” Kim thumped the table with her knuckles. “I gotta get back to work. Enjoy those marshmallows and talk to Benjamin.”

      Coco stared at the marshmallows, her stomach churning at the prospect of discussing her mother’s debt issues with Benjamin.

      “She’s okay as long as I bob up and down. I just hope it doesn’t make my fillings fall out. You’ll have a high dental bill if that happens,” Sarah warned Benjamin as she jiggled Emma.

      Emma had spotted him and was throwing a hard glance at him. It amazed him that a kid under six months old could kill a man with her eyes. Maybe she was a chip off the old block after all. He turned to go to his office.

      “Not so fast,” Sarah called. “The least you can do is come here and say hello to your daughter.”

      “I’ll just make her cry,” he said.

      “I’ll take that risk. You can’t run from your own child forever,” she said.

      “I’m not running,” he said. “I just don’t see any need in upsetting her.”

      Benjamin slowly walked toward Sarah and Emma. The baby glared at him like a gunfighter ready for action.

      “Boo,” he said in a low voice.

      Both Sarah and Emma gasped. “Why’d you do that? You’re just gonna scare her even more.”

      Benjamin shrugged and walked closer. He lifted his hand to the sweet skin of the baby’s chubby arm. “Hey, Princess, sooner or later, you’ll realize that I’m gonna be around a long time. I can just tell you’re gonna give me hell till you figure that out.”

      Emma frowned, but she didn’t cry. She shot him another hard look and stared at his hat.

      “Does this bother you?” he asked, removing the hat from his head and extending the Stetson toward her. He thought about the sweet nanny he’d hired. At first sight of the woman, Benjamin had sensed a tender heart. “Coco said it might.”

      Emma stared at the hat then at him and for one sliver of a second, he saw a softening in those intense blue eyes of his daughter.

      The front door opened and Coco’s footsteps sounded in the foyer. He knew her step already. Benjamin automatically turned and Boomer limped to greet her. “Hey, boy,” he heard her say to the dog. Seconds later, she appeared, breathless, clearly a little concerned. “How was she?”

      “Ah!” Emma said.

      “She’s fine as long as I jump up and down,” Sarah said in a grumpy voice as Emma stretched her hands toward Coco. “Did you take care of your business?”

      Coco’s gaze darkened, taking Emma into her arms. “Mostly, but I—uh—I’d appreciate it if I could maybe talk to you sometime soon,” she said to Benjamin.

      Surprised, he shrugged. “No problem. Just let me know when. I’m in the office this afternoon and I have a cattlemen’s meeting tonight.”

      Coco stared at him for a moment. “So when is a good time?”

      He got an odd feeling in his gut at the expression on her face. He hoped this didn’t mean trouble. Benjamin didn’t need one more iota of trouble in his life. And he sure as hell didn’t need trouble from his daughter’s nanny. He’d hired the woman to alleviate his problems, not exacerbate them.

      “I can see you up until six today or after nine tonight,” he told her.

      She took a deep breath. “After nine. Emma will be in bed by then.”

      He nodded and placed his hat back on his head. “Nine o’clock. Come to my office.”

      “Can we, uh, meet in the den?” she asked, surprising him with the request.

      He shrugged. “Okay. See you at nine. I’ve got work to do,” he said and walked away.

      That night, just before 9:00 p.m., Emma fell asleep with no struggle. Coco set the baby on her back in her crib. Emma was totally relaxed and Coco had a feeling the baby might sleep through the whole night. She quietly walked from the room and left the door open just a sliver. She had a monitor, but Coco liked the idea of having more than one modality to hear Emma if she cried.

      Now she was second-guessing her decision to talk with Benjamin. She’d almost hoped Emma would take a long time to get to sleep, so she wouldn’t be able to meet with him. Her stomach knotted with nerves. Benjamin was a tough man. She just hoped he would be on her side.

       Chapter Two

      Coco hesitated at the entry to the den. Now she wondered why she’d chosen it with its brown leather furniture and masculine tan, rust and brown palette. Maybe the office would have been better.

      Suddenly, Benjamin stood in front of her. Her heart stopped.

      “You look like you need a drink,” he said.

      She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”

      “Hmm,” he said doubtfully. “Come on in.”

      She followed him into the den and gingerly sat across from him on the sofa. He’d sat in the well-worn leather chair. He looked at her expectantly and her throat went dry.

      She opened her mouth and a croaking sound came out.

      He set his shot glass next to her on the couch. “You need a swallow of something. May as well be some good whiskey.”

      She took a sip of the alcohol. It burned all the way down.

      “Another,” he said.

      She hesitated, but his nod encouraged her and she took a second sip. “Enough,” she said and gave the glass back to him. “I need your help.”

      He took a swallow from the squat glass he’d shared with her. “I figured that. What’s the problem?”

      “I’m not sure. These men have been trying to see me.”

      “Men?” he repeated, a shot of displeasure rising through him.

      “They’ve already come to the house twice and—”

      “Which house?” he asked, sitting up in his chair.

      “This house,” she said. “Your house.”

      “Why in hell are they coming here?” he asked. “And why haven’t any of my staff seen them?”

      “They’re here to see me.” She pulled a card from her purse and handed it to them. “I have no idea who the House of Devereaux is.” She took a quick, desperate breath and pushed her brown hair nervously behind her ear. “As you know, my mother died a few months ago. She didn’t have much money at the end.” Coco bit her lip. “Bill collectors started coming around. These men reminded me of them.”

      Benjamin frowned and set down his drink.

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