LITMIR.BIZ

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exactly. But it’s close enough. It seems that Beto here is quite the negotiator. He bartered a horned toad for the cash.”

      “With whom?”

      “Apparently, the nice man who brought him to the United States paid him to give up his new pet.”

      “That would be my brother,” Braden said. “But Jason is a suit-and-tie sort of guy. What would he want with a horned toad?”

      “My guess is that Jason paid Beto so he could take custody of it, then turn it loose, although that’s just an assumption. But from what I gathered, it seems that Beto’s horned toad nearly scared the bejeezus out of Jason’s wife. I have a feeling she may not have wanted to sleep in the same house with it.”

      Elena glanced at the smiling six-year-old. When she returned her focus to their temporary guardian, Braden’s meadow-green gaze had already zeroed in on hers, the intensity making it difficult to breathe.

      “I’d like to offer you a job,” he said.

      “I already have one.”

      “Whatever your father is paying you, I’ll double it if you can start today.”

      She stiffened, not quite following his line of reasoning, but sensing where he was going with the offer. “Excuse me?”

      “I need someone to help with child care for the next three weeks. And not just anyone. I need someone trustworthy who’s also bilingual.”

      Elena stood up straight. “Are you out of your mind?”

      Okay, so that came across a little harsher than she’d meant it to, but surely he wasn’t expecting her to be a...a babysitter. It already seemed like a huge move backward from big girl on campus and star sales associate to a feed-store clerk. But now this guy was suggesting she be a child-care provider?

      “I’m sorry if I offended you,” he said.

      She threw her shoulders back. “I didn’t graduate from college with a business degree so I could become a nanny. Besides, you don’t even know me. I could be an ax murderer.”

      He swept a long gaze over her, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Nah. I’m a good judge of character. Besides, I know your parents. And they raise Girl Scouts, honor students and high school football stars.”

      The guy had a down-home charm about him that could cause any determined woman to weaken, but Elena wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

      “Let me sweeten the pot,” he said. “I’ll triple whatever you’re earning here.”

      Was he dangling a carrot with no intention of following through? Who could afford to pay that kind of money for a sitter?

      Of course, she hadn’t been home in years but she’d heard tales about the Rayburns. Rumor had it that all three of the half siblings had a sizable trust fund from their late father.

      “I need someone with experience,” he added.

      Elena crossed her arms. “Doing what? Wiping noses? Mopping up spilled milk? With six younger brothers and sisters, I can assure you that I’ve had more than enough experience doing that. Sorry, I’m not interested. There are other women I know, empty nesters who are also bilingual, who could help you.”

      “But I want you.” A spark electrified the air around them as the possibilities of his statement arced between them. But she brushed aside any attraction she might feel for him.

      “Sorry, nope.” He wasn’t going to turn her into a nanny. Nor could he put her in the uncomfortable position of telling her father she couldn’t help him any longer.

      “Wait,” he said. “I’ve also been trying to digitize my grandfather’s old-fashioned accounting system on the Bar M. In the evenings, I could put you to work on the books and the filing system, and that way, you could help me modernize the ranch office.”

      “I realize that I’m wearing cowboy boots and jeans, but don’t let the clothes fool you. I’m not looking for a position as a ranch accountant.”

      “I just need you for three weeks, and I’ll make it well worth your time.”

      “What happens in three weeks?”

      “Both my brother and sister should be back in Texas by then, and since they’re both married now, one of them will be able to provide the kids with a loving, stable home.” His gaze met hers, and his expression was...pleading, desperate.

      They both knew that she had him over the proverbial barrel. But she’d had her fill of babysitting. She glanced down at the kids in question. Not that they weren’t sweet or in need of someone who could speak their language.

      “I’ll pay you four times whatever you’re earning now, plus a bonus for saying yes.”

      Talk about dangling carrots. She was afraid he’d keep making offers, thinking he would eventually come up with one she couldn’t refuse. So she breezily said, “I’ll tell you what. Pay off my student loans, and I’ll do it.” That ought to get her point across and shut down the conversation quickly.

      He hesitated only for a moment. “Deal.” Then he held out his hand for a shake.

      “Really?” With what he was offering her, she’d be able to open that dress shop in time for the Christmas rush.

      “Absolutely. I’d need you to live in, but you’d have a private room and bath. And it’s only for a couple of weeks.” He tilted his head and arched a brow, his arm still extended to her.

      She slipped her hand in his and gave it a shake, just as a couple of quacks sounded and a duckling scurried between them, followed by another.

      “When do you want me to start?” she asked.

      He glanced at the runaway ducklings, then tossed her a crooked grin. “Is now too soon?”

Chapter Two

      While the kids sat in the back of his crew-cab truck, cuddling their new rabbits and chattering to them in Spanish, Braden loaded the ranch supplies into the back. He’d just locked the tailgate when Paco Ramirez, the owner of the feed store, drove up in his white Chevy Tahoe.

      Braden could say hello to the man and then take off and let Elena tell her father about the deal they’d just struck, but that hardly seemed fair. Besides, he wasn’t one to avoid conflict or to be rude to someone he normally did business with. So he headed over to Paco, who was just climbing out of his SUV, and extended his hand in greeting. “Hey, there. I hoped I’d see you this morning.”

      “How’s that sprinkler system working out?” the older man asked.

      “Great. That south pasture is looking pretty good now. Valley Ag Supply had it installed sooner than I expected.”

      “Did you tell them I sent you?”

      “I sure did. And they gave me a great deal. So thanks for the recommendation.”

      “No problem,” Paco said. “When you’re ready to purchase those calves, I know a rancher about twenty miles north of Wexler who’s looking to sell.”

      The older man might only be a small-town business owner, but he was a great source for referrals.

      “Thanks,” Braden said. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Grandpa Miller had raised rodeo horses until his passing, and while Braden would continue to do so, now that the ranch was his, he wanted to expand and run some cattle, too.

      He’d never expected to become a rancher. In fact, he hadn’t had plans to do anything other than to ride rodeo, like his grandpa Miller had. But when his grandfather first became sick last year, Braden had come home to help his mother with the ranch. And now that the ranch had become his... Well, he’d sort of fallen into the lifestyle. Not that he minded. He’d been raised for it, he supposed. And

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