A Home for Nobody's Princess
Leanne Banks
Discovering she was the illegitimate daughter of the prince of Chantaine took some getting used to for Coco Jordan – especially when she was working as a nanny on a Texas ranch! As much as she tried to focus on caring for baby Emma, her newfound fame kept getting in the way. Until help arrived from an unexpected – and handsome – source…
“Thank you for putting up with me this afternoon,” said Coco.
The expression in her blue eyes made Benjamin’s chest knot. “It wasn’t anything. I just want you to feel better,” he said, and squeezed her shoulder.
She rose on tiptoe and surprised the heck out of him when she brushed her soft lips across his jaw. “It was a big something to me,” she countered, then left.
Benjamin rubbed his jaw where she’d kissed him. He wondered if the rest of her was as soft as her lips. He wondered what her lips would feel like on his body. He wondered what kind of sounds she would make if he kissed her and touched her all over.
Crazy, he told himself. If there was one woman he shouldn’t even be thinking about taking to his bed, it was Coco. She was too important to him because of his daughter Emma.
Coco was off-limits and he was damned determined to make sure he didn’t forget it.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wondered if you were switched at birth? What if you were actually an heiress to millions? Or what if you were actually royalty? I mean, really, doesn’t the title Princess sound a lot more fun than Miss or Ms?
Well, our nanny heroine, Coco Jordan, is an ordinary girl and she wasn’t switched at birth. She was adopted, and her parents have passed away. She has no family, and she’s focused on helping rancher Benjamin Garner bond with his motherless infant daughter. Coco’s life is turned upside down when she finds out her birth father was a prince, and Benjamin steps in to help protect her from all the unwanted attention from the press. But can Benjamin’s protectiveness turn into love? Stay tuned.
And about that first question of wondering if I was switched at birth … I actually feel as if I hit the jackpot with my parents because of how much they have always loved and encouraged me. If you get a chance to read Coco’s story, I would love to hear from you at leannebbb@aol.com.
Wishing you love and laughter,
Leanne Banks
About the Author
LEANNE BANKS is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author who is surprised every time she realizes how many books she has written. Leanne loves chocolate, the beach and new adventures. To name a few, Leanne has ridden on an elephant, stood on an ostrich egg (no, it didn’t break), gone parasailing and indoor skydiving. Leanne loves writing romance because she believes in the power and magic of love. She lives in Virginia with her family and a four-and-a-half-pound Pomeranian named Bijou. Visit her website, www.leannebanks.com.
A Home for
Nobody’s
Princess
Leanne Banks
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to the babes:
Coco, Ann, Terri, Mina, Rose, Peggy, Sharon, Jane,
Kathy, Kathy, Kim, Sandy, Catherine, Terry.
You are a constant source of inspiration to me.
Chapter One
His daughter hated him.
Benjamin Garner carefully opened the front door to his sprawling two-story house and paused. Even though he was six foot four and had been described as two hundred pounds of muscle due to the hard work he put in on his cattle ranch of over ten thousand acres, he’d become a stranger in his own home.
Why? Because his five-month-old daughter couldn’t stand him.
Every time he came toward her, she gave a shriek that would wake the entire country of New Zealand, and New Zealand was a good fifteen-hour flight away from the town of Silver City, Texas.
He stepped as lightly as he could in his boots. Coco Jordan, the young nanny who had seemed to work magic with baby Emma from the first time the two had met, had assured him that Emma could sleep through regular environmental noises, but he didn’t quite believe her.
Sometimes Benjamin wondered if his daughter had special powers and could smell him or hear him breathe even from the front door when she was upstairs in the nursery. Benjamin scowled at himself. This just showed what a nutcase he was becoming.
His dog, Boomer, limped out to greet him. Boomer had been one of his best herding dogs, but after he’d gotten his leg twisted in some barbed wire, he couldn’t run fast enough. Benjamin figured the dog had earned his retirement, so Boomer spent his days trying to catch scraps from his housekeeper’s cooking and dozing on the sofa. Benjamin reached down to give the mixed-breed dog a rub on his head, but was quiet about it. At least his dog liked him.
Heading for his office at the back of the house, he strode past the kitchen.
“Ah!”
His stomach knotted. He knew that sound. He knew that voice. He kept on moving.
“Benjamin.” The low, sweet voice of the nanny called to him. “You can’t avoid her forever.”
“Ah!” Emma said.
Taking a deep breath, he turned and faced the two of them, standing in the kitchen doorway. His daughter stared at him with big blue suspicious eyes, while Coco was all soft, pretty encouragement. Emma wasn’t screaming—yet. Maybe she was just gearing up for it.
“She just finished eating, so she should be in a good mood. Don’t you want to hold her?”
Hell, no, he thought. A rattlesnake was easier to handle. He shifted his hat back and shrugged. “I haven’t washed up.”
“That’s okay. A little dirt won’t kill her.”
“Okay,” he said, opening his arms, preparing himself for his daughter’s rejection of him. “I’ll hold her.”
Coco moved closer and Benjamin noticed that Emma’s eyes seemed to grow larger with each step she took. “Here you go,” she murmured to Emma. “This is your big strong daddy and he will always take care of you. There’s no need to be afraid of him. He’s on your side.”
Coco gently placed Emma in his arms and he drew her close to his chest, holding his breath. Emma stared up at him, her eyes wide. He counted silently. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
She pressed her lips together and glanced toward Coco. As soon as her lower lip jutted out in a perfectly defined pout, he knew what was coming. His daughter let out a high-pitched sound of distress that quickly grew in volume. He met Coco’s discouraged gaze and shook his head.
“Here,” he said, handing Emma back to the nanny. “There’s no need to torture the poor thing. That’s why I hired you.”
Coco patted Emma on the back in a soothing motion. “But we have to get her used to you. We have to find a way—”
“Maybe by the time she hits her first birthday, she’ll like me better,” he said and turned away, tamping down his own sense of discouragement.
“Wait,” Coco said, and he felt her hand on his arm.
He glanced over his shoulder.
“Maybe she doesn’t like your hat,” she said. “Maybe if you take it off, she’ll—”
“I’ll give it a try next time,” he said. “Right now, I need to enter some stock updates on the computer. Later,” he said and strode the rest of the way to his office.
His muscles twitched. He could manage this ranch with one hand tied behind his back, but he couldn’t hold his daughter for even one minute without scaring her so much she shrieked in fear. Somehow, someday, he needed to change that, but he didn’t know how to do it.
He scrubbed his forehead with his hand. What had Brooke done? He wondered if his ex-lover had told Emma he was a horrid man. He wondered if, before Brooke had died riding on the back of her most recent lover’s motorcycle, she had corrupted Emma’s brain. Was that even possible?
He and Brooke had shared a sexual affair that had lasted a weekend. He’d come to his senses, as had she. Until weeks later, when Brooke had learned she was pregnant. Benjamin had immediately proposed, even though he and Brooke had both known they didn’t belong together. She’d refused his proposal but accepted his support. He’d reluctantly realized that he would be a twice-a-month father. He only saw Emma three times before her mother’s death.
Suddenly he’d become a full-time single father. Who made his daughter cry at the very sight of him.
His gut clenched again. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever hold her without her screaming in fear.
Sucking in a mind-clearing breath, he focused on the computer screen. He wasn’t going to fix his problem with Emma today. Thank goodness he had Coco. Emma felt safe with her. That was why he had hired Coco. She was magic for Emma. She had been the first time she’d held her. Somehow, Coco was an ordinary woman with superpowers when it came to babies, which was exactly what Benjamin needed. Lately, he’d wondered if she could be … more …
Benjamin shook his head. Crazy thoughts. His computer cursor was blinking at him. He should enter the appropriate numbers in his Excel spreadsheet.
There was plenty of trouble in his day before he even thought of Coco.
Coco stared after her tall, broad-shouldered boss as he disappeared into his office. She jiggled Emma to help her settle down. The baby clung to her like a tick, bless her heart. Coco was certain Emma still missed her mama even though her mama had been the type to come and go as she pleased.
Coco was pretty certain Benjamin had tried to hire Emma’s previous nanny, but not everyone wanted to live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Nowhere, Texas, suited Coco just fine after all the days she’d spent with her mother in hospice care. It was nice not to have to live by herself in a tiny apartment, always aware that she wasn’t just alone for the night. Now that her mother had passed away, Coco was truly alone in this world.
Caring for a baby was therapeutic for Coco. Even though Emma was terribly insecure and frightened, she represented light and hope to Coco. After the strange visit Coco had received yesterday from the even stranger two men who had shown up on the front porch of Benjamin’s home, though she’d shooed them away, she was afraid. What did they want from her? Was there some other debt her mother had owed that Coco would need to pay?
She panicked at that prospect. By the time her mother had passed, there’d been nearly nothing left. Coco had taken out a loan so that her mother could have a proper burial and she would be paying college loans for a long time. Coco had quit just shy of getting her degree and was determined to finish it. But that was for later. Now, she just needed to get some of her equilibrium back. From the first moment she’d stepped onto this ranch, something had clicked and she’d known this was the place for her. It didn’t hurt that Emma needed her.
Benjamin’s long-time housekeeper, Sarah Stevens, made a clucking sound as she entered the hallway. “How long is it going to take that man to just sweat it out and hold that baby until she stops crying?”
“I can’t totally blame him,” Coco said. “Emma hasn’t been at all cooperative.”
Sarah’s generously lined face softened. “Well, it’s true the baby has been through a lot of changes. Who knows what kind of environment she was living in with that Brooke Hastings.” Sarah gave a snort. “Party girl. Don’t know how he ever got involved with her.”
Coco had kept her curiosity to herself about the odd pairing of one of Dallas’s most notorious party girls and solid rancher Benjamin Garner. “They must have seen something in each other.”
Sarah snorted again. “Enough for a fling. Of course, as soon as Benjamin found out little Miss Brooke was pregnant, he tried to do the right thing and offered to marry her, but the woman refused. She didn’t want to be tied down. Too much life to be lived.”
“Did she keep partying throughout her pregnancy? That could have been terrible for Emma.”
“I think Brooke dialed it down during the pregnancy, but as soon as Emma was delivered, she was hitting the circuit again. Thank goodness you showed up when you did. The little peanut was usually okay with me as long as I held her every minute, but I couldn’t get anything done around the house. I’m still catching up,” she grumbled.
“It was good timing for me, too,” Coco said. “But I may need to take a couple hours off soon for personal business.”
Sarah sighed. “It’s only fair. You’ve been working two weeks straight with her. I just know that I’ll be the fill-in.” The older woman lifted her finger to Emma’s cheek and cracked a smile. “She’s adorable when she’s not screaming.”
“I’ll try to schedule my break when she’s taking a nap,” Coco said.
“You’re overdue,” Sarah said. “We’ll just have to adjust. Maybe I’ll finagle a way to get Benjamin together with her. Never would have believed a little baby could scare the devil out of a man like him,” she said and laughed. “You let me know when you need your break. I’ll be here for the little one.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” Coco said and wondered if perhaps she should just take Emma with her. She was reluctant to cause any more trauma for Emma or Benjamin.
Later that night, Coco slept in the room next to the nursery. The baby could still be a bit unpredictable. Coco was still bothered by the men who had come to visit her and wondered what she should do. Were they bill collectors? Should she consult a lawyer? It took her hours to go to sleep
A shriek jerked her awake. Coco sat upright, adrenaline pumping through her as she tried to pull herself together.
Another shriek pierced the air and she realized it was Emma. Another bad dream, she thought. Who would have guessed that a baby could have bad dreams? Coco jumped out of bed and darted out of her room toward the nursery next door. She didn’t bother with a light because she knew the way by heart.
Except this time she plowed into a human wall.
She felt her breath leave her body in a rush. Automatically bracing herself, she put her hands on his shoulders. Hot flesh over sinewy muscles. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She felt his arms slide around her to stabilize her.
Coco’s eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness. “Sorry,” she managed, a strange sensual panic racing through her.
“I heard Emma and she wasn’t stopping,” Benjamin said in a rough voice that made goose bumps rise on her arms.
Coco took a step back. “Sorry,” she said again. “I was fast asleep.”
“You need a break,” he said, raking his hand through his hair.
“We’ll figure it out,” she said and pushed through Emma’s partially opened door. The volume of Emma’s screams increased exponentially without a pause. Coco rushed to the crib and picked up the baby, cooing at her.
“There you are,” she said. “You’re fine. You’re okay, sweetie. You don’t need to be upset. You’re safe.”
Emma alternately whined and made hiccupping sounds.
Coco hated that the baby was so upset. She bobbed up and down. “There you go. See. You’re okay.”
Emma gave a heavy sigh. Then another. She felt the tot fasten her mouth against her shoulder and make buzzing noises and couldn’t help laughing under her breath.
“I take it she’s okay,” Benjamin said from a few feet behind her.
Emma continued her happy buzzing noise and Coco turned around to face Benjamin. He was dressed in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else. “Sure sounds like it to me.”
Emma paused a half beat then continued.
“Why does she keep waking up screaming?” he asked, resting his hands on his hips, clearly perplexed.
Jiggling Emma, she stroked the baby’s back. “It’s not every night. She’s just still adjusting. I think she’ll calm down soon.”
“She has an appointment with the pediatrician soon. Maybe he can tell us something. I’ll want you to go to that appointment,” he said. “If I take her, she’ll just scream the whole time.”
“That’s fine. I’d like a few hours off tomorrow or the next day, though. I have some personal business to take care of.”
“No problem. Sarah will cover for you. I may need to hire someone part-time so you’ll have backup,” he said with a sigh.
“We can give her a little more time. With little ones, they can turn a corner before you know it.” Coco could feel Emma’s rigid frame start to relax against her. “Maybe she wouldn’t be so afraid of you in the dark. Come closer and see.”
“I did that earlier,” he said in a dry tone.
“But this is different. It’s dark and you’re not wearing your hat. Maybe—”
“Maybe not tonight,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to get her riled up again tonight. See you tomorrow,” he said and left the room.
Coco slid into the rocking chair with a sigh. She hated that Emma and Benjamin were so tense around each other. When she’d first accepted the position to take care of Emma, she’d thought Emma’s screaming when her daddy came close was just a phase. True, it had only been a few weeks, but it seemed as if the two of them were growing more tense with each other, instead of less. Benjamin wanted to avoid upsetting Emma, which gave them fewer opportunities to interact.
Coco wondered if she should just set Emma in his arms and leave so the two of them could work it out, but she knew that was probably her lack of sleep talking. She felt Emma’s sweet little body go limp with relaxation. The baby’s trust in her never failed to grab her heart. Rising, she returned Emma to her crib and went back to bed. This time, she fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Late the next morning, after Coco put Emma down for her morning nap, she dressed to go into town. Just as she descended the steps from the front porch, she saw a black Mercedes pulling toward the front of the house. Her stomach dipped. This was the same car that had brought the strange men who’d visited her two days ago.
Sweating, she glanced over her shoulder, praying that no one would see the visitors. Her heart pounding in her chest, she walked toward the vehicle as it stopped.
The man in the passenger seat opened the door and rose from the car. He was short with gray hair and squinty eyes. “Miss Jordan, my name is Paul Forno. I represent the House of Devereaux. My associate and I need to discuss an important matter with you.”
The House of Devereaux? Coco wasn’t sure if it was a fashion label or a collection agency. When the driver opened his car door, panic raced through her. “Listen, this is private property. This is also where I work.”
“Yes, ma’am. Please accept our apologies, but this is news that must be delivered in person. If you could give us a few moments of your time—”
“Not right now,” she said. “I’m on my way out.”
The man sighed. “As you wish, miss, but we don’t have a lot of time. Please accept my business card and call me at your earliest convenience,” he said and offered her the card.
Confused, but not wanting to show it, she gave a brisk nod, stuffed the card into her small purse and strode to her car. We don’t have a lot of time. What could that possibly mean? And who was we? Her hands shook as she stuck the key into the ignition of her five-year-old economy car. Looking in her rearview mirror, she felt a microbit of relief when she saw the black Mercedes pull away from the ranch.
Coco opened her car window and took several breaths. The men looked like the same kind who had frequented her mother’s home the last two months before she died. Her mother had fallen deeply in debt, and lenders had become impatient with her inability to pay her bills. Coco had helped as much as she could, but near the end she was only working part-time. Her mother’s care had required the rest of her time and energy.
She wondered if somehow she was responsible for some of her mother’s bills. She’d never cosigned loans, but she had used a credit card when they’d had an electrical problem and her car had needed an emergency repair. She’d thought she’d paid it off, but now she thought she needed to review her check register.
Her mind reeling, Coco drove off the property onto the highway into town. All the time, she wondered what she should do. She remembered a friend who had been a legal assistant. Maybe she could call her.
Reaching the small town of Silver City, she pulled alongside the town diner and got out of her car. She wanted a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate or hot apple cider and maybe a little sympathy from her friend Kim, a waitress at the diner. She’d known Kim back in high school, and Kim had since married and moved to Silver City. Coco and Kim had shared a meal when Coco had first come to town last month. Since then, Coco had dropped into the diner with Emma a couple times.
Coco walked inside the homey diner and the hostess immediately greeted her. “How are you doing, miss? Can I seat you?”
“Fine, thank you. Yes,” Coco said. “Please do. Just one.”
“We’ve got plenty of room. I’ll put you in a booth.”
As soon as Coco slid into the red booth, Kim Wash-burn winked and waved at her. Coco shot her a weak smile in return.
A couple moments later, Kim trotted to Coco’s table. “Where’s the little one today?” Kim asked.
“I finally got a couple hours off so I left her sleeping with Sarah at the ready to take over. I need to run some errands.”
“I would say so. You haven’t taken a break since you signed on for this gig, have you? What can I get you?”
“Hot chocolate,” she said. “Or apple cider.”
Kim laughed. “You want both?”
“No. I’ll take hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.”
Kim studied her thoughtfully. “Something wrong? Now that I think about it, you don’t look too happy.”
“Just distracted,” Coco said.
Kim shrugged her shoulders, but clearly didn’t believe her. “If you say so. But if you need some help, I’ll give it my best try,” she said, then headed for the kitchen area.
Coco bit her lip. She was so used to fending for herself that she almost didn’t know how to accept help when it was offered. Kim returned with a mug of hot chocolate overflowing with marshmallows.
Coco smiled. “Thanks. Can you keep something confidential?” she asked in a low voice.
“Sure, what is it?”
“I may need some legal advice,” Coco said reluctantly.
Kim’s eyes widened and she slid into the booth across from Coco. “Well, you’re not married, so you don’t need a divorce. I can’t believe you’ve committed any crimes.”
“It’s not that,” Coco said. “I just need to check on what happens to a person’s debts when they die. I need to know if I’m responsible for my mother’s debts.”
“Well, I 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. He studied the card. “Did you cosign any of her loans?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll call my brother—he’s an attorney—and see if he knows anything about this House of Devereaux. In the meantime, if those guys show up, I want you to call my cell right away.”
She looked hesitant.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’m just not sure I should have dragged you into this.”
“These men came onto my property without an invitation. You are an important employee. That makes it my business.”
The vulnerability she showed grabbed at him, although he sure as hell wouldn’t admit it. Coco had a fresh-scrubbed face and slim body, making her look younger than her years. Sweet and innocent, probably hoping for a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. Not his type at all. Benjamin had usually gone for low-maintenance women who knew their way around a man and wouldn’t expect too much of him. Except for Brooke. He’d made a big mistake with Brooke.
“I need your word that you’ll call me if they come around again,” he insisted.
She sighed and nodded reluctantly. “I will, but I’m hoping I’ll fall off their radar.”
Benjamin had a feeling that her wish wouldn’t come true. “Just so we understand each other,” he said and stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The next day as Coco dressed Emma, she pointed to the photograph of Benjamin she had placed on a dresser in the baby’s room. “Daddy,” Coco said. “That’s your daddy.”
The baby was cheerful and a little less clingy than usual. Coco was pleased with Emma’s progress and hoped there might be an opportunity for Emma and Benjamin to make a little peace.
The doorbell rang as she was feeding Coco her lunch.
Sarah entered the kitchen. “Two men are here to see you. Dever-something?” she said.
Coco’s stomach clenched. She wondered if she should send them away, but remembered her promise to Benjamin. She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “Tell them to wait in the front room, please,” she said and pulled out her cell phone. As soon as Sarah left, she punched Benjamin’s number on her cell phone.
“Benjamin,” he said in a curt voice.
“It’s me, Coco,” she said. “The men are here. They’re in the den.”
“Do you know what they want?” he asked.
“Not yet. I’ve been feeding Emma. I only called because you made me promise,” she said.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said and hung up the phone.
Coco handed the feeding of Emma over to Sarah and made her way to the front room. The two men immediately stood. “Miss Jordan, thank you for seeing us. Again, I’m Paul Forno, and this is my colleague Gerald Shaw.”
Tense, Coco laced her fingers together in front of her. “If this is regarding my mother’s debt, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Mr. Forno’s face crinkled in confusion. “Your mother’s debt?” he echoed. “I wasn’t aware that Miss London had any debt issues. According to our information, she’s been well cared for, per her agreement with your father.”
“Miss London,” she echoed, not certain who was more confused—she or Mr. Forno. “That’s not my mother’s name. You must have the wrong person.”
Mr. Forno studied her. “You do know that you were adopted, don’t you?”
“Of course, but—” She broke off, struggling to keep her emotions under control as she tried to make sense of the men’s visit. “Is this about my birth mother? I tried to find her years ago, but I was told she didn’t want to meet me. Has she changed her mind?”
Mr. Forno exchanged a look with his associate. “Unfortunately—”
The front door opened and Benjamin stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the front room. “Problem?”
Coco immediately felt a sense of relief. “I think there’s a lot of confusion right now.”
Benjamin addressed the two men. “It shouldn’t take long to clear up any confusion given the fact that you’ve been bothering Miss Jordan. If you have a legitimate reason to see her, then spill it or leave.”
Mr. Forno cleared his throat. “This is a matter of a delicate nature. We, uh, prefer to speak to Miss Jordan privately.”
“That’s up to Miss Jordan,” Benjamin said.
“I’d like Mr. Garner to remain,” she said. “Whatever you say to me, you can say in front of him.”
Mr. Shaw sighed. “Then, sir, we must request that you sign a confidentiality agreement.”
“I’m not signing anything,” Benjamin said. “You’re in my house and you’re wasting my employee’s time and mine, too.”
Mr. Shaw looked nervous and perplexed. “Then I must beg of you to keep what we are about to tell you in the strictest confidence.”
Benjamin lifted one shoulder in halfhearted agreement. “Still waiting.”
Mr. Forno waved his hand. “Allow me to introduce ourselves, Mr. Garner. I am Paul Forno and this is my associate, Gerald Shaw, with the House of Devereaux. Perhaps we should sit down.”
Impatience simmering from Benjamin, he sat down. The others followed.
“As I said, we are representatives of the House of Devereaux,” the man began.
“What is that?” Benjamin asked.
Mr. Shaw blinked. “The royal House of Devereaux. The ruling family of the country of Chantaine.”
“Never heard of it,” Benjamin said.
Mr. Forno looked at Coco and she shrugged. “Sorry. Neither have I.”
“Oh, my,” Mr. Forno said. “Chantaine is a small, but beautiful island country off the coast of Italy. The Devereau family has ruled the country for centuries.”
“And what does this have to do with Coco?”
Mr. Forno sighed. “Your birth mother was Ava London. She had a long-term relationship with Prince Edward of Chantaine and you are—” He cleared his throat. “A product of that relationship.”
Coco frowned, blinking at the man’s announcement. Her birth mother? Her birth father? After all these years, she would learn who they were? She shook her head in amazement. “Are you saying that Ava London and Prince Edward are my biological parents?”
“Yes, they are,” he said.
She was so stunned she couldn’t comprehend it all. “My father is a prince?”
“Yes, he was,” Mr. Forno said.
“Was?” she echoed, her heart racing. “Oh, my goodness! Is he alive? Is my birth mother alive?”
“Unfortunately, no. His Royal Highness passed away several years ago, and his son, Stefan, has since ascended the throne. Your birth mother passed away just over a week ago,” he said.
“Oh,” she said, feeling a surge of sadness. Since her mother had died, she had felt so terribly alone. She’d had no close relatives, no siblings.
“What does this mean for Miss Jordan?” Benjamin asked.
“Well, the House of Devereaux wishes to extend an invitation for you to visit the country of Chantaine and also to meet the Devereau family,” he said brightly.
“Visit Chantaine? But how?” Coco asked.
“The usual way these days,” Mr. Forno said, continuing to smile. “A transatlantic flight.”
Her mind whirling, she looked at Benjamin and she immediately knew she couldn’t go. He was counting on her. Emma was counting on her. She shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t. I’ve just started working here and Emma needs me. Thank you for the invitation, though,” she said.
The men looked surprised. “You’re turning down the invitation to meet the Devereaux.”
“It’s not a good time for me or my employer,” she said, glancing at Benjamin, who was wearing an expression of shock.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve made a commitment. I have every intention of keeping it,” she said and stood. All three men were gaping at her as if she’d grown an extra head. Her mind was racing. She finally knew who her biological parents were. She also knew they hadn’t wanted her. She had a brother, a prince, who probably wasn’t thrilled with her existence. “Are there other Devereaux? Do I—” She stopped at the insane thought. They weren’t her full brothers and sisters, yet she couldn’t tamp down her curiosity. “Did Prince Edward have other children?”
“Yes, he did,” Mr. Shaw said. “There’s Prince Stefan, Princesses Valentina, Fredericka, Bridget, Phillipa and Prince Jacques.”
Mr. Forno and Mr. Shaw exchanged a look. “Prince Edward also fathered another child with your birth mother. A son.”
“Another,” she said, disbelief racing through her. “My, he was quite the busy one, wasn’t he?”
Mr. Shaw cleared his throat, but didn’t respond.
Benjamin gave a low laugh. “I have to agree.”
His chuckle distracted her from her own state of shock for just a few seconds. “Now, let me get this right. You’re telling me that my birth father has six—no, wait, seven—other children. And one of these is my full biological brother. I have a real brother? Where is he?” she wanted to know. “Who is he?”
“He’s currently in Australia. An engineer. He’s been quite difficult to reach,” Mr. Shaw said. “We aren’t at liberty to give any more information about him. However, the news could break at any moment.”
“News?” Benjamin repeated. “I thought you said this was a confidential matter.”
“It is, but we fear the news of Prince Edward’s newly discovered children could be leaked to the press any day,” Mr. Shaw said.
“That’s why you’ve been so determined to get to Coco,” Benjamin said. “Why you’ve invited her to Chantaine. Control Coco and you can control the spin.”
“It’s quite understandable that the Devereaux would like to have an opportunity to meet with Miss Jordan,” Mr. Shaw said in a snippy voice.
“Hmm. Well, this is a lot for Miss Jordan to take in, so I’m sure you don’t mind giving her some time to process it.”
“Of course,” Mr. Shaw said. “If she would just sign a release stating she won’t discuss the matter with the press—”
“She’s not signing anything without an attorney looking at it,” Benjamin said.
“Sir, it’s in her best interest not to discuss this publicly. Once the story breaks, she’ll be flooded with requests from the paparazzi. Signing this document will provide her with an easy excuse to avoid interviews.”
“She won’t need an excuse,” Benjamin said and rose to his feet. “Now, as long as she has your contact information, I think we’re done for the day.”
Both men appeared disappointed. “Call us if you change your mind about the release or visiting Chantaine,” Mr. Forno said to Coco.
Her mind was reeling with all the information, and Benjamin was right. It was going to take some time for her to digest it. “I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind, but I have your phone number,” she said and watched as the two men walked out the front door.
She felt Benjamin’s gaze on her. “You okay?”
Not wanting to appear as rattled as she felt, she lifted her chin. “Of course I’m okay. The news is a bit bizarre, but I’ve always known I was adopted. I also knew that neither of my birth parents wanted to meet me. Now I know why.”
Sarah walked into the room. “Are they gone? Good. I was in the middle of placing my grocery order. Do you mind taking the baby?” she asked.
“Of course not,” Coco said, automatically holding out her hands for Emma.
Sarah quickly walked away and Coco caught a whiff of why the housekeeper was eager to have Coco take Emma. “Someone needs a change,” she said and tapped Emma on her nose. “Excuse me. Duty calls.”
“Just a minute,” Benjamin said.
“Trust me. Waiting will just make this worse,” she said and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. She heard his footsteps behind her as she made her way to the nursery.
Feeling Benjamin’s presence behind her, she quickly changed the messy diaper and picked up the baby. Coco turned to face him. “Thank you for being with me during the announcement.”
“I’m not sure you realize what an impact this could have on you,” he said. “Your father was a prince. It’s possible you have an inheritance. Hell, in a way, you’re a princess,” he said, with a hint of horror in his eyes.
Coco scoffed and jiggled Emma as she fussed at the sight of Benjamin. “Oh, that’s ridiculous. I’m no princess, that’s for sure. I’m sure there’s no inheritance for me. They would have mentioned that right off the bat,” she said and took in his doubtful expression. “Wouldn’t they? After all, I’m illegitimate. They’ve probably got all that sort of thing covered. I can’t believe Edward was the first man in the Devereau family to spread his seed. I mean, some men just can’t keep it zipped and—”
She stopped when she realized Benjamin might construe her words as criticism of him. “I mean, he fathered, or sired, eight children. That’s different than one or two or—”
“It’s okay. Let me know when you want to get in touch with the Devereaux,” he said.
“When?” she said. “That will never happen. They don’t really want me. Their father never wanted me, either.” She suddenly felt vulnerable because she’d been so sure before that she was alone in the world. She’d coached herself to believe that she would be okay. Now she could hardly believe what she’d just been told—at the same time, she sensed that her newfound family wouldn’t welcome her. “I have enough going on in my life. I don’t need to—”
“You’ll change your mind,” he said.
She scowled at him. “You can’t know that.”
He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “I know you will. At some point, at some time, you’re going to want to meet those brothers and sisters. Anyone would want to know their relatives, especially if they thought they had none. I would,” he said.
“Would you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve got three brothers. Two in town and one up in Claytor Junction, Colorado. They’ve always been important to me. More so after my dad died and my mom took off for Costa Rica.”
“Costa Rica?” she echoed.
Benjamin shrugged. “Mom always wanted to travel. Except for a few vacations, she just waited until after my dad died to do most of it. It’s her way, she’s running. One day, she’ll stop.”
Coco gnawed the inside of her lip. “You don’t resent her? Don’t you wish she was here?”
Benjamin laughed. “Hell, no. She needed to go. My dad’s death was hard on her. I’m glad she had the guts to get out of town. Everyone has to mourn their loss in their own way.”
“Is that why you got involved with Brooke?”
He paused a long time then sighed. “Maybe. I had to be strong for a while there. None of my brothers wanted to take over the ranch and it was going to be a big job.”
“Why didn’t they want to help?” she asked.
“They don’t have ranching blood in them. One is a lawyer in town. One is an investment specialist. The other’s a computer specialist. That left me,” he said.
“I don’t know much about ranching, but it looks like you’re doing a pretty good job.”
He cracked a half grin. “Thanks. I am doing a pretty good job.”
Emma made an unhappy sound. “And if I can get my daughter to stop crying every time she sees me, I’ll be in good shape.”
“You can start by taking off that hat,” she said.
“I don’t know if that makes a difference,” he said.
“Give it a try,” she said.
Sighing, he removed his hat.
Emma stared at him in silence.
“I can’t believe it’s the damn hat,” he said.
The baby extended her hand out to his face.
“Lean closer,” Coco said.
He slid her a doubtful glance, but bowed his head toward the baby. Emma gave a disapproving growl. Yet, the baby extended her hand to Benjamin’s chin.
“Ah!” Emma said.
“Improvement,” Coco said, unable to withhold a trace of victory in her voice.
Enduring the baby’s probing strokes across his mouth and chin, he grimaced. “That’s a matter of opinion.”
“She’s not screaming,” Coco said.
“True,” he said, gumming at Emma’s tiny finger.
The baby’s eyes widened and she pulled back her hand.
“Don’t scare her,” Coco scolded.
“How ya’ doin’, darlin’?” he asked Emma.
Her rapt gaze held his and she waved her hand at his face. “Ah!”
“Ah!” he echoed and caught her hand within his. “You’re my girl. Don’t ever forget that,” he said and kissed her hand. “Ever,” he said.
Emma kicked her feet and stared into his eyes, but for the first time in forever, she didn’t scream. Maybe Coco was right. Maybe the hat had frightened her. More important, maybe Coco was right and he needed to chill and just love his child. That assignment could be a bit more difficult than he planned.
Over the next few days, Coco tried to ignore the new information she’d received about her birth family. Her birth parents had never wanted her. Her half brothers and sisters weren’t truly interested in her. If so, wouldn’t one of them have come to meet her? And what about her full brother? He apparently couldn’t give a flying fig about her existence.
The knowledge stung, but after her father had died, a part of Coco had always been fearful. One day, her mother would die. She knew that one day she would be all alone in the world. For a while she’d believed that was a long way off, but then her mother had gotten cancer and everything had gone downhill.
Staying with her mom during her last days had been the most important, yet the hardest thing she’d ever done. Coco had hoped it would give her peace, but since her mother had passed, she’d felt restless. She’d wake up in the middle of the night in a panic.
Taking the job with Benjamin and Emma had given her a strange sort of relief. Emma had immediately responded to her as if there were already a bond between the two of them. Even though Emma was jittery, there was a sense of calm to the daily routine. Although Emma screamed and cried, she also smiled and cuddled. Something about the baby soothed Coco’s sadness. She wanted to help heal Emma’s fear. In the short time she’d spent at the Garner ranch, she’d grown extremely protective of Emma and was determined to bring peace between the baby and her daddy.
At this point in her life, nothing else was more important.
Each hour, however, she felt herself grow a little more curious about the royal family. In her few spare moments, she checked out the Devereau family and Chantaine online. Most of the siblings looked snooty to her—except for the one with curly hair named Phillipa. Coco was surprised to discover that one of the princesses—Valentina—actually lived in Texas with her husband and daughter.
Her half sister was in the same state. She could actually drive to meet her, she thought. That said, Princess Valentina might have no interest in meeting her. In spite of the fact that she insisted she had no expectations of her new semisiblings, Coco felt restless day and night. When she went to bed, her mind whirled with possibilities. In the deepest, darkest part of her, Coco wanted family—sisters, a mother, a father, cousins, aunts, uncles. Her adoptive mother and father were dead. Her birth mother and father were dead. She’d thought she was all alone. Was she? Was she crazy to think she wasn’t alone?
The next day, Coco strapped Emma to her chest and took a fishing pole and tackle box out to one of the streams on the Garner ranch. In Texas, people took their infants out to do things that celebrated everything great about the state. That meant the general population wouldn’t be surprised to see an infant at a professional ball game, fishing or even horseback riding, with their mama or daddy, of course. Thinking back to all the fishing trips she’d taken with her daddy before she’d turned ten, she cast her line into the stream, sat on the shore and waited. And waited. And waited. Then she got a bite and reeled in a medium-sized trout. She threw him back and cast her line again.
Early on, she’d learned that waiting was a big part of the game. Her father had made that easier with stories he’d told her—stories he’d clearly conjured. She reconstructed one of those stories and repeated it to Emma, who promptly fell asleep.
Hey, it was a cool story even if it made Emma snooze. Coco caught another three fish that she tossed back into the stream. One of Benjamin’s workers stopped by to chat with her for a few minutes, and by late afternoon, she felt great. All her worries had disappeared. She gave Emma a bottle. The sun was shining on her head, she was sweating just a little bit and she began tramping back to the house.
Back at the house, Benjamin paced his office. Coco and Emma were gone. Coco had told Sarah she was going fishing, but Benjamin hadn’t gotten around to showing her the real fishing spots on the ranch. So how the hell had she gone fishing?
He thought about Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the two guys representing the Devereau clan who’d visited Coco. He wondered if, despite their dweebiness, they had darker motives. What if they had gone after Coco and his daughter?
Benjamin headed for the front door, intent on tracking down Coco and Emma when he saw Coco stomping up the steps with a fishing pole, a tackle kit and a beaming smile.
Her smile was contagious. “You look happy.”
“I am,” she said. “I caught four fish and threw them back in the stream.”
“You could be lying,” he couldn’t resist teasing. “What proof do you have?”
Her eyes darkened. “Your daughter is a witness.”
Benjamin looked at his sleeping daughter and laughed. “She’s a bad witness.”
“You don’t believe I caught those fish?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“Why should I?”
“Because I told you and because I’m an honorable woman. The only tales I tell are the kind that keep you occupied when you’re waiting to score a fish. My daddy told me a lot of those kinds of stories when we went fishing,” she said.
He met her gaze and felt a strange sensation in his chest. She’d surprised him. He wouldn’t have expected her to be a fisherman even though he’d known she’d grown up in a small town.
“And you’re trying to teach my daughter how to fish at five months?” he said, nodding toward the baby pack on Coco’s chest.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“No. I don’t mind. It’s good for her to get outside.”
“Do you want to take her?” she challenged.
Whoa, he thought. “She’d scream bloody murder if I tried to take her fishing.”
Her eyes softened just a little. “I’m not talking about fishing. I’m talking about you and your daughter doing something enjoyable together. Both of you need that.”
Chapter Three
The next night, Benjamin met his brother Jackson at a bar in town. They sat down over couple of cold beers. “So, what’s up?” Jackson asked. “You don’t look too good.”
Benjamin slid a sideways glance at his younger brother. Jackson, an up-and-coming lawyer, had always been fast on the draw. He’d finished high school in two years, college in three, then gone on to collect his law degree at a prestigious university.
“Wanna trade places for a month or two?” Benjamin joked.
“Sorry.” Jackson lifted his mug to his lips. “Even I know you would get the easier deal. Ranch and a new baby. Me? I’m a single guy with no plans for a wife or kids anytime in the next century.”
“I hadn’t planned on children yet, either,” Benjamin said wryly but couldn’t keep from cracking a smile. “How’s the practice going?”
“Good,” he said. “It would be easier if I were in Dallas, and there was that offer in New York.”
“So why don’t you go?” Benjamin challenged, already knowing the answer. His brother was committed to Silver City.
Jackson shrugged. “I don’t know. This just feels right.”
“Then quit bellyachin’ about it,” Benjamin said.
Jackson shot him a mock-hard glance. “You’re the one who wanted to trade places,” he said and took a swallow of his beer. “What’s going on?”
Benjamin sighed. “Besides the fact that my daughter hates my guts?” he asked.
Jackson appeared to swallow a laugh and took another sip of beer to cover it. “That could be tough.”
“Yeah,” Benjamin said.
“But there’s something else,” Jackson prodded.
Benjamin sighed again. “The new nanny.”
Jackson frowned. “I thought she was magical. She calmed your screaming daughter. She was perfect.”
“Close to perfect,” Benjamin muttered. “But we’ve hit a bump.”
“She’s illegal?” Jackson asked.
Benjamin shook his head. “No. It’s worse that that.”
“What could be worse?”
Benjamin looked from side to side and leaned toward his brother with a low voice. “She’s a princess.”
“What?” Jackson asked loudly.
“Keep it down,” Benjamin said with a scowl.
“What are you talking about?” Jackson whispered.
“She was given up for adoption and she just found out her father was a prince.”
“Holy crap,” Jackson said. “You know how to pick them.”
Benjamin frowned. “Thank you for your support.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Some representatives of the royal family tried to get her to sign some forms,” Benjamin said.
“Absolutely not,” Jackson said. “Let me take a look at them first.”
“I already said no. They’ve invited her to visit their island country, but again, they want her to sign papers. She says she doesn’t care about meeting them, but I think she does.”
Jackson scrubbed his face. “And you’re wondering what this means legally? Do you want to fire her?”
“Hell, no. Emma loves her,” Benjamin said.
“Okay. Well, there’s a remote possibility that she’s due an inheritance, but since she’s out-of-wedlock and an adult, it’s unlikely. Royals have ways of tying up their funds.”
“I’m sure Coco would appreciate the infusion to her bank account, but there are other concerns,” Benjamin said.
“Such as?” Jackson asked.
“Such as the royal reps said she would be contacted by the media when the news breaks,” Benjamin said.
Jackson winced. “That’s true. There’s a huge infatuation with anything royal. She could get pestered….”
“My men and I can handle a little pestering,” he said.
“This might be more than a little,” Jackson warned.
“I think she wants family,” Benjamin said. “She didn’t have any brothers or sisters growing up. Her father died when she was young and her mother died within the last few months.”
Benjamin felt his brother studying him.
“This is starting to sound personal. Do you have something going on with your baby’s nanny?”
“No,” Benjamin said immediately. “I’m just telling you what I’ve observed.”
“So, no hanky-panky. No kisses. No middle of the night sleepwalking into each other’s beds.”
“No.”
“Hmm,” Jackson said, drumming his fingers on the bar as he studied Benjamin. “I don’t know. What does she look like?”
His brother’s intent expression irritated Benjamin. “There’s nothing going on between Coco and me. Between Brooke and the baby, trust me, I’ve had enough trouble with women lately. Emma feels safe with Coco. The last thing I want to do is mess up that situation.”
“Well, if you have any more legal questions or if I can give you a hand with anything, let me know. Since you’re more likely to saw off a leg than ask for help, you must consider this more important.”
“Yeah,” Benjamin said and decided to change the subject. “Who’s in your fantasy football lineup?”
He and his brother talked football for a while, then Benjamin headed home. He noticed the porch light and floodlights were on and wondered if Sarah had left them lit. After a blazing-hot summer, Benjamin welcomed the cooler temperatures. He could almost see a hint of vapor when he exhaled.
Pulling open the front door, he stepped inside and cut the lights.
“Wait!”
He immediately identified Coco’s breathless voice and turned the lights back on. “What are you doing?” he asked as he saw her trotting toward the steps.
“I just needed some fresh air, so I walked around the house a few times. I’ve got a remote intercom in case Emma wakes up,” she said, pushing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie sweatshirt as she walked up the steps. Her nose was pink and her cheeks were flushed from the cold.
“How long have you been out there?” he asked.
“Not that long,” she said. “I’m okay. I just didn’t want to get locked out.”
He sensed a restlessness vibrating from her. She pushed back the hood of her sweatshirt and pulled her hair free. “You sure there’s nothing wrong?” he asked.
“No,” she said, but she didn’t meet his gaze. “I used to walk around my mom’s house that last month she was alive. Sometimes I just feel better after walking a little bit.”
“I can understand that. I get itchy if I stay still too long,” he said.
She finally looked at him. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. You want a cup of something to warm you up? It smells like Sarah may have left something warming in a crock.”
“Apple cider,” Coco said. “And it’s delicious.”
They went to the kitchen, and Coco pulled down the mugs and poured the cider. Benjamin took a sip too soon and it burned his tongue. “Ouch,” he muttered and waved a hand for her to join him at the small table in the kitchen nook.
Coco smiled and sat across from him. “It smells so good. It’s hard to wait.”
She looked so young and sweet she could have been a teenager.
She met his gaze. “You’re looking at me strangely. What are you thinking?”
“I’m remembering how I had to look at your driver’s license twice before I believed you were twenty-four,” he said.
Coco laughed. “I’ve always looked young for my age. My mother always told me there would come a time that I would appreciate that quality. Hated it in high school, though.”
Benjamin took another sip; this one didn’t scald his tongue, thankfully. “So, what made you want to do your little 5K around the house tonight? Have you been thinking about your new-to-you family?”
Coco’s smile fell and she sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I have a hard time believing they really want to meet me. It’s not as if they’ve been beating down the door or calling me.”
“There may some legal reasons that they’re waiting for you to contact them,” he suggested.
“Really?” she said, more than asked, in disbelief. “Well, all I know is if I had found out that I had a sister or brother, I would try to meet them.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
She shot him a dark look. “Because I don’t like to go where I’m not wanted.”
“You don’t really know that you’re not wanted,” he said and leaned toward her. “Listen, if you want to go to Chantaine and meet them, we can work something out.”
“I don’t know how,” she said, staring into her mug and cradling it with both hands. “Emma isn’t settled in yet. She needs more time to feel at home and to get into a routine.”
“That’s true, but she’ll get there,” he said, even though he sometimes wondered if his daughter would ever feel at ease in his house. He was damn determined to do what was necessary to make it happen, though. “I don’t want you to feel that you can’t go,” he said.
She bit her lip. “It’s not like I would have anything in common with them.”
He stared at her for a minute. She looked young, but he knew she’d carried a lot on her shoulders while her mother was sick. She’d taken charge with Emma and dealt with the baby’s nightmares with no complaint.
“What are you scared of?”
She took immediate offense. “I’m not scared.”
“Sure looks like it to me,” he said.
“Well, I’m not. But you have to admit that these people are definitely in a different league.”
He shrugged. “Still gotta put one sock on at a time.”
She shot him a sideways glance and her lips twitched. “Unless they have a servant who puts on their socks for them.”
Benjamin laughed. “That would be pretty pathetic.” He put his hand over hers. “You don’t have to make any rash decisions. You can take your time. Give yourself a break.”
She met his gaze and took a deep breath. “I guess you’re right. I don’t need to work myself into a frenzy over this.”
“Exactly,” he said, and the moment stretched between them. The warmth in her eyes gave him a strange feeling in his gut. Realizing that his hand was still covering hers, he quickly pulled it away. It was one thing to try to comfort his daughter’s nanny, but he didn’t want Coco to misconstrue his sympathy as something else.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I should hit the sack,” he said and rose to his feet.
“Me, too,” she said, following him to her feet. “I’ll take care of the mugs.”
“Thanks,” he said, wondering why his voice sounded so rough. He headed toward the doorway.
“And, Benjamin, thank you for talking me down from that cliff I was climbing,” she said to his back.
He smiled at her description of her emotional state. “No need to scale a cliff unless it’s absolutely necessary. G’night.”
“G’night,” she said as he entered the hallway. He felt another twitch at the sound of her soft voice, and he rubbed his stomach. He’d better take some antacid.
Two days later, as she was about to feed Emma, Coco saw Benjamin enter the house. Midlift of the spoon, Coco thought about the fact that Benjamin had been avoiding his daughter once again. She couldn’t allow this to continue.
She pulled the spoon back from Emma. “Benjamin,” Coco called as the baby frowned at her in confusion. Emma’s soft, plump lips puckered in disapproval.
Benjamin poked his head in the doorway. “Yeah?”
Coco immediately stood. “Emma’s ready to be fed and I … uh … I need to powder my nose.”
Benjamin wrinkled his brow. “Powder your nose?”
“Use the ladies’ room,” she said.
Realization crossed his face. “Oh, okay. You want me to watch her?”
“I actually want you to feed her,” she countered.
He frowned. “Feed her?”
“It’s not that hard,” she said and reached for his Stetson, but he was faster. “She hates your hat.”
“I like my hat,” he said.
“You don’t need to wear it in the house while you’re feeding a baby,” she said and held out her hand for him to give her his hat.
“I’ll put it on the table in the foyer,” he said, lifting his hat from his head.
“Ah!” Emma called.
“Oops, better hurry. She’s getting impatient,” Coco said.
“Well, she can wait one minute,” he said.
“Not unless you want her to start screaming so much she can’t stop,” she said. “Gotta go,” she said, covering her ears as she ran to the upstairs bathroom. She wasn’t sure she could hear Emma’s screams at full blast and not respond.
She went into the bathroom closed the door behind her and turned on the fan. “La-la-la-la-la,” she said as she covered her ears, determined to prevent herself from hearing Emma’s screams. She continued for several moments then stopped her la-las. No baby shrieks pierced the sound of the fan. Giving in to her curiosity, she cut it off.
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