Never Say Never (5 page)

Sadie’s insides chilled. She was alone with a man whose cocky demeanor alarmed her, who had never meant any good by her when he’d had the chance Not only that, but he was eating bread Sadie sensed he had no intention of paying for. The last thing she wanted was for kind-hearted Mrs. Vickery to think Sadie couldn’t be trusted not to invite her friends in for free food. Desperately hoping another customer would walk inside any second, Sadie said, “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You’re not still angry that I wouldn’t marry you?” Curtis asked, his grin mean-spirited.

She couldn’t speak. All those starry visions had passed some time ago. Bearing the mantle of pregnancy alone had caused Sadie to grow up and face facts. Now, she couldn’t remember what she’d seen in Curtis in the first place.

Her silence seemed to annoy him. Curtis tucked the loaf of bread into his arm and glanced around. “So, where’s the brat?”

“The brat?” Sadie whispered.

“Yeah. I’m a proud papa, ain’t I? You’re not going to try to keep me from seeing my kid?”

Sadie felt sick. If she was certain of anything, it was that Curtis didn’t have Holly’s best interests at heart. “The baby’s not here.”

“It at your ma’s?”

“No, it’s not.” Sadie forced strength into her voice. “I gave her up for adoption.”

“You did what?”

Curtis had stepped menacingly close to Sadie and now he shook her until she could feel her teeth rattle against each other. “You stupid bitch! Don’t you know how much money selling that brat would have got us?”

Chapter Three

Eunice showed Jill the room she would have during her stay at the ranch. It was light and cheery, with yellow-striped wallpaper on the walls and white eyelet curtains at every window. A window seat on the far wall, overlooking the front of the house, had a yellow cabbage rose cushion in place.

“I love the room, Mrs. Reed,” Jill said. “I’ll be very comfortable in here.”

“I hope you will, my dear,” Eunice replied pleasantly. “What I think you’ll like best is that the adjoining bathroom connects to the room Joey stays in. That way you don’t have to go so far if he needs you at night.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” Jill said.

Eunice smiled. “He’ll be home from visiting his other grandparents shortly. Now, there’s something I hope you’ll do for me, Jill,” Eunice continued, stopping to pause in front of the vanity mirror hanging over an antique table. She lightly patted her silvery-white hair that was twisted into a delicate chignon, a style Jill thought suited her.

“I’ll do whatever I can,” Jill replied honestly.

“I hope you’ll call me Eunice from now on. I realize you’re trying to show me respect, and it’s plain to me that your parents raised you to be polite, but out here, we’re rather informal. When late February comes and the wind is whistling down the chimneys and the ice keeps us from getting into town much, I’d like to think the two of us will have some good, old-fashioned friendship to keep out the chill. What do you say?”

Jill was pleased by the woman’s overture, though technically she hadn’t agreed to stay past the specified one week. It seemed Dustin’s mother was already counting on her. “All right, then, Eunice. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Nonsense. You’re the one who’s being kind. Dustin and I didn’t dream we’d find another person to live with us before Christmas.” Eunice walked through the room, running a hand lightly over the walnut bureau and matching vanity. “To be honest, I believe he worries about leaving me alone so much that he’s neglected his cattle. And the ranch in general.”

Jill had noticed Dustin’s concern for his mother’s health. She merely nodded.

Eunice stopped in front of the window seat and peered outside before turning around to face Jill. “You must be thinking that this employment sounds more like a babysitting job than anything.” Her smile was contagious and lifted her delicate eyebrows further on her broad forehead. “I don’t want to scare you. Dustin may have told you that we Reeds are very independent.”

“He did mention that.”

“Good. Just so you’ll know that you won’t be tied to watching an old lady dodder away her life, I bought Dustin a cellular phone for his Christmas present. It’s so small he can carry it in his jacket pocket when he’s out riding.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Not that you appear to do much doddering, though.”

Eunice laughed, the sound tinkling and light. “I certainly try not to. I don’t know how Dustin will react to his mother being able to call him any time of day, though.”

“He’ll probably think you’re being very sensible. From what I can tell of your son so far, he’s probably already thought of the idea and was too afraid to insult you by suggesting it.”

Eunice laughed again. “You could be right. Dustin tries very hard not to make me feel like an invalid.”

“You don’t appear to be very bothered by your arthritis,” Jill commented. Eunice appeared to have more energy in her than some teenage girls.

“I hope it hasn’t slowed me down too much. I have good days and bad.” Eunice frowned suddenly. “There’s an awful lot to do on a ranch, and I wouldn’t want Dustin to have to worry about me. Though I can’t do as much as I could once, I still like to think I’m helping out some.”

“I’m sure you are,” Jill replied. To change the subject, she walked slowly into the bathroom, admiring the spaciousness, and then into Joey’s room. “My, somebody had a lot of toys when he was a boy,” she said, instantly guessing the room had once been Dustin’s.

Eunice had followed behind and now surveyed the wild-stallion-printed curtains and denim bedspread in the room with some pride. “Yes. Most of the toys were given away long ago, but some things—especially that wooden rocking horse—I couldn’t bear to part with. Of course, that’s Joey’s favorite now, so I’m glad I kept what I did.”

Without warning, Eunice’s eyes clouded up behind her spectacles. Jill was stricken. The pewter-framed pictures flashed through her mind instantly, and she thought about the little boy smiling out from them. There was obviously a problem in the Reed household. But since the Reeds hadn’t mentioned the subject to her, Jill supposed it was closed. Quickly, she thought of something else to put the happiness back on Eunice’s face. “You know, I bet it’s time to check on Holly. She might be stirring.”

“You’re right.” Immediately, Eunice straightened her shoulders and turned herself to leave the room and go downstairs. “It’s going to be a whole new routine for me with an infant in the house. I’m so used to going my own way.”

Jill smiled, following. Dustin was used to going his own way, too. She thought about the cellular phone Mr. Tough Cowboy was getting for Christmas. With baby Holly around, she had a feeling that phone would be keeping warm next to Dustin’s ear.

Though it was still fairly dark when she awakened the next morning, Jill was relieved to see only a two inch coating of snow on the ground, though she could tell by touching the windowpane that the temperature had dropped quite a bit since yesterday. Being farther north would impact the temperature, too.

She made a mental note to fetch her warmest clothes when she went to collect her things.

Baby Holly’s basket was gone from Joey’s room. Jill hurried downstairs, worried that she wasn’t in time to get breakfast started. It wouldn’t do to oversleep the first day on her job, though she was fortunate she’d awakened at all. That had been the most relaxed night of sleep she’d had since her life had undergone all these major changes.

To her dismay, Dustin and Eunice sat at the kitchen table already, drinking coffee. Holly lay sleeping in a basket nearby. Jill was relieved when they smiled at her.

“We really didn’t expect you to get up so early on your first day as a guest in our home, Jill,” Eunice replied.

“I’m not a guest,” she said, going to wash what few pans were in the sink. “I’m your paid employee, and more grateful than you can know to have the job.”

Dustin got up, gently taking her by the shoulders to steer her into taking a place next to his mother at the table. “Don’t be ornery, Jill,” he said, guiding her. “My mother means that today you’re a guest in our home.
Tomorrow
is much sooner than we’d hoped to have help. Now, what do you want to drink?”

“We have hot chocolate, coffee, and hot tea,” Eunice supplied.

Jill had sat down obediently, somewhat dazed by her good fortune. Of all things, it didn’t seem quite right to be treated more like a member of the family than hired help. But she couldn’t help thinking it was awfully nice of them to try to make her feel welcome, especially after her somewhat embarrassing appearance on the ranch yesterday.

“Hot chocolate sounds delicious,” she said slowly, meeting Dustin’s eyes. His eyes were the color of dark cocoa, she thought irrationally. That jet-black hair lay raffishly along the collar of a flannel shirt, and Jill blinked, thinking again how ruggedly, sinfully, handsome the man was. When she’d read the advertisement, the last thing she’d expected was that the man mentioned would turn out to be a Mel Gibson type.

Of course, that didn’t erase the fact that his personality was a bit staid at times. Still, this man at least knew how to shoulder responsibilities, whether he was gruff about it or not. Unlike Carl, who had taken everything in life easy, including whether he had a stable job or if his checkbook was in the red.

“Jill?”

Somewhere in her fog of memories, Jill realized Dustin had said something to her. Snapping her gaze to meet, his, she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

He didn’t smile or comment. He nodded, like her inattention had been obvious to him. “If it’s convenient, we can leave in an hour to go get whatever things you’ll be needing.”

“Oh, that’s not, I mean…” Jill looked at Eunice for understanding. “That’s so nice of you, but completely unnecessary. I wouldn’t want you to leave your work because of me.”

Dustin shook his, head. “It isn’t a problem.”

“No, I can drive back to Dallas myself. Honestly, you’ve got enough here, with Holly and all…”

“Aren’t you coming back?”

His gaze was intense. “Of course I’m corning back!” Jill exclaimed.

“I thought you said you could start immediately.”

“I can,” Jill said with emphasis. “That’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?” Dustin frowned, waiting for her answer.

“There really isn’t a problem,” Jill said carefully, aware that her answers were locking her into a situation she wasn’t prepared to deal with. An hour and better over to Dallas and back again, closed up in a vehicle with Dustin, was not her idea of a good time. They had very little to say to one another as it was. To be forced together would be excruciating.

“There’s no need for you to have to shuttle me back and forth, though I certainly appreciate the offer,” she said, trying to sound like she did. “But I can fend for myself.”

“Ah. She’s as independent as we are.” Eunice nodded.

“I think I got that idea when she was making her way up the driveway yesterday,” Dustin said. “Carefully, like any minute a shadow was going to jump out from behind one of those trees and get her. But still making her way despite the bogeys.”

“A shadow did get me,” Jill said tightly. Only the shadow had been a six-foot-four, devilishly handsome man.

Dustin laughed, the first time she had ever heard him do so. Though the sound was rich and full, it was also at her expense.

“Don’t let Dustin bait you, dear,” Eunice said kindly. “Being an only child made him lonely for siblings to tease, I’m afraid.” She shot her son a stern look. “What he’s not telling you is that there’s a sheet of ice underneath the snow outside. It’s best that he take you into Dallas in his truck. I’ll feel much better knowing you’re as safe as we can make you.”

“Oh.” Jill mulled that over for a minute. Eunice was right, in every way. Her little car wasn’t made for driving on country roads made treacherous by the ice. Of course, leave it to Dustin not to say a word of that, but to just allow her to simmer in her own embarrassment. Glancing up, she realized he was still grinning at her. She made herself give him a slight smile, though it was forced.

But her smile hid her vow that the last laugh was going to be on Dustin Reed. She would show him that she wasn’t the ignorant city girl he seemed so certain he’d hired, on his mother’s wishes.

Putting her cup in the sink, Jill said, “I can be ready in half an hour, if you’re anxious to get back to the ranch early.”

He nodded. “You don’t need much time to get ready?”

“Oh, I think you’ll find that I’m a wash-and-wear kind of a girl,” Jill said as she sailed out of the kitchen.

“Honestly, Dustin,” Eunice protested after she was certain Jill was out of earshot. “We didn’t hire Jill to be your sparring partner. It’s a tough life out here. She seems eager and ready to please, despite the drawbacks. Could you go a little gently on her? At least for a little while?”

Dustin looked at his mother in surprise. It was the first time, since his rambunctious college days, that a word of anything resembling criticism of him had left her mouth. “Was I hard on Jill?”

“I thought so. Maybe I’m being sensitive, but the last two housekeepers did mention something about your moodiness worrying them a bit.”