Prairie Cowboy. Linda Ford

down, in what he interpreted as a small show of nerves, she fiddled with the strap of her shoulder bag. “Tomorrow I’ll look for another job. Cory thought I’d find one without any trouble.”

      He gave her credit. She hung onto that bright smile as if her life depended on it.

      “And if I don’t find one here, I’ll go somewhere else.” She should have stopped then, but she rushed more words. To Sam, it was a sure sign she was nervous, maybe hiding something. “I like to travel, so I move around a lot.”

      “Jesse. Jesse,” Annie yelled as she charged out of the diner and toward them. “Don’t you work here anymore?” Looking as if the world’s worries rested on her shoulders, she braked a few inches from them.

      The smile she gave his daughter was meant to soothe. “No, I don’t.” Annie swung a distressed look from him to her. Obviously seeing it, too, she offered an excuse to ease away his daughter’s concern. “But it’s all right. I wanted to look for a different job anyway.”

      When her hand fluttered to the handle of her suitcase, Sam couldn’t help wondering if all that she owned was in it.

      “You did!” Delight sparkled in Annie’s eyes. “That’s good!”

      Sam came to attention. What was happening here?

      Looking as if she’d burst with joy, Annie bounced in place. “Daddy has a job for you, don’t you, Daddy?” There was no stopping her now. In the same breath, she declared, “Daddy’s looking for a mommy. He could give you a job.”

      “A nanny.” Sam wondered when he’d lost control of the moment. “What she meant is I need a nanny, not a mommy.” Actually, seeing his daughter’s cheery, satisfied grin, he wasn’t sure what she meant.