His Ring, Her Baby / His Bride for the Taking. Sandra Hyatt

in a sharp breath. “You certainly know how to give as good as you get.” Then she recovered quickly with a challenge in her eyes that reminded him of Vanessa. “So, what’s the verdict?”

      Kirk looked at his friends. He loved Linda like a sister but even sisters were women who liked to manipulate men. And he knew Hugh would support his wife in this, even if he didn’t agree with her.

      All this for one woman.

      Vanessa looked up from making the bed and caught her breath. Kirk stood leaning against the doorjamb of the vacant motel room.

      “Well done, Vanessa,” he said with a cynical twist to his lips and a hard look in his eyes that shocked her.

      She frowned as she straightened. “What do you mean?”

      “You must know I need a housekeeper.”

      She nodded. “I know your housekeeper’s sister is sick.”

      “And yesterday Martha took six months off and flew to Adelaide to look after her.” He gave an eloquent pause. “As I told Phyllis last night.”

      She was puzzled. “I don’t understand. What’s that got to do with me?”

      “Everything.”

      She blinked. “I don’t get what you’re saying.”

      He pushed away from the door and came a few steps into the room. “Last night I asked you what you were going to do about your situation and you said you were working on something. That was after you heard the news about Martha, no doubt.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Of course, I didn’t know you meant you were working on me.”

      She felt her eyes go wide. “Wh-what? I wasn’t.”

      “And just now with Linda, you were perfect. All that talk about cooking and cleaning and about someone with a spare room where you can board, then asking me what I thought.”

      “But I didn’t mean anything by that. I was just trying to—”

      “I know what you were trying to do. And it worked, as you knew it would. Linda thinks it’s the perfect solution for you to be my housekeeper for six months.”

      “What!” This was ridiculous. How could Linda think such a thing? Or him?

      There was something else they needed to take into account, too. “What about my son?”

      “He won’t be a problem,” he said, his expression closed.

      She swallowed hard. He had to know that being his housekeeper was the last thing she would want. Working for him would bring him too close. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—live under the same roof as him.

      “Just forget what Linda said then.”

      “I can’t forget it. She and Hugh mean a lot to me. I won’t lose their friendship because of you.”

      She winced inwardly. Why was she suddenly the scum of the earth? “They wouldn’t hold it against you.”

      “Really? Linda loves you like a sister. If you go anywhere else and things don’t work out, then it’s going to wreck our friendship. You know it and so do I.” His features set with absolute determination. “I won’t allow that to happen.”

      The breath caught in her throat. She understood him wanting to protect his friendship with Linda and Hugh, but this wasn’t her fault. How could things get so muddled so quickly?

      “I need you to start as soon as possible,” he said in clipped tones, dragging her back to the moment. “I’ll give you a couple of days to wrap up things here. I’m sure Linda will understand,” he added, his lip curling.

      She hated his derision. And his unfounded accusations. She had done nothing wrong and that made angry bile rise in her throat.

      She lifted her chin. “No, thanks. You can keep your job. I don’t accept charity. And I certainly don’t accept anything that’s begrudgingly given.”

      A hint of something that could be admiration flickered in his eyes before vanishing. “So you’re going to tell Linda that you refused my offer then.”

      She swallowed hard as she remembered her cousin’s anxiety. “That’s not fair.”

      He shrugged. “I’m only telling you that I’m not going to be held responsible for upsetting Linda further or for her thinking I didn’t ask you.” His eyes didn’t leave her face. “You can go back to Sydney or not, but the job offer is there.”

      But he wished it wasn’t her who needed the job, she silently inserted.

      “By the way, it’s not charity,” he added. “I do need a housekeeper for six months. You’ll have plenty of privacy. Your rooms would be on the other side of the house with your own bathroom.”

      Her shoulders slumped. It would have been best if Kirk did have a problem with her son. Then they’d both have an excuse not to even consider her going to live at his cattle station.

      And then what?

      Panic stirred in Vanessa’s chest for her son. Did she really want to drag Josh back to the city after only a few weeks away? Or to another country town? And did she want to give up all the one-on-one time she had with Josh right now? She would have to juggle every moment between work and home, time that would be better spent with Josh, at least for six more months. His childhood was too precious.

      For her son she would change her mind.

      “Okay then, I accept.”

      Something dark pooled in his eyes before he said dryly, “Use a bit more enthusiasm when you tell Linda, will you?”

      She ignored that. “There’s one condition though.”

      His eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

      Had he forgotten their kiss? Had he forgotten how much they’d wanted each other last night? She hadn’t.

      “You’re not to touch me.” It was a knee-jerk response, but she felt vulnerable where he was concerned. She needed a guarantee to help her keep her emotions safeguarded. “I’ll be there to work, Kirk. Nothing more, nothing less.”

      He watched her in silence for a few seconds. “I have no intention of touching you again. It’ll be a working relationship and that’s all.”

      “Good. We understand each other now.”

      He turned away but all at once he turned back. A pulse beat in his cheek. “By the way. I promise not to touch you again, Vanessa. I haven’t promised not to want you.”

      Two days later, Vanessa sat beside Kirk as he drove his Range Rover toward Deverill Downs. Waves of thirsty grass kept them company on either side of the road; inside the vehicle low music played in the background while Josh slept in the new infant seat Kirk had installed. Apart from asking her if she was comfortable or needed anything, he didn’t speak. The angry vibes were still bouncing off him, though they weren’t as frequent, but they were still there below the surface.

      It didn’t bode well for the next six months, and Vanessa now regretted not having this out with Linda. In hindsight she should have said something during the past two days, but Linda had been so relieved about it all that she hadn’t had the heart. Besides, Linda probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. Her cousin was the headstrong one of the family, Vanessa mused with affection.

      “Something funny?”

      Vanessa blinked, then shook her head. “No, nothing,” she said, aware that he probably thought she was congratulating herself on fooling him.

      Sheesh!

      An hour later, and having seen only one car, they turned onto a winding dirt road that appeared to lead nowhere. A few miles farther in, tall gum trees began to pepper the side of the road, creating an avenue of trees that took them right up to the homestead.