Rebecca Winters - Rags To Riches - At His Bidding

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?”