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

For a minute he thought they had visitors, but then he realized she must be talking on her cell phone.

“No, I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. I just wanted to settle in here first.”

Pause.

“There’s nothing to be upset about. I was going to stay at Jackaroo Plains for six months anyway. Nothing’s really changed.”

Another pause.

“What? You’ve got a dossier on him already? Then you’ll know he’s a good man.”

They were talking about him.

“He’s rich? So? That’s not why I’m here. Money doesn’t matter to me. I’m only his temporary housekeeper when all is said and done.”

A long silence followed her words.

“Grace, I can’t help it if you don’t like it. I needed to get away for a while. You know that.” All at once, Josh started to cry. “Look, I have to go. Josh needs to go to bed.”

Silence.

“Yes, he’s up late but he’s a bit restless tonight. He might be teething. Yes, call me later in the week.”

She hung up.

There was a heavy sigh. “And yes, Grace, I’m peachy-keen, too,” she mused out loud.

Kirk didn’t bother about the newspaper. He quietly went back to the study and frowned as he sat down at his desk. Okay, so that conversation had substantiated some of what Linda had told him about Vanessa’s in-laws. They had sounded a trifle overbearing.

But perhaps they were merely concerned for the welfare of their family? That was understandable. He sure as hell would be checking out a person if one of his family were staying with someone he didn’t know.

No, he wasn’t convinced Vanessa had needed this job.

And that meant she hadn’t needed to use him.

Vanessa wasn’t sure how she managed to fall asleep that night. She kept seeing images of Kirk’s fingers sliding over the top of her breasts, interspersed with images of her outraged in-laws. Either way she was in trouble. Kirk wasn’t supposed to “touch” her, and she wasn’t supposed to let him, and neither of them wanted any type of intimate relations. And then there was Grace and Rupert. Her in-laws had not been happy after telephoning the motel, only to be told by one of the staff that Vanessa and Josh had moved to Deverill Downs.

So she should have expected to see them getting out of the rental car just after ten. She was vacuuming at the time and hadn’t heard the car drive up.

At least Kirk wasn’t here to witness any of this. She could only hope they would be gone by the time he came home for lunch.

Pushing open the screen door, she stepped onto the verandah as they marched up the steps. “This is a surprise,” she said with a smile that took all her control.

And then some.

Grace gave her a quick peck on the cheek, but her eyes were cold. “We wanted to come and see Joshua.”

“Of course.”

Rupert kissed her cheek next. “We haven’t seen the boy since Christmas.”

The boy.

Vanessa gritted her teeth. “The boy” had a name. And while it might seem a lot of time since Christmas to her in-laws, it wasn’t near enough time for Vanessa. All those phone calls had made it seem far less than five weeks ago.

“Did you have much trouble finding us?” she asked, hoping Grace didn’t hear the hint of sarcasm in her voice. She had to stay composed. She didn’t want any more trouble than expected from them.

“A little,” her mother-in-law said, brushing a speck of fluff off her expensive pantsuit. She looked up and gave a false smile. “But that won’t stop us seeing our grandson.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Rupert rubbed his hands together. “Where is he?”

Vanessa’s gaze shot to her father-in-law. “Who?”

“Joshua, of course.”

“Oh, yes.” She kept her face blank, not giving anything away. For a minute there she’d thought he meant Kirk. “He’s taking his morning nap.”

“Then wake him up and let us see the boy,” Rupert said. “We’ve come a long way.”

Vanessa held on to her temper. “Let’s have a cool drink first. Josh should be awake by then.” She pointed to the wicker chairs along the verandah. “Take a seat, relax and look at the view.”

They hesitated but for once she stood her ground until they were seated, then she went to get the drinks. She didn’t want them inside and today wasn’t too hot to sit outside, thank goodness. As it was, she kept an ear out in case they decided to enter the house. She didn’t trust them not to look for Josh and wake him up, leaving him cranky long after they left.

If they left.

The thought filled her with anxiety. She certainly hoped they didn’t expect to stay here overnight. She would definitely have to put her foot down if they did. She was only the housekeeper here and she could imagine Kirk’s response.

She carried the tray out to them. “So. What do you think of the place?” she chatted. “It’s lovely, isn’t it? I hope it’s put your mind at rest about Josh and myself moving here.”

“That’s only temporary, dear,” Grace clarified, then surveyed the area with a critical eye. “Yes, it’s nice but far too isolated. What if Joshua came down with something? What if you needed a doctor?”

“Then we’d call one to come out here or go into town. We’re not that far from civilization.” She began pouring the iced tea. “Are you staying in the area long? I suppose you’ve already booked into a motel.”

For the life of her she couldn’t imagine them staying at Linda and Hugh’s motel. They would prefer one of the larger ones in Dubbo.

“We came straight from Dubbo Airport and haven’t booked in anywhere yet. We thought we might—” Grace broke off as Vanessa handed her the glass. “Oh, my God, you’re not wearing your rings. What happened to them, Vanessa? Have you lost them?”

Vanessa hid her wince. Trust her mother-in-law to spot that straightaway and make it sound as if it was the crime of the century.

“No, I’ve put them in a safe place. They were too tight out here in this heat, that’s all. I didn’t want to get them adjusted, so I decided to take them off until I go back to Sydney.”

Mollified, Grace accepted the explanation. “Yes, everything should return to normal once you’re back home.”

Vanessa looked down at her drink. Was Sydney home anymore? She wasn’t so sure.

“Someone’s coming.”

Vanessa heard her father-in-law’s words and her head snapped up. She groaned inwardly. Kirk’s Range Rover could be seen driving toward the house.

“That’s my employer,” she said brightly. Heaven help her. Grace would spot the tension between them at fifty paces.

“Good. I want to meet this Kirk Deverill,” Rupert said, a self-important quality in his voice.

“Why?” Vanessa’s brightness dimmed, her back up now. She couldn’t help it.

“Our grandson is living in his house.”

Was Rupert insulting Kirk? It certainly sounded like it. And it was one thing for her to think bad of Kirk. It was another for these two people to consider Kirk some sort of villain when they hadn’t even met him.

“I think we have that right,” Grace added.

Vanessa silently choked. These two people had little rights where Josh was concerned. Yes, they had rights as grandparents to concern themselves with their grandchild’s well-being. But more than that and any further “right” with them was totally wrong.

“I believe you’ll find both Josh and I are in safe hands with Kirk.”

Grace shot her a sharp look as the vehicle drew to a halt behind the rental car. “You call your employer by his first name?”