Noelle Marchand - The Nanny’s Temporary Triplets

“Caroline, the potatoes.”

Blinking away her thoughts, she refocused on the skillet filled with potatoes in danger of being burned to a crisp. She removed it from the fire and stirred frantically. “I told you I’m a disaster in the kitchen, Emma.”

“You are not.”

“I am, but you’re much too sweet to say so.” She scooped the potatoes onto the serving dish and sent her sister-in-law a smile as Matthew breezed into the room just in time for lunch. “Matt, tell your wife I’m hopeless when it comes to cooking.”

Matthew stopped in his tracks. “She has you cooking? And for Sunday dinner, too? Oh, Emma, sweetheart...no.”

Emma frowned at them both. “It’s just takes practice.”

“No amount of practice will help my sister.”

“Well, thank you for the support, Matthew. I’m not sure if I should be grateful or insulted.”

Matthew patted Caroline on the back, then kissed his wife’s cheek. “I still can’t believe we’re finally all together in my favorite place.”

“I’ve visited here before, Matthew.”

“Once. Three years ago for the wedding.”

She lifted a brow. “That’s still more frequently than you visit Austin.”

“I have a ranch to take care of.”

“And I have a job, too...” She bit her lip. She’d given up her position at the prestigious Harmony School of Music to marry Nico. “I had a job.”

Emma’s voice was soft with sympathy. “Maybe they’ll let you have it back.”

“I doubt it. Not after I handpicked my replacement. That’s fine, though. I don’t need the work.”

“You needed it,” Matthew interjected. “Just not for the money.”

She smiled. “It did give me a sense of accomplishment, I suppose, and something to do while Mother and Father were involved in their rehearsals.”

“Well, then,” Emma said. “We’ll all pray that a new opportunity presents itself soon.”

“Yes, I think we’d better.” Caroline clapped her hands. “Now, my lovely potatoes and the actually palatable food Emma cooked are getting cold. Let’s eat.”

Lunch was a simple and delicious affair. Caroline did her best to listen while Matthew and Emma conversed about the everyday ins and outs of ranch life. Her mind kept wandering back to Austin. Had the men who’d gone after Nico captured him? If so, what had happened to Lucette and that sweet little baby? She hoped they were on their way to France and that their family would welcome them. It wasn’t her concern. She knew that. Yet she would forever be grateful that Lucette had shown up to put a stop to the wedding, as harrowing as that experience had been.

Caroline couldn’t keep thinking about it, though. It would drive her crazy just as surely as her thoughts about—

“David.”

Glancing up from her plate, she met her brother’s gaze across the table. “What?”

He nodded toward his wife. “I was telling Emma that our neighbor David McKay rode by to ask how we were handling the drought. The creek that cuts through both of our properties has been running low. He has another spring closer to his ranch house. He wanted me to know he would be keeping his cattle closer to that so as not to tax the creek.”

“Oh. I...I didn’t know he was your neighbor.” So much for taking comfort in the fact that she’d likely never see the man again except for across the aisle at church like she had this morning. “Does he stop by often?”

“Now and then.” Matthew tilted his head to survey her. “I didn’t know you knew him.”

“I don’t.” Watchful silence descended on the table until she finally gave in to Matthew’s silent probing. “I met him once.”

“You did? When?”

“Yesterday. I ran into him on my walk. He was very kind.”

“Was he? How so?”

“Well, I was obviously upset and he—Honestly, what does it matter?”

He grinned. “Just curious is all.”

“Beware, Caroline. Your brother is on a campaign to get you to move to Little Horn by any means necessary.”

He shrugged. “All I’m saying is it would be awfully convenient to have you living practically next door.”

Caroline let out a disbelieving laugh. “So now you already have me married to a man I hardly know and living next door.”

“Well, I think you’d know him pretty well by then.”

“Matthew, give her some time to breathe. She just barely escaped marrying a—”

“No-good, low-down skunk of a man,” he finished for his wife. “David is the exact opposite of that, from what I can tell. Besides, he’s been a widower for five years now. He’s likely to be of a mind to take another wife soon.”

“The last thing I need is to start thinking about another man.” Yet she already had, and Matthew wasn’t helping her stop.

“All I’m saying is you could do worse.”

She sighed. “That much I know.”

He paused. In that moment, she was certain he saw how much she’d been hurt, because his jaw tightened. “Mother and Father were so blinded by that Nico fellow’s talent that they couldn’t see his real character. If I’d been around to have my say, he never would have gotten anywhere near my little sister.”

“Yes, well, you weren’t around. I don’t fault you for that. You have a life to live here.” Caroline gestured to her auburn-haired sister-in-law, who was kind enough to illustrate the point by already having one hand on her belly. “What’s more, it isn’t your responsibility to keep me from making a fool of myself. It isn’t our parents’, either. They might not have seen him for who he really was, but neither did I. I’m the one who let myself be taken in by a...a would-be bigamist.”

His brown eyes filled with worry and concern. “You didn’t make a fool of yourself. He wasn’t honest with you. That’s on him. Not you. And you’re right. It isn’t entirely our parents fault, either. Though, in my opinion, they should have been paying more attention. That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that you have to find a way to stop blaming yourself. You have to put this behind you.”

“That’s easier said than done, and it will be practically impossible to do if you keep bringing it up.”

“Then I won’t bring it up.”

She leaned forward to press her advantage. “It also isn’t helpful to have you pushing me toward a man I’ve only met once.”

“Fine.” This time the reluctance in his voice was almost palpable. “I’ll stop, but I hope you don’t rule it out.”

Caroline let out a huff of exasperation. Emma jumped in with a little distraction. “Caroline, I remember that the last time you were in Little Horn, you mentioned how much you enjoyed riding. Are you still taking lessons in Austin?”

“I had to stop the lessons after I started working at the music school, but I still ride as often as I can.”

Emma gave a satisfied nod. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. About a year ago, Matthew bought me a beautiful palomino mare. Her name is Dulce, and she’s as sweet as they come. You’re welcome to ride her whenever you like.”

“Thank you. I’d love to ride her.” In fact, a ride was exactly what she needed to clear her head.

After they were finished eating, Caroline headed to the barn to saddle up. She intentionally refrained from asking Matthew about anything more than the basic layout of his land. She wanted to explore it herself as she hadn’t had the chance to do when she’d arrived for his wedding three years ago. She soon found herself alone on a landscape that was a mixture of open land and tree-covered hills.

With the sun bearing down on her and Dulce from a cloudless sky, she headed for the path that led through the trees. It brought her to a creek. The sound of water rushing steadily downstream over rocks and the occasional downed tree soothed her tattered nerves.