Startled by the sincerity and wisdom with which Hawk had responded to her inquiry, all teasing left Ella’s eyes. Had she so grievously misjudged him? She had been under the impression that he had been desperate enough that day she had stumbled into his life to hire anyone with a pulse. Perhaps the same instincts that made him an extraordinary businessman made him a good judge of character as well. It had never occurred to Ella that capitalists might be driven by anything other than a provable bottom line.
“I want you to get whatever you want at the store,” Hawk told her, ignoring the look of surprise on her pretty face. She looked utterly enchanting with her glorious mane of russet hair pulled back and captured by a green ribbon that matched her eyes. “Please don’t feel the need to pinch pennies. Buy whatever is convenient to stick in the oven. We’re not picky eaters. Make things easy on yourself.”
Ella fingered the coupons in her front pocket. Never before had she had carte blanche with someone else’s money. She wasn’t sure whether she was capable of shopping without mentally tallying the bill as she put each item into her cart.
“Go ahead and take my car,” Hawk said, tossing her the keys.
Ella looked at him doubtfully. She had seen that expensive foreign job parked out front and wasn’t convinced she wanted to be charged with such responsibility. Realizing that Hawk probably didn’t think her rusty, old pickup was reliable enough transportation for his children, she bit her tongue. He was probably right. Ella’s mechanic maintained the only thing holding the vehicle together was bailing wire and a prayer.
Reading the doubt upon her features, Hawk assured her, “Don’t worry. I’m amply insured.”
Ella gave him a grateful smile. His red sports car was parked out front. The epitome of opulence in sports cars, this particular model nonetheless held four comfortably. She loaded the children into their seats, buckled them safely in, and turned the ignition. It purred like one could only imagine Hissy Face might some day under perfect conditions. The seats were low to the ground and took some getting used to. Settling down into the butter-soft leather upholstery, Ella told herself that given half a chance she could easily adjust to such luxury.
Hawk walked out to the car and answered any questions Ella had about how the BMW sports car handled. Like a dream, she suspected. It didn’t take long for Hawk to familiarize her with all the buttons and gadgets on the dashboard. As the children blew their father farewell kisses, Ella rolled down her window and tried to look at ease behind the wheel of a fifty-thousand-dollar vehicle.
Hawk thought she could have well posed for a glamour shot sitting behind the wheel looking as lovely and carefree as someone born to such extravagance. In her worn cutoffs and sleeveless cotton shirt, she looked the fresh-faced all-American girl. That her makeup was minimal simply added to her allure. Physical attributes aside, Hawk decided, it was Ella’s animated response to life in general that made her so appealing. Looking back on it, he couldn’t believe he had found her less than stunning the first time he’d set eyes on her. Just remembering her ragtag appearance of flaming hair and righteous outrage that day was enough to make him smile.
Glad to see the genuine affection between Hawk and his children, Ella returned his smile. Having spent time in any number of homes, she knew how truly rare such demonstrations of love were. Indeed, experience had taught her that sometimes the most elegant homes housed the coldest families.
Nonetheless Ella could not keep the look of chastisement from her face as Hawk gave his children twenty dollars each for whatever “trinkets” they might find on their excursion in town. She had definite ideas about spoiling children and teaching them the value of hard work by attaching it to earnings. It was her considered opinion that most parents needed to spend less money and more time on their children. While it may be spare change for Hawk, the forty bucks with which he’d just parted was more than Ella had in her own purse at the moment. Luckily, her employer had given her a check in advance for her services, and she was as eager to put that substantial amount in the bank before any of her bills came due.
The thought of pulling up in front of Phoebe’s apartment in this extravagant contraption caused the corners of her mouth to tug into a smile. All she was missing was glass slippers and an elegant ball gown to complete the picture. As Hawk placed a parting kiss atop Sarah’s golden head, a careless thought flitted through Ella’s mind as she imagined him stopping by her open window, bending down, and kissing her farewell, too. The thought sent blood pumping through her body in hot spurts that caused her to blush unaccountably.
When Hawk did saunter over to her window to offer his parting remarks, Ella was aware that her face rivaled her hair in its damnable shade of red. His suggestion that she pick up some sunscreen while in town only caused her to glow a deeper crimson. She hoped he was distracted from the glow by his children hollering, “See ya later alligator.”
To which, Hawk dutifully responded, “In a while crocodile.”
He stood in the driveway a long time, staring after them, eating the dust of their departure. He wasn’t quite sure how she managed to do it, but somehow Ella was able to make even a trip to the grocery store into an exciting adventure. He used to look forward to the one day a week when the previous nanny had taken the children off the ranch and out of his hair for an afternoon of shopping. Rather than that familiar sense of relief, Hawk trudged back to his workstation feeling oddly bereft.
The house was blessedly quiet. Nothing was stopping him from catching up on a truckload of work this afternoon. Nothing but the sense that he was being left out of his children’s lives and the vague memory of once upon a time knowing how to have fun himself.
Three
Ella quickly discovered that shopping with money was a whole lot more fun than her usual forays into the discount world. Under normal circumstances she left shops feeling emotionally beaten and harried. What a change to point her nose disdainfully in the air as she passed the “day old” bread and loaded her cart full with what she considered to be extravagant items. The foremost among them was a big bottle of bubble bath and a very small bottle of the most sensual perfume she had ever smelled. Not wanting to give her employer any reason to find her unworthy of his trust, Ella paid for these two indulgences out of her own pocket. The rest was going to bills and straight into her college fund.
Her first night at Red Feather Ranch had felt like a stay in a sumptuous hotel. Compared to her old feather bed, the new mattress and springs in her room were heaven. Next to the forced air heater which would keep her toasty warm on long winter nights, the undisputed best thing about her new living quarters was the attached bathroom complete with a shower and tub, which she wantonly had filled to the brim with steamy hot water. It had been in that deliciously relaxing bath that Ella had decided to add bubble bath to her shopping list.
Ah, the comforts that so many people dared take for granted, she thought to herself taking an appreciative sniff of the peach bubble bath she had selected from the store shelf. Still, old habits die hard, and so it was that Ella could not actually bring herself to buy the myriad of expensive gourmet brands that she had always fancied. She did, however, yield to the children in their choice of cold cereals with “fabulous prizes” inside, as well succumbing to the charm of a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers for the kitchen table. They would make a lovely still life if she ever found the time to capture it on canvas. Before leaving, she gave Sarah and Billy each a gleeful turn on the antique horse that had sat at the front of the grocery store for as long as Ella could remember. Lurching drunkenly in place, poor old Bullet bore the weight of multiple generations upon its worn saddle. He stoically endured the bit attached to the real leather reins which youngsters pulled on while slapping his paint-flecked rump urging him to gallop. For the price of a single penny, it was assuredly the best ride in town.
Just as Ella had feared, the children blew their money on useless junk that she knew would likely be broken or discarded before they even got back home. Her suggestions that they either save their money for a big ticket item or invest in rainy day art supplies was met with all the resistance two preschoolers with forty dollars between them could muster. In the end, Ella had surrendered to their wishes, reminding herself that it