Rachel nodded, and she and her little boy followed him through the entryway into one of the offices adjoining Brody’s. Because all of the contributors had their own ranches to run and needed to keep in touch while they volunteered at the BBL, he’d designated several smaller offices for them to use, complete with state-of-the-art computer systems, faxes and phones.
Rachel looked surprised at the office furnishings. “Wow, I thought this was going to be a working ranch.”
“It is,” Johnny said. “Don’t let this setup fool you. Outdoors, it’s all ranching. But running an operation like the BBL requires organization, funding, volunteers, employees.”
“Of course it does,” she said. “It’s a wonderful idea. The concept of helping kids in need through hard work and counseling, of giving them role models, is very admirable.”
Finally, the little boy looked up at him, his curiosity overcoming his fear. But his voice sounded timid. “Are you a real cowboy?”
Johnny smiled at the kid and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been riding since I was born.”
“You own all these horses here?” Kenny asked.
Johnny shook his head. “No, they belong to the Bucking Bronc. But I have horses and cattle on my ranch at home.” He almost spouted off the impressive number of cattle he owned and the champion horse breeding he was so proud of, but decided now was not the time to brag.
Kenny’s eyes widened. “I seen you before. You was on TV.” He moved closer, tipping his head back and looking up at Johnny with starstruck eyes. “You’re famous.”
Johnny slanted a look toward Rachel and wondered what she’d heard. Judging from her wary expression, obviously the rumor mill had made its way around, including the good, the bad and the ugly. “Fame’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he muttered, but the kid scrunched his nose as if he didn’t understand.
Rachel didn’t give him time to say more. Instead, her look turned chilly. “The ad said to contact Brody Bloodworth. Is he here?”
Johnny shook his head, sensing she didn’t want to talk to him. Dammit. Maybe his reputation had preceded him. It bothered him more than he wanted to think.
“Afraid not. Brody had business in town.” He gestured toward a comfy leather couch facing an oak coffee table loaded with horse and ranching magazines along with brochures about the services, accommodations, camps, trail rides and other programs the BBL offered. “We’re just getting set up now, so there’s a million things to do. But I can get you an application.”
Through the window, Kenny noticed Kim working with a quarter horse in the pen and tugged at Rachel’s hand. “Can I watch the horses, Mommy?”
“Of course, buddy.” Rachel squeezed his shoulder and gave him such a tender, motherly smile that something moved inside Johnny’s chest.
The apprehension the little boy had had earlier seemed to dissipate slightly as he raced over and looked out the window.
When Johnny glanced back at Rachel, he had to swallow hard. Earlier, all he’d seen was a bruised and frightened woman, one who was likely running scared.
Now he realized how attractive Rachel Simmons really was, and his gut tightened. He’d sworn off women after that fiasco in Durango, and the last thing he needed to do was get tangled up with a filly in trouble. For all he knew, she might have pulled a con on some poor Joe, run off with his money, and the bruises were a sign that she’d been caught in the act.
But more likely, she’d been victimized and needed a helping hand. Wasn’t that the goal of the BBL?
“What kind of job are you looking for?” he asked.
Rachel twisted her hands together. “I can do anything—cook, clean houses or cabins, work with the kids, muck stalls, groom horses.”
“Have you worked on a ranch before?”
A nervous flitter entered her eyes. “Not exactly, but I’ve done lots of odd jobs.”
“What kind of jobs?”
She sighed. “Waitressing. Dishwasher. Factory work. Cleaning. Retail sales. Receptionist—”
He held up his hand. “Okay, I get the point.” She sounded educated, but all those odd jobs…
“Where are you from?”
She curled her fingers tighter inside her palms, another sign that she was trying to hide a case of nerves. Or lies.
“Here and there. We’ve moved around a lot.”
Uh-huh. Definitely sounded like someone running from trouble.
He lowered his voice, “And the boy’s father?”
She quickly glanced at her son, then back at him. “It’s just the two of us.”
“I see.” He reached inside the desk and removed an application for employment. “Here, fill this out and list your references. Then we’ll see what we can do.”
Her hand trembled as she took the application, then she cast a worried look at her son.
“I…don’t have any references to offer,” she said quietly. “Like I said, we haven’t stayed in one place very long this last year.” She drew a deep breath, making her chest rise and fall, and drawing attention to how thin she was. It looked as if she hadn’t had a good meal in days. The little boy looked a little on the lean side, too.
“But I’m a hard worker and a fast learner. And…” She gestured toward the brochure. “I’d like to be a part of what you’re doing here.”
He clenched his jaw so hard that it ached. Those protective instincts that had kicked in earlier roared off the charts.
“All right.” He made a snap decision and hoped to hell he wouldn’t regret it. “You can cook?”
She nodded a little too eagerly. “I’ve been cooking since I was born,” she said as if mirroring his earlier comment about riding.
“She makes the bestest blueberry pancakes on the planet,” Kenny said as he inched back to her side.
Rachel ruffled his hair with an affectionate hand, and Johnny’s reservations faded. He couldn’t turn her and this little boy away. He would give her a job.
At least temporarily.
“I’m afraid the salary’s not great, but we have a small cabin near the dining hall, where you and your son can stay, that’s included with the job. And Kenny can also participate in the camps as a perk.”
Rachel gave him such a relieved and appreciative smile that his chest clenched.
“That sounds wonderful.” She hugged Kenny to her, her smile deepening to reveal dimples. “Thank you so much.”
Johnny amended his earlier thought. She wasn’t attractive. The woman was downright drop-dead gorgeous.
But hell, that didn’t mean he trusted her.
Or that he would get close to her.
As soon as he showed her around and got her settled in a cabin, he’d run a background check and find out just exactly who she was. And if she was a criminal or dangerous, he’d send her packing.
RACHEL HOPED HER DESPERATION didn’t show, but she’d read the pitch for the BBL, with its promises, wide stretches of open land and location miles and miles away from San Antonio, and realized it was a perfect hideaway for her and her son.
And the type of place Rex might never think to look for her.
Rex liked city life, fancy shows, expensive restaurants and the glitzy nightlife. He wouldn’t be caught dead riding a horse, cleaning a stall or touching a cow, and had adamantly refused