Annie didn’t move. Didn’t give any indication she’d even heard his remarks. Instead she lowered her arms, tucked them into her skirt and looked at Evan.
Hugh’s eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. The girl must be the only one within the whole of Montana who dared ignore the old man. A young lady who wouldn’t heed the directions of someone in authority. It further reinforced his opinion that she was unsuitable.
Evan huddled in the corner, his eyes wide as he watched the adults. No doubt he wondered what they would do that involved him.
“Well,” Annie said after a few seconds of silent study between the two. “Looks like someone should sweep up the mess.” She spied the broom behind the stove, swept up the broken dish and looked about for a place to dispose of it.
Hugh sprang forward, holding the ash bucket and she dumped the debris into it.
The look she gave him was part pity, part curiosity and all challenging. Before he could think how to divert her from her goal, she shifted her attention to Evan.
She squatted down to the boy’s eye level, keeping far enough away not to frighten him. “It’s okay, Evan. It was an accident. No one is cross with you.” She waited a moment then slowly straightened and brought that determined blue gaze back to Hugh.
“You need someone. It might as well be me.”
Her grandfather banged one of his canes on the floor. “I forbid it.”
“No need, sir,” Hugh said. “I’ve already told her no.”
Annie shook her head. “What about Evan? Who is going to look after him while you do whatever it is preachers do?”
He resisted an urge to list all the things preachers do but she was right. He couldn’t prepare a sermon, visit the shut-ins and the ill, listen to people’s worries in his office or even read his Bible if he had to constantly wonder about Evan and keep an eye on him. God, I beg You. Send me someone to help with Evan. Knowing God understood his heart, he didn’t bother to add, someone older, less attractive, less likely to want a life of adventure...or at the very least...less likely to want courting and all that went with that.
He leaned to one side to watch the door to his office, fully expecting it would open and the perfect solution to his problem would step inside.
“I have the perfect solution,” Annie said.
Hugh did not share her opinion.
Her grandfather thumped his cane again. “Forget this nonsense and take me home.”
She shook her head. “Grandfather, I’m pretty sure that Conner and Kate would prefer to have the house to themselves.”
Her words caught Hugh’s interest. He’d married her brother Conner and his wife Kate a few months ago. They’d adopted the baby that had been left on Conner’s doorstep, spent a few months in a cabin and then had moved into the big ranch house. It seemed Annie was feeling like an extra spoke in a crowded wheel.
She went on facing Hugh with what appeared to be patience and a whole lot of determination. “Here’s what I propose. Give me four weeks to prove I can handle the job. If you aren’t satisfied I’ll leave. If I prove I can handle the task, then I expect you to honor your offer.”
Why was she so desperate for a marriage that he’d clearly indicated would not be a love arrangement? What sort of whim or desire to prove something drove her to seek this position? How long before she changed her mind and chased after another fancy?
“Annie,” her grandfather bellowed. “I will not allow it. You can’t live in the house with a man you aren’t married to.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “I expect you to live here too.”
The old man blinked, opened his mouth and closed it, then sank to the nearest chair and leaned over his canes. “You are determined to do this, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“Then I might as well stop arguing. But it still depends on Hugh’s agreement. What do you say?”
* * *
Annie waited for Preacher Hugh’s reaction. He was a big man, with strong features. At the moment, his expression was troubled but she knew he had deep dimples when he smiled and his smile was beautiful. His dark brown hair was rumpled, his dark brown eyes troubled as if worried how he would cope with his young son. As she’d said, her suggestion was the perfect solution. After four weeks he’d be used to her and have learned to appreciate all she could do. Then they’d marry. A marriage of convenience would give her a home without any risk to her heart. One thing she’d learned in her—according to Hugh’s opinion—few short years, was that it hurt to care. People, pets, everything either died or left, and when they did, a part of her heart fractured off and lay dying. Her mother’s death had ripped a huge hole in her heart. Her brothers had married and she rejoiced for them but it made her feel lonely. Her pa had left to see more of the West. Said he’d always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. She hoped he enjoyed his travels but for her, it was another goodbye.
And don’t get her started about how easily beaus left. Rudy Ryman had taught her that lesson very well. She’d been foolish enough to unreservedly give him her heart. Not even her family realized how thoroughly she’d loved that scoundrel...or imagined she had. It still hurt to recall how easily he’d left when he decided he would sooner live a life of adventure than share his life with her.
Besides, no matter what Kate and Conner said, she and Grandfather were in the way.
She’d admired Hugh from afar from the day he arrived in Bella Creek, drawn to his unwavering determination to find his son and to his kind but challenging words on Sunday morning. He was a man she could trust to keep his word. A marriage based on mutual needs was perfect for her. She had no intention of ever again giving her heart to a man.
She swung her gaze toward Evan. Poor little boy. She could feel the fear coming from him. It rivaled the sour smell of him. He needed clean clothes and a good bath. She tucked a smile away as she imagined Mrs. Ross trying to bathe him. The little guy had a feral look to him. Had Hugh tried to get Evan near water and clean clothes?
Hugh still hadn’t given his answer and she shifted her attention to him, amused at the desperate look in his eyes that she guessed he tried vainly to hide.
“Four weeks?” he asked, his voice full of doubt and regret.
She nodded.
“Or until I find someone more...”
She knew he meant to say more suitable but he quickly changed his mind at the way she silently challenged him. How dare he consider her less than ideal! Why she could out-bake, out-clean, out-take-care-of anyone in the entire West.
“More mature,” he substituted with a little cough.
She raised her eyebrows. “I hope they don’t break down the door in their urgency.”
A flicker in his eyes informed her that he understood her little sarcasm. After all, how many unmarried young women were there in the wild West of Montana? A worrisome thought raised its head. She could think of two spinsters in Bella Creek area. Had they seen the ad? How far abroad had he sent the ad for a wife? Well, she was here and not anyone else and in the weeks they agreed to she would prove herself so invaluable he would never want her to leave.
Hugh shifted his attention to Grandfather. “And you’re willing to stay here?”
Grandfather nodded. “Wouldn’t want her reputation ruined.” The men studied each other, some sort of agreement forming.
Annie resisted rolling her eyes. What was it about