She didn’t seem to have a whole lot of choice, though.
“Let me keep you safe, Nita.”
Something in the way he looked at her, the sincerity in his eyes, made her feel warm all over. It was almost as if he cared about her, and didn’t just want to get into her pants. In fact, he didn’t act that way at all.
“I’ll go along with this,” she finally said, then added for good measure, “But I’m not going to like it.”
“Doesn’t matter if you like it, as long as you’re safe.”
She supposed, if she had to be stuck with a man twenty-four/seven, she’d be hard-pressed to find a better-looking one. Not only that, but he was nice. A little on the reserved side maybe, but he definitely had potential. Being in such close quarters would give her a chance to pick that brain of his, to see what made him tick.
It also gave them time for some good old-fashioned horizontal fun.
Nita had just finished paying the monthly bills when she heard a car pull up the driveway. Jane was back with Will.
Nita stuffed the checkbook in the drawer and closed her laptop computer. When she opened the office door she found Connor right where she’d left him, sitting on the bench in the foyer, reading, of all things, one of Jane’s romance novels.
“Good book?” she asked.
He gazed up at her with an aren’t-you-funny look. “I was bored and it was all I could find.”
“You should have asked. Daddy has a slew of books in his room. Espionage novels mostly.”
“I’ll remember that next time.” He set the book down next to him. “Someone is here.”
“I know. It’s probably Daddy and Jane.”
He unfolded himself from the bench and rose to his feet. “I should give them a hand.”
Nita opened the front door and Connor followed her out. Jane was standing at the open truck, grabbing the bags, and Will was trying to boost himself from the front seat while negotiating a pair of crutches, his cast stuck out awkwardly in front of him.
“I’ll help you, Daddy,” Nita called to him and told Jane, “I’m so glad you’re back. We missed you around here.”
“Well,” Jane said, shooting Will a lethal look, her voice tight. “It’s good to know someone around here appreciates me.”
“I’ll get those bags,” Connor told her.
Jane thrust them at him then stalked into the house.
Whoa.
She definitely had a temper, but she also had a long fuse. It took an awful lot to get her that riled up.
“What’s the matter with her?” Nita asked Will as she helped him to his feet.
“She’s got herself in a dither over something,” he said, leaning on his crutches. “As long as I live I’ll never understand women.”
“Let’s get you settled in then I’ll go talk to her.”
She helped him inside, got him seated comfortably on the couch in front of the big-screen television, then brought him painkillers and a glass of water.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“I don’t think so,” he said, patting her arm. “It’s just good to be home. I hate hospitals.”
“I’m leaving.”
Everyone turned to see Jane standing in the doorway, a suitcase in her hand. Her face was devoid of emotion, but Nita could see barely contained anger not so far under the surface and her voice was as high and tight as an overstretched guitar string.
“Leaving?” Nita asked. “Where are you going?”
“To stay with a friend in Odessa.”
Boy, Jane really was mad if she had to leave for a few days to cool off. And the timing couldn’t have been worse. Nita didn’t have time to take care of the farm and her daddy. She hoped whatever was eating Jane, she would get it out of her system soon. “When will you be back?”
“I won’t.”
Nita was sure she’d heard her wrong. “Say again?”
“I said, I’m not coming back.”
For a second, she too stunned to form words. “B-but…you have to come back.”
“I left my forwarding address in the office. You can send my last check there.”
She started to turn, and Nita shouted, “Wait a minute! You can’t just leave. You’re part of the family. You belong here with us.” She turned to her daddy who sat stonefaced, his eyes on the television. “Daddy say something.”
“Yes, Will,” Jane said. “Say something.”
His mouth clamped tighter into a hard, stubborn line.
Nita turned to Jane, a sick feeling rolling around in her belly when she saw the determined, stubborn look on Jane’s face. Nita had seen that look enough times to know Jane meant business.
No. There had to be a way to fix this. Jane couldn’t go. Being the only other female on the farm, she was Nita’s only ally, her confidant. Jane understood Nita in a way no one else ever had, and never once judged her for her unconventional thinking. She wasn’t just a housekeeper, she was family.
“Tell me what happened,” Nita said to Jane, feeling desperate. “What can we do to fix this?”
“Why don’t you ask that hardheaded old fool? I have to go.” Jane spun on her heel and a minute later Nita heard the front door slam. She turned to her daddy.
“What happened? What did you do to her?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Nita, I’m going to go see if Jimmy needs me for anything,” Connor said. He must have figured Will might be more willing to talk without an audience. Either that, or he didn’t want to get involved. Not that she blamed him. It was her own family and she didn’t want to have to deal with it. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.
“That’s fine,” she told Connor. “I’ll be out there in a bit.”
When he was gone, she turned back to her daddy. “Jane, a member of our family, just walked out that door and you damned well better want to talk about it.”
“I’ll hire a new housekeeper.”
Jane was right about one thing, he was hardheaded. Nita sat on the edge of the couch. “Daddy, please talk to me. What happened?”
He mumbled something Nita didn’t catch. “What was that?”
“I said, she told me she loves me.”
Nita let out a surprised laugh. And here she’d thought something horrible had happened. “Is that all?”
He looked at like she was nuts. “What do you mean, is that all?”
“Are you telling me you didn’t know? Jane has been in love with you as long as I can remember. Since you never dated I thought…well, I thought maybe you two had something going on the side.”
He looked downright scandalized. “Of course not!”
“Do you have feelings for her?”
“She’s been my friend for a long time.”
“I’m talking about romantic feelings.”
His dark eyebrows pulled into a frown. “That part of me died along with your mother.”
How