Page 37 of Nanny for the Cowboy

I turn over my shoulder as Brooks finishes his sip of my drink. Three people walk over, and I can tell already they must know who he is because of the massive smiles they’re all wearing.

“Daisy!” Before I can blink, Darby runs forward toward a young girl I didn’t notice. “Mia!”

Oh, there’s another one, too.

“Holy shit. Well, hey there, Mason.” Brooks steps forward, reaching around one of the guys to clap him on the back. “Bridget. Didn’t expect to run into y’all down here. But why not. It’s a gorgeous day.”

I smile as eyes find me over Brooks’s shoulder, attaching the names to the people and wondering who the third one is.

“And this is?” The nameless guy asks.

“Oh, where are my manners.” Brooks turns around with a grin, gesturing toward me as he hands back the drink. “This is my nanny, Clover. Clover, this is Bridget, Mason, and Xaden.”

I shake hands with everyone, Bridget’s brow going up as she’s the first to take my hand.

“So this is Clover.” Her smile is lovely, beaming from ear to ear, and I can tell she’s clearly with Mason. “We’ve heard a lot about you from this one. Says you’re a big help around the ranch.”

My eyes flare wide, and I look back and forth between Brooks and his friends. “He did?”

Brooks glares playfully at Bridget, his hand going to the back of his head like it does when he’s put on the spot. A habit I’ve noticed after the past couple of weeks.

“I may have mentioned that I appreciate your help with Darby. Don’t go getting ideas, though. You still can’t lift a hay bale for shi?—”

“Language, please.” A woman walks up from behind Xaden, holding hands with another small child, a little boy no older than three. “Remus has been a parrot as of late. Hi, Brooks.”

“Ivy,” he replies, his eyes going to her very round belly, “jeez. When are you due again?”

“Any minute now, actually. Hoping all this walking does the trick. You must be Clover.”

I reach out to shake her hand before gesturing protectively around her stomach. “God, are you sure you should be walking around? I’ve…well, I’ve never been around someone so pregnant.”

Ivy laughs, waving off my concern. “Ah, don’t worry about it. Walking is good for getting labor going. And I’m desperate at this point. If this baby doesn’t come soon, we’re going to have to resort to morepersonaltactics.”

She wags her eyebrows at Xaden, the innuendo clear. Everyone giggles, and the kids are all jabbering with each other and then tearing off toward the petting zoo.

“We should probably follow them.” Mason gestures with his head toward them. “They’re going to spend everything we gave them on sheep feed.”

The day changes from what I expected, but I can’t deny that seeing Brooks interact with his friends is cute and funny, and even charming.

The tension that’s been lifting his shoulders appears to relax, and I get to see and learn more about what he’s actually like.

All the kids and I head over for ice cream, followed quickly by Ivy and Bridget while the guys all “talk shop.” I have no desire to see what that’s like, but in no time, we’ve all had our fill of chocolate chip cookie dough cones and are bursting at the seams.

After a little while, the families with younger kiddos need to go, and it’s back down to just Brooks, Darby, and I. Of course, the moment we’re left with much more attention on each other, Brooks and I go back to acting…weirdaround each other.

“Can I go look at the stuff over there?” There’s a booth with figurines and memorabilia revolving around anime and video games—a shock for such a small town—and Darby holds up his hands as he begs his dad to go take a peek.

Sighing with a poorly hidden grin, Brooks agrees, and Darby scampers off toward the veritable “candy shop” while his dad and I take a break under the shade.

We don’t talk. It’s beyond awkward, and I have to physically distract myself from staring at Brooks as he folds his arms over his chest, making the seams of his shirt stretch around his muscles.

Stop it, Clover. Come on.

After the almost-kiss, though, I’m a damn wreck. I’m not even sure why I’m so worked up. It was clearly just a fluke, and with everything Brooks talked about yesterday, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t actually kiss.

He saida lotabout his past relationships, and I picked up on some serious commitment avoidance vibes. Not that I’m ready to jump into anything serious.

Hell, I don’t know what I want.

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