Her Lifeline: (A Romantic Suspense) (4 page)

Man, she hoped this wasn’t going to be a waste of time. He sounded serious on the phone and she tried to push back the image she had thought up at the sound of his voice. So manly and smooth, not too deep. What if his looks matched it? Amelia shook her head. This wasn’t a date. She wasn’t looking for a man in that way. How could she be thinking about this right now?

“Come on, Amelia, get a grip.” Grabbing her bag, she got out of the truck and smoothed her hands down her pants.

The host stopped her at the door. “Can I help you?”

“I’m meeting someone here. Nick Miller.”

“Yes ma’am, he is out on the patio.”

Oh good, he was already there. It was ten ‘til noon. Another good sign. The host led her out to the back where a man sat a table alone. She thanked the server and forced herself to approach him. The first sight of him caught her off guard. His dark hair was thick and smooth, but spiked out on the edges from the breeze. His tan complexion was beautiful, and not to mention those eyes. They were so green and bright as he looked right at her. She had seen many handsome men, her ex husband included, but no one had ever taken the breath from her like he had at that moment.

He stood up and pulled a chair out for her. “Hello, ma’am,” he said, his drawl revealing that he was from the area. She sat down and took a second to try and control herself. It didn’t help that he was so attractive to add onto her nerves. Sitting down across from her, he extended his hand for her to shake. “I’m Nick Miller.”

Returning the favor, she felt his callused palm against hers and was impressed by his firm grip. “Amelia Tucker.”

“Nice to meet you,” he replied.

“Same to you. It’s always nice to put a face with a name.” And damn it, his face was amazing. So rugged, so…” Stop! If she could, she’d slap herself. This was a job interview! She was not here to check him out. Oh, those broad shoulders. And was that a necklace peaking out from beneath his collar? The silver chain stuck out against his brown skin. Such a simple thing that was so sexy.

She reached for the glass of ice water in front of her and drank it down, hoping it would extinguish the attraction she was feeling. “So, how long have you been in Austin?” she asked, attempting to break the ice. Had he noticed how flustered she was?

“A few days. I came back after being gone for several years.”

“Oh? Where were you before?” She felt nosey, but she needed to know these things, as it was part of the interview.

Nick hesitated. Crap, was he in jail? “I was in the army. Got honorably discharged against my will. Here I am.”

The waitress came by but they both declined any food. “Against your will? You didn’t want to get out?”

He shook his head. “No. I wanted to retire with the military. The budget cuts hit my brigade hard and I was one of the men they cut loose.”

Amelia wasn’t sure if he wanted to say more, but she could tell it was a sore spot with him. She didn’t want to press the matter, but asked, “How many years were you in?”

He sipped on his own water. “About fifteen years. Made it up to Sergeant.”

“That’s very respectable, Mr. Miller.”

He held his hand up and shook his head. “Call me Nick, Ms. Tucker.”

“And you can call me Amelia, Nick.” She was pulled in by the mystery of the man. Maybe that wasn’t good. She needed him to be an open book if she was going to have him living on her ranch and being around her son, but there was also something about him that made her comfortable, even if she had only known him for about five minutes. She’d have liked to think she was a good judge of character, but then again, her ex husband turned out to be a strike against her.

“So, you own the ranch where you’re needing a hand?” His thick eyebrows danced as he spoke. They were so animated.

Oh right, back to business. He needed more information. “Yes. It’s been our family for along time. My dad’s not really up to working it all like he used to, so we’re needing to reach out.”

Nick nodded. “Any other ranch hands?”

“No, it’ll just be you. I have a son who sort of helps, but he is too young to do the big stuff. And I do some things too. But it’s just getting overwhelming.” She tried to read his reaction. Maybe she should slip in that she was divorced, but that might be a bit too forced and up front for now. He’d learn a lot once he got to the ranch. “Like I said on the phone, I can’t pay much, but you are welcome to stay in our bunk house that’s right there on the land and have dinners with us.”

Nick leaned back in his chair as if he were digesting the information. “Right now, a roof over my head is the biggest issue. What kind of work are you needing done? What goes on at your ranch?”

“We’ve got cattle and horses. We also do a wheat crop if we have the manpower. Lately we’ve been so short handed that we can’t do much, which means financially our hands are tied. It’s a vicious cycle.”

“That’s understandable with the way small businesses have been hit. I’ve got some experience in ranches and am pretty handy with repairs. Of course, most of my job history is the army, but I can adjust just from living that life for so long.”

Amelia loved his honesty. “So, you from Texas? Tell me a little about yourself.”

His mood shifted, but she wasn’t sure if she was just reading too much into it. “Yes ma’am, I’m from Texas. I guess you can say I’m kind of a drifter, especially now. Joined the army to get away and see the world. Not much else to say. Did tours over in the Middle East. What about you? You a Texan woman?”

She liked that this was turning into a two-way conversation. It was starting to not feel like a job interview at all. “Yeah. Grew up on the ranch. Now I’m raising my son on the ranch. I’d like to keep the tradition going or die trying.”

Nick arched his eyebrow. “How old is your son?”

“Seven. And I’m divorced, which is another reason we need help. There’s no other men around.” She wasn’t going to disclose the bit about her divorce, but since they were both talking about each other, she felt comfortable with it.

“Well, Amelia, I’m interested in the job if you’re willing to hire me on. I’ll sure do my best to help out with it all.”

He seemed perfect, but was the only one she had interviewed. Options were minimal. With the few phone calls she did get, no one was willing to work with what she was offering. What if she decided to wait and he found something else, ruining her chances of finding a good fit? She didn’t want to drag her feet, but she also didn’t want to make a hasty decision. Her instincts were screaming at her to make an offer, and she was slowly learning to trust them. Had she asked him enough questions and got enough information? What if he was really a convict with a bad past? It would be easy to find out about his military history, but something told Amelia that he was being truthful. She promised herself at the first sign of trouble she’d kick him to the curb. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

“The job is yours if you want it, Nick. When can you start?” It felt good making the offer, but she still had a flit of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Was it those green eyes and rugged good looks that made her weak in the knees? Was she acting on attraction? No, this guy looked like he could handle it all.

“I can start immediately.”

Amelia put her hand out for him to shake again. Her heart skipped a beat when his hand grasped hers. “Welcome to the Tucker Ranch, Nick. I’ll be happy to give you a ride out there and show you around.”

***

Nick packed up his duffel bag and threw it in the back of Amelia’s truck. For a split second he had to ask himself what he was doing. He had barely met this woman and trusted her to take him out to the ranch he would be working. He hated to think that she could be up to something, but with as much of the cruel world he had seen, stranger things could’ve happened. How much harm could she cause? She likely didn’t weigh over one hundred and forty pounds, and he couldn’t help but notice her physical attributes right off the bat – her long, dark hair, her curvy figure, her blue eyes that stuck out against her than skin. Taking a deep breath, he tried to think about something else as he climbed into the cab of the pickup. It had been so long that he had been with a woman that it was the first thing his mind went to, especially when one was as attractive as her. He had to think of her as his boss. That’s what she was and he needed this job.

“You ready to go?” Amelia asked, grasping the gearshift.

Nick nodded. “You bet.”

“If you have any questions or anything, just fire away. I mentioned during the interview that there aren’t any other men around, but my dad is there. Like I said, he’s not fit to do the job I need, but he’ll argue with you. He still thinks he can run with the best of them.”

Nick smiled at the thought. From the little he had gathered from Amelia, it sounded like she had a strong family, something he never really had experienced. Pushing the thought aside, he looked out the window at the winding and lush highway they were traveling down. The Austin area was just as pretty as he had remembered, and though he missed the military, something about that moment made him feel welcomed.

Amelia turned the truck down a long driveway shaded by tons of trees. They crossed over a cattle guard that rumbled under the tires. “This is the start of the ranch. You can see our house back off to the side and the bunkhouse is about half a mile behind that. I’ll let you get settled in before I give you our royal tour.” Amelia’s eyes squinted as she smiled. “Noah is going to be excited. If he bothers you, don’t hesitate to tell him. He can be a little much at times.”

Nick shook his head. “Won’t bother me. I remember how it was to be a curious kid.”

“Well, that and his dad has been out of the picture for the most part since we split. He’s got my dad, but you know what I mean.” Amelia’s cheeks reddened and Nick let out a quick laugh. “And I’m saying too much. You probably don’t want to hear about all of the Tucker problems. You just wanna earn a paycheck.”

“It’s fine, Ms. Tucker. It doesn’t bug me.” Most times, Nick felt awkward when someone gave too much information, but this was different. There was something about Amelia that made him comfortable. Maybe he had just been lonely. It didn’t matter. Tonight he would have a roof over his head and he’d soon begin his new job. Income, food, and a place to sleep – Nick was fine with just those three things. Amelia’s cute ramblings just added onto it.

She parked the truck and pointed. “This is the bunkhouse, and as you can see, Noah is waiting on the porch. This is where you’ll stay, but like I said, you’re welcome to join us at the house for all of our meals.” They both got out of the truck and Nick followed her up the steps. “We usually eat early, about seven AM and lunch is around twelve. Dinner is about six o’clock.”

“Is this the new guy?” Noah asked, hopping down from the railing.

Nick reached out and shook the young boy’s hand. He looked a lot like Amelia with his dark hair and blue eyes. He was energetic and his smile was just as welcoming as Amelia’s had been.

“Yes, Noah, this is Nick. He’s gonna be helping us out.” Looking up, she said, “Nick, this is my son Noah.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nick said. He didn’t have a lot of experience with kids.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Nick.”

“How about you go check on the horse’s water? I’m gonna show him around. You’ll have time to talk to him more later.”

The kid nodded and ran off, several dogs following him as he disappeared behind some trees. “Cute kid,” Nick said.

“Give it time. Like I said, if he bugs you, just let him know.”

She unlocked the front door of the bunkhouse and led him inside. To his surprise, the place was very clean and larger than how it appeared on the outside. The living room had a small TV and couch and the kitchen, while also small, proved just perfect for one person. The hallway went back to a bedroom and bathroom, and a full sized bed was made and ready to go.

“The last helper I had was rarely here. I just cleaned the place up, but feel free to arrange it and do with it as you want. If you ever need a break from us, you can always stay here and eat. There’s a microwave and a small stove, but if you wanna bake anything, I haven’t been able to put an oven in just yet.”

Nick sat his duffel bag down on the bed and looked around. “That’s just fine, Ms. Tucker. I can’t even boil water, so I’m sure I’ll be at your house a lot.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, looking down at the floor. “I told you that you could call me Amelia. No need to be all formal, okay?”

“Old habits die hard, Ms… Amelia,” he corrected himself. “I am much obliged for you giving me a chance to come in and help. This set up is really nice and I hope I can do the job you’re needing.”

He looked down into her eyes, staring into the beautiful blue that he almost got himself lost in. She stared back, neither speaking for a few seconds until she finally broke away and went to the closet. He had to stop doing that. She was his boss. This was a job. She had a kid and a father there. Chalk it up to nerves, to being lonely, or to the fact that she was beautiful – all of that was a moot point. He was here first and foremost to get the ranch back into shape. Gorgeous or not, he had to push any infatuation aside and do what he was hired for.

“It’s an older house, but we’ve tried to keep it updated.” She opened the door and pushed some of the hangers on the rod. Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “You ready to see the rest of the ranch?”