Lost Memories (Honky Tonk Hearts) (3 page)

Her gaze jumped from each man, and then to the receiver stuck out in front of her. Careful not to touch his hand, she pulled the device from him with two fingers.

“She wants to talk to Darcy, and we’re to leave the room,” Nick informed his brothers as he stood.

When the brothers filed out and shut the door, Darcy raised the phone to her ear.

“H-hello.”

“Darcy, how are you? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to welcome you, but I forgot Nick Sr. had scheduled this trip.”

“Th—”

“With his near heart attack this past year,” Tammy continued, “I want to take advantage of any time we can sneak away together.”

“Mrs. Matthews, I—”

“Call me Tammy. I thought we covered that during our luncheons. Calling me Mrs. Matthews makes me sound old. Not that having four grown boys doesn’t make me feel old at times, but I’m only in my fifties for Heaven’s sake. Okay, let’s get down to business.”

Darcy chuckled. She couldn’t help it. The woman contained a strong similarity to a tornado swooping in.

“I sent them out because I wanted a chance to reassure you. I know my boys can be a bit overwhelming, which was why I met with you outside the ranch in the first place. I wanted to get to know you as a person before I introduced you. I needed to be sure you could handle the stress of four testosterone-filled cowboys who, frankly, don’t always think with the right head, if you know what I mean.”

Darcy laughed, picturing Tammy leaning forward, brushing her long, sandy-blonde hair off her shoulder and raising her eyebrows as she had whenever she made one of her wild comments during their lunches. The woman didn’t pull any punches.

“I know we covered the basics during our lunches, but now that you’ve met my boys, what do you think?”

Tammy had quizzed her during the meetings; was she married, did she have family in the area, did she know first aid and CPR. The last two were the only questions answered honestly thanks to Jordan’s request that she take classes.

“I...I’m not sure what you mean.” She stood and moved toward the window. The barns sat off in the distance with pasture upon rolling pasture surrounding the big buildings.

Hearty laughter in her ear pulled her away from the beautiful landscaping.

“I want your honest opinion on how the world sees my boys. How do they come off to other people? I want to know how they act when I’m not there. I need to make sure they can handle running the place without us there, you see. I realize you just met them, but what’s your first impression?”

“Oh. Um...” Weren’t her
boys
too old for her to worry about? “Sam seems sweet, but strong. Trent, I’m not real sure. He hangs in the background. Chris is a character.” A vision of him poking fun at his brothers filtered in, and she giggled. “He’s free spirited, and I think a jokester. But I don’t know. I really haven’t had much time to talk to them.”

“What about Nick? You skipped him, honey,” Tammy’s voice sounded amused.

She frowned at the receiver in her hand. This conversation struck her as odd to say the least.

“Darcy?”

“Um...” How to explain Nick?
Hot. Mysterious. Judgmental
.

“Are you there?”

“Yes, sorry. Ah...Nick, he’s harder than the rest. I mean, he’s intense.” Her mind played back his powerful eyes, his chiseled features and slightly crooked nose. She sat on the low windowsill behind the desk. “He has an electrical...I mean a take-charge attitude about him.” She chewed on her nail. Did she say too much?

“An electrical charge, you say?” A chuckle vibrated through the phone line and Tammy’s voice lowered. “You definitely have a take on him...them. It’s been a pleasure talking with you. I do apologize again for not being there.”

“Thank you for taking a chance on me.”

“Thank you, dear. Now, do me a favor and put Nick back on the phone.”

“Hold on, I’ll find him for you.” She crossed to the door and pulled it open to find the hall empty. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the entrance.

“Nick?” Where did everyone go?

She didn’t want to be searching around in the strange surroundings. Moving to the next doorway, she glanced inside the empty room and backed up into the hallway.

Not sure of where to look next, she spun on her heel and stopped dead in her tracks millimeters from a massive chest. Her body tingled with nervous awareness.

Oh, Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

Chapter Two

Nick glanced down at the beautiful woman in front of him. His hand itched to free the soft, dark curls secured in some sort of elastic thing. When she first stepped from her vehicle, he was curious over what such a gorgeous female would be doing way out here. Then as he neared and his heart beat out of his chest, he wondered over asking her out. Too bad she was holding something back, evident by her fidgeting demeanor and facial features. If there was one thing Miss Brooks was not good at, it was lying. Her doe eyes gazed up, and he moved forward a half step.

A flush rose to her cheeks, and she stepped back.

“Tammy...er...your mom wants to speak with you.”

A smirked twitched his lip at her uneasiness as he took the phone from her hand.

“Thanks. Chris is out on the porch waiting to show you around.”

He watched her denim-covered behind hurry out the door before raising his mother’s screeching voice to his ear.

“Nick...Darcy...is anyone there?”

“You have her calling you Tammy?” he asked, returning to the den.

“Seems fitting since she’ll be working on the ranch.”

“Mom, you can’t be serious about hiring her.”

“I’m completely serious, Nicholas, and I expect you to treat her kindly.”

“What do you know about this woman?”

When his mother informed him of her plan to hire another female to fill Theresa’s duties, Nick tried making her see reason. Another cowboy would’ve worked out a lot better, but his mother was adamant in her thinking. She claimed the female guests were more comfortable with a woman on staff. In the end, as usual, Nick lost the argument, and her view of the situation made his life a living hell.

After his brothers interviewed a couple of women she didn’t approve of, claiming “those girls” were only after her boys, not a job, she decided to do the interviewing herself.

Darcy flashed before his eyes. With her brandy-colored hair and big, brown eyes, she’d be a definite distraction. Five feet of trouble.

He rolled his tense shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell us about her?”

“I’m sorry, honey. You know how busy I’ve been trying to keep your father from constantly worrying over the ranch; it must have slipped my mind.”

“Mom, you can’t hire her. She’s hiding something. I know it.” Being the oldest made it his job to protect and guide his brothers. A job he’d failed at a while back. One he refused to fail again.

He shook his head.
Another time. Another place.

“And
how
do you know that, Nicholas?”

“Ask Sam or Trent. She fidgeted the whole time we talked with her. She was vague about her history. Did you even look at her résumé? Her life might as well have been nonexistent before she moved here.” Nick moved to the window and rubbed his neck with his free hand. “The only thing I can check out is the fact she volunteered at the local animal shelter.”

“See there, she does have experience with animals.”

“Dogs and cats, not horses, pigs, or cows.”

“Good enough for me. Honey, I’m sure she’s just nervous; the four of you can be overwhelming. I have no doubt the scowl never left your face the whole time. As for her hiding something...” She sighed. “Aren’t we all? We don’t reveal the skeletons in our closets to a person we just met. I’m sure you didn’t divulge any information about yourself.”

“I’m not the one applying for a job.” His voice rose out of frustration, and he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Nick, honey, you’re suspicious of everyone around you. I love the fact you care for your brothers, but you need to let your guard down a bit. Let people in, sweetheart.”

“Like Trent did?”

“No one knew his fiancée had mental issues.”

“Which is why I planned on thoroughly investigating everyone who applied for this job—
before
we hired them.”

“You’re not responsible for April shooting your brother.”

“Not directly.” He rubbed his neck again. “We’re getting off track. This has nothing to do with Darcy.”

“It has everything to do with her.”

“Ma, she doesn’t even have a solid work history.” He crossed the room and sat heavily on the couch.
But she does have a hot body.
One he found alluring along with her small rounded bottom, the tantalizing caramel color of her eyes, her plump bottom lip. Would it taste as good as it looked?

“She doesn’t need one to clean cabins and scoop animal dung.”

He shook off his wayward thoughts. “I don’t trust her.”

“There lies
your
problem.
I
think she’s going to work out great. What was your brothers’ reaction? Do they agree with you?”

If my brothers were as taken with her as I was, we’re all in trouble
.

He sighed and brought his full attention back around to the prospect of Darcy working on the ranch. “Doesn’t matter. I’m the oldest, I overrule them.” A small sense of satisfaction filled him.

“And
I
overrule you.”

“Mom...”

“Nicholas, I hired her. You
will
show her the ropes and be nice to her.”

Would she ever listen to him? Closing his eyes, he put his head on the back of the couch. “Fine, but if she screws up, she’s out of here.”

His mother breathed out noisily. “But you’ll give her a fair chance and give her time to learn the ranch?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now don’t sound glum, Nicky. Who knows, you might be surprised. We’ll be in touch in a few days. I love you, honey.”

“Love you, too.” Nick punched the off button and tossed the phone on the couch, then shut his eyes.
Great
.

What had Darcy said to make his mother like her? Not that he disliked her. As a female, he liked her, at least on an appearance level. Physically, her body possessed curves in the right places—not to mention her thick mass of curls and big bay eyes.

He should implement a dress code. No tight clothing.

Ha.
His brothers would laugh him off the ranch. These long days were obviously getting to him. Now he’d lost his mind.

Nick jumped up. He would do well to avoid Miss Brooks and leave his family to handle her. She won’t last longer than the week anyway.

“What’d Mom have to say?” Sam leaned on the door frame with arms crossed over his chest.

“She hired Darcy, and we’re to show her the ropes.” Nick crossed to the desk and made a project of organizing the papers. He stuffed the stapler into the top drawer and slammed the wood shut.

“Why are you against her working here?”

“You saw her. She couldn’t sit still during the whole meeting. Her answers were evasive at best. I bet she’s never even been to
Girard
.” Why was he the only one who saw the problem here? Were they all blind?

“Shouldn’t be too hard to check out.” His brother moved to stand behind one of the chairs, his beefy hands resting on the wooden back. “Come on, she’s a nervous thing, I’ll give you that, but cut her some slack. I like her. She has a spark in her eye like she’s ready to take on anything and everyone.” He smiled and sat on the edge of the desk. “Including you.”

Nick shook his head. “Something’s not right. I can feel it.”

“Ya, I bet you can.” He chuckled. “Man, the stare down between the two of you contained enough sparks for the Fourth of July.”

Choosing to ignore the comment, Nick laid her papers out in front of him. “If you’re too busy, have Chris or Trent show her Theresa’s old cabin. She has today to get settled, but I want her at the barns by six a.m. tomorrow.”

“Why can’t you show her?” The second oldest grinned.

“I want to spend some time going over her information and calling her references.” Nick scanned the pages without actually reading the print. He needed time to mull over the situation.

“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s it.”

He frowned. “What’s that mean?”

“Nothing.”

Whistling, Sam got up from the desk and left the room.

****

By the next morning, Nick had failed to find anything out regarding one Darcy Brooks. Nor did he figure out what bothered him about her. He finished his coffee, placed his mug in the sink, and faced his brothers gathered for their regular morning meeting.

“I want you guys to show Darcy how to handle the smaller animals today.”

“You workin’ the horses today?” Chris questioned.

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you going to let Darcy help?” his youngest brother continued, pulling on his boots.

Chris remained the only Matthews living in the main house. The others occupied private cabins within the same vicinity of Darcy’s. The decision to move into the cabins had been made when each brother turned twenty-one, craving privacy from one another
and
their parents. Something he could use right now.

“Not today.” Nick waited for Trent to move out of the way before grabbing his hat and jamming it on.

“Need to get your head on straight before you work with her, huh?” Sam grinned and lifted his cup to his lips.

Nick glared in his direction then stomped out the door, letting the frame bang shut. He made his way across the ground, watching the sun rise far off in the distance.

Why did Darcy rattle him? What was she keeping from them?

He sighed. The fact he failed to contact one person last night who knew her personally reinforced his doubts. Too bad his mother didn’t listen to him. Another burden lying on his shoulders.

Working through his frustrations, he stacked feed bags, grained the horses, filled water buckets, and mucked stalls. By ten, he hadn’t seen nor heard from any of his brothers, and his shirt dripped with sweat. The ranch remained quiet from the human standpoint; the animals of course carried their own conversations.