NANNY MAKES THREE

Harlequin Desire
Texas Cattleman's Club: Lies and Lullabies, Book 3
(#2420)
January 2016
ISBN: 978-0373734337


This rich Texas rancher has his hands full with an abandoned baby...and her irresistible nanny!

Mistaken for the father of his twin brother's child, Liam Wade takes in his fussy infant niece and needs a nanny fast. Hadley Stratton knows all about Liam's reputation with the ladies, and really doesn't believe that the baby isn't his! But as she settles into her role, she begins to see the man beneath the Stetson. And when they're stranded together during a storm, she really gets to know him. Is she just the latest woman to fall for Liam's charms, or are this rich rancher's single days numbered?

Shortly after the 6:00 a.m. feeding, Liam Wade strode through the barn housing the yearling colts and fillies, enjoying the peaceful crunching of hay and the occasional equine snort. It was January 1, and because of the way horses were classified for racing and showing purposes, regardless of their calendar age, every horse in every stall on the ranch was now officially a year older.

Dawn of New Year's Day had never been a time of reflection for Liam. Usually he was facedown in a beautiful woman's bed, sleeping like the dead after an evening of partying and great sex. Last year that had changed. He'd left the New Year's Eve party alone.

His cell phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he pulled it out. The message from his housekeeper made him frown.

There's a woman at the house who needs to speak to you.

Liam couldn't imagine what sort of trouble had come knocking on his door this morning. He texted back that he was on his way and retraced his steps to his Range Rover.

As he drove up, he saw an unfamiliar gray Ford Fusion in the driveway near the large Victorian house Liam's great-great-grandfather had built during the last days of the nineteenth century. Liam and his twin brother, Kyle, had grown up in this seven-bedroom home, raised by their grandfather after their mother headed to Dallas to create her real estate empire.

Liam parked and turned off the engine. A sense of foreboding raised the hair on his arms, and he wondered at his reluctance to get out of the truck. He'd enjoyed how peaceful the last year had been. A strange woman showing up at the crack of dawn could only mean trouble.

Slipping from behind the wheel, Liam trotted across the drought-dry lawn and up the five steps that led to the wraparound porch. The stained glass windows set into the double doors allowed light to filter into the wide entry hall, but prevented him from seeing inside. Thus, it wasn't until Liam pushed open the door that he saw the infant car seat off to one side of the hall. As that was registering, a baby began to wail from the direction of the living room.

The tableau awaiting him in the high-ceilinged room was definitely the last thing he'd expected. Candace, his housekeeper, held a squalling infant and was obviously trying to block the departure of a stylish woman in her late fifties.

"Liam will be here any second," Candace was saying. With her focus split between the child and the blonde woman in the plum wool coat, his housekeeper hadn't noticed his arrival.

"What's going on?" Liam questioned, raising his voice slightly to be heard above the unhappy baby.

The relief on Candace's face was clear. "This is Diane Garner. She's here about her granddaughter."

"You're Liam Wade?" the woman demanded, her tone an accusation.

"Yes." Liam was completely bewildered by her hostility. He didn't recognize her name or her face.

"My daughter is dead."

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

"She was on her way to see you when she went into labor and lost control of her car. The doctors were unable to save her."

"That's very tragic." Liam wasn't sure what else to say. The name Garner rang no bells. "Did she and I have an appointment about something?"

Diane stiffened. "An appointment?"

"What was your daughter's name?"

"Margaret Garner. You met her in San Antonio." Diane grew more agitated with each word she uttered. "You can't expect me to believe you don't remember."

"I'm sorry," Liam said, pitching his voice to calm the woman. She reminded him of a high-strung mare. "It's been a while since I've been there."

"It's been eight months," Diane said. "Surely you couldn't have forgotten my daughter in such a short period of time."

Liam opened his mouth to explain that he wasn't anywhere near San Antonio eight months ago when it hit him what the woman was implying. He turned and stared at the baby Candace held.

"You think the baby's mine?"

"Her name is Maggie and I know she's yours."

Liam almost laughed. This was one child he knew without question wasn't his. He'd been celibate since last New Year's Eve. "I assure you that's not true."

Diane pursed her lips. "I came here thinking you'd do the right thing by Maggie. She's your child. There's no question that you had an affair with my daughter."

He wasn't proud of the fact that during his twenties, he'd probably slept with a few women without knowing their last name or much more about them other than that they were sexy and willing. But he'd been careful, and not one of them had shown up on his doorstep pregnant.

"If I had an affair with your daughter, it was a long time ago, and this child is not mine."

"I have pictures that prove otherwise." Diane pulled a phone out of her purse and swiped at the screen. "These are you and my daughter. The date stamp puts them at eight months ago in San Antonio. Are you going to deny that's you?"

The screen showed a very pretty woman with blond hair and bright blue eyes, laughing as she kissed the cheek of a very familiar-looking face. Kyle's. A baseball cap hid his short hair, but the lack of a scar on his chin left no doubt it was Kyle and not Liam in the picture.

"I realize that looks like me, but I have a twin brother." Liam was still grappling with seeing his brother looking so happy when Diane Garner slipped past him and headed toward the entry. "But even so, that doesn't mean the baby is a Wade."

Diane paused with her hand on the front doorknob. Her eyes blazed. "Margaret dated very infrequently, and she certainly didn't sleep around. I can tell from the pictures that she really fell for you."

Either Diane hadn't heard Liam when he explained that he had a twin or she saw this as an excuse. While he grappled for a way to get through to the woman, she yanked the door open and exited the house.

Stunned, Liam stared after her. He was ready to concede that the child might be a Wade. A DNA test would confirm that quickly enough, but then what? Kyle was on active duty in the military and not in a position to take on the responsibility of an infant.

The baby's cries escalated, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to where Candace rocked the baby in an effort to calm her and realized Diane Garner intended to leave her granddaughter behind. Liam chased after the older woman and caught her car door before she could close it.

"Are you leaving the baby?"

"Margaret was on her way to see you. I think she meant to either give you Maggie or get your permission to give her up. There were blank forms to that effect in her car."

"Why?"

"She never wanted to have children of her own." Diane's voice shook. "And I know she wouldn't have been able to raise one by herself."

"What happens if I refuse?"

"I'll turn her over to child services."

"But you're the child's grandmother. Couldn't you just take care of her until we can get a DNA test performed and…"

"Because of health issues, I'm not in a position to take care of her. You're Maggie's father," Diane insisted. "She belongs with you."

She belonged with her father. Unfortunately, with Kyle on active duty, could he care for a baby? Did he even want to? Liam had no idea—it had been two years since he'd last spoken with Kyle. But if the child was a Wade—and Liam wasn't going to turn the child out until he knew one way or another—that meant she belonged here.

"How do I get in contact with you?" Liam asked. Surely the woman would want some news of her grandchild?

"I gave my contact info to your housekeeper." The older woman looked both shaken and determined. "Take good care of Maggie. She's all I have left." And with more haste than grace, Diane pulled her car door shut and started the engine.

As the gray car backed down the driveway, Liam considered the decision his own mother had made, leaving him and Kyle with her father to raise while she went off to the life she wanted in Dallas. He'd never really felt a hole in his life at her absence. Their grandfather had been an ideal blend of tough and affectionate. No reason to think that Maggie wouldn't do just as well without her mother.

He returned to the house. Candace was in the kitchen warming a bottle of formula. The baby continued to showcase an impressive set of lungs. His housekeeper shot him a concerned glance.

"You let her go?" Candace rocked the baby.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Convince her to take the baby with her?" She didn't sound all that certain. "You and I both know she isn't yours."

"You sound pretty sure about that."

Liam gave her a crooked smile. Candace had started working for him seven years ago when the former housekeeper retired. Diane Garner wasn't the first woman to show up unexpected and uninvited on his doorstep, although she was the first one to arrive with a baby.

"You've been different this last year." Candace eyed him. "More settled."

She'd never asked what had prompted his overnight transformation from carefree playboy to responsible businessman. Maybe she figured with his thirtieth birthday he'd decided to leave his freewheeling days behind him. That was part of the truth, but not all.

"I've been living like a monk."

She grinned. "That, too."

"What am I supposed to do with a baby?" He eyed the red-faced infant with her wispy blond hair and unfocused blue eyes. "Why won't she stop crying?"

"She's not wet so I'm assuming she's hungry." Or maybe she just wants her mother. Candace didn't say the words, but the thought was written all over her face. "Can you hold her while I get her bottle ready?"

"I'd rather not."

"She won't break."

The child looked impossibly small in Candace's arms. Liam shook his head. "Tell me what to do to get a bottle ready."

The noise in the kitchen abated while the baby sucked greedily at her bottle. Liam made the most of this respite and contacted a local company that specialized in placing nannies. Since it wasn't quite seven in the morning, he was forced to leave a message and could only hope that he'd impressed the owners with the urgency of his need. That done, he set about creating a list of things that baby Maggie would need.

Hadley Stratton took her foot off the accelerator and let her SUV coast down the last thirty feet of driveway. An enormous Victorian mansion loomed before her, white siding and navy trim giving it the look of a graceful dowager in the rugged West Texas landscape.

The drive from her apartment in Royal had taken her fifteen minutes. Although a much shorter commute than her last job in Pine Valley, Hadley had reservations about taking the nanny position. Liam Wade had a playboy reputation, which made this the exact sort of situation she avoided. If he hadn't offered a salary at the top of her range and promised a sizable bonus if she started immediately, she would have refused when the agency called. But with student loans hanging over her head and the completion of her master's degree six short months away, Hadley knew she'd be a fool to turn down the money.

Besides, she'd learned her lesson when it came to attractive, eligible bosses. There would be no repeat of the mistake she'd made with Noah Heston, the divorced father of three who'd gone back to his ex-wife after enticing Hadley to fall in love with him.

Parking her SUV, Hadley headed for the front door and rang the bell. Inside a baby cried, and Hadley's agitation rose. She knew very little about the situation she was walking into. Only that Liam Wade had a sudden and urgent need for someone to care for an infant.

A shadow darkened the stained glass inset in the double door. When Hadley's pulse quickened, she suspected this was a mistake. For the last hour she'd been telling herself that Liam Wade was just like any other employer. Sure, the man was a world-class horseman and sexy as hell. Yes, she'd had a crush on him ten years ago, but so had most of the other teenage girls who barrel raced.

A decade had gone by. She was no longer a silly fangirl, but a mature, intelligent, professional nanny who knew the risks of getting emotionally wrapped up in her charges or their handsome fathers.

"Good morning, Mr. Wade." She spoke crisply as the door began to open. "Royal Nannies sent me. My name is—"

"Hadley… " His bottle-green eyes scanned her face.

"Hadley Stratton." Had he remembered her? No, of course not. "Stratton." She cleared her throat and tried not to sound as if her heart was racing. Of course he knew who she was; obviously the agency had let him know who they were sending. "I'm Hadley Stratton." She clamped her lips together and stopped repeating her name.

"You're a nanny?" He executed a quick but thorough assessment of her and frowned.

"Well, yes." Maybe he expected someone older. "I have my résumé and references if you'd like to look them over." She reached into her tote and pulled out a file.

"No need." He stepped back and gestured her inside. "Maggie's in the living room." He shut the door behind her and grimaced. "Just follow the noise."

Hadley didn't realize that she'd expected the baby's mother to be ridiculously young, beautiful and disinterested in motherhood until she spied the woman holding the child. In her late forties, she was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt and sneakers, her disheveled dark hair in a messy bun.

"Hadley Stratton. Candace Tolliver, my housekeeper."

Liam cast a fond grin at the older woman. "Who is very glad you've come so quickly."

Candace had the worn look of a first-time mother with a fussy baby. Even before the introductions were completed, she extended the baby toward Hadley. "I've fed her and changed her. She won't stop crying."

"What is her normal routine?" Hadley rocked and studied the tiny infant, wondering what had become of the child's mother. Smaller than the average newborn by a few pounds. Was that due to her mother's unhealthy nutritional habits while pregnant or something more serious?

"We don't know." Candace glanced toward Liam. "She only just arrived."

DELETED SCENE

This deleted scene comes toward the end of the book. Because of a tragedy that Hadley blames herself for she hasn't ridden horses in ten years. Through the entire book Liam encourages her interest in horses and with this scene he finally gets her to come riding with him.

The scene was cut because the book ran too long and while it's a pivotal part of Hadley's growth, it doesn't offer a lot in terms of moving the romance forward. That being said, it broke my heart to have to take it out and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you.

* * *


With calving time a couple weeks away and a whole host of unexpected issues popping up, Liam and Ivy had decided to work through lunch. The weather had turned warmer and Hadley was feeling restless so she'd offered to bring their meal to the barn.

As if Liam's words had the power to summon trouble, one of the hands appeared in the doorway. "Dean told me to stop by and see if you had an hour or so free. Sam is out sick," the hand said. "Barry is off visiting his kid in Tulsa. We could use some help cutting the cows who aren't pregnant."

"Sure." Liam shifted his weight in the direction of the door, but glanced Hadley's direction before taking a step. His eyebrows went up as he asked, "Ever cut cattle?"

She shook her head, sensing what was coming and wondering why Liam, knowing what he did, would ask her to ride with him.

"Like to try?"

Hadley was surprised by her strong desire to say yes. "What about Maggie?"

"I'd be happy to watch her until you get back," Ivy offered, cooing at the infant she held. "You'd like to hang out with Cousin Ivy until they get back, wouldn't you?" Maggie waved her arms as if in agreement. "Or I can drive her back to the house if it gets too late."

"See?" Liam's eyes held a hard glint of challenge. "All settled. Let's go find you a mount."

While her gut clenched in happy anticipation of getting on a horse again, Hadley rationalized her agreement by telling herself it was work not pleasure. She was doing something her employer requested. Never mind that he'd been trying to figure out a way to get her back in the saddle since she'd stepped into his home two and a half weeks ago.

Excitement built as he led her outside to the paddocks where they turned out the horses during the day. Twelve horses occupied four enclosures.

Liam nodded toward a palomino mare in the farthest right paddock. She was the only horse in the fenced turn out and stood in the middle, tearing at the winter grass with strong white teeth. "Daisy could use some exercise. I don't think she's been ridden much in the last year. I'll get one of the guys to saddle her for you."

"I can saddle my own horse," Hadley retorted, insulted. "Besides, I'd like to get to know her a little before I get on."

"Okay. She's a nice mare. You shouldn't have any trouble with her on the ground."

As Liam's last three words registered, she glanced over at him, but discovered nothing in his expression to arouse her suspicions. Surely he wouldn't put her on a green horse after such a long absence from the saddle. Once upon a time her skills might have been first rate, but a decade has passed since she'd used those particular muscles and she knew riding a horse wasn't the same as riding a bike.

"You said she hasn't been ridden much in the last year?" Hadley decided a little clarification might be in order. "But she has been ridden, right?"

"Oh, sure." Liam walked over to the fence and picked up the halter and lead rope hung on the gate. "We were going to breed her last year, but that didn't work out. So she's just been hanging out, waiting to become a mother." He opened the gate and handed Hadley the halter. "She's easy to catch. I'll meet you in that barn over there." He indicated the building that housed the horses in training. "You might want to do a couple circles in the indoor ring before we head out."

Sensing something was up despite Liam's neutral expression and bland tone, Hadley slipped the halter onto the mare and led her to the building Liam had indicated. He hadn't yet arrived, so Hadley got busy with curry and brush. The mare's golden coat hadn't seen much attention lately. Hadley's circular motions with the curry stirred up a lot of dirt that she then flicked away with the soft bristled brush. She smiled as the mare leaned into the grooming. Obviously Daisy appreciated Hadley's efforts.

She would have preferred to take more time with the mare, but Liam showed up, leading a gorgeous bay stallion that was already saddled and ready to go. Hadley returned his nod and she tossed the saddle onto Daisy's back, going through the motion of settling it in just the right spot and tightening the cinch as if she'd done it last week instead of ten years earlier. Working just as efficiently, she slipped the bit into the mare's mouth and fitted the headstall into place.

"Ready?"

All at once she became aware of Liam's attention and grew self-conscious. "I think so."

"Come on. I'll work the kinks out of Buzzard while you try out Daisy."

Leading Daisy, Hadley followed Liam and the bay into the arena. What if she made a complete hash of it and ended up getting dumped? While Hadley fussed with Daisy's girth and grappled with her nerves, Liam swung up onto the stallion's back. Buzzard took several steps sideways as Liam settled his weight, but quickly relaxed beneath the pressure of his rider's legs and the steadiness of Liam's hands on the reins.

The guy was an amazing rider and Hadley felt a fan girl moment coming on. Embarrassed at her gawking, she set her foot in the stirrup. Daisy was a little shorter than Lolita, but she felt her muscles protest as she threw her leg up and over the mare's back. Before she'd completely found her balance, Daisy's muscles bunched beneath her and the mare crow-hopped a half dozen times while Hadley clung to the saddle horn, laughter puffing out of her with each jolt of Daisy's four hoofs hitting the ground.

At last the mare got her silliness out of her system and stood still while Hadley retrieved her breath.

"You okay?"

"Fine." Hadley could feel the broad smile on her face. "Is she going to be like this the whole time?"

"No. She just wanted to make sure you were going to stay on. You passed."

"She was testing me?" The notion struck Hadley as ludicrous. What sort of horse had Liam put her on?

"She's a smart horse." His lips kicked up. "Needs a smart rider."

Apparently Daisy wasn't the only one doing the testing. Hadley keyed the mare into a walk and then took five minutes to work through all her gaits. Whoever had trained the palomino had done a fabulous job. She was a dream to ride.

"Let's go cut some cattle," Hadley said, all too aware how closely Liam had been observing her.

She loved the attention. Growing up she'd imagined herself marrying someone who'd shared her love of horses. Together they would train and show, raise children and be deliriously happy. And then Anna had been paralyzed and Hadley had caved to her parents' desire that she go to college and get her degree in something practical. The loss of her dream had been almost too much to bear so Hadley had buried her longing beneath a pile of guilt and obligation. Eventually she'd gone numb.

Liam had awakened her to everything she'd given up on. A future filled with passion, love and horses. No wonder she felt alive when he was around. He'd given her back what had seemed impossible a month earlier.

To her delight, Hadley fit seamlessly in with Liam's ranch hands. While they took on the more challenging task of cutting the cows they wanted, Hadley guided them into a separate pen. She split her attention between the task assigned her and those cutting the heifers from the herd. Although she'd seen cutting horses work before, getting an up-close look was even more impressive. The cowboys stuck like they were glued to the saddle as the horses beneath them wove and

"Feel like giving it a try?" Liam's obvious joy at being on a horse, following in the footsteps of generations before him, was hard to resist.

"Sure." Hadley figured she had nothing to lose and after several hours of working with the cattle, her confidence had returned. "What do I do?"

"First of all, keep your eyes on the cow at all times."

"I can do that." While most of the cows she'd taken charge of had become docile by the time they'd been turned over to her, a few still tried to avoid the gap in the fence that led to the separate pen. Turning them back had been easy, but she'd learned a valuable lesson about keeping her eyes on the heifers.

"Make sure you stay relaxed. Ease the cow away from the herd then line up Daisy directly in front of her. Drop your hand to let her know she's in charge and then let her work."

These instructions seemed too simplistic for all the spinning and weaving I'd seen from the cowhand's horses as they kept the cut cows from returning to the herd.

"Which one should I start with?"

Liam pointed one out and Hadley eased Daisy into the herd, aware that one wrong move would cause the cattle to scatter. She separated her target heifer from the crowd and pushed her toward the open pen. Things seemed to be going fine until the cow pivoted back toward the herd. Remembering Liam's instructions, Hadley turned Daisy until she faced the cow, relaxed her body and dropped her hand.

If she hadn't seen the way the other horses moved, she might have been dumped by Daisy's first move. The mare dropped into a crouch, ready to spring whichever direction the cow decided to run. Gasping in surprise, Hadley kept her gaze fixed on the cow and let herself be carried along as the mare flew sideways through the air to block the heifer's path. Joy and laughter bubbled up in Hadley as the mare worked. The exhilaration of the moment recalled her days of barrel racing when it was just her and Lolita against the clock.

By the time the cow had been shifted into the pen, Hadley was hooked. "That was amazing."

"You did great." The cattle boss told her, his smile broad and

"I didn't do anything," Hadley retorted, patting the mare's neck. "That was all her."

"She's a terrific little cutter, came in third at last year's national futurity."

A quick glance in Liam's direction confirmed that he'd known exactly what sort of horse he'd put her on. Helping her find her way back to what she loved was a gift she could never repay. She'd been a stubborn fool to let guilt over Anna's accident drive her away from riding. How different her life could have been if she'd been able to put what happened in perspective.

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