Maid in Montana Page 12

  Every person, from the lowliest social worker to the tycoons who made up the board of directors for the facility, grinned at her. From their comments it was easy to see this was the first time Jeb had ever brought a woman to one of their events, and most of them believed they were romantically involved.

  She wanted to say, “Nice to meet you but I’m Jeb’s housekeeper.” Instead, not wanting to cause a stir, she only said, “Nice to meet you.”

  The ceremony began, Jeb said his few words after Pete Malloy, executive director of Samuel’s House, gave a long speech. Shovels angled into the dirt, Jeb, Pete Malloy and the executive board posed for pictures.

  Sophie smiled, her heart turning over in her chest. She knew how much he hated this, yet he did it anyway. Not because he was good but because he was wonderful. Selfless. Generous.

  She let her gaze ripple across the crowd and back to him. So many people depended on him. Including her. Yet, he didn’t brag. He quietly did what he perceived needed to be done.

  Pete Malloy hustled over to Sophie, beating Jeb by two seconds. “We’re serving cookies and punch, if you’re interested.”

  Jeb said, “Maybe another time,” at the same time that Sophie said, “I’d love a cookie.”

  Pete said, “Great! Just follow my SUV.”

  When he walked away, Sophie winced. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. Neither one of us had anything to do today anyway.”

  They made their way to the existing Samuel’s House facility, which was only around the bend from the open field where the new building was to be built. Sophie got out of the SUV and unbuckled Brady who was waking up from the long sleep he’d drifted into listening to Pete Malloy’s speech.

  “Hey, buddy,” she crooned as she lifted him out of his seat.

  Jeb came around to her side of the car. “Want me to take the carrier in for you?”

  His question surprised her. But then she wondered why. True, he might not carry the little boy around on his shoulder, but he’d folded her and Brady into his life so naturally that the three of them lived together comfortably.

  Like a family.

  She shook her head to dislodge that thought. That was crazy. “No. I think I’ll hold him.”

  They walked into the building that was nothing like Sophie expected. The furniture appeared to be new and though magazines and books littered the end tables of the main room, the fresh scent of cleaning solutions greeted them.

  “Wow. This house is great! Why did you think you needed a new one?”

  Jeb put his hand on the small of her back and directed her back down the hall to a dining room. From the easy movement, Sophie suspected he didn’t even realize what he was doing, but Sophie did. He was so casual with her that he really did treat her like family. Not a housekeeper. He wasn’t trying to make them fit. He didn’t have to. He was so accustomed to her and Brady, that he was now adding them into this part of his world.

  “We’re building a new place because this house is no longer big enough.” He glanced around, pulled in a breath and faced her. “There are thousands of kids out there who need us. We’ll never even know about most of them. But I want to have room for everybody we find.”

  His serious expression caused Sophie’s heart to melt. He genuinely cared about these kids. He was such a good man that it was hard not to like him. But he’d proven himself to be a good person long before this. She’d even grown to like him long before this. And that was the problem. Seeing this side of him, she was falling over the edge. Up to this point they’d both managed to stop short of that one little word that could cause so much trouble. But here she stood, face-to-face with his generosity, his commitment, and it was simply too much.

  Unless she got a hold of herself, before this trip was over she’d be head over heels in love.

  They entered a room filled with a combination of adults and teenagers, all of whom seemed to know Jeb.

  “Hey, Mr. Worthington.”

  “Hey, Aaron.” Jeb offered his hand for shaking. “How’ve you been?”

  “Good. Gonna graduate next spring.”

  “I told you that if you stayed it would be worth it.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see. When I can’t get anything but a fast food job, I’m coming to you.”

  “No, you’re going to college.”

  “Right.”

  “The funds are already in place.”

  “Yeah, for tuition. Where am I gonna live? On the street?”

  “We’ll work something out.”

  Sophie pulled in a breath. He was so good with these kids. It amazed her that he’d ever believed he wasn’t cut out to be a dad. But more than that, it amazed her that she’d ever been able to resist him. She was no longer worried that she’d fall in love with him because it was too late. She was already in love.

  And that was going to be trouble.

  As more teenagers gathered around him, Sophie got pushed to the side. Pete Malloy strolled up to her. Pointing to Jeb with his punch glass he said, “He’s quite an interesting man, isn’t he? There’s never a dull moment when he visits.”

  The urge to tell Pete that he didn’t know the half of it bubbled up inside her. Instead she turned to the Samuel’s House director with a smile. “You should try living with him.”

  “So you’re living together?”

  Sophie winced. If nothing else, she had to nip that rumor in the bud right now. “I’m his maid.”

  “Oh.” The embarrassed expression on Pete’s face was priceless. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Not only had he clued her in that she was probably looking at Jeb with stars in her eyes, but also Pete had given her the opportunity to dispel the rumor before it caught fire and couldn’t be pulled back.

  More than that, he’d reminded her of her real place in Jeb’s life. His maid. He might be interesting enough, kind enough, generous enough that she’d fallen in love with him. But she was his employee. A single woman with a child who’d desperately needed a job. A woman who sassed him. And who’d been stunned speechless when he’d told her his biggest secret, that he couldn’t have kids. She hadn’t been supportive. She’d frozen.

  How could he possibly like a woman who’d thought of herself first, not him. Even the memory of that night shamed her.

  “We’ve obviously crossed the line from boss and employee into friendship. So it’s not a big deal.”

  “I can see how that could happen.”

  She followed Pete’s gaze to Jeb and her heart ached. How she must have hurt him by her silence. It was no wonder he’d stopped any possibility of a relationship between them. Here he was, a man who didn’t care about biology, who cared for dozens of children. Why would he attach himself to a woman whose heart didn’t expand any further than herself?

  “He’s a genuinely nice guy. Bit of a curiosity, though. If I spent any more time with him, I’d probably be poking into his life. Trying to get the inside scoop.”

  Sophie laughed. “Trust me. You wouldn’t get it.”

  “Close mouthed?”

  “Extremely.”

  “Too bad. I’d love to know what happened in the Zoe situation.”

  “The Zoe situation?”

  “Yeah. Zoe’s a little girl Jeb and his ex had considered adopting.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh?”

  Pete nodded. “She was the youngest kid we’d ever had come here and she clearly didn’t fit. Jeb and Laine developed a soft spot for her and the next thing you know the word adoption had come up. Then out of nowhere her mom appeared—clean and sober—with a job and an apartment. She took Zoe and from all accounts everything worked out.”

  Sophie said nothing. She wasn’t amazed that Jeb would consider adopting a child. She’d seen his commitment to this place, these kids. What surprised her was that she’d had no clue.

  “Everything ended well for Zoe…but the next event we had, Jeb arrived as a divorced man.”

  Sophie’s mouth fell open. She told hers
elf not to pry, but she couldn’t stop herself. “You think losing the child had something to do with Jeb’s divorce?”

  “Yes.”

  Jeb ambled over. “Are you telling her all my secrets?”

  Pete had the good graces to look embarrassed. “Just the ones I know.”

  “Then I’m glad I never really told you anything.” He faced Sophie. “Pete and I need a minute with the board of directors. Do you mind?”

  She shook her head, looking at Jeb with a whole new perspective. He’d been told he couldn’t have kids, then the one child he’d wanted to adopt had been snatched from him. It was no wonder he believed he’d never be a father. “No. Go on. I’ll be fine.”

  “Great.” He motioned for Pete to walk with him. “There are apparently some papers we need to sign.”

  “Okay,” Pete said as they disappeared into the milling crowd.

  “You Jeb’s woman?”

  Sophie turned at the question to see a young man looking at her curiously.

  “I’m his maid.”

  “No kidding! He’s got a maid?”

  She laughed. “Yep.”

  “Hey, Jordie!” the kid called, motioning to a tall, slender boy to join them. “This here’s Worthington’s maid.”

  The boy walked over. “You’re a maid?”

  Hoisting Brady a little higher on her arm, Sophie said, “Yes.”

  “I’ll bet he lives in a big old mansion.”

  “It’s more of a house…” She stopped as two more kids joined them. Both girls. Both around fifteen. Both wearing too much eye makeup. One with a ring in her nose.

  “Does he have a dog?”

  “Horses.”

  A general affirmative sound rose from the group, as three more kids walked over.

  “He’s got a ranch, right?”

  The question came from somewhere in the growing crowd and Sophie hesitated. She’d always known Jeb was a private person, but the few things she’d heard from Pete today magnified just how much he held to his privacy. He wouldn’t want her talking about him and she didn’t want to endanger his confidence in her. The only thing she could think to do to get the conversation away from him was to turn the tables.

  “Yes, he has a ranch.” She smiled at the first kid. “So what’s your name?”

  “Orlando. This here’s Jordie. That’s Mark and Austin,” He said pointing to the two boys to his right. “That’s Birdie and Macayla’s the one with the nose ring.”

  Sophie smiled at each one. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Where are you from?”

  Sophie should have realized she was no match for the questions of a group of curious kids, but at least the questions were no longer about Jeb. “California.”

  “California?” The girls gasped.

  Orlando was much too cool for that. He nodded. “The big C.”

  “Yep.”

  They managed to fire off enough questions to fill the entire space of time that Jeb and Pete were gone. Though they laughed a lot, Sophie’s gaze continually drifted to Macayla. The girl needed somebody. She didn’t have to say the words. Her confused eyes told the story. They also told the story of why Jeb and his ex-wife had considered adopting one of the children who lived at Samuel’s House. The boys and even Birdie had a maturity about them that didn’t match their ages, but an innocent like Macayla stuck out like a sore thumb. If someone didn’t catch her now, God only knew where she’d land when she fell.

  Jeb strode over with a groan. “Are they grilling you about me?”

  She laughed. “They tried, but I managed to change the subject.”

  “Great. Let’s go.”

  The kids protested, but Jeb promised a return visit soon. Again, it was easy for Sophie to see that the kids admired him, loved his visits and trusted that he would take care of them.

  They said goodbye and headed for the door. Though all of the boys and even Birdie disbursed casually, Macayla stayed where she was. She didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Simply watched Sophie and Jeb leave.

  At the door, Sophie turned one final time. Her gaze caught Macayla’s and she had the sudden, intense intuition that she was the person created to mother this child.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  AFTER Jeb confirmed with the pilot that he and Sophie were settled in, ready to take off, he leaned back in his chair and feigned sleep. But after only a few seconds, he opened his eyes.

  “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “How could you possibly know what I’m thinking?”

  “Because I thought the same things myself.”

  She laughed. “Right. So what am I thinking?”

  “That that little girl needs a home.”

  She caught his gaze across the aisle of the plane. She blinked once, twice, but she didn’t refute what he’d said.

  “You need to remember that these kids are street kids. The kind of home you’d make for somebody like Macayla would stifle her.”

  “Or be exactly what she needs.”

  He shook his head. “What she needs is to learn how to live in a normal environment, to pull her weight in chores to earn her place. The last thing she wants to be is beholden to someone.”

  “And you know this because?”

  “Because I read every file.”

  “You do?”

  He nearly growled at his mistake. How was it that this woman could get him to tell her things he never told anyone? “Yes.” He sucked in an annoyed breath. “Don’t make me out to be a saint.”

  But he saw from the glimmer that came to her eyes that that was exactly what she’d done.

  “I know you’re not a saint, but I also see you don’t give yourself credit for the good things you do.”

  “I give a few speeches, read a few files. If you want to direct those stars in your eyes at somebody, go look at my parents. They’re the ones who put up the money.”

  But the spark stayed in her eyes and it killed him. He wanted to be everything she saw. But he wasn’t good. He was flawed. And he’d best not forget that.

  Sophie made a simple supper of macaroni and cheese and fried fish, still feeling the push of maternal instincts for Macayla that was as sharp and keen as what she felt when she first held Brady. Though Jeb didn’t mention Samuel’s House or their trip that afternoon and kept his focus on the discussion he was having with Slim, Sophie couldn’t shake the thoughts of Macayla. She hadn’t felt anything like this when she looked at Orlando or any of the other kids at Samuel’s House. And for that reason alone, she didn’t want to ignore it.

  After Brady fell asleep, she went to Jeb’s office and found the Samuel’s House file. She retrieved Pete Malloy’s email address, wrote an email asking if Macayla had an email address and sent it across cyberspace. To her surprise, Pete replied within a few seconds. Though he encouraged her to make friends with Macayla, he also set ground rules for Sophie, telling her to keep the emails light and friendly and not to play psychologist or stand-in parent. He reminded her that she wasn’t a therapist and that there were trained staff members to handle Macayla’s big problems.

  Doing exactly as Pete suggested, she wrote an email simply telling Macayla it was nice to meet her and hit Send, knowing it was up to Macayla whether or not they’d become friends.

  When Jeb didn’t arrive in the kitchen for coffee on Sunday morning, Sophie suspected he was avoiding her. She confirmed that suspicion on Monday when she walked into the kitchen to find a pot of coffee had already been brewed and at least two cups taken, but Jeb was nowhere in sight. By Wednesday, having only seen him at meals with Slim, she knew the trip to Samuel’s House, or maybe her reaction to it, had caused him to decide to keep his distance.

  Which was fine, maybe even for the best. She hadn’t meant to fall in love with him, but she had and now she had to figure out what to do about it. Her head told her to do nothing and given the way he was avoiding her, Sophie realized that was probably the right thing to do. The feelings she had for him were new. Fragile
. She didn’t think they would go away. But she also wasn’t sure what she should do about them. Did she dare tell him and risk rejection? But if she didn’t tell him, could she live with a man she loved, cook for him, clean for him…and never have his love in return?

  After tidying the kitchen and putting Brady into bed for a nap she went to the office to check her email. Macayla had answered.

  She let a day go by before answering Macayla, if only because she didn’t want to put any pressure on her, and life fell into a casual routine with Sophie spending most of her time alone with Brady, keeping up the house and planning meals. She typically served Jeb and Slim lunch, then sat down and ate supper with them. The conversation didn’t turn to her often. Typically the meal was spent listening to Slim give a report of what had happened at the ranch that day.

  Both Jeb and Slim always thanked her for meals. But her part of the conversation rarely extended beyond that and she soon realized that things were actually working out. She and Jeb could live in the same house, and she didn’t have to worry that her feelings for him would cause her to do something that would ruin her stay at the ranch.

  So it surprised her when Jeb returned to the kitchen on Thursday night just as she was finishing up the dishes.

  For the first time in weeks, they were alone. Everything she’d felt for him at the groundbreaking for Samuel’s House came tumbling back. He was good, kind, generous. Sexy, sweet and funny. How could a woman see that and not love him?

  Their gazes met, but Jeb quickly looked away.

  And Sophie forced herself back to reality. She might love him. He might have feelings for her. But he also had issues and she needed this job. She had to respect that.

  He walked to the table. “Can you give me a minute?”

  She said, “Sure,” but something about his ominous tone caused her tummy to tingle. She swore she hadn’t treated him any differently since she realized she loved him, but what if she had? What if he guessed or sensed that her feelings had changed? What if he couldn’t work with her knowing how she felt?

  He took a seat at the round table and Sophie sat across from him.