One Man and a Baby Read online

  “Your dad might know everything about Rick, but mine doesn’t and mine’s the one with the power of the press.”

  “And mine’s the one who counts.” Ashley rose and reached into her jeans pocket for a ten-dollar bill which she tossed on the counter.

  “You’re going to be sorry,” Rayne called after Ashley as she left the diner.

  Stepping out into the chilly end-of-October night, Ashley knew Rayne was right. She could get rid of Rick Capriotti just by telling his secret. Not that he had a child. But that his child had a well-known grandfather whose daughter did the very things her father preached against. One word to Rayne and Rick would find himself in the center of tabloid hell. Even if he got the job at Seven Hills, he wouldn’t keep it.

  But then Ruthie would become as much of an object of gossip as Rick. And Elizabeth would lose her bonding time with her granddaughter.

  Cursing, Ashley jumped into her SUV. The sad truth was she couldn’t fool herself anymore. She wasn’t staying quiet for Elizabeth or Ben or even Ruthie. She was keeping this secret for Rick. He was taking her job, refused to have anything to do with her personally, and was driving her to distraction, and she was protecting him.

  Not because she was a schmuck. But because it was the right thing to do. He was a nice guy who had been burned. Instead of screaming bloody murder over Jen Martin abandoning their daughter, or even trying to get some financial help from Jen’s wealthy family, he’d quietly assumed his responsibility, like the mature, honest man that he was.

  But nobody in town would ever believe that. Rick was right. They were both victims of their pasts.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning when Ashley walked into the barn, Rick tossed his pencil to the desk blotter, rose from his seat and met her in the aisle that divided the two long rows of stalls.

  “You and I are going back up to your house.”

  Her eyes narrowed, as if she suspected this was some kind of trick, and he sighed. “Just follow me up to the house and hold the discussion until we get behind closed doors.”

  Though she stormed up to her back porch, she did as he requested. She didn’t say a word until they were standing in the kitchen. But when he shut the door behind him and turned to face her, her arms were crossed on her chest and her expression was mutinous.

  “Now what?”

  “We’re here because the computer in the den is the one that has all the financial information on it.”

  “So?”

  “So we’re starting a new phase of your training today.” The suspicion he saw in her eyes turned to cautious optimism. “And what phase is that?”

  “Management.” Knowing he owed her an explanation, he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Last night I got to thinking about this deal. And I realized that you’re right.”

  She gaped at him. “I’m right?”

  “Yes. You’re right. This is your farm. Your heritage. It would have been the perfect job for me had you not wanted it. But you do want it. And the second half of my assignment from your dad was to teach you how to do it.” He drew a long breath. “So I’m going to teach you.”

  Her confused expression shifted into a look of pleasure. Her pretty green eyes warmed with joy. Her plump lips tipped into a smile.

  He realized again how attractive she was but something new also struck him. His attraction to her wasn’t totally about appearance. Sure, her looks were a big part of why he liked her. But she was also spontaneous. Or maybe pure. Not in a virginal sense, but in the sense that she either didn’t or couldn’t hold back her emotions. When she was angry, she yelled. When she was happy, she smiled.

  “You’re really going to teach me?”

  “Yes.”

  “No secret manure pile back there?”

  He laughed and something else amazing struck him. Nobody made him laugh the way Ashley did. He couldn’t even remember the last person who had tried to make him laugh, let alone somebody who made him laugh naturally.

  “No secret manure pile. Yesterday when you babysat Ruthie, you proved that this isn’t just a game to you. You take your responsibilities seriously. You do what needs to be done. You’re not a spoiled pampered socialite…well, maybe a little, but when it comes to the farm you’re serious. That means you deserve your shot. I don’t have the right to take it from you. And I’m going to teach you.”

  “Wow.”

  There it was again. That wonderful spontaneity. He almost couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. But he was noticing today and reacting to it. He just plain liked being around her. But that was wrong. He’d already figured out he couldn’t even be too friendly with her or the gossip would kill both of them.

  “Yeah, well, let’s see if you’re still saying wow once I go over the three-tiered budget and the human resources things you need to know.”

  She took a breath. “I don’t care how difficult this is. I’m excited.”

  He knew she was. He could see it on her face. And though it cost him to have to give up this job, he couldn’t stop the pleasure that filled him. Teaching her was the right thing to do. But being pleased wasn’t the right reaction to her excitement. With the sexual chemistry that raced between them, getting joy from her joy could inadvertently start them down a romantic path.

  And that was wrong. Even if he didn’t care about creating gossip, even if he wouldn’t need to move on to find work when Gene came home, there was the matter of protecting Ruthie. If push came to shove in a custody battle with Senator Martin, Rick wouldn’t hesitate to go into hiding. And he wouldn’t be taking anybody with him. Especially not somebody who had so much to stay for the way Ashley did. In fact, she would be crazy to want to go on the run with him.

  So, no. There would be no romance between him and Ashley.

  Ashley and Rick worked in the den for about two hours. When the nuances of Seven Hills’s accounting system had been explained, Rick needed to check something in the barn and left Ashley to familiarize herself with the financial state of the farm and the current budget. For two hours, she sat with her eyes glued to the computer screen, taking in not just where the money went, but the little things Rick hadn’t told her to absorb. She noted the vendors and the names of the farms where they bought stallions or sold yearlings that weren’t taken to auction, wondering why these vendors and farms were chosen and knowing she’d have to ask her dad.

  After lunch Rick came back to the house. “I’m driving to the next county to look at a stallion.”

  “Okay.”

  She waited for him to tell her what to do while he was gone. Instead after an awkward pause he asked, “Do you want to drive or ride?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ashley said, bouncing from the seat behind her dad’s big desk, realizing he didn’t intend to ease into this transition and that meant that she had to be quicker to recognize his intentions.

  “Then I’ll drive.” He turned and began walking out of the den. “And grab a jacket. It’s cold.”

  Ashley raced upstairs, snatched a leather blazer from her closet to dress up her old jeans and met Rick at his truck, which was parked beside the barn. She tried not to let her pleasure show because she knew this wasn’t easy for him. Technically he was training his boss, but more than that he had wanted this job. And he was the odds-on favorite in their head-to-head competition. Instead he was sacrificing the position that seemed tailor-made for him because he knew it was the right thing to do.

  But he wasn’t the only one who knew how to do the right thing, and she suddenly realized that he needed to know that when the chips were down, she could be a good guy, too.

  “I ran into Rayne Fegan last night.”

  He took his eyes off the road long enough to cast a long look at her. “What did she want?”

  “She wanted me to spy on you but I told her no.”

  He peered over at her again, this time, though, his lips quirked as if he were trying to keep himself from grinning. “She wanted you to spy and you t
old her no?”

  “Even knowing you were my only stumbling block to running this farm, I refused to sell you out.”

  “Can I ask why?”

  “Because it was the right thing to do. The same reason you’re teaching me my job. We’ve both just proven that we’re good people.”

  “Yeah, well your proof didn’t cost you your job.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t know that at the time. At the time, I saw Rayne as presenting me with the opportunity to get rid of you, which would have made me a shoo-in for this job. Yet I decided that even if it meant losing the manager position to you I had to do the right thing and keep Ruthie a secret.”

  He took a breath. “I appreciate that.”

  “So we really are even.”

  “Finally.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.”

  The conversation died out and Ashley settled on the seat of his truck. For the first time in a long time she felt comfortable. Happy even.

  The thought that she was happy surprised her so much that she peeked at Rick. She could easily admit she was “happy” to be learning the ropes of running the farm, but deep down inside she knew that was only part of it. Over the past few days she had won Rick’s respect because she simply wouldn’t give up but also because they were getting to know each other. Just that morning he’d said her babysitting Ruthie proved that she was determined and deserving. So in a way she’d won his respect the old-fashioned way. She’d earned it.

  She’d earned it.

  He hadn’t bowed to her because she had money, because she would someday own the farm, or even because it had been an order of her dad. He’d conceded the job they both wanted because she’d proven herself.

  Her eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. She’d never realized that having somebody go against her could be good. But in this case it had. Not because she’d proven herself to Rick, but because she’d proven that she could fight. Losing to her ex-husband had stolen all the fight from her, all her courage, all her will. Rick refusing to budge had been the best thing anyone had ever done for her.

  They arrived at the small horse farm and as they drove down the dirt lane, Ashley took in the pretty yellow house and barn surrounded by orange-leafed trees.

  This was what she loved about her home. Everything in and around Calhoun Corners was clean, natural, real. Work was hard, but honest. Rewards were earned. And now she was part of it. Someday she might even be a big part.

  When they reached the barn, Rick shut down the engine of the truck and turned to her. “Though you’re the boss, you’re still a manager in training. I talk in there.”

  She nodded. “Got it.”

  They both exited the vehicle and Rick waited for her to come around to his side, which was closer to the barn.

  When she reached him he turned and began striding to the barn. “I’m guessing your dad forgot he put in a bid on this horse, because he never mentioned it to me. But this morning I got the call notifying us that ours was the winning bid.”

  Walking as fast as she could to keep up with Rick’s long strides, Ashley debated telling Rick that her dad forgetting important things like bids was more proof that he was probably planning to retire and more proof that she wasn’t learning to run Seven Hills a minute too soon. In the end she decided against it. In four short days they’d gone from enemies to friends. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel she’d known him long enough to trust him. It was more that he already knew more than she let most people know about her. Though the urge to talk to him and confide in him was natural, she knew how quickly and how easily people could take a simple confession of a doubt or even something unsettled in her life and use it against her.

  So instead of confiding yet another fact of her life, she said, “What horse is this?”

  “Sweet Potato.”

  Ashley laughed. “Sweet Potato?”

  “Apparently that was the owner’s pet name for his granddaughter.”

  “Thank goodness for reasonable explanations.”

  “Sweet Potato didn’t win any big races. But he outperformed expectations. I’m guessing your dad thinks that his next generation will produce some big time winners.”

  “That would be my guess, too.”

  Rick cast a glance in her direction. “So you do know a little bit?”

  “I know horses. You can’t live around them all your life and not learn their quirks and intricacies.”

  “Running a horse farm is about more than horses.”

  “Okay. How about this then? I learned enough from living on the farm to recognize that even though we don’t train or race, we’re still in the gambling business. We scout races looking for horses like Sweet Potato, who can potentially produce a next generation of even faster horses. So we gamble on the stallions and mares we choose to breed, and we gamble on whether or not we can sell the foals produced.”

  Rick laughed. “It’s a little more than that. But things like the accounting system, caring for the land and schmoozing at the races can be taught. If you don’t know instinctively that business—any business—is about gambling, and that knowing even a sure thing is a risk or that the right choice is sometimes the one that looks like the wrong choice, you’ll fail.”

  “I don’t intend to fail.”

  “Gonna make lots of money, huh?”

  “It isn’t about money for me. It’s about home. It’s about keeping Seven Hills the way it’s always been. Successful. Lush. Home.”

  When Rick said nothing, she stopped walking and caught his arm forcing him to stop, too. “I need for you to understand this. I’m not taking this job because I want to play at being an entrepreneur or business-woman or horseperson of the year. I want to keep my home my home.”

  He studied her for a few seconds then said, “I understand that.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes. I didn’t come home only because I needed help with Ruthie. I came home because I like the peace and quiet of Calhoun Corners. If at all possible, I want to raise my daughter here. I want my dad reelected so we don’t have to worry that the town’s going to change overnight. So, yeah, I understand exactly what you’re saying.”

  “So we agree.”

  He shrugged. “Yes. We do agree. Again. Not only do we both do the right thing when pushed, but we both understand home.” He started walking to the barn. “But for now our job is only to make sure Sweet Potato really is the horse that we want. If he checks out then we take him with us when we go.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  The whole transaction took less than two hours. Rick approved the horse, then handed a certified check to the owner. They loaded Sweet Potato into the trailer and drove back to Seven Hills.

  As Rick turned the stallion over to Toby, his cell phone rang. He glanced down at the caller ID and, letting the phone ring again, faced Toby. “You and Sweet Potato go on without me, Toby. I may be a minute.”

  Not quite sure what Rick wanted her to do since he hadn’t included her in on his instructions to Toby, Ashley stayed beside his truck as he answered his ringing phone.

  “Hey, Mom, what’s up?” He paused, listening, then frowned. “Okay.” Another pause. This time as he listened he grimaced. “Okay. Sure. I understand.”

  He snapped his phone closed, then sighed as he caught Ashley’s gaze. “I really wanted to go over a couple more things with you, but Tia had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon which she forgot about. So she called my mother who had no choice but to bring Ruthie to my house to watch her there.”

  “So Ruthie’s home?”

  “Yes. Unfortunately my mother can’t stay any longer. She needs to get back to her own house to make dinner for my dad. But she made me supper. Fried chicken. If you want, you could come to the guesthouse with me to talk a bit more about the record-keeping, vendors, that kind of stuff. And I could feed you.”

  “Real food?”

  “Don’t you have a cook or something?”

  “We have a ho
usekeeper, but she only comes in three times a week. She doesn’t cook.”

  “What do you eat?”

  Ashley shrugged. “I cook. But since I’ve been working twelve to sixteen hours a day this week, I haven’t had time for much more than frozen dinners. Last night when Rayne parked beside me at the counter of the diner, I ended up leaving half my stew.”

  “Did you get lunch?”

  “A sandwich.”

  He shook his head. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  They hopped into Rick’s truck and drove the short distance to the guesthouse. After pulling into the parking space beside the little Cape Cod, Rick cut the engine and reached for his door handle. “I never guessed when you discovered Ruthie that it would actually come in handy.”

  “Yeah,” Ashley said, jumping out of the truck. “But you really only have about another week to hide her.”

  “Ten days,” Rick agreed, climbing the steps. He pulled open the screen door and called, “Mom, we’re here.”

  Holding Ruthie, Elizabeth all but ran from the kitchen to the front foyer. “Great.” She handed the baby to Rick. “Sorry about this, but I have to get the heck home and make dinner for your dad.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Rick said, smiling when Ruthie nuzzled her nose into his shirt collar. “Ashley and I have to go over a few things. We can do it here as easily as in her dad’s den.”

  As if only noticing Ashley, Elizabeth said, “Oh, Ashley’s here. Great.” She said, “Hi, Ashley,” then ran to the door, shoved it open and was across the porch and down the steps before Ashley could count to three.

  Ashley laughed. “Does she always run when she knows your dad’s about to come home?”

  “Yes,” Rick said, leading Ashley into the kitchen and toward the wonderful scent of fried chicken. “But not because he’s bossy. Because she likes him.”

  Waving at Ruthie, who was peering at her over Rick’s shoulder, Ashley followed Rick into the kitchen. “Really?”

  “Yeah. They genuinely like each other.” He shook his head. “When my brother and I were younger, and they would kiss each other or jump to please each other, Jericho and I would make gagging noises and mutter about how disgusting they were. Now, I wish I could find a relationship like they have.”