Page 68 of A Rancher's Heart

Chapter Fifteen

It had taken a long time to fall asleep. Long enough that when Caleb’s footsteps woke her, she should’ve been able to simply roll over and go back to sleep.

As if.

Hearing him disappear from the house just brought back all the feelings that had swept in when he’d disappeared the night before.

She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through the day. Heck, how she was going to meet his eyes for the first time.

She’d wanted him as much as he wanted her. She couldn’t even blame him for the stupid situation they’d ended up in because it had been her foolish attitude that had started the trouble in the first place.

Maybe he shouldn’t have assumed, but she was just as good at jumping to conclusions—as usual.

No surprises there.

Tamara stared at the ceiling, trying to plot ways this could possibly not end up a shitstorm, but all she saw in her mind were two little girls being disappointed yet another adult was abandoning them.

She and Caleb had to get over their impossible attraction and do what was right for the girls.

Thatwas the solution. She’d make it clear she accepted her responsibility in last night’s debacle, but going forward they’d have to work extra hard. They’d make a commitment to talk things out and not let local gossip cause problems. That’s the last thing the girls needed, and she of all people knew better.

Tamara was still scolding herself when Caleb failed to march into the kitchen at six a.m., and she wondered if he was going to hide out and avoid her all day. In some ways that would be fine, but she couldn’t stop from peering out the window as she continued working, prepping meals and making plans for the girls.

She topped up her coffee and headed toward the door. She might as well get in a little sit time out on the porch. In case it was one of her last opportunities—

Oh my God. It was entirely possible Caleb could fire her.

Shock and reality smacked together, painful and horrifying. If it happened, she wouldn’t complain. Being fired from her last job had been an indignity because she’d meant well, but her mouthing off at the birthday party had been nothing but personal exasperation and not really helpful.

She pushed open the door and muffled a shriek. Eeny and Miney were standing shoulder to shoulder, noses tucked forward as if they planned on joining the family for breakfast.

“Go on, go on, backup,” she ordered, shoving against them and pushing them outside as she closed the door, coffee cup abandoned on the counter.

She caught the goats by their collars, glancing down at the slippers on her feet with regret. It was better than being barefoot. Tamara shuffled off the deck and into the snow, tugging and pulling to get them headed in the right direction.

Only to become stuck when she hit the pen. How was she supposed to open the gate without letting Meany out?

“You’re not a goat, you’re a turkey,” she told the old-timer through the fence. “You taught these two how to be escape artists, then you convince them to go AWOL while you stay back and act all innocent. I know your type.”

“Need a hand?”

Tamara whipped her head around to see Caleb striding closer. “I need four hands, so yes, please.”

Between the two of them they got the animals behind the fence. Caleb watched closely as the goats bounced happily around the pen. “I’ll get Ashton to take another look to see how they’re getting out.”

“Meany hasn’t escaped lately, so maybe it’s something small enough for these two and not for him.”

She stopped. They glanced at each other, the easy moment vanishing as her cheeks heated. “I’m sorry—”

“Last night—”

Tamara figured he’d stop talking, so she kept on rolling. “—I was totally out of line. It was my fault for misspeaking at the birthday party, as well, and I promise I won’t let it happen again. And I’ll make sure any rumours die in the bud.”

He stared at her feet as she spoke.

Icy-cold radiated through her soaking-wet soles, but while she was on a roll she wasn’t going to stop. “I hope you’ll forgive me. I would hate to leave and the girls have to get used to another nanny, and I really love—”

He held up a hand, and this time she choked to a stop.