Or do you already have a job lined up here in town? I know this is awkward, and possibly premature…”
Rachel felt as though Providence had just delivered this gift. “I don’t have a job right now. I was going to come here and then start looking around. Yes, I’d love to take your offer. I can give you my references and contact information for the family I worked for.”
Cade felt instant relief. Yes, he would check out her references. “Thank you…”
“I love children.” Rachel’s heart beat a little harder. Out of such a tragedy came this gift. Just having Jenny in her arms and knowing that she’d be able to take care of her in the future made staying here an incredible blessing to Rachel. “I’d be delighted to work for you, Mr. Garner.”
CHAPTER THREE
RACHEL WAS SITTING in a curtained hospital cubicle with Jenny in her arms. Oddly enough, the hustle and bustle of the small Jackson Hole hospital made her feel more safe. After the ambulance had arrived and the baby had been checked over, Deputy Garner had asked her to go back with the ambulance crew to the local hospital. Clearly, he was worried about Jenny.
“Ms. Carson?” A young red-haired nurse came into the cubicle and smiled.
“Yes?”
“Jenny Hartmann has a clean bill of health. The doctor is signing the paperwork now.” She frowned. “Do you know where to take the baby?”
“She’s coming home with me, Dottie,” Cade said as he halted next to the slender nurse. He felt his heart expand for an unknown reason as he got his first good look at Rachel Carson. She sat in the chair, her legs crossed, the baby in her arms. Jenny was asleep despite the noise in the emergency room. The two looked as if they were mother and daughter. Despite the trauma, Rachel appeared calm and almost happy with the baby in her arms. Cade nodded to her and gave her a slight smile.
“Rachel has rented one of my parents’ cabins at the ranch. Legally, I’m Jenny’s guardian, and Rachel has agreed to be her nanny until I can get everything straightened out.”
Dottie nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’ll tell Dr. Sherman to put down your mom and dad’s ranch address and that you’re her legal guardian. I wasn’t sure if we needed to call in Child Protective Services or not.”
Cade rested his hands on his hips. “No, you don’t have to in this case.”
Dottie frowned. “It’s so sad, Cade. First Tom. Now Lily. Poor baby Jenny has no one.”
Cade felt grief moving in his chest. “Now she has me.” He’d just come from the crash site. Lily had been taken to the local morgue where the medical examiner would proclaim that she’d died of massive head trauma. There was so much to do. He needed to call Tom and Lily’s adoptive families and friends to set up a funeral. Cade hated having to make the calls on Christmas Day. They would never have another Christmas without remembering that phone call, but he couldn’t put it off. Tom was already buried at a cemetery outside of town. At least now, he and Lily would be together.
Placing her hand on Cade’s damp nylon jacket, Dottie said, “I’ll be right back.”
Cade nodded and pulled the white curtain closed over the front of the cubicle. He felt strangely excited. Maybe it was a release from the day’s tragic circumstances. Maybe it was because finally, after two awful years, someone needed him again. Bringing a chair with him, he went over to where Rachel sat with the baby.
“How are you doing?” he asked, searching her face. Cade began to realize how beautiful Rachel Carson really was. She had an oval face with softly arched eyebrows, full lips and a straight nose that looked a bit crooked at the top. Cade wondered how she’d broken it. As a deputy sheriff, he was used to studying people’s faces. In some cases, it had saved his life. There was nothing threatening about Rachel. It was her large, expressive blue eyes that drew him. In them he could see both a flare of hope and utter exhaustion.
Rachel smiled a little. “Just a little stressed out but glad that Jenny is okay. That’s what is really important here.” Cade Garner’s presence was palpable. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and in his sheriff’s uniform, the black holster and all the other gear, he looked like a dangerous, modern-day warrior. Heart beating a little harder, she couldn’t stop looking into his narrowed gray eyes. This man missed nothing. For a moment, a sizzle of panic grabbed her stomach. At some point, he might put her FBI cover in jeopardy. But then, Rachel sternly told herself, this man knew nothing about her nor would he ever guess that she was in the witness protection program. Her résumé and references were solid.
Reaching out, Cade barely touched Jenny’s soft black hair, fuzz across her skull. “Poor little tyke. She got a raw deal, losing both her parents.”
He was so dizzyingly close that Rachel inhaled sharply. There was a quiet, tightly sprung power around Cade. She saw it in his work-worn hands, his steady and earnest gaze. There was nothing meek or citified about this man. For one wild moment, she wanted to reach out and sift her fingers through his damp, short black hair. Just once, she yearned to touch a man who was both tender and strong—as Cade seemed to be. She watched as he gently curved his hand across Jenny’s tiny head, his tough sheriff-deputy demeanor melting away.
Rachel witnessed a miraculous change in Cade’s face as it transformed from an unreadable cop’s expression to a man who clearly loved this baby. His mouth had been tense, and now, it softened and curved in a subtle smile.
“Have you ever noticed how sweet and clean a baby smells?” He lifted his head to meet her blue gaze.
“I know. I love it,” Rachel whispered.
Cade felt himself getting lost in the family scene—tailor-made for future heartbreak. He had to get a grip fast and keep this semiprofessional. Sitting back, he lifted his hand away from the baby. “I had one of the firefighters drive your rental car into Jackson Hole. I’d like to drive you and Jenny to my home on my parents’ ranch north of town. My captain has given me the rest of the night off because of the situation with Jenny. As her legal guardian, I’ve got paperwork to fill out at the courthouse the day after Christmas.”
Rachel looked up in wonder. “That’s right…it is Christmas, isn’t it?”
Cade looked at his watch and said gruffly, “Just another day as far as I’m concerned.”
The abruptness, the tightening around his eyes and mouth spoke volumes, but Rachel didn’t know exactly how to interpret it. Maybe Cade didn’t celebrate Christmas. It wasn’t her business to ask. Everyone kept secrets. God knew, she had enough of her own to handle. Looking down at Jenny, she said, “Dottie said that Lily Hartmann fed her goat’s milk, that she’s allergic to cow’s milk.”
“That’s right,” Cade said. “Well, no problem there because my folks have some goats and Lily was getting the milk from their nannies. So, I’ll just go out and milk them daily and put enough in the fridge so Jenny has a good supply. That’s an easy problem to take care of.”
“I’ve never milked a goat,” Rachel admitted. She almost slipped by saying that she’d come from a farm in Iowa and had milked cows. Compressing her lips, she vowed not to allow anything of her past to leak out. Cade would have to think she was born in New York City and let it go at that. Still, something about Cade made her want to share details about her life—her real life. She was on dangerous ground with the deputy.
He straightened and smiled tiredly at her. “I have a house at the family homestead. The cabin you’ve rented won’t be that far from my house. How about we get you to your new home? I can take Jenny and care for her and you can get yourself a hot bath and go to bed.”
Alarmed, Rachel stood as he did. “But she needs feeding every two to three hours.”
Cade noted the concern in her upturned face, couldn’t help looking at her fully. She was slender and about five foot seven inches tall. She had a model’s body, not curvy at all. “I think I can handle taking care of Jenny.