Read Online How to Marry a Cowboy (Cowboys & Brides) by Carolyn Brown - Free Book Online
Authors: Carolyn Brown
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sleep either and maybe you’d like a cup of tea. I never talk to strangers about my personal life.”
“It’s the birthday season, and besides, now we aren’t strangers. We’ve shared a cup of tea. That makes us friends,” she said.
No wonder he had never remarried. A woman would be battling an impossibly rocky slope. Add that to a couple of ornery little girls who had learned the art of making even a nanny’s life miserable, and he’d probably never find happiness again. It was time to pull out the change-the-subject tool from her bag of fix-it tricks.
“Listen to those goats carrying on up there. If we’re awake, so are they, and the more they fuss with the goats, the easier tomorrow morning will be when they put them outside permanently,” she said.
“Gabby is fussin’ with the goats; Lily is cussin’ at the goats.” He finally smiled but it didn’t reach those striking green eyes of his. “I’m glad you are here, Annie Rose. They would have steamrolled right over me and the goats would have ended up living in the house. You’ll be good for them.”
“I promise to be good to them, but they aren’t steamrolling anything over me.” She laughed.
“Well, thank you for listening. I’m going to sleep on the sofa in the den tonight. It sounds much worse up there than it does down here. Good night, Annie Rose.”
She carried both cups to the dishwasher. “Good night, Mason. Tomorrow night will be much quieter, I promise.”
Chapter 4
The aroma of bacon, muffins, and coffee blended together and rose up the stairs as Mason headed for the kitchen early that morning. Previous nannies might pour cereal in a bowl for the girls if he didn’t have the time or inclination to cook breakfast. None of them ever had things under control, were fully dressed with a smile, and poured a cup of coffee for him before he even said “good morning.”
She barely came up to his shoulder, and with her blond hair up in a ponytail, she looked more like the girls’ older sister than she did their nanny. He tried to remember her birthday on the driver’s license that she’d flashed at him, but he’d been too worried about who she was and what she was doing on his porch to pay close attention.
“Did the goats keep you up all night?” he asked.
“No, sir. Slept like a baby. First half in the recliner and second in the bed. I fell asleep watching CMT videos, woke up in the middle of the night, and went from chair to bed. How about you?”
He covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “The sofa was better than my bedroom, but I did consider going out to the hayloft or taking a blanket to my truck when Lily raised her voice. It was almost daylight when she told her goat if he shit again, she would haul his sorry little goat ass out to the calf pen right now. And then there was something about that stuff not smelling like roses. I’m pretty sure you are a genius.”
Annie Rose giggled at first and then she laughed so loud that it echoed off the walls. She was so darn cute with her blond hair twisted up and her rounded fanny filling out those jeans just right. She had that purely beautiful skin that didn’t need a smidgen of makeup, and her laughter cheered up the whole house.
She wiped at her eyes with a dish towel. “I know she shouldn’t cuss, but it’s so damn cute coming out of her precious little mouth. Are they awake?”
He nodded. “I don’t think they’ve gotten much sleep. I want you to keep them awake all day. No naps. It’ll teach them a lesson.”
“Oh, I will. It’s all part of the goat process, as my mama said,” she promised. “We’re going to do Monday morning laundry and dusting today, a fiddle and singin’ lesson this afternoon, and then we might have an hour to swim before we cook supper, and since I’m cookin’, they get to do the dishes.”
“We have a dishwasher.” He pointed.
“We have two, and they’re plenty old enough to learn. They might not like it at first, but
“It’s the birthday season, and besides, now we aren’t strangers. We’ve shared a cup of tea. That makes us friends,” she said.
No wonder he had never remarried. A woman would be battling an impossibly rocky slope. Add that to a couple of ornery little girls who had learned the art of making even a nanny’s life miserable, and he’d probably never find happiness again. It was time to pull out the change-the-subject tool from her bag of fix-it tricks.
“Listen to those goats carrying on up there. If we’re awake, so are they, and the more they fuss with the goats, the easier tomorrow morning will be when they put them outside permanently,” she said.
“Gabby is fussin’ with the goats; Lily is cussin’ at the goats.” He finally smiled but it didn’t reach those striking green eyes of his. “I’m glad you are here, Annie Rose. They would have steamrolled right over me and the goats would have ended up living in the house. You’ll be good for them.”
“I promise to be good to them, but they aren’t steamrolling anything over me.” She laughed.
“Well, thank you for listening. I’m going to sleep on the sofa in the den tonight. It sounds much worse up there than it does down here. Good night, Annie Rose.”
She carried both cups to the dishwasher. “Good night, Mason. Tomorrow night will be much quieter, I promise.”
Chapter 4
The aroma of bacon, muffins, and coffee blended together and rose up the stairs as Mason headed for the kitchen early that morning. Previous nannies might pour cereal in a bowl for the girls if he didn’t have the time or inclination to cook breakfast. None of them ever had things under control, were fully dressed with a smile, and poured a cup of coffee for him before he even said “good morning.”
She barely came up to his shoulder, and with her blond hair up in a ponytail, she looked more like the girls’ older sister than she did their nanny. He tried to remember her birthday on the driver’s license that she’d flashed at him, but he’d been too worried about who she was and what she was doing on his porch to pay close attention.
“Did the goats keep you up all night?” he asked.
“No, sir. Slept like a baby. First half in the recliner and second in the bed. I fell asleep watching CMT videos, woke up in the middle of the night, and went from chair to bed. How about you?”
He covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “The sofa was better than my bedroom, but I did consider going out to the hayloft or taking a blanket to my truck when Lily raised her voice. It was almost daylight when she told her goat if he shit again, she would haul his sorry little goat ass out to the calf pen right now. And then there was something about that stuff not smelling like roses. I’m pretty sure you are a genius.”
Annie Rose giggled at first and then she laughed so loud that it echoed off the walls. She was so darn cute with her blond hair twisted up and her rounded fanny filling out those jeans just right. She had that purely beautiful skin that didn’t need a smidgen of makeup, and her laughter cheered up the whole house.
She wiped at her eyes with a dish towel. “I know she shouldn’t cuss, but it’s so damn cute coming out of her precious little mouth. Are they awake?”
He nodded. “I don’t think they’ve gotten much sleep. I want you to keep them awake all day. No naps. It’ll teach them a lesson.”
“Oh, I will. It’s all part of the goat process, as my mama said,” she promised. “We’re going to do Monday morning laundry and dusting today, a fiddle and singin’ lesson this afternoon, and then we might have an hour to swim before we cook supper, and since I’m cookin’, they get to do the dishes.”
“We have a dishwasher.” He pointed.
“We have two, and they’re plenty old enough to learn. They might not like it at first, but
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