How to Marry a Cowboy (Cowboys & Brides) by Carolyn Brown Read Free Book Online

that your girl was a part of. It’s possible that he didn’t even pay attention to the models, but even if he did, scuttlebutt has it that he’s quite taken with Candy and has finally gotten over Annie,” Jeremiah said.
    “What’s your gut feeling?” Mason asked.
    “My gut feeling says that Nick has a nasty reputation and that she’d be smart to lay low until Nick and Candy get a lot more serious in the relationship. But if I was you, I’d hire her on the spot. She’s got nurse’s training and she’s been raised on a ranch and she was a librarian, so she’s kind of like a teacher, a tutor, and even knows ranchin’ business all rolled into one woman. And you said that the girls are taken with her. So I think it’s probably a win-win situation,” Jeremiah answered.
    “And if Nicky comes around here?”
    “Nicky is mostly all belt buckle and no cowboy, but if he does come around Whitewright, shoot the bastard.”
    Mason chuckled. “Send me your bill.”
    “Sure thing. And good luck.”
    ***
    Annie Rose tied the top of the garbage bag shut and set it to the side. “I need one more bag.”
    “I’ll go get it for you, Mama-Nanny,” Gabby said and yelled back over her shoulder as she ran across the patio. “Lily, you watch my goat and don’t let him eat my new Barbie doll’s hair. Kenna got one at her last party and her goat plumb ate every bit of its hair before we saw what was happening.”
    Lily nodded seriously. “And it ate up a Monopoly game too. Daddy, can we please, please, please keep our baby goats in the house?”
    Mason put his phone away and said, “It’s not up to me. I’m going to offer Annie Rose the job as the new nanny around here for as long as she wants to stay with us. So you have to ask her about goats in the house.”
    Gabby came back with the trash bag and handed it to Annie Rose, who went right on sorting through the paper to make sure no toys or books were lost in the trash pile.
    “Gabby, Mama-Nanny is staying. Daddy said she can stay as long as she wants!” Lily yelled so loud that the goats stopped licking at paper scraps and huddled together.
    Annie Rose shoved her foot into the bag, stomped down the paper, and then crammed more into it. When that was done, she folded the plastic tablecloth around all the messy plates, empty cups, and half-eaten hot dogs, and forced it into the bag too.
    “Room and board plus minimum wage if you’ll do light housekeeping and some cooking,” he said.
    She wiped her hand on her fanny and stuck it out. “Deal.”
    After the thoughts that had snuck through her mind all morning, she wasn’t a bit surprised at the reaction skin-on-skin contact brought about. Thank goodness the extra beat in her pulse didn’t radiate through her fingertips.
    He shook. “You hear that, girls?”
    “Yay!” They high-fived each other with their left hands.
    “So now you’ve got a new nanny, and she’ll make the rules about the goats.”
    Lily crossed her arms. “Can’t we call her Mama-Nanny?”
    “You’ll have to talk to her about that. Since she’s the one y’all have picked out, then you can work out the details with her.” Mason winked at Annie Rose.
    Annie Rose shrugged. “It’s fine with me, but remember, before you decide to call me Mama-Nanny, know that a mama can boss you even more than a nanny. So you might want to think it over or at least talk about it first.”
    Annie Rose kept stuffing paper into the second trash bag without even looking up, knowing that if she met Mason’s eyes, she’d spontaneously combust. He was a damn handsome man, and when he winked at her like that, her insides flat-out turned to mush.
    Lily nodded. “We understand.”
    “Okay then, I’ll be your Mama-Nanny if that’s what you really want me to be,” Annie Rose said. Lord, how did anyone tell those two darlings “no” about anything?
    “If a Mama-Nanny can act like a mama and make decisions like a mama, then I want to talk about them dumb old