Wanted: Fairy Godmother (2 page)

He sighed heavily, trying to diffuse the burning sensation eating at his gut.
Guilt,
he supposed,
or anxiety.
The rest of his life depended on the outcome of today’s meeting. His cousins’ happiness rested in this woman’s hands.

Impressions of the surrounding diners, many of them people he’d known all his life, filtered in now. Jake sipped the now tepid, sweetened black coffee. Snippets of conversation floated to him. A hot debate on politics rose above the other voices jockeying to be heard.

His glance caught the curtain of blonde hair. Shoulder length, silky hair, his mind added. His heart skipped a beat, and then picked up speed. As she twisted back around on the seat at the counter, Jake sucked in a breath. Beauty, pure and natural, hit him.

The word
Angel
echoed in his head. He could see the light green of her eyes from here. Absently, he rejected the notion she wore contacts. His perusal took in the fringe of bangs framing her eyes and the delicate heart-shaped face with high cheekbones. Her pink lips drew his attention. She darted out her tongue and licked her full bottom lip, jolting his system into overdrive.

An impish grin appeared. A tiny dimple formed at the corner of her mouth. Desire, poker-hot and consuming, curled in his belly. He berated himself, knowing this reaction to a total stranger proved his earlier views on sorely missing a bed partner.

Studying her intently, he noted her speaking to Flossie. No telling what his friend would reveal to her…

“Excuse me, Miss Flossie.” Callie Jean Andrews read the nametag on the pink uniform. She leaned close to the smiling waitress, the counter digging painfully into her forearms.

“Need something, sugar?” Flossie pulled out an order pad and pencil, tapping the pointy end on the paper.

Allowing a ghost of a smile to whisper across her lips, Callie shook her head. Her hair whipped her face and she tucked it behind her ear. “Not food. Ah…did I hear right a moment ago? Did you call that guy over there Jake?”

Callie tilted her head slightly in his direction. Hot, stinging color crept into her cheeks. A fluttery sensation rippled through her. His stare, sharp, assessing, and direct, unnerved her.

She watched as the waitress’s ruby painted mouth broke into a wide, engaging grin. “Sure did. Ain’t he something? Ladies all over been making plays for Jake Lassiter for years now.”

Jake Lassiter!
Shock raced through her veins. There was nothing that could have prepared her for that mind-boggling revelation.
Could it really be him after all these years?
she wondered.

She’d only gotten his first name on the phone, not even considering he could be
the
Jake she’d known so long ago. Looking quickly at him now, she couldn’t detect a trace of the young boy she remembered. Except his penetrating eyes…

“Hey, wait a minute. You aren’t the girl he’s been waiting all this time for, are you?”

Nodding slowly, Callie caught the spark of glee in the waitress’s sapphire blue eyes.

“Well, how do you like that? You both sitting, killing time, waiting on the other. Ain’t that rich?”

“Yeah, ain’t it?” Callie muttered under her breath. If she didn’t need a job and a place to live so badly, she’d race out of the diner and never look back.

Gathering all her courage, she rose. She smoothed her damp hands down her thighs. Even though he donned similar attire, she wished she’d worn anything but her comfortable pair of jeans and white shirt. Grabbing her denim jacket from the seat next to her, Callie tread with leaden footsteps to Jake’s table.

A mixture of dread and excitement quivered along her nerve endings. His dark brown eyes reminded her of deep, rich brandy as his gaze locked on hers. Male appreciation shone brightly in the amber-colored depths. With each step she drew nearer, her heartbeat increased in tempo, thundering in her ears. She planted a strained smile on her mouth.

Returning to her childhood home and to the boy she’d had a crush on eighteen years ago never prepared her for the full impact of the bittersweet emotions or the man close up.

She halted a few feet from him. The usual gaggle of girls who surrounded him as a good-looking youth were gone. And he seemed oblivious to the many admiring stares from the women diners. She, Callie Andrews, had his undivided attention. A tiny thrill danced down her spine, making her shiver.

Silently, she looked her fill. Sunlight bathed his collar-length dark hair, bringing out the mahogany highlights. His sharp features taken apart one by one weren’t particularly handsome. But, put all together, his face had an arresting quality that made her stomach do somersaults. His unshaven jaw only added to his appeal.

Clearing her throat, she held out her hand. She hated the way it trembled. “I think you’ve been waiting for me.”

Shock registered in his look. “
You’re
Callie Andrews?”

Did he remember me as a seven-year-old little girl in love with him?
she wondered, half afraid he did, half afraid he didn’t. Would he turn her away from the job if he did?

A memory flashed in her mind, bright and sharp. More interested in the events of the rodeo, he’d shunned a lovesick, pesky blonde-haired girl, distancing himself from the annoying admirer.

Now, she sighed in relief when no hint of recognition formed.

Standing quickly, his features contorted. Pain clouded his eyes as he tried to focus on her. Callie grabbed his outstretched right hand while his left hand clutched the table, his knuckles turning white. Pin prickles of awareness raced from where his callused flesh touched her palm up her arm.

“Are you all right?” Her voice broke as his grip tightened unbearably. The pallor beneath his tan turned chalky, frightening her. Absently, she noted his frame. Over six feet, lean, and broad-shouldered, she assessed his dimensions, wondering how she could prop him up if he collapsed.

He composed himself, obviously battling the wave of pain. “I’m fine,” he choked out. Releasing her, he gestured to the bench seat opposite his. “Please, sit down.”

His gentlemanly manners surprised, yet pleased, her. She took the offered seat, hoping he’d soon take his. Settling in, she spotted the thin, pink half-moon scar marring his left temple.

He must have noted her stare; he said, “Bull kicked me.” He shrugged uncomfortably. A muscle in his jaw jumped as he sank down across from her. “Concussion. I still get these damn blinding headaches.”

Concern rushed through her. “Isn’t there anything—”

“Time, that’s all.” He cut her off, ending further probing.

Dragging up years of adapting to a new situation, Callie relied on her humor. “Surely there’s been some kind of mistake here. You can’t be one of the boys in need of help.”

Amusement transformed his expression. He dug in his shirt pocket, extracting what looked like pictures. Carefully, he spread out three school photographs. “Fairy Godmother, these are your charges.”

She chuckled, relieved that his sudden attack had passed. Looking closely, Callie gasped. “I’ve seen him before.” She pointed to the first one of a thin-faced boy with a mop of dark, curly hair. Dark rimmed glasses sat awkwardly on his small nose, revealing equally dark eyes.

“Stan? How?”

“In some underground computer newspaper my former employer used to get. I remember reading Stan is a genius when it comes to computers.” Awe laced her words.

A grim smile played on Jake’s face. “Tell me about it. That’s the problem. My cousin lives, breathes, and eats that stuff.”

“Cousin?” Callie glanced from the photo, and then to Jake. The coloring matched, but little else.

“I’m adopted.” The two words, clipped and bitter, slammed into her.

She’d never known that about him. A sense of kinship linked him to Callie, connecting them in ways she found disturbing and exciting.
Lost, adrift, and no place that felt like home
, she thought. Very few people could relate to that feeling. But Jake did; she read it in his whole demeanor.

“I grew up in a Navy family, never staying in one place for too long. Then the divorce happened. The shuffling back and forth between the new families was even worse, if you can believe that.”

For a space of a few seconds, he studied her intently, clearly absorbing her past, weighing the person. The spell broke when he nodded to the other two photos. “Marvin is the redhead with freckles and Lance is a throwback to the hippie days.”

Callie briefly looked over the other two. Lance with his long, stringy blond hair and tie-dye T-shirt did appear to be in a time warp. Pushing the pictures to Jake, she leaned back in her seat.

A whirlwind of thoughts shifted and stirred in her head. She’d helped raise her half-brothers and sisters and was nanny to more kids than she dare try to count. But could she make over these guys to suit Jake? Where in the world did she start? And how could she keep Jake from discovering her secret crush on him?

A crush
, she thought,
that should have vanished once she saw him again and realized the absurdity of harboring childhood feelings for nearly twenty years
. But, to her dismay, her curiosity about him piqued, instead of diminished. She longed to know everything about him, discover the changes time had wrought, uncover the man he’d become.

Uppermost in her troubled musings lay the fact that time ticked swiftly by. She’d be on the streets in less than a week.

Leaving her secure nanny position to a family of four in California to follow her heart back to the happiest place she’d ever lived seemed like a wonderful idea at the time.

Callie wanted to plant some roots, settle down in one place finally. She thought of it as her anchor that kept her solid and steady in one beloved spot.

Not getting even an inkling of a job for a month never factored into her impulsive decision. A gamble she seemed close to losing.

She certainly didn’t want to approach her mother or father with her tail between her legs. They, and their respective new families, had adamantly told her she was a first-class fool for chasing a ridiculous idea.

Whoever said you couldn’t go home again probably spoke the truth
, Callie thought wistfully. None of her daydreams of returning to Montana, to where she truly belonged, worked out thus far.

“Well? Are they hopeless? By the look on your face that’s what it seems. On the phone earlier, you said you could work miracles. In fact, you said you had on several occasions as a nanny. I checked your references. They agreed.” A hint of panic laced his words.

Callie pinned a smile on her lips. “Nothing is hopeless.” A growl, loud and fierce, grumbled in her stomach. Embarrassment stung her cheeks as she pressed her hand to her middle. “Sorry about that. I skipped breakfast.”

He chuckled. “I did, too. Why don’t we order something and discuss our business relationship?”

“Ah…” Callie calculated her meager stash of cash, and then mentally shrugged. If she got the job, she wouldn’t have to worry. If not, she’d spend one less night in a cheap hotel and one more in her Volkswagen bus. The word
homeless
brought a frosty chill to her core and concern sweeping her heart.

“It’s on me,” Jake offered when she took too long to answer.

A swell of relief bubbled in her chest. His Cheshire cat wide grin both thrilled and unsettled her.

“This is on the up-and-up, isn’t it?” She hesitated to question her unusual good fortune. “I mean, this isn’t a way for you to get women, is it?”

The moment the words were out she wished she could stuff them back where they came from. Sexy Jake Lassiter wouldn’t need tricks to get a lady. He didn’t at twelve and he certainly didn’t now.

Surprise washed over his features. He leaned close, dangerously close. A waft of his musky male scent assailed her senses, heightening her awareness of this good-looking, rugged cowboy. “Who do you think I am, anyway?” His low, steady voice betrayed the annoyance flashing in his amber-colored eyes.

Pride rose to her defense. “You have to admit this is a rather strange situation. When I called this morning, you said almost the same thing. A woman moving in with four men should raise a few suspicions.” Desperation churned inside her. Hope loomed near. But caution won over. “I’ll need a reference from
you
.”

Right now Jake’s job offer seemed like the best avenue to achieve all her dreams, to fill the emptiness. She crossed her fingers under the table, hoping that he came up to snuff.

After all, eighteen years would change a man and daydreams tended to exaggerate a person,
she figured, noting she barely knew Jake back then when she spent her first two years and several long, glorious summers on her grandfather’s ranch.

A ranch that sat adjacent to the Lassiters’.

A ranch that her mother sold the moment Gramps died the year Callie turned seven, uprooting Callie and shattering her happy, carefree existence for the first of many times.

A ranch that Callie longed to eventually purchase and make her home once again.
The only real home I’ve ever known
, she thought, her soul aching.

“Ah hell!” The short puff of hot air fanned her face. “Flossie, you got a minute?” Jake called to the hovering waitress as he sat back.

“For you? Anything, Jake.” The cheery lady sidled up to the table, looking curiously from one to the other. “Ready to order?”

“First, Miss Andrews here needs me to present her with a character reference.” A hardness edged his tone, telling Callie far more than actions did. Her mistrust irritated him.

Flossie let out a cackle that grated along Callie’s nerves. She winced and it brought a tight smile to Jake’s mouth.

“Well, sugar, I guess I can verify Jake is pretty harmless. At least he was when I used to babysit for him and all the rug rats around here years ago.” The way she smiled poked holes through her flippant nickname. The ol’ gal loved those kids. Callie wondered if the lady had ever babysat her.