Chapter One
Bonnie Tabor eased her red Volkswagen Passat into a parking space and turned off the engine. As soon as she opened the rear passenger door, her young charge, Gunner, kicked his feet in anticipation, as though the motion might somehow free him sooner. Bonnie smiled at his enthusiasm. “Hold on, buddy.” She released the car seat harness and lifted the two-and-a-half-year-old boy into her arms. He immediately began to squirm as he tried to get down.
“You can walk when we get across the parking lot.” She pressed a kiss to Gunner’s cheek and shifted him in her arms. Once she retrieved a small backpack, she closed and locked the car again.
Gunner may not be her son, but she’d been his nanny since he was three months old. Spending nearly every weekday with the little guy had resulted in a strong bond between them. She could honestly say she loved her job and the child she cared for.
Even if his single father, Jace Echolls, often drove her crazy with his unpredictable work schedule. She’d go insane if she didn’t regularly have Saturdays and Sundays off. Oh, and a more than decent paycheck. She belonged to a nanny group online, and while she didn’t share her own salary, she was made aware of how thankful she should be for what Jace paid her.
Still, when he pulled stunts like the one tonight, it aggravated her to no end. Jace was a workaholic, and his occasional disregard for her personal time was annoying.
It was Friday evening, and Bonnie should be at her apartment getting ready for a date. Instead, Jace had informed her of a last-minute meeting that would delay him from returning home for at least two more hours. He could have at least asked her if she had plans first instead of assuming.
Which meant Bonnie’s workday had been extended.
Normally, she wouldn’t have minded as much. Having extra money in the bank account was always good. But tonight, she was supposed to meet her boyfriend, Lew, for dinner. She first suggested they go out Saturday night instead, but he’d insisted it had to be Friday. To say Lew was less than happy about the change in plans was an understatement.
She flinched at the memory of his sharp words over the phone.
“It’s one thing to be dedicated to your job, Bonnie. But this is different. You let your boss have complete control of your time. I’m starting to wonder if it’s only the kid you really care about.”
Bonnie had hesitated, completely shocked at his words. “What do you mean?”
Apparently, he’d taken the delay as possible confirmation and snorted. “Nothing, Bonnie. I’ll talk to you next week. Assuming you can work me into your schedule.”
With that, the connection ended, and Bonnie had woodenly pocketed her phone.
His assessment of her hadn’t been fair. It’s not like any of this was a surprise since he knew she worked as a nanny from the day they met. She was completely free every weekend, and she spoke to Lew on the phone most evenings. Her schedule was more reliable than his. She never knew which evenings he was free until he called and asked her out. He should’ve been speaking into a mirror with his accusations of being too dedicated to one’s job.
Even worse, it was ridiculous that Lew would insinuate she had feelings for Jace. Jace kept his personal life and business—the category Bonnie fell into—completely separate. Bonnie was his employee, and while Jace had always been kind, he’d made it clear multiple times that was exactly the way he wanted it.
Sure, maybe she had developed a serious crush on the guy six months after she started working for him, but she’d pushed that away. The last thing she needed was to jeopardize what she considered the perfect job because she acted like a teenager. She was thirty-one years old with a great job and a boyfriend—even if he had been a first-class jerk earlier.
Besides, poor Jace lost his wife to a pulmonary embolism just days after Gunner was born. All Bonnie knew about the woman was that her name was Samantha, and from the one picture of her in Gunner’s room, she was truly beautiful.
Jace never spoke about her. For all Bonnie knew, he was still hopelessly in love with his wife and grieved daily for her. If that were the case, he was definitely off-limits.
Shoving thoughts of Jace aside, and unwilling to let Lew’s attitude mess with the rest of her evening, Bonnie shifted Gunner’s weight again as she walked across the parking lot.
It was the middle of August in Clearwater, Texas. No wonder sweat was already rolling down Bonnie’s back. She couldn’t wait until fall weather arrived, although they probably had at least another month or two before that happened.
Bonnie stepped onto the walkway that led to Joyful Hope Stables. The moment a horse’s whinny drifted to their ears, Gunner started bouncing up and down in her arms.
“Horsies! Go see horsies!”
Bonnie chuckled. “Yes, we’re going to see the horses.” She set him on his feet and quickly captured his chubby little hand in her own before he could run away from her.
Even with a busy toddler to keep track of, Bonnie instantly relaxed as the sounds of the horses and smell of hay and grass enveloped her. The stables, owned by her brother, Wyatt, and his wife, Chrissy, were one of her favorite places to be. She volunteered to help with hippotherapy sessions most Saturdays and tried to stop by to say hi once in a while. This time, though, she just wanted to get out of the house for a few minutes. She and Gunner were both going stir-crazy.
Bonnie found a spot to sit in the observation area and pulled some of Gunner’s highly-prized toys from the backpack. They could watch from here for a little while until Gunner was no longer content and then she’d head back to her employer’s home.
She loved watching these hippotherapy sessions. It was amazing how working with a horse helped everyone ranging from children with special needs to senior citizens. It wasn’t just the way the horses connected with their riders, it was also how the actual act of riding the horse helped build core muscle strength, not to mention the rider’s self-confidence.
Her attention zeroed in on a young boy with braces on his legs. Bonnie didn’t know what made the braces necessary, but there was no missing the pure joy on the boy’s face as he rode around gracefully. The faster the horse went, the wider the boy’s smile.
Gunner held a tractor in one hand while he pointed to the horses with the other. “Go ride.”
“You can’t ride them, buddy. There’s a class right now. Besides, I’d have to clear it with your daddy first.” She’d never brought Gunner to ride but wondered whether Jace would object.
