Linc snorted. He glanced over her shoulder at Charlie. Something about the way she was holding herself must have clued him in that she was feeling uncomfortable because he gave her a gentle smile. “Hey, there, sw
eetheart. You must be Charlie.”
“Charlie, Linc. Linc, Charlie.” Ellie moved back into the room to stand beside her. “You want to come in, Linc?”
“You’re not supposed to invite people into other people’s houses, little bit,” Linc told her. He was a handsome man, no scratch that, he was gorgeous. He wore a button-down flannel shirt, dark jeans and a scuffed pair of cowboy boots. He held his hat in one hand and a package in the other. His dark hair was cut short, his gray eyes watchful as he studied her. She saw his gaze linger on the bed and blushed slightly when she spotted Inky lying out in plain sight, but grabbing the toy now would just draw more attention to it.
“Oh.” Ellie looked at her. “Sorry. This is just Linc though.”
“Just Linc,” he repeated dryly. “You’re so good for my ego, Ellie.”
Ellie smiled. “Oh, you know what I mean. What you got there?”
“Package for Charlie.”
“For me?” she asked in a quiet voice. “But no one knows I’m here.”
Linc frowned slightly as though he didn’t like that idea. But he didn’t know her, why would he care? “Well, this is from the boss man, sweetheart. Here you go.” He held out the package.
And to get it, she was going to have to walk over there and take it. She forced herself to move forward. She was acting like an idiot.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him.
He winked at her. “No problem. Ellie, you leaving now?”
She turned to see her new friend was pulling on her jacket. “Uh-huh,” Ellie replied.
“Bear coming to get you?”
“No.”
Linc’s brows lowered. “I’ll take you home.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “I can find my own way home, Linc.”
“Uh-huh. Heard that before. Don’t know what Bear is thinking letting you wander around on your own.”
“You want to hold my hand as well?” Ellie asked with exasperation.
“Idea has merit,” Linc muttered. He followed her down the steps. “Where are your gloves?”
“Oh, they’re in my pockets.” She pulled them out.
“Doing no good in there, are they?” He helped her put them on. Charlie wished she could be so trusting with other people. Especially men. Ellie didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by the tall man.
Ellie turned as soon as she had her gloves on and waved to her. “Bye, Charlie. See you at dinner tonight.”
“Bye.” She waved back then shut and locked the door. She glanced down at the package. What had the boss man sent her? She set the package down on her bed and grabbed Inky, pulling him close as she ripped open the packaging. She tried to tell herself not to be excited, it was probably something boring. Like more papers for her to sign. After breakfast, Kent had given her a confidentiality agreement to sign saying that she wouldn’t speak of anything that happened on the ranch. She hadn’t really read it properly as contracts confused her and frankly, bored her, but she got the general gist of it.
She drew the contents out and stared at them for a moment. The first was a jacket. It was a gorgeous turquoise color, lined and heavy. It seemed hideously expensive. She looked at the next item. A nightlight, one that you plugged in and left on all night. It was in the shape of a star. How had he known that she slept with a light on?
Because you told him you were scared of the dark, dummy.
Still, it seemed an odd thing to send an employee. But it wasn’t as bad as the next item. She stared down at the brand-new phone in her hand. And it wasn’t a cheap phone, nope this was one of the latest iPhones. It probably cost more than her car was worth. She couldn’t accept this.
Nope. No way. She didn’t even know why he would send her a phone when she already had one. And okay, its battery only lasted a few hours and it froze all the time, but it still did the job she needed it to. Which was mostly to keep in touch with the employment agency she worked for.
She walked over to where her phone was charging and biting her lip, sent the boss man a text message.