He nodded, a challenge glinting in his gaze. “Is that a problem?”
“Are you kidding?” Even if it was, why did her opinion matter? “I just never thought about that aspect of the operation at a ranch this size.”
“No one does. Not even me. Living here isn’t required, but I like it. Plus, it’s convenient.”
“I bet.” She paused to burp Silas. “Thanks again. I feel like a new woman.”
“Happy to help.” His gaze warmed and his smile sent tingles all through her system.
Shocked by her raw responses, she averted her gaze. “How can I repay you? There has to be something I can do.”
“Do you rope cattle or ride fences?” he joked.
“I can walk fences,” she volunteered quickly. “I do have a wealth of skills beyond mothering.” That might be overstating it, but she was a quick learner and she enjoyed learning new things.
“If only we needed a swimsuit model.”
She rolled her eyes. “You looked me up.”
“Didn’t have to,” he said. “We studied your career in my business classes.”
“You what? That’s...” She shook her head. “No. No way. How old are you?”
“Relax.” He chuckled. “I’m thirty-one. It was right after your first swimsuit-edition cover. We were studying how you’d branded yourself.”
“It wasn’t easy.” She looked at Silas. “Dad wasn’t amused by my decision. Furious is more accurate. He didn’t want me ‘flaunting myself,’ as he put it, but I needed the money to get through school.”
“Your dad didn’t help with your education?”
“It would be more accurate to say that my stepmother helped herself to my college fund. She had a better story than the truth when I discovered the problem.”
“Your dad believed Regina?”
“Yes.” Jarvis’s dumbfounded expression was such a comfort. For him to side with her without needing any proof was a balm to her battered heart. Silas, his tummy full, was starting to doze off again. That was miraculous. She wanted to gush and thank Jarvis all over again, but she thought that might embarrass him, so she kept the words inside. “They say love is blind. In Dad’s case, they’re right.”
She missed the rocking chair from the nursery, but she managed to mimic the gentle motion. It soothed her as much as her son as her mind drifted back to those grim days. “I can’t say there’s a single day that I ever liked my stepmom.” She could talk about it now without too much animosity or grief. “From the start, she struck me as fake.”
“Spoiler alert, it seems like you were right.”
“Well, she’s been good to my dad and I can’t deny that he’s happier. He was crushed when Mom died.”
“If Regina’s been good to your dad, why do you think she’d follow through on the threat to hurt him?”
Mia snorted softly. “The woman is after his money. Any thoughtful gesture or kind effort she’s made has carried her closer to gaining control of his fortune and more influence in his professional circles.”
“But she was never in banking. Not like your dad.”
Mia glanced up from her son’s sweet face to catch the furrowed brow on Jarvis’s face. “Someone’s been doing his homework.”
“Protecting the ranch, remember?”
She started to laugh, caught herself before she woke the baby. When she had Silas wrapped snug and settled into his car seat, she rocked it a bit with her toe. “You’ve been researching all of us.”
“Only to a point.”
She didn’t know why it was funny. It should be offensive or off-putting at least. Instead, she wanted to give him a high five. Or a hug. A kiss. Please, yes, a kiss. Her gaze dropped to his lips and she pressed her own together—hard—to stop her runaway thoughts about how he would taste and feel.
“Regina is ruthless. Manipulative. She says one thing and does another all the time.”