.
big help around here,” Wesley said as he put his arm around the adolescent’s shoulders.
Caroline could tell that Shane was pleased with the attention. He ducked his head and shuffled his feet as if a little embarrassed by his uncle’s attention.
“Shane’s only going to spend a year here in Colorado before going to college,” his mother said quickly as if there might have been some heated discussion about it. “His late father would have wanted him to fill his shoes, being responsible and taking care of family business. That means some brain work and study.”
Caroline could tell from Shane’s expression that he’d heard this lecture before. His eyes darkened. The young man’s suddenly stiff posture hinted at an explosive emotion close to the surface.
Wes murmured, “Easy does it.”
There was something threatening and unsettling about Shane Wainwright. Caroline decided then and there to keep Danny as far away from him as she could.
Chapter Three
Caroline was relieved that dinner was a casual affair served in a square room that resembled a café more than a formal dining area. The walls were knotty pine and undressed windows with open shutters overlooked a rocky slope and the lake below. Small maple tables and chairs were scattered around the room with no sign of the traditional long table. She suspected the lodge’s main dining room was closed off when so few people were in residence.
Stella had told Caroline that usually only relatives and close friends made use of the lodge, but Wes invited business associates and acquaintances to be guests a few times during the year.
Wes and Dexter had stayed behind to finish their drinks and the only occupant in the room when Caroline, Stella and the children entered was a woman with graying dark hair and strong Spanish features sitting at one of the tables. Her dress was a bright, exotic print with a matching fringed shawl and a stream of different colored beads hung around her neck. Large silver hoops dangled from her ears.
“Nanny, here’s another kid,” Cassie exclaimed as she bounded over to her. Pointing a finger at Danny, she added with a frown, “I don’t like him much. Does he get to play with all my things?”
The woman slowly set down her cup and rose to her feet. She was tall with a rather regal posture. Caroline guessed her to be in her fifties.
“No, sit down, Felicia,” Stella ordered, but the woman remained standing as Stella drew Caroline forward. “I spoke to you about Mrs. Fairchild and her son being with us for a few weeks. Well, this is Danny. He’s the same age as Cassie.”
Felicia’s dark eyes narrowed and she seemed to stiffen as she looked at Danny. Caroline wondered if she had already decided that the boy’s presence spelled trouble.
“I’m sure having someone for Cassie to play with will be a help,” Stella told her.
Caroline spoke up rather defensively. “Danny’s preschool teachers have found him easy to manage. He plays well with other children. If there’s any problem, I’ll want to know about it.”
“Such beautiful brown eyes, round and clear,” Felicia said, her expression softening as she looked at him.
Cassie shook her finger at Danny in a warning manner. “You have to do as she says.”
Danny stuck his tongue out at the bossy little girl.
To Caroline’s surprise Felicia laughed deeply, her earrings jingling as she nodded. Apparently, Danny’s rejection of Cassie’s bossiness amused her. “He’s a nice boy. You bring him to my rooms. We’ll all play and learn together.”
“Good. That’s settled then,” Stella said, just as Wes and Dexter came into the room.
“Mmm. Smells good,” Dexter said. “I’m hungry as a bear. Grrrr,” he said patting his stomach as he made a play move for Danny. He laughed when Danny backed up and gave him a wide-eyed stare.
“That’s enough, Dex,” Wes said and motioned Caroline and Danny toward a built-in buffet along one wall. “We don’t stand on formality here. We serve ourselves except for drinks.”
“Wait for me at a table, Danny,” Caroline told him. “I’ll bring you a plate.”
The choices were unbelievable and Caroline decided there were enough steaming dishes set out to feed a harvest crew. She had a choice of chicken, roast beef or barbecue pork ribs. There were several vegetable casseroles and potatoes oozing with butter. A platter of fruit was about the only thing that didn’t shriek calories.
Caroline selected a piece of chicken, modest servings of two kinds of vegetables and sliced oranges for both her and Danny. Wes, Dexter and Shane were in line behind her, filling their plates to the fullest.
Stella and Cassie took their plates to the table where Danny was sitting and as Caroline followed, she noticed that Felicia had left. She wondered if it was the nanny’s habit not to eat with the family.
As the two men and Shane sat together at another table, a murmur of conversation and laughter filled the small room. Almost immediately, as if there’d been some kind of signal to the kitchen, a rather plump, redheaded woman in slacks and T-shirt came into the room to serve the drinks.
“Trudie Benson, our housekeeper,” Stella told Caroline. “Her husband, Hank, is our wonderful cook and the two of them keep the place going. They’re recruits from the Texas ranch. Been with the Wainwright family for years. Wes brought them to Colorado when he was first married.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Before I was born,” Cassie piped up. “Daddy told me. Him and Mommy were lonesome until I came along. When she went to heaven, he was glad he still had me.”
“My daddy went to heaven, too,” Danny said as if he wasn’t going to be outdone. “And my mom’s glad she has me.”
Both Caroline and Stella choked back smiles. Competitive natures, both of them.
Caroline begged off staying downstairs after dinner. It had been a long day and both she and Danny were tired. To her surprise, Wes invited her to have an after-dinner drink before retiring, but she politely refused. She knew better than to fraternize with the boss.
After they were settled in their beds and Danny had said his prayers, she wearily closed her eyes and courted sleep. None came. After an hour of turning and tossing, she was still awake. The dynamics of her new situation and the people she’d met kept her mind whirling.
Wes Wainwright certainly had perfected an image of devoted father and unpretentious millionaire. But was it just a facade? What was he like, really? She doubted that he’d stay around long enough for her to find out. Even if he did, she was pretty sure he’d make his presence scarce while the redecorating was going on.
And what about Stella and her son, Shane? Stella must have been much older than the younger brother, Delvin, to marry and have a son of seventeen. She wondered what Wes’s wife had been like and what had happened to her. Caroline tossed all of this around in her mind until she finally fell into a restless sleep.
The room was filled with morning light when she came awake with a jerk. Danny was bending over her, his breath warm on her face. “Are you awake?”
“Almost,” she said and smiled as she cupped his face with her hands and kissed his forehead. “Are you?”
“Can we go home, now?”
“Not today.”
“When can we?”
“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. Taking one day at a time was the only way she could cope at the moment. She wasn’t at all sure how this decorating job was going to play out. Stella’s temperament was certainly a question mark. Conceivably, the woman could throw her hands up at any time and fire Caroline without much cause.
Obviously, her brother-in-law, Wes, had no emotional investment in the project.