Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

yourself.”
    His gut clenched hotly at that. A protest. He worried about himself first, always moving pawns around on a chessboard to suit him, directing lives—directing her life. Yet she believed his “great dad and loving provider” act. He got up at night with Kyle and brought him to her, staying in the room while she fed the boy. She thought it was because he loved his son so much. And afterward she always put the infant in his arms, expecting him to rock Kyle back to sleep. And he did, but not because he wanted to do it. Not because he enjoyed holding a baby in his arms, although sometimes he questioned whether he secretly was beginning to look forward to that time with his son. No way. He almost shook his head violently at his thoughts. He wanted Emma to see him showering Kyle with attention; that was his only reason.
    “I want you to do as your doctor says, Emma. Stay in bed. You have to think of your baby, not whether or not I have dinner. We have a cook for that.”
    Emma studied the lines in Jake’s face. He looked far more tired than usual. Something wasn’t right.
    “The cook goes home after four. You always work late and some of the boys get hungry so I like to have something ready on the stove. And the doctor hasn’t put me on full bed rest yet, Jake, so stop worrying so much. All I do is lounge around.”
    Jake’s strange golden eyes blazed down at her. He reached across to capture her chin and hold her facing him, his grip strong, fingers biting a little at her. “I know exactly what you do, Emma, and I wouldn’t call it lounging. Would you like to tell me why I employ a nurse and a cook, when you do all the work?”
    He was chastising her. She pushed down a smile, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate her strange sense of humor. Everyone seemed afraid of Jake with his gruff manner and hard, piercing eyes, but she found him compelling and at times even tender, taking care of those who lived on his ranch with a fierce protectiveness. Even his men. There was his crew of roughnecks that occasionally came to the house, the oil drillers that scattered to the four winds when they weren’t working and the cowboys who took care of his cattle and fields who lived on the ranch in houses or the bunk-house. They often came up to the main house to talk to Jake, and she got into the habit of making fresh bread and pastries for them.
    “I have no idea why you hired them. I told you that if I was going to take the housekeeping job and look after Kyle, I didn’t want anyone else running the house.”
    She tilted her chin at him, refusing to be intimidated by the warning glitter in his eyes. As much as she worried about him, and as much as she wanted to smooth the lines in his face, she refused to cater to his temper or his bossiness. The man didn’t know how to talk without giving an order. She often found herself wanting to please him, telling herself it was to ease the constant strain he was under, but more likely it was her terrible penchant for wounded creatures. And he was wounded, whether anyone else could see it or not. She knew he’d be horrified at her assessment of him. Jake was the most independent man she’d ever met.
    He leaned closer to her. “No one will run the house after you’ve recovered from having the baby. In the meantime, let them wait on you.”
    “I’m not staying in bed until I absolutely have to. Partial bed rest means I can get up a bit. And Kyle prefers me to the nurse.”
    “Well of course he prefers you to the old bat. She never cracks a smile, at least not around me. Not that I hired her for her ability to smile.”
    “Why did you hire her?”
    “Her credentials are impeccable.”
    “She doesn’t know a thing about babies; not really. Some people have a natural ability. She doesn’t,”
    Emma insisted.
    The nurse specialized in difficult pregnancies, not babies. He shrugged and set the empty plate aside.
    “She doesn’t approve of my lifestyle.” He shot her a sheepish grin. “I don’t think my considerable charm works on her.”
    Emma felt the first stirrings of protectiveness toward Jake. And more than a little anger toward the absent nurse. “Who is she to judge your lifestyle? What’s wrong with it?”
    Jake shrugged again. “You’re protected here, Emma, but there are a lot of people interested in my life.
    When they can’t find any details to talk about, they make it up.”
    She turned his matter-of-fact statement over and over in her mind.