NATHAN'S POV
I watched Savannah walk away from me feeling utterly confused at what had just happened in the last half hour. I marched back into the house and found Josephine whistling to herself as she diced some carrots.
"Before you say anything young man, I want to remind you that I raised you and I can still whoop you ass. So gather yourself and watch your words."Josephine said without even looking up.
I loved the woman like my own mother but she drove me mad half the time. She also knew me too well because I was about to rip her a new one so I took my time calming down first.
I sat down and drunk my lemonade trying to find a way to broach the whole situation carefully without offending Josephine.
"Why her?"I asked starting off gently.
"She's different."Josephine replied without missing a beat.
Of course Savannah was different, anyone could see that from a mile away. She was tall, taller than the average woman, with a flawless ebony skin tone and beautiful brown eyes. It didn't help matters that she was gorgeous too but not in the usual way. She had defined features and one would even describe her as handsome yet beautiful at the same time. I would be lying if I said that I was not attracted to her because by God I was. It had been ages since I was with a woman which made it worse. I didn't want my penis making my decisions for me in regards to my children.
"I could see that but why her."I insisted.
"You know I immediately recognized her once I saw her outside the store. Clara wouldn't shut up about her after their interaction the other day. Children have the purest hearts and are the best judge of character. I talked to her on the drive over and confirmed everything that Clara said. She's exactly what this family needs. Trust me on this Barney, when have I ever led you wrong?"Josephine asked.
"Never."I sighed knowing I didn't have much of a choice in this.
"Good then have some faith in me and in her. She had lots to learn but it will be worth it in the end. And besides she might be just what you need."Josephine said with a teasing grin.
"What?!"I choked out not liking her emphasis.
"I'm not blind, I saw the way you were looking at her. She is very beautiful and strong too unlike the cowgirls you and the farmhands are always chasing after."Josephine scoffed.
"You know I don't do that. Between the kids and the farm I don't have time."I replied.
"I'm aware, I was just messing with you thus why Savannah is perfect. You won't have to search far for a good woman, she will be right under your nose sleeping in your house."Josephine insisted with a chuckle.
"Don't remind me, I'm going to muck the horses, call me when lunch is done."I grunted finishing my lemonade.
I picked up my stetson and left walking to the stables. I found Austin and Travis, two of my farmhands arguing.
"What's got you boys riled up?"I asked them.
"This douche doesn't believe me when I tell him about the woman that was here earlier."Travis replied.
I wondered how he knew about Savannah then I recalled calling him to get Forest, my horse earlier.
"What about her?"I asked.
"So she was real, I thought he was daydreaming again."Austin laughed.
"You're a pig."Travis scoffed.
"So who was she boss?"Austin asked me ignoring Travis.
"She's replacing Josephine."I answered.
I didn't owe them an explanation but they would be seeing her a lot as she would be living and working at the house.
"It'll be sad to see ma'am Josie go but the lady didn't exactly look like the warm motherly type."Travis commented.
"And you didn't look like someone who could fix a fence let alone pick up a hammer when I hired you."I retorted a little harsher than I intended to be.
"Sorry boss, I'm sure she'll be great."Travis apologized.
"Yeah."Austin mumbled confused.
They had no idea what they were saying so I walked past them towards Forest. He was a big beautiful brown stud that I'd had for five years. He served me wonderfully and in return he got lost of treats. We had many horses at the ranch, each kid had their own and so did each of the workers with more to spare.
I pulled Forest out of the stables so I could brush him and properly feed him. The excuse I'd made about mucking out the horses was nonsense and Josephine knew that. I just needed some time to myself to think.
Was hiring Savannah worth it? What was I getting myself into?
Josephine had said that she was different, there was no doubt about that. The woman had more tattoos than I did, cussed like a sailor and then there was the bit about her being an ex convict. I didn't want the wrong company around my children but I also trusted Josephine's wisdom. I was very careful with who I let near my kids. They weren't mine biologically but I had been raising them for the past five years and I was their legal guardian. I'd earned my place in their life as their father so I needed to protect them with my life.
I believed in second chances but still murder was a pretty big deal. And she had said ten years. She barely looked twenty so she must have been really young when it happened. I needed to know the details about that before anything else.
If Savannah was going to be part of our family she would need to change some things, like the cussing especially around the kids. The rest we could tackle later.
"What do you think boy? Are we ready for this?"I whispered to Forest.
He neighed at me as if he understood making me chuckle.
"Me too bud me too."I groaned the whole situation making me feel out of sorts.
Josephine called the boys and I in for lunch and as always we had it out in the backyard. Josephine had banned the guys from eating in the house, they were always too loud and left mud prints everywhere.
Josephine tried selling me on the whole Savannah idea once more and she was pretty convincing.
"Just give me time Josie, I'll come around."I said as I helped her clear the table.
"I'll not be here forever Barney, you might as well get used to that idea soon and open up your heart."Josephine said patting my cheek comfortingly.
She kept saying that as if she was dying yet she was only moving away. I couldn't stop her, she had served me long enough and it was now time for her to retire with her family. I just wished it didn't have to be under the circumstances of her leaving me with a complete stranger to take her place.
"Got it Josie, I'll pick up the kids from school today."I said taking a stack of plates inside the house.
It was on a Tuesday, the one day of the week where all of them didn't have club activities after school. When they did I let Josephine pick them up since she understood their schedules better. I guess that would be Savannah's job now.
After I was done helping Josie I got into my truck and drove to the sheep pen to check on my flock. The ranch was big so we had all kinds of animals, it gave me a good source of income and a chance to provide job opportunities for quite a number of people.
Even though I'd grown up on the ranch I never imagined myself owning it and living there full time. Then five years ago everything had changed and my life wasn't just mine anymore. Now I was an almost thirty year old father to five amazing kids, owning one of the biggest ranches in Trinity county and single as a pringle. I missed dating, I missed going out drinking with my friends but I couldn't be that young and free anymore. I needed to give my kids stability so I had to let go of my young crazy and wild days. If I did date, I would date to marry, I didn't have time to mess around anymore. But nobody wanted to marry a man with five children so I was alone. It had been a lonely couple of years but it was the price I had to pay to be there for my kids.
"Hey boss."Jordan one of my ranch hands called out to me.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and turned my attention to him.
"Mhh."
"I thought you were picking up the kids today? "He asked me.
"Yeah why?"I replied with a shrug.
"It's almost three."Jordan answered.
I retrieved my phone to check the time and realized that he was right.
"Darn it, I've got to go."I rushed out running to my truck.
I drove to the house and swapped my single cab chevy for my double cabin. The kids would be getting out at half past three and I needed to be there on time otherwise they would give me the silent treatment which I hated.
My first pick up was Clara since she got out first and luckily enough I got there on time. I got out of the truck and leaned on the door waiting for my little girl to show up. I noticed the looks I was getting especially from the moms and as much as I tried to ignore them it was hard to when they were so blatantly staring. I waved politely making them embarrassed and they turned away giggling to themselves.
"Papa."My little angel yelled making me sigh in relief.
I looked up to find Clara running towards me her pigtails flying in the wind, her backpack slowing her down, her lunch box clutched to her chest. I squatted to her level and opened my arms for her. She ran right into them wrapping her arms around my neck. I stood up hugging her close.
"Good afternoon munchkin, did you have a good day at school?"I asked kissing her cheek.
"I would rather have stayed home with you but it was alright."She replied with a shrug.
"That's good and no more faking sick, it's bad manners."I scolded her.
The conniving little devil knew I had a soft spot for her so she used that to her advantage and faked being sick. I caught on pretty quick though once she run out of places to hurt.
"I know papa, I won't do it again."Clara apologized.
"It's okay munchkin, let's go pick up your brothers and sister."I said opening the back for her.
I settled her into the middle seat, put her seatbelt on for her and closed the door. I rounded the truck and got behind the wheel.
Ethan, my eight year old and Ivy my ten year old were my next pick up. I found them waiting for me outside. Their eyes lot up once they saw the truck but they were surprised to see me behind the wheel. Ivy got infront with me while Ethan sat next to Clara.
"Hi guys, I hope you weren't waiting long."I asked.
"Nope, we just got out. Why are you picking us up today and not Grammy Josie?"Ivy asked me.
"Is there something wrong with me picking you up?"I asked starting the truck.
"No but you never pick us up unless somethings wrong, is Grammy okay?"Ethan asked looking alarmed his eyes widening.
"Jesus, calm down. Everything is fine."I reassured them.
My final stop was the high school to pick up Luke and Daniel. Luke was fifteen and a sophomore while Daniel was fourteen and a freshman.
"What's pops doing here?"I heard Luke ask his brother as they approached the truck.
"He's here to get his kids from school, seriously guys, is me being here such a big deal?"I asked with a laugh.
"Yes."They all chorused.
"Okay fine you caught me. I want to take you all out for ice cream, there's something we need to talk about."I admitted.
"Ice cream."Clara cheered.
"I knew it."Ivy celebrated looking happy that she was right.
"Hop on guys, we're holding up the line."I demanded.
Luke and Daniel quickly jumped onto the bed of the truck since they preferred that rather than squeezing themselves with their siblings. I drove off the carpool lane headed into town so we could get some ice cream as I told them about the Savannah issue and about Josephine retiring. I was bribing them with sugar so they could be more accepting but that's what a good parent did.
I drove us to our favorite ice cream parlor and everyone got two scoops of their favorite flavor before we found an empty table. Ivy and Clara sat on either side of me while the boys all sat across from us. Looking at them eating and teasing each other reminded me so much of my brother Hudson and I when we were younger. They looked so much like him too, he was their biological father after all.
Hudson was five years older than me but he never made me feel our age gap. He was always there for me and we were thick as thieves. He practically raised me since our parents died in a car accident when he was fifteen.
While Hudson wanted to inherit the ranch and have a big family I wanted to travel and explore the world. As fate would have it Hudson got his high school sweetheart, Nelly, pregnant when they were seniors. They loved each other and had no plans of going to college so they got married once they turned eighteen and started a family. I moved out immediately after college to work in a oil rig so I could earn enough money to travel. Hudson had insisted that I not follow in his footsteps and get a degree. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan. There was an explosion in the oil rig and that took the lives of many of my friends and my left leg. I moved back home at twenty four and it took me a whole year to heal, get a prosthetic and come to terms with losing my leg.
My life was just restarting when the worst happened. Hudson and Nelly died in a plane crash while flying back from a farmer's conference in Austin. Their death automatically made me the legal guardian to all their kids. Losing their parents was hard especially for Clara who was just four months old then and would never grow up with her mom's love. It was not the life I had imagined for myself but I couldn't let them go into foster care so I abandoned all the plans I had to move out, inherited the ranch and became a father. It had been a roller coaster since then but five years later things were good.
"Time to spill it pops."Luke demanded his green eyes piercing at me.
It weird how they all got different shades of green eyes and brown hair. They looked like Hudson except for Ivy who looked like her mom with dirty blonde hair.
Luke was the jock, he had recently joined the school's football team.
Daniel was still figuring things out but the kid was a nerd even though he didn't admit it. If he didn't have a book stuck to his face it was a video game and he didn't really like the outdoors.
Ivy was in the awkward preteen phase where she still loved me but liked her space. Her time was divided between school, her family and her best friend Shaday who was like my sixth child from all the time she spent at hour house.
Ethan was the artist of the family. He loved to sing and playing musical instruments. The kid would probably become a country music star one day.
Clara my princess, well she was just like her mom. She loved picnics and tea parties in the meadow like most girls her age but also riding horses and getting dirty. She was an all round girl who had me wrapped around her tiny fingers.
I loved all my kids equally but Clara and I had an extra special bond since I had raised her from a teeny weeny baby. She had been the first one to call me dad and evem after explaining that I wasn't her real father she wouldn't stop. Her siblings started calling me the same but it felt wrong so I made them call me papa or pops instead. Dad felt wrong, that was Hudson not me even if he was gone now.
"Can't a man enjoy his ice cream first?"I teased.
"Sure but you haven't had any, you've been staring off into space since we got here."Daniel retorted.
"You got me, so there's something I want discuss with you guys and I want you to have an open mind."I requested them.
"Are you dying?"
"Are you dating?"
"Are we moving?"
"Are we broke?"
"You're selling the ranch?"
They all blurted out one after the other.
"Not for the next seventy years, I wish but no. We're never leaving Woodcreek and definitely not. We are financially stable and I'm never selling the ranch, it's our home."I answered making them all sigh in relief.
"Then what's wrong papa?"Ivy asked.
Time to be honest.
"You guys know that Josie is moving to Florida soon right?"I asked them because it's something we had discussed before.
"Yeah."They muttered sadly.
I was sad too, Josephine had raised all of them just like she had raised me. I had no idea what I would have done without her by my side raising five kids.
"Well the house can't be left like that so Josie found you guys a new nanny and house keeper."I replied the image of Savannah half naked and dripping with water as she rinsed off by the water trough floating through my mind.
I blinked rapidly to clear my thoughts. Wrong time, wrong place.
"What's her name? Is she nice? How old is she?"Ivy asked speaking for all her siblings.
"Her name is Savannah, she's not a local, she just moved here from New York and is very capable."I answered even though I wasn't so sure about that.
None of them said anything so I decided to continue.
"You guys are my life so I would never bring anyone unworthy into our home to take care of you. Employing Savannah is not set in stone, we will give her a trial period of one month. If we like her, we keep her and if we don't we let her go and keep searching. All I'm asking for is that you guys give her a chance."I requested them.
All five siblings looked at each other as if having a telepathic conversation before turning to me.
"We'll do it pops, we trust you and Josie's judgement."Luke spoke up.
"Thank you guys and remember to be good and give her a chance. It's going to be a bit of an adjustment but hopefully it will be worth it."I insisted.
"We will papa, don't worry, you raised us right."Ethan said making me smile.
"Good, now finish your ice cream so we can go home. You all have homework and some people here need to clean their rooms."I said looking at the three boys pointedly.
"Can't the new nanny do it?"Daniel groaned.
"No she's not your personal maid and you guys know the house rules. You clean up after yourselves. You are the ones who insisted on having your own rooms."I reminded them.
They didn't like that but they had no choice but to obey me.
We finished our ice cream before piling into the truck so I could get us back home to the ranch. Josephine was there to receive all of them with milk and cookies insisting that the boys clean their rooms just like I did.
I felt exhausted for some reason so I decided to go up to my room for a quick power nap. The house had four levels, the basement, ground floor, first floor and the attic. The attic had been transformed into a bedroom for Luke, it was his man cave as he liked to call it and he had his own bathroom up there. The first floor had five bedrooms, the master bedroom which was mine with its own ensuite and the kids four bedrooms. The girls shared a bathroom and so did the boys which made it all less chaotic. The ground floor the kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry room, a game room and two extra bedrooms. The basement was actually kind of another bedroom since it had a bed, a bathroom, wardrobe, a TV and an armchair. I had lived there when I was healing after my accident. It was also like another man cave. Daniel kept begging me to let him move there but I wanted all the kids on the same floor with me.
I got into my room and closed the door behind me and began stripping immediately. I sat on my bed in my boxers and took off my prosthetic. Sometimes I got phantom pain that made sure I couldn't sleep a wink but it had been behaving for the last couple of days I was grateful. I set it against the dresser besides my bed and messaged the smooth nub with some cream Josephine got for me.
I lay back on the bed looking up at the ceiling as I reflected on the days events. It had been such a long day yet it wasn't even dark out yet.
Savannah. Savannah! Savannah?
She was a mystery that I couldn't wait to solve. I just hoped she would be worth it. I didn't want the kids putting their hopes up only for me to let them down by hiring the wrong person. One thing was for sure though, the minute she messed up she would be gone. My kids always came first and I would never compromise their safety no matter how attractive she was.
I drifted off to sleep hoping the next day would go well for everyone's sake.
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This book will mostly be in Savannah's POV but we'll get Nathan's POV too every once in a while.
The book is a slow burn, I know but it'll be worth your time, I promise.