The Men of Medicine Ridge - Diana Palmer [80]
“Yes,” she agreed.
“What amazes me,” he mused, watching her, “is how much he grumbles about you. He loves women, as a rule. He’s always doing little things to make the job easier for Mrs. Charters. He lets Pauline get away with only working three days of the week, when he needs a full-time secretary worse than I do. But he’s hard on you.”
“He doesn’t like me,” she said quietly. “He can’t help it.”
“You don’t like him, either.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I can’t help it, either.” She picked up on something he’d said earlier. “How can Pauline make ends meet with only a part-time job?” she asked curiously.
“She’s independently wealthy,” John told her. “She doesn’t need a job at all, but she caught Gil at a weak moment. He doesn’t have many of them, believe me. I think she attracted him at first. Now things have cooled and he’s stuck with her. She’s tenacious.”
“Why would she need to work?” she wondered aloud.
“Because Gil needed a secretary, of course. She hasn’t had any business training, and I don’t doubt that the files are in a hellacious mess.”
“Couldn’t he get somebody else?”
“He tried to. Pauline cried all over him and he gave up.”
“He doesn’t look like a man who’d even notice tears,” she said absently.
“Appearances are deceptive. You saw how he was when the dog threatened the girls,” he reminded her. “He’s not immune to tears.”
“I’d need convincing,” she said and grinned wickedly.
He leaned back in his chair with his coffee cup in his hand and studied her. “You’re good with the kids,” he said. “You must have spent a lot of time around children.”
She lowered her eyes to her empty plate. “I did. I’m not formally taught or anything, but I do know a few things.”
“It shows. I’ve never seen Bess respond to any of her various governesses. She liked you on sight.”
“How many governesses has she had?” she asked curiously.
“Four. This year,” he amended.
Her eyebrows arched. “Why so many?”
“Are you afraid of spiders, garter snakes, or frogs?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Why?”
“Well, the others were. They got downright twitchy about opening drawers or pulling down bedcovers,” he recalled with a chuckle. “Bess likes garter snakes. She shared them with the governesses.”
“Oh, dear,” Kasie said.
“You see the point. That’s why Miss Parsons was hired. She’s the next best thing to a Marine DI, as you may have noticed.”
Her face lightened. “So that’s why he hired her. I did wonder.”
John sighed. “I wish he’d hired her to do the tax work on the payroll instead. She’s a natural, and since she’s a retired accountant that experience would make her an asset. We have a firm of C.P.A.’s to do yearly stuff, but our bookkeeper who did payroll got married and moved to L.A. just before we hired you.”
“And Miss Parsons got hired to look after the girls. She really dislikes children,” she added.
“I know. But Gil refuses to believe it. He’s been lax about work at the ranch for a while. He stayed on the road more and more, avoiding the memories after Darlene died. I felt bad for him, but things were going to pot here. I have to travel to show the bulls,” he added, “because the more competitions we win, the higher the prices we can charge for stud fees or young bulls. The ranch can’t run without anybody overseeing it.” He pursed his lips as he studied her. “I gather that you said something to him about neglecting the girls. I thought so,” he mused when she shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve told him, too, but he didn’t listen to me. Apparently he listens to you.”
“He’s already tried to fire me once,” she pointed out.
“You’re still here,” he replied.
“Yes. But I can’t help but wonder for how much longer,” she murmured, voicing her one real fear. “I could go back and live with my aunt, but it isn’t fair to her. I have to work and support myself. This was the only full-time job that I was qualified for. Jobs are thin on the ground, regardless of the reports coming out about how great the economy is.”
“How did you end up in Medicine Ridge in the first place?” he wondered.
“I was living with my