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her life and drive away. This would never work.
    “I, um . . .”
    Just then the older man emerged from the house. With a tip of his Stetson to Rainie, he descended the steps and struck off across the yard. She followed him with her gaze.
    “Come in,” Harrigan said, gesturing at the doorway behind him. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee, and my stepmother, Dee Dee, brought over a plate of her famous peanut-butter cookies. You’ll love ’em.”
    Rainie’s feet had put down roots. “You, um . . . well, you’re not what I was expecting. I really don’t think—”
    “What were you expectin’?” he asked with another devastating grin.
    “Someone older?”
    He chuckled and narrowed an eye at her. “You ever heard of age discrimination? That goes two ways, you know.”
    Fair enough. Rainie felt her feet move, and the next thing she knew, she was mounting the plank steps.
     
    Parker’s first thought when he clapped eyes on Anna Pritchard was, Holy shit. She was the most gorgeous little bookworm he’d ever seen, fragile of build but delightfully well-rounded in all the right places, with delicately molded features, large hazel eyes, and a mop of brownish blond hair that fell in a cloud of curls to below her narrow shoulders. At the sight of him, she froze like a startled doe. For a second, he thought she might dive back into her rattletrap car.
    He was relieved when she didn’t. He truly was in dire need of a bookkeeper. He just hoped she was as smart as she was beautiful. He swept his gaze the length of her as she ascended the steps. Her clothing, which looked as if it came from a thrift shop, didn’t suit someone with such an elegant bearing. Strange. She had “rich girl” written all over her, but she dressed like a pauper.
    He directed her through the entry hall into the kitchen and motioned for her to sit at the rectangular oak table, where the plate of cookies and an application form awaited her. She hesitated before taking a seat, her pretty gaze darting around the room as if she expected a bogeyman to leap out at her.
    “How do you take your coffee?” he asked.
    “Um, black will be fine.”
    Parker dumped some sugar from the bowl into his own cup and gave the contents a brisk stir. She placed her purse on the floor and then picked it back up as he advanced toward the table. After setting a mug in front of her, he took a seat across from her, rocked back on the chair, and took a swallow of scalding hot liquid.
    “So, what did you think of the drive? You gonna be able to handle it in the dead of winter?”
    She blinked as if he’d posed the question in Greek.
    “It snows here,” he explained. “By January, we’ll have white stuff hip-deep to a tall Texan. They plow, of course, but the surface conditions can still get nasty. You done much drivin’ on ice?”
    “No. I grew up in southern California.”
    “You’ll need studded tires,” he informed her, “and maybe some drivin’ lessons in an empty parking lot come winter so you can learn how to handle a vehicle when it goes into a slide.”
    “I’m sure I can learn quickly.”
    She truly was beautiful, Parker thought as he studied her face. “Fast study, are you?”
    “Fast enough.”
    He nodded. “Here’s my thought on how we should proceed. I’ll take care of some work in my home office while you fill out the application. When you’re done, give me a holler, and I’ll review the information. If everything looks good to me, we’ll talk wages, benefits, hours, and all that kind of stuff. I’ll also give you the grand tour so you can decide if the work area is suitable.”
    She popped open the clasp of her handbag, then pressed it closed. “Okay. That sounds good.”
    Parker inclined his head at the cookies. “Make free with the goodies. Dee Dee will be offended if you don’t.”
     
    Chapter Two
    A s Rainie began filling out the application, her stomach cramped with anxiety. She’d never been a good liar. If she wasn’t