“And I’m Mike.” Sean had sent over CVs to review and a photo spread of the two men so Gage knew who would be coming. When it came to someone’s family, who they hired to be close to them mattered. Everything checked out and Gage had approved them early this morning.
“Hello, I’m Gage Gibson, and this is my wife, Hope.” They were wise not to shake her hand when she started to extend it, especially when Gage pushed it down. A feeling of possessiveness came over him. Both men were taller than him with even more muscle. They were also insanely good looking and rugged men. It irked him that he needed their services to begin with.Perhaps I should have stuck with Hope’s other guards and used them full time.He’d only used Grieg and Moran when he needed them, but he never found them even remotely intimidating or considered them competition when it came to Hope.
“Nice to meet both of you. What would you like for us to do?” Denver asked.
“My wife and son’s safety is the most important thing to me. That’s your job. Keep them safe at all times when I’m not around.”
“Understood. Where is the baby now?”
“Come in and we’ll give you a tour and introduce you to our boy, then at lunch you’ll meet my employees who will be coming and going.” They nodded and stepped behind Hope as Gage led them into the house.
“There are five bedrooms, four are upstairs with a guest bedroom on the first floor. Our office is through that hallway and if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the kitchen and the yard area.” They took the tour of the house, learning each and every room. Their eyes were focused on the rooms and not on Hope in particular which pleased Gage. Even though it was their job to watch his wife, he didn’t want them ogling her.
“I expect one of you to have the room downstairs and the other next to the nursery.”
“I’ll take the first-floor room.” Denver was the lead on this and in charge, so Mike nodded in agreement. To Gage, it didn’t matter which one took which room as long as his family was protected. It had been a rude awakening how much he’d need the help of others, but it was for the best.
“And I don’t know if you’ve been made aware, but Hope is pregnant.”
“Thanks for the heads up. We’ll make sure to be extra careful when it comes to necessary quick exits,” Denver added.
****
“Lunch was delicious. Thank you, Mrs. Gibson,” Bill said as he passed Hope on his way out of the house. They were switching spots to meet with Gage. The ranch had to still run, which didn’t just include manual labor. The day-to-day business operations were handled by the couple.
“Thank you again. I think everyone has thanked me a dozen times today.”
“Well, we can’t tell you how much it’s appreciated.”
“Good. Hopefully we can find someone to fill in to cook the rest of the time for you.” Hope patted his shoulder, then turned and entered the office.
“Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful. I just settled Ethan down for his nap. The giant babysitter is sitting in the rocking chair. It’s so adorably comical. So what do you have planned for the week?”
“Come, take a seat and I’ll show you.” They spent the next hour going over the spreadsheets and the number of heifers that were in her same condition at the moment.
The sound of Ethan’s cries came through on the monitor ended their work session. “I guess his naps are getting shorter and shorter.” Hope sighed. Gage could see the dark circles under her eyes. She wasn’t doing much better than he was when it came to sleep.
“Relax. I’m here. Let me get him.” He kissed her forehead and then scurried out of the room to check on his baby boy.
When he got in the room, the big guard, Mike, had little Ethan set on the changing table. “Damn, diaper service too?”
Mike vehemently shook his head. “No way. I called down to Denver to get one of you. This is as far as I go.”
Gage chuckled and took over. “Thanks.”
Mike threw his hands up and backed away. “No problem. I’m going to get a drink and a breath of fresh air.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Gage changed the baby’s butt, he took the big boy to sit with them as they worked. For the next three hours they played with the baby while crunching numbers. Hope picked up Ethan and rested him on her hip. “I need to start dinner for the entire herd we have going on here. Why don’t you start drafting up an ad?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got to do everything around here. Gosh!” Gage exclaimed, pretending to be overburdened.
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Whine, whine, whine.” She grabbed the baby’s pacifier that was clipped to the baby’s bodysuit and tossed it at Gage. “Here. I think you need it more than he does.”
He growled and then cracked up laughing. She sashayed her round bottom in her pretty sundress out of the office and he had to fight back a mix of humor and arousal.