Roped Into You Read online

  “No, I’m not here for the convention. I’m on my way to a new job. I start it in a couple of days at Blue Horn ranch.” After the words left her mouth, Leila wondered why she’d told a complete stranger so much personal information. She could hear Ms. Thurston in her head getting on her about it.

  “You’re going to be working for Clayton Moore?” Matt lifted the hood of her car and checked the oil then shut it and moved on to check her tires. “I’ve heard he isn’t the nicest man to have as a boss but he’s wealthier than the whole state of Wyoming.”

  Okay, she was starting to feel a little uncomfortable taking about her new job with a man she didn’t know. She hoped Matt would be done checking her car soon, so she could pay him and drive off.

  “I’m finished,” Matt said, coming back up to her. He leaned his hip against the side of her car and grinned at her. “This is a very nice car you got here. We don’t get too many white convertibles in this part of the state.” Leila watched as he ran his hand along the side like he was getting off from just touching it.

  “Thank you.” Leila was getting more leery of Matt as the minutes ticked by. A sick feeling was started to form in the pit of her stomach. Something just wasn’t right about the guy. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt that Matt was getting creepier and creepier by the minute.

  “How much was it for everything?” she asked reaching for her purse.

  “The gas was thirty dollars and to check the other things were thirty-five, so it comes to a total of sixty-five dollars.”

  “Do you take credit cards?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Here you go.” Taking her credit card out of her purse, she handed it to Matt making sure that her fingers didn’t touch his. She was leery about giving him her credit card, but she didn’t want to get out of the car either. So, she hoped she had picked the lesser of the two evils.

  “I’ll be right back.” Moving away from her, he walked back inside the gas station.

  Leila couldn’t get Matt’s comments about Clayton Moore out of her head. Ms. Thurston and Tony only had good things to say about him. Could it be the fact that Tony was Mr. Moore’s ranch foreman?

  What if what the gas station attendant told her made her want to turn back around and drive all the way back home?

  She quickly let the thoughts leave her mind because she wasn’t a coward. Her parents had raised her to see all of her projects through until the very end and that was what she was going to do when it came to Clayton Moore. Besides she had known Ms. Thurston and Tony a lot longer than this guy. He could be a liar for all she knew and besides he was a complete stranger. Why would she take his word to heart anyway?

  Looking through the windshield, Leila watched as Matt came out the door and back over to her car. “Here you go Ms. Hilson. Good luck at your new job.”

  “Thank you.” Lauren reached for her credit card and placed it back into her purse before driving off. She could feel Matt’s eyes on her as she drove across the street to the motel. She was so glad she wouldn’t ever run into him again. He had a very unsettling vibe about him. He was the kind of guy a woman didn’t want to meet while walking home late at night alone.

  As soon as she pulled up in front of the motel a valet rushed up to get her car. Instantly, Leila noticed his very close resemblance to Matt, the gas station attendant who had just waited on her.

  “Let me get your car for you,” the valet said.

  Opening her car door, Leila got out and gave the young guy her car keys. “Has anyone told you that you look like Matt who works across the street?” She looked down at the name badge on his red shirt. It said Jeff.

  “Yes, Matt’s my younger brother. I’m Jeff Hobbs. He didn’t do anything crazy to you did he? He has a very bad habit to telling wild and crazy stories to new people that come into town because he wants to get a reaction out of them. I’ve gotten on him about that several times.” Jeff got into her car and slammed the door shut.

  Great, she got rid of one creepy brother only to gain another one. She really had bad luck on her side. “No, he was very nice to me. I can’t say anything bad about him.” Leila wasn’t about to tell this guy the truth about his brother.

  “Wonderful,” Jeff said.

  Instead of driving off, Jeff sat there looking at her like he knew a secret she didn’t which made more her more than a little uneasy.

  “I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you’re very pretty,” he said. “Were you ever on that Tyra Banks modeling show? I know that I’ve seen your face somewhere before.”

  Leila couldn’t believe this guy was trying to hit on her. God...was it possible for this day to get any worse for her?

  “No, I’ve never been a contestant on her show. I’ve seen it, but that’s about it. Well, I better go so I can check into my room.” She turned to leave, but Jeff yelled at her.

  “Wait a minute. You’ll need this to get your car keys back.” Reaching into his pocket, Jeff pulled out an orange ticket stub and tore off one end before handing it to her. “You keep that part and give it to the next valet when you’re ready to get your car. He’ll bring it right to you.”

  “Thank you,” Leila took the ticket and slid it into the front pocket of her purse. “Let me grab my bags out of the trunk before you drive off.”

  “Sure, let me open it for you.” She watched as Jeff punched the switch for the trunk and then she walked back to get her belongings.

  Lifting her overnight bag and suitcase out of the trunk, Leila placed the overnight bag over her shoulder and moved away from the car. As she headed towards the front entrance of the motel, she peeked back over her shoulder and found Jeff still staring at her with this glassy-eyed look. He waved at her and she quickly waved back before rushing inside of the hotel.

  Shit, I thought Matt was a weirdo, but Jeff is three times worse. I truly hope I’m done dealing with the both of them for the rest of the day. I’ll leave early tomorrow and hopefully they won’t be anywhere in sight.

  Leila knew a bad element when she saw it thanks to the family who raised her. Her sixth sense had kicked up another notch when it came to the Hobbs brothers. Matt and Jeff were very bad news, but she wouldn’t be around either of them much longer to even care.

  ****

  “Excuse me, sir.”

  Turning away from the mailboxes, the reservation clerk smiled at her and then moved over to the sign-in desk. “Yes miss. How many I help you?” he asked in a professional voice.

  “My name is Leila Hilson. I’m here to check into my room. I believe the room was booked a couple of days ago,” she answered already thinking about the hot shower waiting for her upstairs.

  “Let me check and see. It will be just one minute.” The clerk turned away from her and started typing something into a computer located at the end of the desk.

  Why was it taking the guy so long to find her information? Was she not being patient enough since the drive was so long? She needed to dig deep for some of that patience that Ms. Thurston was always telling her to look for; however, today wasn’t going to be that day.

  No, she wasn’t imagining things; it was taking him a long time to come back to her.

  “Do you not see it?”

  Lord, did she come all this way and now she wouldn’t have a place to stay? That better not be the case or the shit was going to hit the fan. This place better have a room for her or they would have to find her somewhere to sleep for the night.

  “Just one minute, Ms. Hilson. Our computers have been moving at a snail’s place all day today. Your information is about to pull up in just a minute or two,” the clerk told her. “Okay, here we go. You’re in room 746.” Turning around, the clerk grabbed the key out of a mailbox and then brought it over to her.

  “Here you go. Sorry you had to wait for those extra minutes. Do you need me to do anything else for you before you head upstairs to your room?”

  “How long can I order something from room service?” She hoped tha
t she still had time to order some food.

  “The kitchen is still open for another couple of hours.” the clerk informed her with a smile.

  “Thank you for all your help......”

  “My name is Ralph. Have a nice night. Do you need me to set up a six o’clock wake-up call for you? I noticed that you’re only staying the night with us.”

  “Yes, that would help me out a lot,” Leila answered. She turned away and strolled towards the elevators that were located right near the front door.

  Chapter Five

  Upstairs Leila kicked off her shoes and quickly unpacked her overnight bag before jumping into the shower. As the water poured down over her body, all she could think about was the new job she was about to embark on with a family she didn’t know. Despite her partial fears at meeting her new boss and his little girl, she felt happy at finally taking her life into her own two hands.

  She had depended on Ms. Thurston and Tony so much after her parents died that she never thought she would be able to cope with the real world and any problems that might come her way, but so far she had handled things quite well.

  A slight thrill of anticipation touched her at the thought of being in a new town away from the familiar setting she had grown up around for the past twenty-seven years. What would Blue Horn ranch be like? Was it a place that would make or break her spirit? Could she truly handle the task of being a full-time nanny?

  I can’t let myself get nervous or scared before I have my first day at work, Leila thought as she got out of the shower and turned it off. She picked up the robe she’d left by the sink and slipped it on tying the slash around her waist.

  Leila’s stomach growled as she headed out of the bathroom making her realize that there was something else she had to do before going to bed. Sure, it was only six-thirty at night, but she was so drained. She only had enough energy left to eat some supper and maybe watch one television program before turning in for the night.

  Making her way over to the phone, she picked it up and ordered a cheeseburger with crispy fries from room service. She hoped it would be faster than the forty-five minutes to an hour the guy on the other end told her.

  I don’t think I’ve ever been this worn-out, Leila thought to herself as she took a seat on the chaise in the corner of the room.

  I’d have flown down instead of driving, but no, I wanted to have the experience of the open road. What in the world was wrong with me? What was I trying to prove?

  Closing her eyes, Leila rested her head against the back of the plush sofa and was about to nod off when a knock at the door made her jump. Glancing at the clock on the television, she noticed that room service had only taken thirty minutes.

  “Finally, I’m so hungry that I could eat the whole cow.” Hurrying over to the door, Leila got the food from the waiter and gave him a tip before shutting the door. Going back over to the chaise, Leila sat back down and took a huge bite out of her hamburger.

  The charbroiled taste made her taste buds dance the second the beef touched her tongue. “I swear I’m never going to wait this long to eat again. I don’t know how I made it.” She picked up two crispy fries off her plate and shoved them into her mouth. Closing her eyes, Leila let herself get lost in the sheer magic of eating a delicious meal.

  After she was finished with her scrumptious food, Leila placed the plate on the table before reaching for the hotel room phone. She wanted to check in with Ms. Thurston so she wouldn’t be worried about her. She dialed the phone number and waited for her, but she got the answering machine instead so she left a message.

  “Ms. Thurston, I’m calling to let you know that I arrived at the motel safely. I’m going to leave early in the morning after I eat breakfast. Don’t worry about me. I’m almost at my new job and I can’t wait. I’m so excited. I love you. I’ll try calling you again before I leave in the morning,” Leila promised before she ended the phone call.

  Getting up from her seat, Leila made her way over to the bed and laid the phone down on the night stand beside it before pulling back the covers. She was so sleepy that she would probably be out before her head hit the pillow. She climbed into bed, turned off the lights and pulled the covers up to her chin.

  The wait for the sandman to come wasn’t that long because within ten minutes Leila was sound asleep with the thought of her new job rolling around in her head.

  ****

  The sound of someone knocking on her hotel room door and bothering the handle startled Leila up out of her much needed sleep. There weren’t too many people who knew she was staying at the place, so who in the world was at the door? She quickly glanced at the clock by the side of her bed and saw it was two o’clock in the morning.

  She wasn’t about to open that door to see who it was. She was getting a feeling that wasn’t quite right. Easing out of the bed, she went over to the door and pressed her ear to it. But she didn’t hear any voices and the knocking had stopped as soon as she walked up.

  Ms. Thurston and Tony would be highly upset if she let some stranger into her room as late as it was. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked through the peek hole but she didn’t see anyone in the hallway; however, that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone standing at the side of the wall waiting to get in.

  As much as she wanted to get dressed and check out of the hotel she wasn’t going to do it. She quickly decided that her best option would be to stay in the room and wait it out until morning. Because she was concerned about who was just outside her door, Leila thought about calling downstairs and reporting the incident. But what if it turned out to be nothing more than someone realizing they were at the wrong room and leaving. It would be causing a scene for nothing.

  No, she was going to stay in the room and wait it out until it was light enough for her to drive to the Blue Horn ranch.

  Clayton Moore better be the wonderful boss that Tony bragged about for her to be dealing with everything she had to yesterday and now early this morning. She knew moving away from home was going to be a huge journey, but she’d never thought things like this would be happening to her. She was definitely going to sleep with one eye open for the rest of the night.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have driven a brand-new white convertible cross county like she had been doing. It had drawn the attention of the very weird gas station attendant Matt, but she couldn’t get worried about it now because tomorrow she would arrive at Blue Horn ranch for her new job and she wouldn’t be frightened away from it. No matter how much she wanted to know who was bothering her this early in the morning.

  Leaving the door, Leila walked back to the bed and crawled underneath the covers. Folding one hand underneath her chin, she rested her other hand over her waist. She prayed that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life. She didn’t know anyone in Wyoming, so she would be truly starting over. While a part of her was a little anxious, the excitement she was feeling outweighed her nervousness. This was her chance to prove to everyone back home that she was an adult and more than capable of doing things for herself.

  Chapter Six

  The ringing of the phone woke Leila up from her deep sleep. She groaned. She’d finally calmed down enough to drift off to sleep around four o’clock. Pushing the covers off of her head, Leila answered the phone wondering who could be on the other end. “Hello?” she whispered softly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

  “Leila, how are you doing? I’m returning your call. Have I called you too early? Do you want to hang up and you call me back later? I don’t mind at all,” Mrs. Thurston told her. “I was out late with some of my friends from church and that’s why I missed your call. We’re getting ready for our annual charity dinner.”

  “No, ma’am,” Leila said, sitting up in the bed. “I can talk to you.” She fixed the pillows behind her back and got more comfortable. She was glad that Mrs. Thurston had called her because she wanted to be out and on the road by eight o’clock.

  “Is there something wrong honey? Is that why you call
ed me so late last night? Do you need me to call Tony for you at the ranch and let him know you might be late getting there?”

  “I’m fine. I just wanted to hear your voice after I got in last night. Please, don’t call Tony. I’ll see him when I get to Blue Horn later on today. He’s already done enough for me by getting me this job. I can’t impose on him any more than I already have.”

  “Tony loves you. He doesn’t mind helping you any way he can. You know that, Leila.”

  “Yes, I know, but I do want and need to do some stuff on my own. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Okay, I understand. Just know Tony is at the ranch if you need someone to confide in, but I’ve only heard good things about Mr. Moore. I’m sure the two of you will get along perfectly. Who wouldn’t love a young woman as sweet as you?”

  Leila couldn’t help but smile at Mrs. Thurston’s compliment. “I think you’re a little biased, don’t you?”

  “I can’t help it. You’re like a daughter to me and I want only the best for you.”

  “Thank you. I’ve no doubt only good things will come from this new job. I’m going into it with an open mind. Isn’t that the way you raised me to be? Only negative thoughts will bring harmful people and things into a person’s life.”

  “You’re right. I’m glad my advice has stuck with you for so long,” Mrs. Thurston told her. “Well, I better let you go. I’m having brunch with my friends and then we’re going to see a movie. Call me when you get to Blue Horn. If you can’t, see if you can have Tony do it for you. I need to know that you made it there safely.”

  “I will,” Leila promised and then hung up the phone. She started to get out of the bed when the phone rang again stopping her. Who in the world was calling her now?

  She quickly answered it. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Hilson, this is your wake-up call,” the man told her on the other end.

  With everything that had been going on she’d forgotten that she’d requested one. “Thank you for calling me. I’m up.”