Free Deadly Identity by Lindsay McKenna

quite the truth, either. If she hadn’t married a drug dealer, she wouldhave married someone in Iowa and continued her farming life that she loved so much.
    â€œNot exactly what the modern-day woman wants,” Cade noted.
    Rachel shrugged. “I think family is the core value of everything.” Cade wouldn’t know about hers and it made her feel badly.
    â€œBrothers? Sisters?”
    â€œNo, an only child. My parents died in a plane accident five years ago.” All lies, but that was her ironclad cover. Rachel didn’t want to lie to Cade, but what else could she do under the circumstances?
    â€œI’m sorry about your parents,” he said, meaning it. Again, she avoided his gaze and seemed unusually tense. “Tell me, are all artists introverts who hate being grilled on their backgrounds?” Cade tried to add a hint of a smile to go with his serious question. Maybe that would help her relax. He didn’t want to chase Rachel off, leaving him without a nanny.
    Rachel quirked her lips as she rocked Jenny. “I’m an introvert, for sure. I just don’t get many men who are interested in me or what I want out of life, is all.”
    â€œThat shocks me. You’re young, beautiful, talented….”
    Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Rachel wanted to shrink and disappear into the rocking chair. Cade’s penetrating gray eyes lost their normal hardness when he whispered those words. He meant it. Hisunexpected compliment touched her racing heart. “Thank you.”
    Cade figured that her shyness and her nanny duties hadn’t given her much luck with relationships. There was no ring on her left finger, and she hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad that she was single. He hadn’t been interested in women since Abby had died two years ago. Maybe he was ready to start living again. Confused on several levels, he cleared his throat and tried to make his conversation lighter. “My parents have invited us over for Christmas dinner. Ham, mashed potatoes, red gravy and pumpkin pie for dessert. Sound good?”
    â€œAre you sure you want me to come?” She saw surprise flare in his gray eyes and then disappear. From his gruff demeanor, Rachel hadn’t even been sure he wanted her underfoot, much less in the same house with his parents.
    â€œOf course,” Cade said. “You’re part of our extended family now.”
    She stared up at him for a moment, and then quickly averted her gaze. Those three words embraced her like a warm blanket. How badly Rachel wanted to believe that. “I’d love to join you.”
    â€œWouldn’t have it any other way,” Cade said. He wanted to reach out and touch Rachel’s cheek. There was such a sense of peace surrounding her. It seemed to Cade that her world was anchored around the babein her arms. “I’m going to get a shower. Dinner’s at 6:00 p.m.”
    Cade left the room and it seemed to lose its radiance. As the baby slept soundly, her tiny hands on her chest, Rachel tried to shake herself out of her sudden dreaminess. Dirk Payson had escaped prison, and, no doubt, he was looking for her. And yet, her life had taken a sharp ninety-degree turn and here she was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And with a baby she already loved fiercely, not to mention the handsome rancher’s son who was easy on her eyes.
    Rachel rocked and stared out the picture window at the Grand Tetons in the distance. In the past twenty-four hours, since the accident, Rachel had questioned her presence here and sudden employment as Jenny’s nanny. With Dirk out of prison, anyone she associated with was in potential danger. She’d been so worried about the situation, she had called her handler an hour earlier when Cade had left the house. Brenda had told her to stay exactly where she was and maintain her cover. The FBI agent reminded her she had to have a job to support