“Where’d you come from?” she asked.
“Originally? Venton. Two hours west. My daughter’s husband was a schoolteacher out there, but he just transferred to Creekside High last September.”
“Ah.” Peg chewed the side of her cheek. “You’re not married?”
“Does it matter?” Paul’s brows rose.
It was actually an illegal question, and Colt needed to put a stop to this right quick. “No, it doesn’t,” he said quickly. “That’s not something we can even ask.”
Paul didn’t take his eyes off Peg, but a small smile came to his lips. “I’m widowed.”
“Were you happy?” she asked softly.
“Peg, this is way off track here,” Colt said, and at that moment, the other toddler started tugging on his pants. At a loss of what to do, he bent down and scooped her up, too, so that he had both girls in his arms as he shot a blazing look at Peg. The last thing he needed was to be sued for unprofessional hiring practices.
“I was real happy,” Paul replied. “And I hope my daughters have as much happiness as I did. But sometimes in the beginning there are some bumps before you get there.”
“I’d agree with that,” Peg said with a nod. “Who cooked in your home?”
“Me,” Paul replied with a shrug. “When I had time. I liked it. She hated cooking.”
Colt looked helplessly down at the toddlers. The second little girl had found his shirt pocket and was pushing a damp little hand down into it.
“Are you a Christian, Paul?” Peg asked after a beat of silence.
“Peg, we are so far past legal here, it isn’t even funny!” Colt exploded.
“Yes, ma’am, I am,” Paul said with a low laugh. “If that sets your mind at ease, at all.”
“Hmm.” Peg didn’t look convinced.
“Okay, we’re done here,” Colt said, and he tipped both toddlers at once into Peg’s arms, plucking his hat out of the one toddler’s sticky grasp. She squished up her face, her eyes welling with tears, and on instinct Colt bent down and kissed the top of her head.
“Sorry, kid,” he whispered. “I need that. I look dumb without a hat.”
Then he turned and strode back to the front door, pulling it open.
“Thank you for coming by, Paul,” Peg said.
“Yeah, thank you,” Colt added, then gritted his teeth in annoyance. He’d figured Peg would have been more discreet than that. “I’ve got your number here. I’ll give you a call.”
Colt shook Paul’s hand, and the older man left. As Colt closed the door he turned back to the older woman with an exasperated look.
“What was that?” he demanded.
“He’ll do,” she replied calmly. “Go ahead and hire him.”
“You can’t ask someone about their marital status and their religious affiliation in an interview, Peg!”
“I don’t know him, though,” she replied with a shrug. “Anyone from around here, I’d know that already.”
“Okay, so what makes him acceptable?” Colt asked irritably. “Out of curiosity.”
“He cooked for his family,” she replied with a curt nod.
“That was the part you liked?” he asked.
“It shows that he loves to cook—he’s obviously good at it, or his wife would have taken back the chore in a heartbeat. Trust me on that. And, he’s not the type of man to bow to male pressure. In our generation, a man who cooked would get some ribbing. So if he stood up for that because it worked for his marriage, then he’s got some character. We need character.”
Colt rubbed his hand over his face. “Okay.” He had to grudgingly admit that she had some logic behind all that illegal questioning. “Well, thanks.”
“So go on and hire him,” she said. “You need a cook, and he’ll do fine.” She looked down at the toddlers in her arms. “And these two need a snack.”
Colt picked up his phone and looked down at the résumé in his hand. After his aunt had trampled every legal boundary imaginable, he’d better hire this guy or he could face a lawsuit.
And next time he had to hire someone, he wouldn’t be asking his aunt’s input. His own instincts and a few reference checks would have to be enough from now on.
“Cat!” one of the toddlers hollered, and he looked back to see a little girl leaning out of Peg’s arms and stretching toward him.
Cat. It sounded like that was what she was calling him. It might be as close to Colt as that little mouth could manage.
“I’ll be back, kiddo,” he said, and he gave the toddler his most reassuring grin.
What was he doing? He’d been right irritated with Peg today, but he’d also enjoyed this... What could he say? There was something about these rambunctious little girls in his home that warmed the place up. And it was kind of nice to have little hands reaching for him like that. He’d never entertained the thought of having kids of his own, but he could see why guys wanted the family life. It was sweet...when it worked out.
He’d been through a few breakups already, though. Women wanted a man willing to talk about marriage and kids—and he hadn’t been that guy. He’d always kept his heart pretty securely protected.
Getting used to this, and then having it torn apart when the relationship went bust would be more heartbreak than he even wanted to think about. There was a reason why he was cautious with women.
Whatever—this was a short-term thing. And their mother would be back in a few hours. He was just the guy with the hat and the front shirt pocket. He was entirely replaceable.
Chapter Five
Jane leaned against the doorjamb, looking out the cracked kitchen door as the men lined up to take another serving of lasagna. Hats were off, their hair mussed up and
