I look at Marion. “I’m sorry, I know he’s your grandson, but he’s also the most hated man in my world.”
“He did the crime, he can do the time. Give him hell,” she says.
I text Sienna to let her know that I won’t be joining them for lunch. I have some things to take care of.
TEN
CONNOR
“The fence on the east side of the property is down again and the cows have been trying to make a break for it.”
I look up at my ranch foreman, Oliver, when he steps into the den in the back of the house. My grandfather used it as his office, and this is where he did all his business. It was an unnecessary addition to the house as far as I’m concerned because its three walls are covered in large windows overlooking the west side of the property. Which means in the winter, this room is cold as ice no matter how warm the rest of the house is.
“I thought Cage was supposed to fix that,” I say.
Oliver sits down in the chair across from me, running a hand through his blonde hair. He’s the same age as me, came into town five years ago and got hired by my grandfather on the spot. It still bothers me that I don’t know his background, I don’t know if he’s ever worked on a ranch, or if he’s hiding a criminal past we just don’t know about.
“Nope. I haven’t seen Cage in two days. His baby mama called, and he disappeared faster than a needle in a haystack,” Oliver says.
“This is the third time he’s done this in a month,” I say.
“Your grandfather never had any problems with him,” Oliver says, in a tone which could mean I’m the idiot or my grandfather was losing his mind.
“Let’s go,” I say.
We fix up the fence and make sure the cows are not escaping. It’s bitter cold and I help Oliver inspect the cows for sickness and injury before doing the same with the horses.
“You’re really going to open the lodge again?” Oliver asks, as we’re cleaning the stables.
“Yeah. The plans are drawn up and work will start in the summer.”
Because the lodge and the ranch are on the same property, I had plans drawn up to separate the two so I can keep people away from this side of the property.
“People like seeing the horses,” Oliver says. “They don’t get that in their real lives.”
“We’ll get the horses to the lodge, Oliver.”
“Will you keep the people away from here?”
I straighten from scrubbing the floor and give him a flat look. “Oliver, no one is coming here who I don’t want.”
As I say it, there’s a rumbling of a car coming up the driveway. It agitates the horses, and they start to whine. Oliver calms them, looking at me in question.
“You were saying?”
“You work for me, remember?” I remind him.
I pass him the broom on my way out of the stable. There’s a black car coming up the driveway to the house. I pull off my work gloves and start walking back. I’m not expecting any visitors, and no one really comes to this part of the ranch. Since it’s just me here, I haven’t bothered with Christmas decorations either.
The car stops and I see a dark-haired man get out. He walks around the front and opens the passenger door for a red-haired woman and laughs at something she says. The laugh takes me bysurprise because for as long as I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Roman Maddox laugh or even smile. Love does strange things to a man.
Roman and I played for the Renegades together until he was traded to New Jersey. He plays for the Boston Titans now and got married last year, a fact which made me laugh when he told me. I thought he was joking.
He looks up when I get closer and smiles. “Were you out milking the cows?”
“I was fixing the fence and then helping clean the stables, asshole. The cows were milked in the morning.”
“Watch the foul language in front of my wife,” he says. The redhead next to him throws him a funny look.
