After his funeral I cried for a week because he was the only family I had, the only person who truly made me feel love aside from Wren. She and I had been friends forever and I loved her like a sister. That woman who’d birthed me didn’t exist in my world, so I moved through the house packing up everything she left behind, including the photos my father cherished so much, and burned them in a fire pit.
A week later, the actions of erasing her from my life were justified when she showed up staking claim to the land that belonged to my family. Luckily, my father had been smart enough to ensure I was the only person who would ever have ownership. He loved her more than he should have but deep down inside he knew the woman she truly was and refused to let her take his family’s land from me.
The worst part was, she didn’t even care enough to show her face. Blew into town, demanded her share, and when the estate attorney made it undeniably certain she had no claim to what little money was left behind or the ranch, she left without so much as a fuck you to me.
“Not too much on my baby, Wren.”
She scoffed. “If you love her so much, then how about you drive on over and drag her out of bed.”
“Nope, that’s all you.” I laughed, having no interest in waking a teen who would rather spend her day in bed. Hell, I would too but life was unfair like that. I had a ranch to maintain.
“Then don’t hit me with the not too much on your girl. At this point, with Christmas break slowly creeping around, getting her to school is by any means necessary.”
“Okay, fine. Do what you have to do.” I paused and focused on the sound of tires crunching gravel, which meant my help was possibly here.
“I think that’s him.” I yanked my gloves off and tossed them on the bales of hay before lifting my phone. Wren wasn’t on camera, because like me, she was multitasking.
“Him who?”
“The guy Mrs. Mel sent. Hang on, let me go see.”
“No, flip the camera and hold it up so I can see too.”
“Hang on.” I did what she asked and held the camera at an angle that would allow us both to see this in real time.
When I stepped out of the barn, I looked toward the gravel road that turned off the main street. My ranch was decently sized and had been owned for five generations so the street that led to the ranch had been marked by the city as Allen Drive. If anyone turned off the main road headed this way, they were looking for the ranch and not just wandering around. So unless someone was lost, this had to be him.
A silver Toyota Tundra slowed to a stop nearby and a few seconds later a massive body stepped down from the driver’s seat. He was dressed in dark gray jeans and a slate colored thermal covered by a quilted brown and gray flannel button up.
The black hat on his head clashed with the earthy tones that covered his body but still somehow all worked. Why was I so invested in what this man was wearing?
Because he’s wearing it well…
“He’s big, Reece. Got that I can toss you around or fuck you in the air type of thing going on. You sure you don’t want to let him work you.” Wren thankfully was conscious of being on speaker and spoke lower than she had been moments before. But thatdidn’t stop my mind from considering the prospects of being tossed around by this man.
Because shit, he washim…
“Not happening,” I mumbled lowly, watching as he rolled his broad shoulders and headed my way with the sexiest lazy gait I had ever seen in my life. Even with him slightly favoring his right side, his walk was big and demanding. What the hell that even meant was beyond me but it surely applied to his sexy ass.
When he was close enough to speak at a normal tone, he lifted his head and hit me with a shot of adrenaline. Well, shit! He looked so damn good the offense was criminal. He was surely a cowboy based on the ruggedness of his appearance, the Jaxson on his head, and the worn, custom leather boots peeking from under his jeans.
His deep brown skin color was a few shades lighter than the jet black beard that covered his jaw and extended from his chin and his eyes were dark, piercing, and locked on me. The problem was, I couldn’t read him. He was assessing the situation and me, same as I was in the process of doing to him, but he managed to keep his thoughts from being exposed on his face. I prayed I was doing the same but seriously doubted that, because again, this damn man was fine.
He looked more like a model playing a cowboy than an actual prototype of a man who got his hands dirty on a ranch.
“Oh wow. Mrs. Mel definitely had an agenda when she sent him to you. You better let him stay too. That man is fine as hell. Well, I can’t see his face just yet but I just know he’s fine, and that walk, friend. It’s sexy.”
Very sexy…
“Sareece.” My brain flipped that one word a few times and my core tightened. The rough gravelly tone of his voice was nice.
“I have to go, Wren. Call you tonight?” I rushed out and tapped the screen to get her off my line. She was going to curse me out about that later but oh well.
“I’m Reece.” I pushed my phone into my back pocket, curled my fingers into my palms, and dropped my balled fists to my hips. He lifted his head and hit me with a narrowed gaze before his eyes moved down my insulated utility coat and jean clad legs.
“I’m Ro. Melvina sent me to help you with a barn door. Did she call you?”
“She did. She said you were trying to get on at Phoxes but missed the deadline.”
