The more I got to know them though, the less I worried about it. Greg was the oldest and most worn down by his trips in and out of prison. He seemed determined to turn things around this time though. Joey, Kyle, and Darius were all around my age and easy to get along with. They liked to joke and tell stories and seemed to almost wear their ex-convict label as a badge of pride. They all seemed like pretty decent guys despite their pasts. We had a lot in common.
Then there was the youngest, Sam. Sam was a nervous, jumpy, fidgety mess. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was afraid of his own shadow. He was barely twenty-three years old and had clearly been thrown in prison the moment he turnedeighteen. He’d spent his most formative years as an adult in the system, so now that he was out, he had no idea how to behave. Sometimes I caught him eyeing a pair of wire cutters or a hammer just a little too long. It was obvious he was going to fuck up at some point. He seemed to almost beitchingto. It was just a matter of time. And as much as I didn’t want to throw him under the bus when he finally did fuck up, I sure as hell wasn’t going down to protect him.
Our first Sunday on the ranch, I elected to take the morning shift and avoid church. I wasn’t the religious type, but I’d spent plenty of years going to Sunday sermons just to get out of my cell. However, by the time our second Sunday rolled around, I figured I’d give it a shot. At the very least it would offer me a chance to practice being around groups ofnormalpeople. And, once I got brave enough, I could even talk to a couple of them. That was one piece of freedom I was still deeply struggling with.
So, that morning, I climbed into the truck with the others and headed to church, dressed in the only clothes I owned. Larry drove our truck while another, much nicer truck, led us to the church. When we got there, I watched as Pete McGrath and his son, Ryder, stepped out, both of them dressed to the nines. I couldn’t help staring as Ryder headed up the steps to the church doors, his ass perfectly accentuated in those jeans that were just a little too tight for modesty.
I’d been trying my damnedest not to stare at Ryder since that first day, but it was getting harder by the minute. Something about him drew my eye no matter how much I tried to focus elsewhere. And now, watching him climb those church steps in those sinfully tight jeans, I felt my mouth go dry.
Shit. This was exactly the kind of trouble I didn’t need. Now if only my dick would listen to reason.
The church itself was small but well-kept, with wooden pews that creaked when we sat down. I chose a spot near the back,as far from the McGraths as possible. Pete sat in the front row, naturally, with Ryder beside him. Even from behind, I could see how straight Ryder sat, almost unnaturally so, like he had been chastised for years about his posture.
“First time?” Larry whispered, settling in beside me.
I shook my head. “Went plenty in prison. Anything to break the monotony.”
He nodded, understanding in his weathered face. “Pete’s big on everyone attending. Says it builds character and provides a chance for salvation.”
“They said that in the prison too,” I nodded. “Usually the guys that bought that line were the ones that didn’t want to take responsibility for what they done.”
“Which one are you?” Larry asked.
“The kind that knows better,” I replied. “I’m not worried about God forgiving me. It’s the people I have to live with, not him.”
The church filled quickly with townspeople, all dressed in their Sunday best. I felt painfully out of place in my cheap clothes, but no one seemed to pay us much mind. They were used to Pete’s “boys” by now, I supposed.
The service started with a hymn I vaguely recognized. I didn’t sing, just stood when everyone else did, my eyes fixed firmly on the hymnal to avoid looking at the back of Ryder’s head. But somehow, like he could feel my gaze even when I wasn’t looking, he turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder in my direction.
Our eyes met for the briefest moment before I dropped mine back to the book. My heart hammered against my ribs like I’d been caught doing something wrong. In a way, I had. Lusting after the boss’s son was definitely on the list of things that would get me sent back to prison.
The pastor was a chubby middle-aged man with a booming voice and an endless supply of fire and brimstone. Hepreached about temptation and sin, about the narrow path to righteousness. Each word seemed directed straight at me, making my collar feel too tight.
“The devil’s greatest trick,” the pastor declared, “is to make sin look beautiful.”
My eyes drifted to Ryder again, almost against my will. This time, he was already looking back at me, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth like he knew exactly what I was thinking. Heat crawled up my neck, and I forced myself to stare at the wooden cross behind the pulpit instead.
Throughout the sermon, I felt Ryder’s gaze on me more than once. Each time, I resisted the urge to look back, gripping the edge of the pew until my knuckles turned white. This was dangerous territory. I’d learned the hard way what happened when I let myself get distracted by pretty boys with trouble in their eyes.
When the service finally ended, I practically bolted for the door, desperate for fresh air. I needed to put as much distance between myself and temptation as possible. The congregation spilled out onto the church steps, mingling and chatting in the morning sunlight. I hung off to the side, waiting for the crowd to thin before attempting to make my way to the truck.
“First time here?” a woman’s voice asked.
I turned to find a lady, probably in her early sixties, with a silver braid and kind eyes smiling up at me. Her question seemed genuine, with none of the judgment I’d expected.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, my voice rusty from disuse. “Just started at McGrath Ranch.”
“Ah, one of Pete’s boys.” She nodded, her smile never faltering. “I’m Evelyn. I work over at Nelson Ranch. My job is similar to what Larry does.”
“Connor,” I offered, surprised at how easily my name slipped out. It had been a long time since I’d introduced myself to astranger. Usually I didn’t trust them, but Evelyn… there was something warm and motherly about her that put me at ease.
“Well, Connor, it’s nice to meet you. Pete can be a bit… overbearing, but he’s usually fair.” She patted my arm. “If you ever need anything, the Nelson boys and I are just down the road.”
Before I could respond, a shadow fell across us. I looked up to find Ryder standing there, his green eyes dancing with amusement.
“Making friends already, Evelyn?” he asked, his voice smooth as honey. Up close, I could see the faint freckles scattered across his nose, the way his strawberry blonde hair caught the sunlight. He glanced at me and grinned, and suddenly I felt like I was looking at the devil himself. Maybe that pastor was right. Sin sure did look pretty.
“Just being neighborly,” Evelyn replied, giving him a knowing look. “Someone has to counterbalance your daddy’s scare tactics.”
