I lift an eyebrow. “I’m sorry to hear that. I bet he’s itching to get back there.”
He leans his hip against the counter and crosses his arms, and I have to actually work at not salivating.
He’s in that backward baseball cap again. Today’s T-shirt is a black Seattle Blizzard one that sits perfectly on his biceps and hugs his abs, leaving nothing to the imagination. Add in the faded blue jeans, and he’s every fantasy I’ve ever had in my life.
“Furniture’s coming tomorrow,” he says, pulling me out of my ogling of his body. “Things are wrapping up here, so if he needs to go back, it’s okay.”
“It’s been good having him home.” I sip my coffee and glance outside in time to see my boy ride his horse through the pasture.
“You want to talk to me about what’s going on between the two of you?” Ry’s lips flatten when I turn to him.
“He’s angry,” I reply. “And he won’t talk to me about it. Maybe being out on the horse today will help.”
To my surprise, Ryker leans closer and tucks my hair behind my ear, his fingertips lingering on my neck, andholy shit.
“If you need help, you come to me. I’ve always got your back.”
I swallow hard.Of course.Because he’s my best friend.
“Thanks, Ry. Now, what do you need me to do today?”
He doesn’t answer. If anything, he leans closer, and he looks like he’s going to kiss me, and my heart stutters to a stop. His chocolate eyes fall to my lips, and his hand slides back to my hair, but then there are footsteps coming closer, and Ryker drops his hand just as Gideon walks in the room, looking like he’s about to spontaneously combust.
“You okay, handsome?” I ask him, trying to calm my system down.
“I’m going to fucking throttle her ass,” he mutters, shaking his head, his face set in furious lines. Holy shit, Gideon is intense when he’spissed. Or is he worried? “She’s a goddamn menace, and she’s going to get herself and someone else killed.”
He’s pacing, and Ry and I share a look.
“Gid, things are pretty well under control here. If you need to go—”
“In a couple of days.” Gideon pulls his hands down his face, looking rattled. “I want to go on that ride with you and Dusty around the ranch to make plans, and I want to make sure most of the work in the house is done. This is what I’m here for, and I won’t bail on you.”
These two have come a long way from that day when they came here as fifteen-year-old enemies, ready to tear each other apart.
They might not be related by blood, but they’re brothers in every way that counts.
“It’s your call,” Ryker says. “I’m not kicking you out.”
“Good.”
“What are we doing today?” I ask them both, and they grin at me, but it’s more of a sinister grin than a happy one. “What? I don’t like those looks. I’m not doing anything gross.”
“We’re peeling the wallpaper off the walls here in the kitchen,” Ry says.
“Ugh, that sucks.” I eye the faded walls. The paper has apples and ducks on it. I have no idea why Aunt Deb chose it. It’s ... not pretty. And I think it’s from the 1980s. “Why not just paint over it?”
“Because that’s not the right way to do it,” Ry replies, and his lips tip up in his cocky grin as he reaches out to tap the end of my nose.
“And you can’t throw some of your many millions to the crew bustling around to get it off?” I prop my hands on my hips, already thinking about how sore my shoulders are going to be later.
“They’re busy getting the rest of the house finished,” Ryker says. “If we get this off the walls today, they can paint in here tomorrow, and then the crew is done.”
I heave out another sigh. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
Chapter Four
Ryker
