With that he picked up his heavy coat and walked out the door. He didn’t even object to being called Grouchy.
I checked the items he brought. Instant coffee would have to do. I put the kettle on the stove while I fished out my jeans from the night before and found a clean T-shirt. I would need to make a plan about laundry until I could get some more clothes. I could wash them at night and leave it to hang in the cabin during the day.
By the time I gulped down the last mouthful of coffee, Rafe had the truck running. I grabbed my warm thick sweater and made my way outside. Instead of sitting in the driver’s seat like I had expected him to, Rafe stood at the open passenger door. Getting into the truck was a bit of a challenge but leaning my hand on Rafe’s shoulder made things infinitely easier.
He walked around the front of the truck before sliding into the driver’s seat. With those forearms still on full display, he pulled away from the cabin and back on to the dirt road.
For the first time since I had left home the day before, uncertainty crawled through my body. “I think I should warn you, I don’t mind hard work. And I will do what you need me to do. But I don’t have an awful amount of upper body strength. I’m not going to get through the same amount of work as the rest of your men.”
Rafe raised a brow at me before diverting his attention back to the road. “I am aware of all that.” His voice dropped a fraction. “Believe me, I’m aware. You’ll handle my admin and the smalljobs I have around the ranch. I know you’re good with a wrench. What do you know about engines?”
I stared at him hoping he was joking, the lack of any expression on his face told me he was not. “They make things go vroom.”
He nodded. “While the men are working, you can check out the bunk house and tell me what needs fixing. Check around the barns as well. I have a small chicken coop which needs tending. And there is a pile of paperwork on my desk. You’ll get paid in cash until Cal gets word that it's safe to do otherwise. As far as I can tell, I’m only the haven, Tex is the one keeping you safe.”
I nodded as he spoke. My short time with him while we drove back had taught me a lot. Rafe wasn’t opposed to talking, he was just efficient about it. If he had a lot to say, he had no trouble saying it. With a scowl and a growl, obviously.
Maybe he was opposed to small talk. I could understand that. Being able to hold a conversation about nothing important was not something I relished, but it was an important skill when sitting in the VIP box on Derby Day. But perhaps not a skill I needed on a ranch in Northern California.
“I appreciate the cash thing. I do have some money. I can pay you for the supplies you brought this morning.” Between my sisters and I we had sufficient money in our savings accounts to last a month or two if we did not find jobs right away.
Rafe pulled up outside a modest ranch house. “That won’t be necessary.” He pointed to the house. “This is my place. It’s also where my office is.”
He climbed out of the truck and was around the hood and when I opened the passenger door to jump down, he was already there. The man didn’t wait and he didn’t ask. He reached up, his large hands spanning my ribcage. He lifted me easily, like I weighed nothing. For a moment, maybe two, I was pressedagainst his hard chest, his fingers digging slightly into my sides. He lowered me until my feet hit the ground and took a step back.
His eyes on me sent an unwelcome pulse of electricity to all the wrong places.
“Thanks.”
He waved me up the few stairs to the porch and front door. “Let’s go.”
I followed him inside and we made our way through his home. The place was tidy and sparse, and completely outdated. The paint was fresh, but the fixtures went out of style about thirty years ago. The carpets were clean, but faded.
At the end of the long hall he opened the door. I stepped into… A paper mill? I turned to Rafe. “Do you print out everything or do you have shares in a rain forest?”
He didn’t laugh. Instead, he scanned the chaos and sighed deeply, weariness evident in his eyes. He picked up a photograph of him and an older man who bore a striking resemblance to him. “I’m old school, but I cannot fail him.” He shrugged, his shoulders nearly reaching his ears. “And clearly, I'm drowning.”
CHAPTER 3
Rafe
The Drive
Rory had workedout better than I had expected. It had been a little over a week and already she had most of my office organized.
I had a detailed list of things I needed to fix in all the buildings around the ranch. The downside? She had a menagerie of animals following her around the ranch. And she didn’t seem to mind.
It started on day one, when she left the chicken coop open by accident and my chickens followed her to one of the barns. By day four, she had the chickens, the two goats I rescued earlier in the year and the barn cats following behind her as she went and inspected the buildings. If Snow White and the Pied Piper had a baby, she’d be the sexy-as-fuck woman walking around my ranch. She had them hold vigil while she fixed the things she could, and made one hell of a noise as she pushed and shoved her way through spaces that had not been used in years.
Then there was her fucking pen. The one she took everywhere with her. It was either between her teeth or behind her ear. My favorite, though, was when she’d been working hard and all that curly hair got in her way, and she used the pen to hold it up. Sexiest thing I had ever seen.
She hadn’t been on a horse since she arrived, and I imagined she would look good on one. But there was one part of living on the Cliffs she needed to get a handle on first.
Every morning since she had arrived, as promised, someone had always been available to fetch her, and then drop her back at the cabin in the evening. No one minded, and we would all continue to do it. But it would be irresponsible not to make sure she was able to drive on the Cliffs.
I carried on working on the broken tractor while she worked on her chores. At the noise of the chickens moving closer, I slipped my flannel back on and closed the hood.
For once, the day promised to be warm. In fact, the next few days promised to be scorchers, which was why Calvin and his men were in a panic. The early morning fog had lifted. The conditions were perfect for what I needed to do.
