River's End (River's End Series, #1) (8 page)

“Don’t break anything,” Jack called back. Then the three of them gunned their vehicles and took off with a cloud of dust trailing behind them. Jack watched them leave and Erin looked up at him.

“You let Chance use your vehicles?”

She almost clapped a hand over her mouth. Why did she persist in pointing out to Jack what a problem her brother was? Was she just trying to get herself kicked off the land sooner, rather than later by continually demonstrating to Jack what an oaf her brother was? The problem was, although she might not have liked Jack, she still respected the place he ran, and hated to think of what her brother might do to it.

Jack looked up from the road to her. “There again: not my decision. It’s Joe’s. He thinks Chance is fun, which, I’m sure, he is.”

Fun?
She was surprised Jack cared if anyone had fun. He seemed the type who did nothing but work.

“Why don’t you go?”

She looked up sharply. “Go where?”

“With Joey on the four wheelers? They’re pretty fun to ride.”

He never asked her,
she thought before dismissing it. Joey was no more into her than she was into him. They had decent sex together, but that was the extent of their connection. He no more wanted to hang out with her, than she did with him.

“Like the horses. I’ve never been on one. I didn’t even know you had them.”

“The boys like their toys.”

“What? Your boys? Or your brothers?”

“Both. Anyway, try them sometime; they’re easy enough.”

She eyed Jack, feeling puzzled, no shocked that he was being so nice to her. Why was he suggesting anything for her to do?

He turned to head back to the barn.

“Mr. Rydell?”

Jack stopped and looked back at her.

“Thanks. For showing me the horses, I mean. And again, for the stupid snake incident with my wretched brother.”

Jack turned fully towards her. “What was that, Ms. Poletti? Does your brother often leave bruises on you?”

She dropped her gaze to her feet. “No. Chance usually likes to embarrass me, or torment me with teasing and pranks.”

“So that was his idea of a prank?”

“Not so funny, huh?”

“No. Not so funny.” Jack’s gaze felt heavy on her. She could feel him staring and she looked off towards the river.

“I don’t want any shit like that again on my land.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll—”

“I didn’t mean you,” Jack snapped, interrupting her. “I meant Chance. You let me know if he does anything like that again.”

She jerked her eyes to Jack’s face. It was cold as a stone as his eyes studied hers. She didn’t get Jack, and couldn’t read him. His obvious dislike of her was evident, but then, these periodic flashes where he noticed her, and cared for her, were stronger than anything Joey ever offered her.

“Okay. Thank you, Mr. Rydell.”

He waved her off and disappeared into the barn. She just stood there, staring off at him. Why did he bother to show her the horses when he so obviously wanted nothing to do with her?

****

What the hell was wrong with his brother? Jack didn’t know what to make of Joey as he began brushing the horse he was about to ride. He told his brother what Chance did to Erin, and Joey responded by taking Chance out for a four wheeler ride? Leaving Erin behind without even a hello? Who taught Joey to treat his girlfriends like that? Certainly, not he.

He lifted the saddle over the blanket and began tightening the cinch. Erin wasn’t exactly like he first thought. Not that he felt any different about her. She just wasn’t as manipulative as he originally guessed. She was kind of, well, almost cute about the horses. He was a little surprised to learn not only had she never been near horses, but after weeks on a horse ranch, no one ever showed them to her. Not her brother; nor his own brother. Although he still didn’t like her, he knew it was the only decent thing to do, to show her the damn horses.

She was new to everything, from the horses to the snakes to the off-road vehicles. Her big eyes widened at seeing it all. What he first saw as her interest in wanting to get her hands on the ranch, now he was starting to think she was merely big-eyed with surprise. His world was really that far removed from hers.

The guys returned from their ride, and had dinner, but Erin did not reappear to him. He didn’t get his brother’s lack of interest in her outside of the bedroom. For that, Joey’s interest hadn’t waned. But why didn’t he make any kind of effort to go out with her? Do things with her? Date her? There wasn’t a woman in five hundred miles as beautiful as Erin Poletti. Why wasn’t Joey making a real play for her?

Jack mounted his horse and decided he wasn’t training tonight. He was riding… for himself… and his horse. He spurred Augusta forward and she reacted by shaking her head and rearing onto her back legs. Augusta was half-wild, and half untrained. No one else could ride her. Tonight, however, Jack welcomed the intense concentration, the fire, and the aching muscles as he rode the hell out of the horse by galloping in circles around the arena. He stopped abruptly. Then he started again. He made the horse go in and out of the obstacle course he had set up. He used Augusta to help him pound out his frustration.

She was in his house.

The knowledge kept echoing through his head. Erin was right now in his house, and in his brother’s room. Jack glanced at the clock in the arena and saw it was nearly midnight. He’d already put Charlie in bed and Ben was watching a movie. He only came out there to avoid the rest of them. Erin came in while it was still daylight. He heard her voice when he was up with Charlie. He even stayed longer than usual in his younger son’s room, just to avoid her. Finally, her voice was quiet and she was in his brother’s room.

Winded now, Jack dismounted his horse. Augusta was breathing in long, deep snorts. Her stomach went in and out under the sweat-slicked fur. He took the saddle and bridle off, before rubbing the horse down with a towel and patting Augusta’s head. After he led his mount into her stable for the night, he replaced the saddle, blanket and bridle where they belonged before locking up the barn office for the night. He crossed the yard and noticed the stars were out tonight. It was still quite cold at night and his breath looked smoky in the chilly air. He pressed his hands deeper into his jacket as he stepped onto the porch, and entered the house. It was dark and everyone was in bed. He grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped the top off, and threw the cap towards the sink. Heading towards his brown leather recliner, he sank his whole body into it.

Erin and Joey were none of his business. Ian was right and their conversation kept replaying in his head. Didn’t he make an effort with Erin today? Trying to be nice to her? Actually, he was more than a little surprised that he didn’t totally hate her company. She asked intelligent questions and seemed genuinely interested in their operation. She was almost sweet in the way she handled the horse. And how she conscientiously did as he said. And how she didn’t think she was allowed to enter the barn. Of course, it could all be an act. She knew he was suspicious of her. Still, she got naked next to his little brother not even days after meeting him. So… not his type of girl.

Jack sat forward when he heard a noise, and glanced toward the stairs when one of the treads squeaked. Erin stopped dead in her tracks and her hand came to her mouth.

“Mr. Rydell,” she said, sounding so stunned, it was obvious he startled her. “I didn’t think anyone was up.”

He took a drink of his beer as his gaze went over her. At least, she was dressed. Her hair was crazy curly like always. She kept it off her face with a headband and a rubber band at the nape of her neck.

“I was just going ho…” Her voice faded as he waited to find out where she was going.

“To my trailer, you mean?”

She nodded and took the steps to reach the bottom of the stairs. “I just thought I should leave. You know, Charlie and all. I didn’t think I should be here when he woke up.”

Jack considered her. Was she for real? He never gave it that much thought. He wondered sometimes what other things he and his brother missed about raising kids.
God.
His kids needed a mother. A grandmother. An aunt. A woman from somewhere to teach them the softer side of life.

“We’ve shared more than one meal with a woman. Four men live here.”

“Oh. Still, it didn’t seem right.”

Jack took another drink of beer and stared at the last embers of the fire that glowed as the only light in the dark room before looking through the dark windows. Then he let out a big sigh as he got up. “Where’s Joey?”

She looked away. “Asleep.”

His brother was too tired to walk her home? And why was that okay with Erin? Why did he waste time with women who required a modicum of effort on his part just to have sex? Things like buying dinner. Or, at the very least, he would expect to walk the girl he just screwed home. Apparently, not so for Erin and Joey.

“Right. So you’re walking across the yard alone? Do you have a flashlight?”

She shook her head. “I planned to run.”

He sighed and set his beer down, then walked towards the door, grabbing the coat he just hung on a chair. He went into utility room off the kitchen and grabbed a flashlight.

“What are you doing?” She came closer to him.

“Cleaning up my brother’s mess, as usual. Do you at least have a coat?”

Glancing down, she shook her head sheepishly. He handed his to her. She stared at it as if it would lift its sleeve and bark at her. “I’m okay. It’s just across your yard.”

“That’s debatable,” he muttered, now shoving the coat at her. “You should think about demanding a bit more from your boyfriends, Ms. Poletti.”

Then he opened the front door and stepped out. She finally came through while putting an arm in his coat. He clicked the flashlight on and scanned it over the ground, picking up movement.

“Oh my God. Was that a snake?” Her voice sounded close to a shriek.

“Yeah. Still want to run across alone?”

She didn’t answer, but hovered closer to him. Too close. Her long hair brushed his hand.

He chuckled. “You really don’t like snakes, do you?”

Her body shuddered with revulsion. “No. I really don’t. They don’t bother you?”

“No. Snakes don’t bother me.”

“I didn’t realize there’d be so many here.”

“We can go weeks without one, then find several in a row. Seems to be the way of it.”

“Is there anything else I should worry about around here?”

“Black widow spiders. The females are poisonous. They are shiny black with a crimson mark of an hourglass on their bellies. They’re pretty hard to mistake.”

She was quiet after hearing that, but finally sighed. “It’s a good thing you told me. I usually pick up spiders with my bare hands and take them outside.”

Jack stopped. “You pick up spiders? But you run from snakes?”

She shrugged. “They don’t bother me. I know they eat bugs so I don’t see the point in killing them. I pick them up and throw them out. Guess that would be a mistake with a black widow.”

“I assumed your unreasonable fear of snakes expanded to all critters.”

“No. Just a freakish fear of snakes.”

Once at the trailer, she turned towards him and slipped the coat off. She handed it back to him. “I was wondering if it’s all right if I sometimes went into the barn just to visit the horses.”

Jack stepped back, needing space from her face looking up at him. She had big eyes, and her small frame caused him to feel an urge of protectiveness. A normal reaction, which he’d have to any pretty girl. She wanted to pet his horses? Well, she wasn’t exactly turning out to be whom he thought she was. She was exceedingly polite and strangely respectful; while her brother would prefer to spit on him and his horses than ask permission for anything.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Just don’t mess with any of the stalls.”

“I would never. Thank you, Mr. Rydell.”

He waited a moment and then asked, “You like the horses?”

“I do,” she said with a smile that set off a dimple on her chin, and made his heart start racing.
Damn it.
Why did he react to her like that?

She opened the door and went inside the trailer as he turned and headed back to his house. Now he had a feeling Erin wasn’t what he thought; and that might mean she was going to be trouble for him and his brothers that extended far beyond what he first estimated.

Erin spent all of her free time in the barn. Jack wasn’t sure what to make of her. He found her there first thing in the morning in her now familiar outfit of jeans, sneakers and his brother’s coat. She looked up at him as her hand stroked Georgie and quickly exited when he started to work. She also seemed hell-bent on staying out of his way, which was good, because he wanted her out of his way. It was bad enough he had to experience her presence with Joey. He didn’t need her in his space too.

But every moment he wasn’t in the barn, she was there. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with her. Each day she asked new questions: about the horses, their care, and the specific personalities of the different horses. She watched him too. He could feel her eyes on him as he worked through their training. She would stand at the fence and watch him quietly. If he felt even remotely friendly towards her, he would have been flattered over her interest in his job and the horses. But since he didn’t want her to be here, and didn’t want her to like being on the ranch, he never encouraged her to talk to him.

After school, Ben always made a huge effort to find Erin and hang out with her. Jack would see them at the fences or in the barn, talking and laughing. It irritated the hell out of him. Did she have to flirt with his son too? The last thing Ben needed was a crush on the girl his uncle was screwing. Jack felt his muscles pinching in his neck at the thought of that. God, she was nothing, but one more headache to a ranch that was, at best, a migraine of worry to him.

Glancing past Erin and Ben, towards the pasture beyond, Jack saw Chance walking towards him. The screw-off was supposed to be loading up one of the flatbeds to pick up some extra hay bales he ordered from another farmer down the road. Jack could so easily fire him. He’d had enough, no matter what Joey thought. Why then did he still hesitate? Why wouldn’t he just fire him?

Erin
. He simply didn’t fire him because of her. Because she was Joey’s business right now, so he couldn’t just kick her off his land along with her ne’er-do-well brother.

Jack pressed a hand on the aching in his neck. He glanced at the numbers before him. Not only did the physical demands of the horses never cease, neither did the bookkeeping, or the staggering amount of money it took to keep the horses fed and well cared for.

He glanced up when Chance finally spoke. “Need money for the hay.”

“Where’s the flatbed?”

Chance shrugged. “I’ll gets it. But I need some petty cash.” Chance nodded towards the metal box beside Jack’s elbow. He kept a small amount of money for employees to run errands for him. The box was kept locked inside his office.

By then, Erin and Ben had already entered the barn and were getting carrots and feeding some of the mares. Jack’s attention strayed for a moment, becoming distracted by Erin’s laugh as the horse nosed her hand. Chance looked at him, then at his sister.

“Too late, boss, didn’t your brother already beat you in fucking her?”

Jack eyed Chance and his fist tightened. He’d never had the urge to smash his fist into another man as often as he did with Chance Poletti. “I was looking at my son. And has it ever occurred to you that she’s your sister? Why don’t you have even a trace of protective interest in her?”

“Question is, boss man, why do you?” Chance smirked as he stared into Jack’s eyes.

Jack stood up. “Forget the hay run. I’ll do it.”

“So I’m done here?”

Jack would happily have paid Chance to get out of his face forever. “Yeah, you’re done. Give me the keys.”

Chance tossed them at him. He should never have trusted Chance with his truck anyway. He snagged them before watching Chance stride out, and give his sister an excessively hard shove.

“Ben, come here,” Jack yelled out.

Ben glanced back at Jack with a glare, but finally came towards Jack and stared at him, his stance obviously belligerent as he crossed his arms over his scrawny chest. “What?”

Jack tossed the keys at his son. “Get the flatbed hooked up to my truck.”

Ben’s eyes bulged, and for a moment, the too cool, too bored teenaged look was gone. “By myself?”

“Yeah. You can handle it.”

Ben nodded as he grinned and backed up. “I can. Sure.”

Jack stood up and started clearing his desk off. He ignored the knot of worry in his stomach. He could not afford for Ben to mess up his truck or the trailer; but he knew if he didn’t start trusting Ben more, he’d lose him in rebellion. Almost like he was losing Joey.

“Mr. Rydell?”

He turned and found Erin in the entrance of his office. “What?”

“Uh, well, it’s probably not for me to say but…”

“Spit it out.”

“I noticed Chance staring at that. I just didn’t like the look in his eye. You should maybe think about keeping it in your house.” Jack turned to see what Erin was talking about and found she was pointing at the petty cash box.

He hesitated. “You think he’ll try to steal it?”

“I think he will try. I think he’s getting ready to bolt. That’s what he does. He up and leaves a place and disappears for weeks at a time. My mom used to get a phone call or an e-mail with his new address, his new job, and his latest lies about how well he is doing.”

Jack didn’t get her. “Why would you warn me? You know how badly I want to fire him. Why give me the ammunition?”

She glanced away. “I don’t want him to steal from the ranch.”

From Joey?
Jack figured that’s what she meant and why she’d put her position there in such jeopardy.

“What happens to you if he does?”

“I’ll go stay with friends.”

“Why didn’t you to start? Why subject yourself to him? He’s a terrible brother.”

She smiled. “He really is a terrible brother. I wanted to get out of Seattle. I wanted to start a new life. I thought it might be a good jumping-off point.”

“So if Chance leaves, you’ll go back to Seattle?”

She nodded and looked him in the eye. “I really do know my place here, Mr. Rydell. You’ve given me a lot of latitude here as it is. I get that.”

“I didn’t. Joey did. You’re here at my brother’s insistence.”

“I’m here because you let me. I know whose ranch this is, even if Joey doesn’t.”

He regarded her. She wasn’t stupid. Was she playing him? And why put herself in immediate jeopardy to warn him? Was there more to her scheming than he could see? Was gaining his trust the goal here? Were Chance and she playing something like good cop/bad cop, and really planning a heist together? He hadn’t ruled that out yet.

Jack crossed his office, taking the metal box off his desk. When he stepped out, Erin followed him. As he locked his office up again, he said, “Next year, the ranch will be Joey’s ranch too. I’m trying to let him have a bigger role in it. As do all my brothers. It’s not just my ranch. Ian runs the horses with me, as well as getting the alfalfa and hay grown each year. Joey and Ben have always helped with the horse care and other miscellaneous issues that come up, anything from fence repairs to sprinkler additions. ”

“What’s next year for Joey?”

“Joe turns twenty-one. My parent’s will was written so when each brother hit the age of twenty-one, he gets his share of the ranch.”

She made an odd, strangling-like sound. He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“When Joey turns twenty-one? Meaning he’s only twenty now?”

Jack turned fully to her now. She had his attention. “Yeah? You didn’t know that? How old did you think he was?”

“I don’t know. Mid-twenties. He looks older than twenty.”

“He’s so pretty, it distracts women. You’re not the first.” Jack didn’t know what to think. She seemed genuinely shocked and bothered by how young his brother really was.

“How old are you? I guess I thought you were about the same age as Joey.”

“I’m twenty-six years old. I didn’t know he was that young.”

She didn’t look so old. She had a young-looking face and a small, slim body that could make her a younger girl.

Jack shrugged. “It’s not that far apart. Why does it bother you so much? It’s not like he’s Ben’s age. Now that I’d take up issue on.”

“Ben’s age? He’s a little boy. Why would you even make that comparison?”

“Why? Because my son stares at you like you’re his own secret copy of porn
.”

Her jaw dropped open and her eyes bugged. “Ben doesn’t look at me. Not like that. I mean…”

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. Did she expect him to really believe her? That she didn’t know what kind of effect she had on the exclusively male-dominated ranch? And probably had the same effect at any place she went and flashed her skimpy shirts and colored bras.

“You mean what, Ms. Poletti? You think he runs over to you every afternoon, volunteering to help you with anything out of some kind of little brother vibe?”

She shook her head. “I swear to you, Mr. Rydell, I never encouraged Ben, not like that. And I didn’t know Joey was so young.”

Jack regarded her. Why did she seem so shaken? “Why does Joey’s age bother you so much? It didn’t before.”

“Because it’s young. It’s not adult. It’s not old enough to do… this.”

“This?” He saw her hesitate to answer him. Oh, he knew exactly what she was getting at. He just wanted to see where she took it.

“When someone is twenty, barely out of their teens, they take things differently than an adult does.”

“You mean casual sex isn’t quite so casual to them?”

She winced and turned away from him.

“Next time, ask the guy’s age. For that matter, a few other questions might be advisable.”

She turned back to him. “The girl who came here the other day. Who was she? She kept glaring at me. I thought she was giving me that look because she had a crush on Ben. You know, she was jealous because I was here. But it wasn’t Ben, was it?”

Jack was surprised at hearing that. “Who? Jocelyn?”

“I guess. The girl with blonde hair, who looked about seventeen.”

He nodded. “She is. She’s one of our neighbor’s daughters. She comes over sometimes, and hangs out with Ben or Joey. There are several teenagers that come by and ride the horses for me. The horses get exercise and the teens get to work on riding.”

Erin closed her eyes. “I would not have stolen some teenager’s… crush. I didn't know. I really didn’t know. And I’ll tell Ben to go home from now on.”

Jack stared at her. She seemed to mean it. She seemed really disturbed by it all. He tilted his head as he considered her. “When I told you I raised Joe, how old exactly did you think that made me?”

She finally looked up at him and scowled as she swallowed. After a long pause, her lips started to tip into a smile. “I thought you were forty-ish.”

“Thirty-five. You’re not real good at determining ages, are you?”

“You have a fifteen-year-old son,” she pointed out quite reasonably.

“Yeah. I do. My wife and I were young.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Not like you think. We got married when we graduated high school. We meant to have Ben.”

She glanced up and studied his face. He pushed his hat lower over his forehead. For some reason her, scrutiny made him feel exposed. “What happened to her? Your wife?”

Through the barn door, Jack saw that Ben had pulled his truck and trailer around and it was idling in the driveway. “I gotta go now. Look, as long as you’re not encouraging Ben, it’s okay if he hangs out with you.”

****

Jack jumped into his truck, which was a beast of a vehicle like all the men there drove. They had varying styles and colors, but all were pickup trucks. Jack’s seemed to be the biggest: a black, crew cab beast with a long bed and dual wheels. The loud diesel roar of the massive engine gunned as he put it into gear and pulled out of the driveway.

She wandered to the river after he disappeared, and couldn’t believe their last conversation. It changed everything for her there. And what was even more surprising, was how much Jack voluntarily revealed.

Once at the river, she sat on a rock along its banks. The water went by in a beautiful, sweeping current. She stared into it, lost to the soothing gurgle and hypnotic flow. Joey was twenty years old. She closed her eyes. She would never have slept with him to begin with if she’d had any clue. He didn’t look that young, probably because of his blinding smile. She felt almost dirty. She didn’t like it for some reason. He was way too young, and should have been looking at seventeen-year-old Jocelyn, and not screwing her.

It also explained why he was screwing her, and why he didn’t have a lot of finesse as a lover or a man. He was immature, simply because he was.
God, what must Jack think of her?

Jack?
Who cared what Jack thought of her? She frowned; where did that thought come from? She didn’t care what he thought. No way. Why would she? He hated her. He distrusted her. He was also, strangely, at times nice to her. Far nicer than her own brother. What if she’d had a man like Jack for her brother? Imagine how different her life might have been with someone like Jack looking out for her; instead of the brother who made it his life’s goal to point out how stupid she was.