River's End (River's End Series, #1)(17)

Joey pressed his lips together. “I’ll be more careful, Jack.”

“Thanks. Look, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Sometimes I just get in the habit, you know? Years of practice.”

Joey nodded. “I know. I know you did this for me too. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I didn’t turn out too bad, did I?”

Jack looked toward his little brother. No. Joey hadn’t turned out too bad. But he was naive. He didn’t see through the equivalent of Marcy Fielding in Erin Poletti. And Joe wasn’t nearly as grown up yet as he thought he was.

“You careful with that girl?”

“Erin? Of course. I’m not stupid, Jack.”

“I don’t think you are. But don’t underestimate her, Joe.”

He laughed and grabbed a banana from the bowl in the middle of the table. “You’re way over thinking it. We had fun together. We’re not even, well… much beyond that. It was just sex, Jack. We’re not getting married or anything.”

Jack turned away. He didn’t want to know, and didn’t want details. He simply wanted Erin and Chance Poletti to leave the ranch and never come back.

“The fence along the main road has a section that needs to be repaired. Meet me out there in an hour.”

Joey nodded. “Sure, Jack. See you then.”

Jack walked out of his house. He paused before continuing across the dirt to the barn to begin cleaning the stalls and feeding the horses. Morning routines didn’t change. No matter the day or the season, Jack did all the chores. His brothers helped. Whatever ranch hand they currently employed also helped, but usually, no matter what, it was still Jack’s job. He liked it. He could check on his horses. He let the rhythm of the work flow through him, relaxing him, and letting some of the tension out of his neck, stemming from the rest of his ordered life.

For their personal horses he put more work into their feed routine. He started mixing the morning rations of food for their horses that consisted of soaking alfalfa pellets in warm water, and adding sea salt. Evening chores included feeding each of the horses a pound of barley. Part of their care was intended so if they ever got lost on one of their remote mountain rides, the horse would come home, looking for its evening meal. Most of the training he did for his horses was in relation to trail riding. Jack didn’t mind the extra care. Ever. And today, he was particularly glad for the distraction of his horses.

His head kept going back to the beach. He never intended, of course, to stumble across his naked brother. Or Erin. It shouldn’t have surprised him to realize it happened. He knew it would. He thought perhaps it might be a few more days. But then again, it was hard to fault Joe. She was that beautiful: so slim, with small shoulders, and white skin, in contrast to her long, wild ringlets of hair. She was as feminine as the entire ranch was all male. She was easy and beautiful and helpless. It was as exactly as Jack knew it would be; and why he didn’t want her there so much. She was nothing but trouble, and could only turn the ranch, the brothers, and his sons upside-down. Jack knew it in his gut. Erin Poletti was going to be like a stone being thrown into the still waters that usually characterized Rydell River Ranch.

And so what if he stared at her? Sound asleep, she looked almost ethereal in her dark-haired ringlets and snow-white skin. So what if his gaze followed the lines of her body below the blanket that was precariously covering her? She’d been the one naked outside on his ranch. He’d stared at many porn stars too. Not much difference, he supposed. This one just happened to be in the flesh. And fucking his brother. He sighed as the tension reclaimed the same spot in his neck again.





Chapter Six


Erin loved the ranch. She didn’t know how else to describe how much she liked waking up each morning. She’d never felt that way before and was never particularly happy about anything. But she couldn’t wait to open her trailer door each morning and view the valley all around her and the horses. She loved the clear sky and endless tracts of land encircling her. She loved how free it made her feel, but also sure of where her feet stood. She had no right to love the ranch as she would be leaving it soon, but she did love it. It intrigued her like nothing else ever could. Perhaps that was half of the draw she felt toward Joey. He told her about the ranch, as well as the work they did.

She let him into the trailer most evenings. Chance was usually gone on one of his nightly jaunts. She didn’t ask and they rarely spoke. She did her best to pretend Chance didn’t even exist.

Her favorite place soon became the river and she went to the beach each day. She gazed at the river before closing her eyes. The deep, undisturbed quiet of the land seemed to speak to her. A silence she’d never heard before filled her ears. Bugs. Birds. River. Breezes. They all filled her ears and her head. It did something to her, something that was new and better. Something she guessed maybe church might have tried to give her.

She avoided the main house at all costs and stayed in the trailer or at the beach, sometimes walking the endless dirt roads that ran in all directions from the ranch. She did everything she could to stay out of the others’ way, especially Jack’s. She didn’t miss his scowl after the morning he found her with Joey. And she knew what he thought, and what he wanted. She hoped if she avoided him, and kept to herself and out of their way, perhaps he would ignore her presence there for a while.

She couldn’t stop Ben, who came over frequently to talk to her although she shooed him along. She nearly hibernated in the trailer without any TV or radio to entertain her. And God knows, there were no books to distract her from her dire thoughts. What good would they do her?