River's End (River's End Series, #1)(2)

She took a deep breath and fumbled around for her car door handle. She had to get out and face the man now staring at her after emerging from the barn, and heading towards her, no doubt, wanting to know what she, the stranger, wanted. It wasn’t like a place as far out as this one regularly received passing idle traffic or lost travelers. One had to work to get there.

She opened her car door, which wasn’t in good shape. The once bright white color had faded long ago and now sported dings and rust along the wheel wells. She’d had the same car for five years and considered it a blessing she managed to hold onto it for that long. Standing in the opening of her car door, she watched the man saunter forward with a relaxed, almost cocky gait. At least, he wasn’t carrying a shotgun to scare her off. It definitely seemed like the kind of place that didn’t like or encourage strangers. The kind of place where the residents kept their guns proudly displayed in the backs of their pickups. To the right of the house she saw a lineup of half a dozen pickup trucks in varying sizes, models, and shapes.

The man started to smile as he got within a car distance from her and she could only smile back. His smile was that contagious. His eyes ran over her, and he made it clear he was checking out whatever he could see of her, smiling even wider when he finished.

“Well, hello there,” he said, his eyes bright with interest.

“Hi,” she said, as she stepped away from her car and shut the door. She steeled her nerves, having no other choice. Running her eyes over the man, she immediately noticed he was breathtaking. He looked like a cowboy that should have been modeling a pair of jeans on the cover of a popular horse and rider magazine. Probably in his mid-twenties, he had blonde hair, brown eyes, and a smile that put chills on her arms. She was a couple of inches over five feet and figured he was only a few inches taller.

“You lost?

“No. No, I’m not. I meant to find the Rydell River Ranch.”

His grin widened. “Yeah, well you found it. I’m Joey Rydell; why were you looking for us?”

She took the hand he offered as he stepped closer, and felt an undeniable zing as their fingers touched and his eyes finished his visual assessment of her.

“Hi Joey. My name is Erin. Erin Poletti.”

His eyes rounded. “Poletti? As in Chance Poletti?”

She cringed at his obvious surprise, and regretted that she indeed was related to Chance Poletti. “Yes.”

Joey’s mouth dropped open and his eyes lost their initial sparkle of interest. “I had no idea he was married.”

“Oh, no. God, no. I’m not his wife. I’m his sister. I was, I mean, I am hoping to visit him.”

“Sister, huh?” Joey said, his eyes rekindling interest and the smile appearing once more. “He never mentioned you.”

“I haven’t seen him in a while.” As in a year. But this man didn’t need to know that. Or that she was desperate to see her brother and stay on their land indefinitely.

“Joey? Where the hell are you? Augusta isn’t going to wait all day.”

The shout came from inside the shadows of the barn. Erin turned towards the voice, slightly dismayed to realize there were more men to deal with. She hoped the other Mr. Rydell would be kind enough to take pity on her and let her “visit” her brother.

Joey turned his body and yelled, “We got a visitor.”

A man appeared in the dusty darkness of the barn doorway. He stood staring at her car before looking at her. The cowboy hat on his head kept his eyes shaded from the sun and hidden from her. Erin had never been to a place where men really wore cowboy hats. This man looked tall, lean and strong; and his hat seemed more like an appendage than any kind of fashion statement. Like Joey, the man wore blue jeans tucked into brown, worn cowboy boots and a brown jacket made of a tough-looking material. The only thing she could tell for sure was that he was scowling at her.

“Your father looks mad.”

Joey laughed and slapped a hand to his leg. “God he’d hate to hear you say that. He always looks mad. And he isn’t my father. That’s my older brother, Jack.”

Jack. Jack Rydell. Jack Rydell was the one she was here to see. Chance claimed Jack was the owner of the ranch and an ass who acted like he was master and commander of the pissant spread. Jack might have been an ass, but it was no pissant ranch that he lorded over.

He started towards them in a long, slow stride, and his carriage seemed almost predatory. He made no secret of his gaze skimming over her. He grimaced in dismay as his eyes ran over her starting from her strappy shoes, up her bare legs and flouncy skirt, to the thin, long-sleeved sweater that covered her green t-shirt. She was freezing. She never expected the temperatures to feel so sharply cold here. Spots of snow dotted the mountains around them. The air was nippy and stark on her bare legs. If she had any hairs on her legs, they’d be standing at full attention and shivering.

She pulled her eyes away from Jack. How could he already show such disapproval of her? He didn’t even know about her connection to Chance yet.

“Who are you?”

Jack’s voice was low, deep, and commanding. He sounded the way she thought any general would have. There was no welcoming, flirtatious smile like Joey offered her. Neither was there any appreciation for her as a woman, like Joey displayed. This man completely dismissed her. What was it? Her car? Her age? Her skirt? What could have possibly already turned Jack Rydell against her? With one look at her, he clearly decided she was of no interest to him; and therefore, not even worthy of common courtesy.