River's End (River's End Series, #1)(3)

Not a particularly intelligent person, Erin didn’t even finish high school. She had no real talent or hobby or job. But despite having done nothing, in some ways, she’d done everything. She worked as a waitress, grocery clerk, coffee barista, bartender, and janitor, just to name a few. Her limited intelligence was reflected in every boyfriend she ever chose, one loser after the next; although each time she met one of them, she thought he would be the answer to her love life. She already knew all of this about herself; but in one glance, one scathingly rude glance, Jack Rydell also determined the truth about her. She stepped back in surprise, unprepared for how much his scorn shamed her.

The single, remotely positive personality quirk she did possess was her magnetism: most people liked her. She had an easy smile and could be charming enough when she needed to be. Joey was indeed charmed as he stared at her legs. The problem was, Jack was about to order her to leave.

“I’m Erin Poletti.”

Jack’s face shifted from neutral to distaste in his scowl, and her heart plummeted to her knees. God, he must hate Chance, made obvious by his physical reaction to hearing her last name. The same reaction she felt. She detested being put on the same level as her brother by sharing the name Poletti. But what else could she do?

“Great. So there is more than one of you Polettis. What are you? His wife?”

“No. I’m his sister.”

Jack rolled his eyes and she dropped hers. If Jack detested her brother so much, why did her brother work for him? Jack turned on his heel and walked away. That apparently was that. She was dismissed. Not even worth his time. Much less, another glance.

Joey snorted and shook his head, and when she looked at him, he smiled at her. “Hey, don’t sweat Jack. He doesn’t care much for your brother.”

“I gathered that. Why does Chance work here then?”

“I let Chance work here. Jack isn’t the boss. It belongs to all of us.”

“All of us? How many are there?”

Joey grinned. “Four. Four brothers. We all have an equal stake in this place.”

She had two more Jack Rydells to get through? Oh shit! What if the others were just like Jack? She could only hope they were like Joey and easily distracted by a flash of leg and a glimpse of breast. She smiled, focusing her full attention now on Joey. She was nearly blinded by the perfection of his face: deep, penny-colored eyes and dimpling smile.

“So any idea where I could find Chance? Or am I interrupting you too?”

Joey shrugged and waved a hand off towards the barn. “Nah, Jack and I were just working with one of the horses. He can handle it. Chance is supposed to be down near the river, working on a busted sprinkler pipe.”

Erin didn’t miss the “supposed to be.” Obviously, Chance rarely did what he was supposed to be doing.

“You want me to take you to him? Does he know you’re coming?”

“No. Has he ever mentioned me?” She could have earned an acting role for how easily she smiled and charmed Joey.

“No. Sorry. He’s never mentioned you.”

“I came to visit him for a couple of weeks, bringing bad news from our family. I thought I could stay with him and take a break from school while I’m here.”

“You’re a student?”

Why did Joey sound so surprised to know she was a student? Was that so out there? Why couldn’t she be a student? Although she was most definitely not in college, how could Joey know that?

“Yes. Wazzu.” Washington State University was her school, she decided, because she heard most kids east of the Cascades went there. It was located in Pullman, on the border of Idaho. She bit her lip and pulled on her sweater so the front dipped just above her bra line. Joey’s eyes followed the subtle adjustment. “I’ll just get a room somewhere closeby. He can come visit me there.”

Joey’s eyes rose from her chest to her eyes. “There’s no need of that. No big deal, really. Chance stays in that trailer over there. It’s his business who he lets stay with him. We sure as hell don’t care.”

Turning, she followed Joey’s finger and repressed the groan of dismay. Chance made it sound like he had his own apartment over the Rydells’ barn, when instead, it was no more than a travel trailer. An honest-to-God trailer with wheels beneath it. It was parked five hundred feet from the main house with three other trailers lined up beside it. Must have been the place where all their ranch hands stayed.

She turned to Joey with a smile. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose. Maybe you’d better check with Mr. Rydell.”

She played on a nerve. Whatever big brother, Jack, was to Joey, Joey didn’t want to do as Jack bade. “I don’t have to ask permission. I can give it to you, same as Jack. Sure. You’re staying. In fact, now I insist on it.”

She sagged with relief and her breath nearly hitched. She wasn’t homeless. At least, for now. She pilfered some time to figure out what to do next and where to go. Now, all she had to do was make sure Chance didn’t tell the Rydells he wanted nothing to do with her, and would never have invited her to come there and see him.





Chapter Two


Jack watched the entire episode from the shadows of the barn and nearly groaned with chagrin. Could his brother really be such an idiot as to fall for the act this girl was so obviously playing on him? How could Joe not see it? The pretty smiles, the subtle flash of bra and legs? Shit. Poletti. Just what he needed. Another pointless, worthless Poletti on his land. And this one might just be worse still, judging by how her tits seemed to put Joey into a trance.