River's End (River's End Series, #1)(37)

“Nor did I think you were trying to use my eight-year-old son.”

She nearly screeched as she turned on her heel to stomp down the steps. Then she spun back around. “Well, then maybe you can quit acting like I’m brainwashing your brother to steal your ranch. You can rest easy; he’s more than moved on from me. I saw him with a brunette and he was getting into her car last night. So now you can do it, Jack. You can fire Chance, and get rid of the white trash now ruining the perfection of your stupid horse farm.”

She spun around again and stomped away. Passing the trailer, she continued down the road and hit the trail that took her to the river. It was a trail she hiked down with her frequent daily trips there. And now, it would probably be her last trip.

****

Jack watched Erin leave. He was surprised flames didn’t ignite under her feet from the friction of her stomps. She was furious. He didn’t move for a moment as he’d never seen Erin lose her temper. She usually was pretty reticent with him, and all of the guys, actually. She kept a low profile and was excruciatingly polite. Jack frowned. He never realized, until then, just how polite she was. Why didn’t he notice how nice she was? How quiet? How respectful? How she managed to stay out of everyone’s way? He’d go days sometimes without actually speaking to her. He saw her, but only because any female would stick out on the place like a purple dinosaur. But really, Erin didn’t seek out any of them. Not even Joey. She… well, shit, he had no idea what she did all day. He knew she went to the river a lot. A freakish amount, in fact. He’d seen her from the pasture, although she didn’t realize it, of course.

She walked down the road each morning and left every few days in the car, but was back within a few hours. That was the extent of Erin’s life, at least, as he saw it. Jack rubbed a hand to his chin. She wasn’t exactly the party child, scheming to ruin his ranch, which he once suspected her of being.

He had work to do and was in the middle of training a new mare when he heard Charlie. And now there was Charlie to deal with. The stupid Tea. Every year, he and his son sat together with thirty women. He tried to sit on the tiny, child-sized chairs at the butcher paper-covered, small tables that his damn pinky didn’t fit under, let alone, his legs. He had to drink out of thimble-sized china cups and eat off flowered plates. He looked as ridiculous as he felt.

But until now, Charlie never minded so much. As long as he was there. Now, Charlie was in third grade, so of course, he cared this year. The pounding started in Jack’s temple as he thought there was always something. Something he didn’t get done, or do right, or someone he was failing, or not getting to fast enough or thoroughly enough. But it should not have been his son. His younger, quiet son, who rarely asked for much. Charlie wasn’t like Ben, who would, one day, run the ranch. Of that, Jack had no doubt. Despite Ben’s current teenage rebellion and limit breaking, Ben was a good kid. He was an outgoing, take-charge kind of kid and he worked hard. He would be tall, strong and very similar to Jack in that respect.

But not Charlie. Charlie was small for his age and had red hair and freckles that shamed him. He spent most of his spare time with his nose in books or off by himself. He didn’t take much interest in the ranch, the horses, the river, or the mountains; not like Ben did. Or the rest of the Rydell men. Charlie was different. Quiet. Shy. Sensitive.

He needed a mother. Jack lowered his head and rubbed his knuckles into his eyes. He could do many jobs, and work his fingers to the bone to accomplish many tasks, but manufacturing a mother for Charlie was something he couldn’t even begin to fake. However, he couldn’t pretend that Charlie wasn’t upset; so Jack turned around and headed inside to find his son.

****

Erin heard a noise. Still terrified of snakes, her eyes always instantly scanned the land around her, no matter where she was or what she was doing. Jack. It wasn’t a snake, but Jack, walking through the pine trees toward her.

She stood up, wiping the sand off her butt and kicking it off her shoes. She licked her lips. She should not have yelled at Jack. She should never have approached Jack’s son, and well deserved her eviction tomorrow, which would render her homeless.

Jack came closer to her, but his expression seemed devoid of feeling. She moved her weight from one foot to the other. She didn’t like feeling as though a predatory cat was just waiting to pounce on her. She hated being at Jack’s mercy.

He glanced around before his intense eyes landed on her. They were turquoise-blue, not like the river behind her, but more the color of the ocean in Hawaii.

She also couldn’t wait for him to speak to her. “I shouldn’t have upset Charlie. I’m sorry.”

He didn’t answer her, but came closer. “What is it you do down here?”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re always down here. Why?”

“Why?” she repeated, somewhat stunned. He wanted to know what she did here? Why would he care? He hated her. She was leaving tomorrow. At the thought of her departure, her stomach churned. The unknown invariably left her nearly breathless.

“It’s safe.” She blurted out the first thing she thought to his question.

His eyebrow lifted. “Safe from what?”

“Not safe from what. It’s a safe feeling. It’s quiet and protected. And beautiful. Look at this. There isn’t another place like it.”

He looked past her, towards the river, beyond where the mountains rose, one step at a time, until the top ridge seemed to scrape the sky and fill the entire horizon. Frowning, he seemed as if he’d never seen the place before.