River's End (River's End Series, #1)(41)

Jack started to frown, but he couldn’t help smiling. He did tend to think he was lord of it all. “I don’t know; Joey’s sparkle about sums him up.”

Erin grabbed the sketch and her cheeks were fully pink. “It was just a stupid joke.”

Ian glanced at her. “You shouldn’t sell yourself so short. It’s good. And your observations are true. You have a real talent there.”

She wrinkled her brow at Ian and shook her head. Why did it come as such a shock to her? Did no one ever compliment her on her artwork before? There was no denying her talent.

“No one’s ever said that to you?” Shane finally asked.

She shrugged. “I hardly ever showed my drawings to anyone to elicit any comments about them. Anyway, it’s just a doodle.”

Jack let her have the notepad back. It seemed that important to her. His brothers wandered off and he stared at her. Who was she? The woman who flashed her body parts to seduce his brother? Or this shy, almost painfully awkward girl, who ate dinner with them tonight? And the exhibitionism seemed to be because her shirt was too big; not deliberately seductive, Jack was starting to suspect.

She closed the notebook and stood up from the table. “I should go.”

Joey got up from the couch. “Why don’t we talk first?”

“Oh. Okay,” Erin said. She glanced at Jack and he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t comment as she went around the table and followed his brother up the stairs before disappearing into Joey’s bedroom. Jack sighed and took his son’s hand.

“Time for bed, bud.”

****

Erin didn’t want to go anywhere with Joey. She didn’t want Jack, Ian and Shane watching her walk upstairs with their little brother. She doubted it was lost on no one that Jack invited her to dinner, not Joey.

She followed Joey into his room and he closed the door.

“What was all that about?”

“All what about?”

“Why did Jack invite you to dinner?”

“Because he wanted to.”

Joey crossed his arms. “Jack isn’t stupid, Erin. He wouldn’t just ask you here. You realize that, I hope. If you are running some kind of scheme, Jack won’t fall for it.”

She stepped back with her mouth open. “You think I’m using you? Now Jack? Why did you sleep with me then?”

He rolled his eyes. “Because I could. I could very easily. It’s not like I would let you get away with anything.”

“Jack invited me here only to fulfill a punishment for Charlie; he had to apologize for something to me.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Sorry? You seemed to be accusing me of something pretty big. Sorry is supposed to cut it?” He shrugged. “What exactly did you think I was doing here?”

“Chance warned me about you. I thought maybe since you realized I don’t yet have my share of the ranch, maybe you were after Jack.”

She shook her head. “And you believed him? You know what, Joey? You’re not only young and na?ve, but you need to watch out before Chance burns you. I’m not the one you need to be careful of. And if you were half as observant as you think you are, you’d know that.”

Joey shrugged. “Just calling it like I see it.”

She rolled her eyes, thinking she deserved that. She jumped into bed with Joey because it was easy, because she could. Because it never occurred to her not to. Maybe Chance wasn’t so off about her.

“I have to go.”

“Where, Erin? To my trailer? You’re not here because Chance lets you stay; you’re here because I’ve let you. I thought you knew that.”

Her mouth opened, then she closed it. She supposed she did know it. But not like Joey thought. She was here only because Jack let her stay because of Joey.

“You know why you like my brother despite everyone else telling you that you shouldn’t? Because Chance plays into your ego. He tells you everything he knows you want to hear, like about being as important and powerful as Jack is. But you’re not. You know it, but you let Chance stroke your ego. He’s using you, Joey, not me. I was…”

“I know what you were doing, Erin. You’re pretty good at it too.”

She nodded. “Okay. I deserve that. I didn’t know you were only twenty. I shouldn’t have slept with you.”

“I didn’t think you were that picky. Warm and hard seemed to be your only criteria.”

“Fine. Turn it into high school. I could see where you’d feel the need to do that since it was barely two years ago for you.”

“Get off my land, Erin. How about that? Is that grown up enough for you?”

She closed her eyes, then opened them and nodded. “You’re right, Joey. I shouldn’t have stayed so long in the first place.”





Chapter Thirteen


Erin’s stomach cramped as soon as she woke up. She slept, but it was fitful and restless. Now the morning daylight seeped between the closed blinds of the small trailer. She took the three steps to the thermostat and turned it up higher. With a glance in the mirror, she cringed. She looked exactly how she felt: dirty and sordid. Her fight with Joey. And worst of all, he was right. She was allowed to stay there only because she’d been sleeping with Joey. And it shamed her to the core to realize maybe she had done it for exactly that reason; just so Jack would let her stay.