River's End (River's End Series, #1)(44)

He looked at her. “Do you think I have any clue what sizes those would happen to be?”

“I’ll tell you.”

“And I’ll forget. Just write them all down.” He handed her a tablet he found on his car door. She stared at it, then up at him. To his surprise, she bit her lip and tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. She pushed the tablet back at him.

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, ‘you can’t’? We already went over this. You’ll have to accept some help until we get through this. Erin, you can’t walk around like that.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. I mean, I can’t.”

He stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I can’t write down anything.”

Jack sighed. He had no idea what she was going on about. “All right then. You want to come in like that? I’m sure they get all kinds in there.”

She bit her lip and stared out the window. Finally, she nodded. He couldn’t begin to guess what her mood was, but she seemed determined that he wouldn’t know her sizes.





Chapter Fourteen


Erin’s heart thumped in her chest as she waited for Jack Rydell to pay for her new wardrobe. He pulled his wallet out, dug into it and handed the cashier his credit card. She waited off to the side, with Joey’s jacket wrapped tightly around her. She could not believe this was happening to her. She could not believe that, in the span of a single night, she had become completely destitute. The only lucky part was that Chance abandoned her in the backyard of decent people. She was so embarrassed, she could barely look Jack in the eye. He waited patiently as she picked out basic clothes and undergarments. She selected as little as she could. But still, it added up. He, blessedly, didn’t comment on any of her items on the conveyor belt, including her new bra and underwear. Finally, the garments were bagged and Jack handed them to her. She quickly disappeared into the restroom to dress more appropriately.

He waited for her. It was nine o’clock in the morning, and already, her life was ruined. What could she do? She owed money now and had no transportation. The ranch was a number of miles from any real civilization, and a good thirty from an actual town. It wasn’t like she could take the bus to get around, as she might have done in the city.

Finally, they pulled back onto the ranch. As they were exiting the truck, Shane came up to them. “He stole the petty cash box too.”

Erin’s heart dropped lower. No. Not more. When she glanced up at Jack, she saw his jaw clench and she closed her eyes in mortification.

“How much was in it?” Shane asked.

“A grand or so,” Jack said through gritted teeth.

That gave Chance over twenty-five hundred dollars and her car. She shook her head. “I’ll never see him again. He won’t ever be back.”

“Yeah, well, you won’t be missing out on much now, will you?” Jack snapped. She stepped back. Of course, Jack was angry. Of course, she was merely an extension of Chance. And now at their mercy.

Shane gazed at Jack and then at Erin. “What about her?”

Jack glanced at her too. “Not so sure yet.”

“She really have nothing?”

“Really.”

Erin straightened her back. “She also hasn’t gone deaf and dumb. If you would drive me to the nearest bus station, I’ll go west, back to Seattle. And I promise to send you the money and pay you back for the clothes.”

Jack turned away and started walking towards the house. Over his shoulder, he said, “That’s a crock of shit and we both know it. There’s no one else and nowhere else to go. Come inside, it’s time we had a talk.”

She stared after him. He didn’t even have the decency to look at her as he spoke. She stomped her foot and cursed Chance. Then she cursed Jack. Then Joey. Then Shane, Ian, her mother, her stepfather, and finally, herself. She mostly cursed herself for having nothing else left in life. But she eventually followed Shane and entered the house.

They were all there: all four brothers. All of the big, intimidating brothers. Ian indicated for her to sit down and Jack was pouring coffee. Joey was scowling at her from the living room, and Shane sat across from her at the table. He didn’t seem all smiles and charming this morning, however.

Jack leaned his hip into the kitchen counter and folded his arms over his chest after setting his coffee cup beside him. She looked away and stared down at the bare wooden table. She could feel all their eyes on her.

“Now what?” Shane finally asked.

“Now Erin gets to tell us the entire truth. Not half-answers, half-truths, or half-assed stories, but the entire truth, from start to finish.”

She raised her head to find Jack staring at her. The easy going ways of the last few days, which she enjoyed so much, were gone. He was right back to distrusting her.

She started to say something when the door opened. Ben stepped through.

Jack straightened up and frowned at his son. “Why aren’t you at school, Ben?”

Ben glanced at her, and then at his dad. Sometimes, it still threw her to realize Jack was the father to this six-foot, plus boy. Ben didn’t look nearly as cocky beside his father as he did behind his father’s back. “I thought she might need me.”

“She might need you?” Jack repeated, his surprise evident. Then, turning to her, he asked, “You think Erin needs you? For what, Ben?”