His Reckless Heart (The Montgomery Boys Book 1)

by Jessica Mills

  “Good to see you finally awake,” he teased. “Ready for work right around the crack of noon.”

  “It was a long couple of days,” I told him. “But I’m around now. Can I help you out with the fence?”

  “You sure you remember how?” he asked.

  I glared at him. “Shut up and fix the damn fence.”

  We went to work and stayed silent for the first few minutes. It was a comfortable silence, but eventually, I wanted to fill it with something.

  “Tell me about what’s been going on,” I said. “How are things around Green Valley?”

  “Pretty much the same as they always have been,” Clayton said. “There was a fight up at Clancy’s the other night. Two guys got into it over some girl, who it turned out didn’t want anything to do with either one of them, and by the end of the night, they were drunk out of their minds, singing karaoke together.”

  I laughed. “That sounds about right.”

  “The big drama of the last couple of months has been more of a custody issue than anything else,” he said.

  I gave him a strange look. “I didn’t realize people got so invested in those types of things around here. At least, I never remember people talking about custody issues much.”

  “Well, they don’t usually. But it’s different when it’s between horses.”

  “Between horses?” I asked.

  “Yep. Apparently, a couple of horses were out grazing and found a break in the fence between two ranches. They ended up getting real friendly with each other and the owner of the male horse found them enjoying a bit of afternoon delight up near one of his orchards. So, he got them apart and brought the filly home, then fixed his fence. Of course, it didn’t take long for him to get word his neighbor’s horse was pregnant. Once the foal was born, he had all the markings of his father, so the other rancher knew it was from their little afternoon dalliance. So, he went to the owner of the filly and said he had claim over the baby. Which, of course, caused a spitting nasty argument because the owner of the mother horse had the same feeling about the baby. Now they’re in a court battle over which one of them has actual ownership over the baby.”

  “That seems like a pretty straightforward situation to me,” I said. “The owner of the filly owns the baby.”

  “You’d think it was that easy, but it’s turning into some crazy complicated issue. Apparently, there’s no precedent set in Green Valley or something like that, so the courts have to decide how they’re going to handle a future claim like this.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think there are going to be many future claims like that,” I said.

  “Not if people kept their fences in good condition,” Clayton said.

  “What are they doing with the foal while they battle?”

  He chuckled. “That’s actually the best part. They couldn’t come to a decision about who should have the baby, and both were being petty and didn’t want the mother and father horse seeing each other again, so the judge issued an order for a miniature shelter and corral to be built straddling both properties, and the foal, who is already almost weaned by this point, has to be in there at night.”

  “You’ve seriously got to be kidding me,” I said. “They’re getting so wrapped up in it that they’re building whole structures now?”

  “Absolutely,” Clayton told me. “I told you it was a mess.”

  The conversation shifted, and for the next several minutes, we continued to talk about things that didn’t really matter. More rumors around town. Updates and reviews about businesses and restaurants that opened since I left. How Garrett was being an ass like usual and starting fires where he shouldn’t. It seemed fine until Clayton leaned back against a fence post to take a break and I looked up to find him studying my face.

  “Are you all right, man?” he asked.

  I wiped sweat from my brow and nodded. “Yeah, why?”

  My older brother shrugged. “I guess I didn’t figure you’d ever come back here.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “And yet, here you are,” he said.

  I was just about to answer when a cruiser pulled up and the sheriff’s deputy got out. It was an unpleasant surprise to see his face. I had no idea Roy Hayes had been appointed as deputy by Sheriff Grimes.

  “What the hell is this?” I said between gritted teeth as the deputy approached.

  Clayton sighed. “You’ve missed some shit, little brother.”

  “I can see that,” I said.

  He lifted his head and slashed a bright smile at the deputy as he swaggered his way over to us. “Deputy Dipshit!” Clayton called. “What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  I snorted as I did everything I could to try to stop myself from laughing.

  Chapter 8

  Shannon

  I had never been the type of person who always avoided spoilers for TV shows and movies. I couldn’t look at a pile of shiny wrapped Christmas presents under the tree for weeks leading up to the holiday. I couldn’t stand not being in the loop or having to be curious for too long.

  Of course, as an adult, I had learned to temper my curiosity and control myself, but this was just far too much. I couldn’t stand not knowing. Jesse was back in town and I had no idea why.

  All the different possibilities and explanations rushed through my head, working me up and making me worry. No matter what was going on, I needed to know. Being in this kind of holding pattern was driving me crazy and I couldn’t focus on the work in front of me.

  All I could think about was Jesse, and for the sake of my own sanity and the cars relying on me to not make them explode, I had to rip off the bandage and get some answers.

  As soon as my father returned from his run to Crystal Lake to pick up parts, I washed my hands and walked out of the garage to meet him.

  “Hey, Dad, I need to run out for a bit. Can you keep an eye on Beau and hold down the fort around here?” I leaned down and scratched Beau on the head. He slowly tipped over like he was melting and showed me his belly.

  “Sure,” my father said. “What are you working on?”

  “That van the people brought in Friday,” I said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s a mess. New alternator, new brakes, new timing belt, probably more. I’m surprised it didn’t burst into flames on the way into the shop.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe we should just invoice them for a new car. Trade it out. They might not notice.”

  “If that was a valid thing for me to do, I probably would. They need to just let that thing go. Unless they got married in the front seat and the woman gave birth in the back after they inherited it from her grandmother who brought it over on the sea voyage from the old country, there is no reason to keep it.”

  “You never know. All right, well, I’ll keep working on it. Then I’ll bring Beau out for a wild afternoon and some beers at the strip club.”

  “He’s only allowed three,” I said. “He can’t hold his drinks.”

  I kissed him on the cheek and hopped in the truck. This was one of those moments when I wished I had a few more domestic skills. A homecoming after years in the service warranted some home-baked goodies, but that wasn’t going to happen. I might be able to whip out a couple of slices of cinnamon-sugar toast, but somehow, that didn’t strike me as appropriate for the situation. So I headed over to the shop a bit down the road from the garage and surveyed the options offered up by women who had both an oven at their disposal and a decent relationship with that oven.

  “Afternoon, Shannon,” Chrissie Vallow said, coming out of the kitchen in the back and wiping flour from her hands onto her pink and white checked apron. “What can I get for you?”

  “Hey, Chrissie. I’m just going to grab some pies.”

  “Absolutely. What flavors? The strawberry and rhubarb is especially good today if I do say so myself.” She grinned as she slid open the back of the glass display case.

  “Then I’ll take one of those. And a cherry, a razzleberry, and a lemon. And throw in
a chocolate.”

  She laughed and started pulling out pies. “You feeding an army?” she asked.

  “Something like that,” I told her.

  Anybody in Green Valley knew you couldn’t just bring a treat to one of the Montgomery boys. There were eight of them, and most of them were at the ranch at even given time. Even if a couple were out doing their own thing, that was still a strong handful of big men ready to lay waste to any food brought their way.

  I’d learned a long time ago to always come prepared to feed the whole group. But they were always sweet about it, so I didn’t mind. Besides, these pies were going to be my bridge to talking to Jesse. I needed as many options as possible. For all I knew, the years away had changed his tastes.

  Chrissie packed up the pies in crisp white boxes tied with brown twine and slid them across the counter to me. I thanked her and brought them out to the truck, carefully putting them on the passenger seat before heading out to the Montgomery ranch. My thoughts and emotions were able to maintain some distance for most of the ride, but as soon as I turned off the public street onto the private road leading to the ranch, memories swarmed me. I’d driven down that road more times than I could count. I knew every inch of it so well I could have walked down it in the pitch-black of night and never stumbled or lost my way.

  In my memories, I could see Jesse and I walking down that road, holding hands on warm summer evenings or riding horses in the snow around Christmastime. During the fall, I used to love climbing up on the hay in the wagon pulled by Jesse’s tractor and ride through the golden landscape. All those days spent with Jesse, not wanting anything else.

  As I got closer to the entrance of the ranch, I noticed Deputy Hayes’s cruiser sitting at the side of the road. I rolled my eyes. Apparently, one run-in with him wasn’t enough for the day. Getting closer, I saw two men standing at the gate, talking to Roy. It didn’t take even a second for me to realize one of them was Jesse.

  My stomach rolled over with nerves. Up until that moment, I hadn’t really thought about what was going to happen when I got there or how he was going to react to me showing up. Was he going to be happy to see me? Or would he prefer I stay the hell away and pretend he wasn’t back?

  There wasn’t really anything I could do about it now. I couldn’t change my mind, turn around, and go eat all the pies by myself in a corner somewhere. The other man, who I saw was Clayton, had noticed me coming. I was committed now.

  Pulling up behind the cruiser, I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Deputy Hayes looked over his shoulder at me and frowned, clearly not pleased I’d shown up here. Ignoring him, I walked around to the passenger side of the truck and pulled out the stack of twine-wrapped pies.

  I could have been sneaky and taken them out of their boxes to pretend I baked them, but that would be setting a dangerous precedent. Not only would there be questions as to how I possibly baked a pie with a convection plate and microwave, but I might be called on again to recreate the perfection that is the blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry blend of a razzleberry pie.

  Instead, I carried the boxes unapologetically and approached the gate, hoping I didn’t look terrified and that Jesse would be happy to see me. Having him reject me in front of Clayton and Deputy Hayes was a humiliation I would really prefer to avoid if at all possible. Fortunately, I only had to take a few steps toward the gate before Jesse noticed me and his eyes brightened. His posture straightened up and a smile broke the serious expression on his face.

  “Shannon Dailey,” he said. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

  The immediate heat burning across my cheeks might not have been the most dignified response, but I couldn’t help it. Jesse still had that effect on me. The years didn’t do anything to change that.

  He walked out of the gate to meet me out on the road and held his arms out to greet me. Not knowing what to do with my hands was a weirdness I was familiar with, but I’d never encountered the awkwardness of not knowing where to put a stack of pies. I tried to juggle them into one arm so I could extend the other to him and they started to slip. I caught them before they toppled, and switched techniques to pin them against my body with my upper arms and elbows to hold my hands out toward him.

  Jesse chuckled and took the boxes from me. He set them on the ground and gathered me up in a warm hug. I immediately melted into it, reveling in his familiar smell and the feeling of being surrounded by him. It felt so good to have his strong arms wrapped around me and my head rested on his chest.

  I wasn’t a particularly small woman, but a hug from Jesse always made me feel enveloped. But the hug wasn’t the same as it was when we were younger. He was bigger now, his body fuller and more shaped. There was just more man in general. This wasn’t the young boy who went off to join the army. He was a full-grown soldier with a powerful body and an intense presence. But his smile and bright hazel eyes were still the same, and that melted my heart.

  “I didn’t believe it when I heard you were home,” I breathed into him.

  Behind Jesse, Deputy Hayes cleared his throat. “Shannon?”

  I pulled back away from Jesse and looked around him at the deputy with a distinct glare. I arched an eyebrow at him. “Yes?”

  He really didn’t have any place having a bug up his butt about me being there. Not only did he have no claim over me, but he was one of the ones who’d told me about Jesse being back in the first place. He couldn’t really think he could tell me Jesse was home and not expect me to want to go see him.

  Of course, knowing Roy, he might have honestly believed this was a new in for him. If he told me Jesse was back in town and I didn’t know, maybe I’d be upset Jesse hadn’t told me himself and I’d be vulnerable. Roy might think this could be the chance for him to actually convince me he was the right one for me.

  That just made his reaction even more disgusting.

  “Would you mind giving me and these boys a minute?” Roy asked. “We were discussing some private matters.”

  Jesse and I exchanged a look and he nodded. “Just give me a minute,” he said. “Then we’ll catch up.”

  “Okay,” I said reluctantly, then swept the pies up off the ground and walked back to the truck to lean against the hood.

  I set the pies beside me and crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at the deputy. Jesse walked back over to Clayton and Deputy Hayes stepped up closer to them. It immediately reminded me of the way things used to be. The Montgomery family was always a plaything for the Hayes family, and it seemed as though nothing had changed. I just hadn’t been around to witness it so much since Jesse left.

  Just watching it made my stomach twist and the back of my neck tingle. I hated to see the way Deputy Hayes lorded over them, posturing himself like it was clear he was the superior man of the three. If he was sexy and trying to impress a woman, it might be called peacocking.

  The way it was, it was just jackassing.

  Chapter 9

  Jesse

  My jaw clenched tightly as I walked back over to my brother, and Deputy Hayes swaggered up to us. His eyes scanned over us, looking down at us like he shouldn’t have to share the same space with us. That wasn’t new.

  He always looked at my brothers and me that way. All the Hayes family did. For as long as I could remember, their family had been feuding with mine. Of course, they had the power and position to cause us a lot more trouble than we were ever able to cause them, but we held our own. The eight of us refused to let them tamp us down, no matter how hard they tried.

  “What do you want, Roy?” Clayton asked, the edge in his voice sharp. “We have work to do and don’t have time to waste on you.”

  This instantly lit the fuse on Roy. He was the type of law enforcement officer no one really liked to get on the wrong side of regardless of the situation. He had a love of control and power and always expected everybody around him to bend to his will and show him nothing but respect. It was his unwavering belief that he was somehow above just about every o
ther person he encountered and deserving of awe and even devotion.

  That never sat well with any of us Montgomery boys and our refusal to give him what he wanted only made him more intolerable. The fact that he’d always clamored after Shannon when we were teenagers and she wouldn’t give him the time of day was just another reason to create animosity.

  In the end, he was nothing more than a bully. But a bully among other kids in high school was one thing. Giving a bully a gun and the endorsement to monitor, control, and overpower other people on a whim was something completely different. He could get riled up in an instant and I was always waiting for that moment when he would get tipped over the edge.

  “Don’t run your mouth, Clayton,” the deputy snapped. “You know it never works out for you. Fortunately for you today, I’m not here for either one of you. I’m looking for Garrett.”

  That surprised me. Now that I knew Hayes was a deputy, I had the full expectation he would harass my family as much as he could. He could find any number of reasons to come to the ranch and cause issues. But I wasn’t anticipating him asking for Garrett. From what I heard, he hadn’t been around in a while and even our other brothers weren’t in contact with him.

  “Garrett?” I asked.

  “What’s he done now?” Clayton asked grimly, his voice overlapping mine.

  I looked over at Clayton, wondering what else I’d missed in the years I was in the military. He obviously had insight into our older brother I wasn’t aware of, and it made me curious. It also made me feel a little sick.

  I always knew Garrett was the bad boy of us. The general consensus about him most the time was he was up to no good and it was probably not going to amount to a whole lot. Not that it was all that unusual for people to think that about any of the Montgomery boys. But for him, it seemed more of a foregone conclusion than just a judgment.