by Leanne Davis
At least it was the last time she would perform for him. She’d never get another chance to deceive him again.
That vow became as real and sacred to him as he once believed their marriage vows were.
He left their condo and never intended to go back.
Stopping by the first liquor store he could find; he bought enough booze to last a few weeks. Price was no issue. He bought in bulk and variety. After your wife fucks her brother in front of you, he decided he deserved a little “me” time. He coined several nasty cheers such as that over the next few days while holed up in an expensive chain hotel.
The liquor was supposed to obliterate the images that kept flashing through his mind’s eye like the world’s worst porn. But no matter how much he drank and slept and drank some more, the images would not leave his brain. Or stop hurting. The “ick” factor was like having an all over body rash. The knowledge of what she did, whom she did it with and for how long would not stop looping around his brain. Fucking her stepbrother. It hurt more than he expected. It made him sick whenever he involuntarily thought about it. Nothing seemed to ease it.
The rage was incessant and it gnawed at his stomach lining. Relief was unobtainable through the alcohol and his lousy diet. So, he needed something else. Someone else.
Finally, he packed a few meager belongings and headed for home. What used to be his home at least. A small valley halfway across the state of Washington. A valley of orchards, horses and cattle ranches, nestled between small towns and small rivers. River’s End.
But he couldn’t go back to his childhood home. Not to Rydell River Ranch where his parents managed a large horse ranch and resort. He wasn’t ready to face them. No. Not yet. So, he hooked a right off the valley road and started up towards his cousin and best friend’s ranch. One that he recently purchased. For some inexplicable reason, Asher Reed chose to become a freaking rancher.
It was literally in the middle of nowhere. Up some godforsaken, one lane road that went on and on for miles, it posted a notice at the bottom that said, Caution: Primitive roads, no warning signs. Or some such shit. Hunter was raised on the Rydell River Ranch directly opposite the small town of River’s End. He thought that was a small town. But it had nothing on Asher’s place.
Hunter mocked and ridiculed Asher for purchasing it, as was expected. And Asher mocked and ridiculed his high-rise penthouse right back in response. But this time, Hunter wasn’t mocking or kidding Asher. This time, Hunter needed help. A place to hide. For real. He just needed a safe place to get away from the infernal flames of his internal rage and humiliation along with the grieving thoughts and desire to do damage to Francine and Stanley. The burning need to hurt them and get his revenge started scaring him when he finally emerged from his drunken stupor. He knew enough to realize that wasn’t okay to feel. He was too angry and he needed to overcome that, rather than blindly acting on it.
So Reed Ranch or Bust, here he came.
Hunter got there at night and the frozen land was deep with snow in the icy, unforgiving temperatures. He had to sleep off his drunken haze before he could drive. But once he got to the ranch, he knocked loudly and Asher opened the door. He led off with the truth. The words that would not stop haunting him over and over still played in his head. Maybe by saying them out loud he could neutralize their potential power.
“What happened?” Asher asked when he opened his front door and saw Hunter there.
“She… she was fucking her stepbrother the entire time I knew her. From the minute we first started dating. I unknowingly played the patsy to prevent anybody from guessing what they were doing. I was their stupid stooge. I was so blind and stupid to fall for it—”
Asher stared open-mouthed and in shock, widening the entry immediately to invite him in. Only then did Hunter realize that Asher wasn’t alone. To his surprise, he wasn’t with Hunter’s cousin, Daisy, whom Asher had been dating. It was another woman. Someone he didn’t know who stared at him with surprised eyes.
And yes, a smirk.
The movement caught Hunter’s eye, signaling Asher to flip around. “Oh, Hunter, this is Kyomi.” He waved at the girl and motioned towards Hunter. “This is my cousin, Hunter. He’s Ian and Kailynn’s son.”
Kyomi nodded hello. “Well, it sure as shit isn’t nice for us to meet obviously, considering. I’ll just ah… go now. Give you some time together. Good luck, Hunter,” she said as she turned around to leave.
But when she got to the door, Kyomi stopped and met his gaze with that smirk still on her face. She winked and walked out the front door but Hunter sensed he was the reason for her smirk.
Chapter 2
KYOMI WADE WAS ENJOYING a rather average evening with her boyfriend. Asher Reed was an easy-going man to be around. Rarely any drama. They didn’t indulge in moodiness or pettiness. Just a great friendship, fun, humor and sex. Dinner was as normal as it could be that night when the knock at the door interrupted them. Of course, it was a surprise. The exact location of Reed Ranch was: in the middle of nowhere. So it wasn’t often that anyone just showed up, especially unannounced.
When the door opened, it turned out to be the most interesting thing that happened to her in all her months at the ranch. She came over frequently to see Asher since they’d started dating each other. More often than not of late. She loved the place with its hilly landscape and mountain views. The privacy gave her a sense of being thrown back into another time in history. Modern day conveniences were nearly forgotten there. The house was old and Asher spent years restoring it, but there was plenty more to do. He chiseled away at much of it, but there was always something else that needed to be done. As a low maintenance woman, that didn’t bother Kyomi in the least. Sleeping on an air mattress on the bare floor of his totally gutted bedroom in sleeping bags? No worries.
The sight of a man claiming his wife was fucking her stepbrother… well, damn! That did make it much more interesting. She sat up straighter and strained her neck in her effort to see over Asher’s head. Who was this guy?
Finally, she glimpsed him. He was hot. Wow. His identity and the true reason he was there remained a mystery, despite his announcement of the goings-on between his wife and the stepbrother. But oh, damn. Damn.
He had burnt-copper red hair that was thick and shiny, luxurious even. He wore clothes that no one around there wore. Not at Reed Ranch or Tarlson, where Kyomi’s small family ranch was. Wearing a gray suit and a white button shirt that was all wrinkled and worn, it looked as if he slept in it. But the sleek tailoring and the way it fit him were unmistakable. His face was as interesting as it was handsome. Sharp cheekbones and a square jaw. Prominent eyebrows that arched gracefully over his bright eyes. Captivating eyes that were alive with anger, scorn, and hot rage. That was also evident in the stiff set of his mouth and his clenched jaw. The whites of his eyes were angry red, as if they were burned. Was he drinking away the pain? Possibly trying to. Whatever, it wasn’t working.
What a story. Seeing his wife having sex with her stepbrother? Something they secretly carried on throughout his marriage to her?
Kyomi rose to her feet, instantly realizing this wasn’t a story she felt entitled to hear. She couldn’t sit here and gawk at him and listen to it simply because her curiosity was totally piqued by the salaciousness of it.
Poor bastard. Talk about doing somebody wrong. But maybe he deserved it. Maybe he pushed her into something… Incest? Who knew? She would never know the details except hearing them second-hand from Asher perhaps.
Upon being introduced, she realized why his name and he seemed so familiar. It finally registered. Hunter Rydell. He resembled his father, Ian Rydell, whom she knew from seeing around the valley. So this was their son. Another Rydell. There were so many of them. But none looked like him.
None dressed like him either.
And none had quite so horrible a marriage.
Her heart leapt a bit when his gaze landed on hers. Eyes so dark and stormy, they were piercing. Even red-rimm
ed, worn-out, and obviously coming off a bender, there was so much story to read there. He had a harsh but interesting face. His arresting face almost achieved model-like perfection. It wasn’t ordinary or usual, but very distinct and very different.
She chided herself, muttering, “Down, girl.” This guy is hot, all right, but mostly just a hot mess. And he’s from the city. So from the city. He virtually reeked of it. He was oozing it from every pore. And disdainful of anything unconnected to it. She just knew it. There was no doubt in her mind. So she was safe. Being a country girl at heart as well as in looks and everything else, there was no worry he’d find her interesting.
She was so easy-going; certainly not a diva, just-one-of-the-guys kind of personality and most of them liked her once they got to know her. She might not be their ideal fantasy at first, but after spending a little time with her, she often became it. More than one guy told her she was “awesome.” She was someone they liked to hang out with. And talk to. And be around. She dressed informally, spending little time on her hair and makeup.
Ahh, well, Reed Ranch just became a lot more interesting.
She rushed to her small truck and drove down the dark, winding, lonely road to her family’s ranch. She’d decided to move back home after spending several years away. She’d made up her mind to return after her father’s mental and emotional health declined to the point where he couldn’t function without assistance.
Later, Asher told her, “Hunter’s in a bad way. She did him so wrong. He caught his wife naked on the bed with her stepbrother banging her.”
“He caught her in the actual act?”
“Full on. Said he stood there so shocked he couldn’t move and they didn’t even hear him. So he had to see way, way more than anyone should have to see. He was good friends with the stepbrother. The guy often stayed at their place when Hunter had to go out of town.”
She snorted. “I can see why.”
“Right?” Asher chuckled, but there was zero humor to it. “And Hunter works for the stepbrother’s father. With the stepbrother. One tidy, fucked-up family, huh?”
“Oh… wow. Oh, no. That’s enough to make even me speechless.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Full-on shift-show. Needless to say, he’s a hot mess and staying here for a while. Told him he could crash here for however long he needs to.”
“Yeah, that’s… of course. Do you think he’ll care if I’m around?’
Asher scoffed. “Doesn’t matter if he does. He needs some distraction. Yeah, be your awesome self with him. He needs all the friends he can get right now.”
She laughed. “No kidding. With a wife like that, who needs an enemy?”
“Never liked her. I couldn’t say why, just a bad feeling, but it was visceral and undeniable. She’s beautiful but… so wrong. Something is so wrong with her.”
“Stepbrother fucker? Perhaps that’s what’s wrong?” Kyomi replied, her sarcasm clinging to her words.
Asher let out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what would be wrong. She was doing her stepbrother.”
“So Hunter comes from the Rydell River Ranch? Right?”
“Yeah, born and raised there.”
“Then why does he look like a model from a brochure advertising teeth whiteners or some such product? Why does he reek of the city? And you’re saying he was born and raised here?”
“Until he was eighteen. He high-tailed it to the University of Washington as soon as he could and never really came back. He’s pretty useless with anything involving the outside. He rarely did chores around the ranch. I used to get so pissed off when he got away with that. Trained by his mom, he often helped with her chores, which were more paperwork-oriented. She handles all of the accounting and books for the entire empire of The Rydell Family Operations. His dad, Ian, oversees the physical operations, and as a team, they control it all. And then came Hunter, who refused to be the next head in line because he couldn’t wear his pretty Italian loafers inside a barn. So, after running the paperwork side of things, he left here with a clear intent to never return. He married Francine and they had the most atrocious city-wedding. It cost the equivalent of a full college education in my opinion.”
“And you didn’t like her?”
“No. I remember telling Daisy the day of their wedding, that Francine was a piece of shit, and Hunter was making a huge mistake. I really didn’t have a reason why I thought that. And it isn’t like me to be so harsh or judgmental, but this weird sensation entered me when I looked into her eyes. Something was off. Yet she inherited a staggering fortune. Hunter is well off, being one of the Rydells, but he has nowhere near the kind of wealth Francine was raised on. It wasn’t money she was after. As we found out today, it was only a cover she needed. At the time, I had this gut feeling she wanted something specific from him. Now I know what it was.”
“Wow, that’s pretty astute.”
He shrugged. “I’m not usually so perceptive. Maybe just with Hunter. We grew up like brothers from the time I got here.”
Asher was adopted and came to the Rydell River Valley when he was thirteen. The Rydell River Ranch foreman at the time was AJ Reed, and he and his wife, Kate, adopted Asher. Kate was Jack Rydell’s half-sister and Jack was Ian’s brother, so while they were not technically cousins, Hunter and Asher considered themselves to be. Family. Cousins. Brothers. Best friends. Whatever it was, she understood they had always been close. Even after Hunter fledged off to live in the city and Asher moved even farther out in the country to start his own ranch.
Asher snorted into the phone line. “He wears those suits no matter what he has on the agenda for the day. Work. Hanging around the city. Or freaking being here at the family ranch. He always looks like that. Yeah, Hunter might have been raised here, but he sure as shit comes from the city now.”
“And yet, you two are still friends?”
“The best. Can’t hate a guy just because he turns into a dandy.”
“That’s kind of mean.”
“He chooses to be that way. One of his suits cost one month’s rent for most people. He’ll tuck a freaking flower or what are those small, cloth patches that look like Kleenex, and dudes stick them in that ridiculously useless pocket in their suit jackets? What are they called?”
Now, she snorted. “Heck if I know.”
“Well, he puts one of them in that little pocket. He’ll show up to visit me dressed like that. His car is some stupid, foreign sporty thing that rides so low, I always feel like it’s gonna bottom out on the gravel in the driveway.”
Rocks on the driveway weren’t just gravel. They were, in fact, round rocks as big as a fist and they constituted the dirt track referred to as the “Reed Ranch driveway.” There was gravel covering it, but heavy snowfall over the winter pushed the gravel into the thirsty ground, which seemed to all but swallow the stones up. It was designed for travel by trucks and raised-up sports utility vehicles like most of the residents drove. There weren’t very many who preferred the low-riding, expensive sports cars, or dared to drive them this far out into the backcountry.
Asher lived in the original, pristine backcountry. Far more rustic than what Kyomi or the Rydells considered remote. The winding road at the base snaked up and around the hills and rising elevations. It featured many differing vistas, from pine-forested, sunken valleys to wind-swept, vast plateaus. From a ravine where thousands of aspen trees huddled around a buried creek to the tall, jagged, rocky cliffs that wove and merged together further off in the distance. When Kyomi first encountered Asher again, after returning to the Rydell River Valley, she instantly recognized the name of the homestead he bought. The old Riesling place. They were a family of long-time residents and their ownership extended to entire valleys that they’d claimed more than a century before. Impressive sounding stuff, until they squandered it all, leaving the last of them in debt. A gambler and alcoholic, there was no doubt he’d drink away the rest of his inheritance, and he eventually sold the old farmhouse, the barns, and the few acr
es the Rieslings managed to hold onto. Asher Reed bought them. Asher would insist on adding that his parents bought the property for him. But he was already making monthly payments to repay them.
Asher worked full time at the Rydell River Ranch as a ranch hand. Like his dad, AJ, he always worked there and was happy to continue it. All the work on his own house and land, however, had to be confined to the evenings and weekends.
Kyomi worked her family’s plot of land as the only foreman and ranch hand. She was both. She was all they could afford. She was exhausted most days from the taxing physical work she did, so escaping to Asher’s ranch was not only to see Asher but also for the peace of his quiet house. She might be settled in there half an evening before he finally came in. That was always fine with her. She loved the space and the views. A favorite pastime was sitting on the back stoop staring down at the valley. The view encompassed the aspen treetops to the left, swooping down to a long, flat swath of field before going up to the right where a large hill climbed into the sky. The view from there stretched out for miles and seemed to go on forever. The land rolled and rumpled together in uneven views as it dropped in elevation from Reed Ranch.
Kyomi’s home life was… stressful, to say the least. Luckily, Asher never pressed her for any details. She wasn’t a talker. Not about things like her anxiety and stresses. She did like to talk actually. A lot. She was quite chatty, in fact. She rarely had trouble finding things to say to anyone. What she didn’t like was discussing her personal issues and life, even with her boyfriend. That’s what she most appreciated about Asher, and why she so valued their relationship. They didn’t push or pry for any details in each other’s lives, and avoided the emotional inner-landscapes or unpleasant topics that the other didn’t want to discuss. All she had to say was the truth, so she admitted early on that she didn’t want to talk about it. Asher had the rare gift of being able to control his curiosity. He didn’t push or get huffy with her. He smiled and kissed her or pressed his fingers around hers, nodding his head without words. He didn’t insist on explanations. He didn’t make her talk about anything she didn’t voluntarily bring forth on her own.