Her Renegade Rancher EPB

by Jennifer Ryan

  “Plus, Sadie and her already act like sisters. If you marry her, you can make it official.” Rory smacked him on the back, picked up his shovel, and started in on the pile again, kicking up dust.

  Colt knew when to quit. He pulled his T-shirt up over his nose and mouth, took the third shovel from the wheelbarrow, and helped out. Like all the other times they worked together, they got the job done quickly. Colt handed off his shovel to Rory. Ford hoisted the wheelbarrow handles and steered the load back to the stables, Rory following him to put the tools away. Colt unwound the hose by the garage and dragged it over to the porch.

  “Hey honey, can you turn the water on,” he called to Luna.

  “I wish I had some flowers to plant in those beds, seeing as how we’re about to fertilize them so well.”

  “The bushes aren’t so bad.”

  “No. But some color would be nice. It’s spring.”

  “Let’s at least get you moved in before you start gardening.”

  Luna turned on the water, and Colt made quick work of spraying down the front door and porch. Once done, the entrance remained wet, and a bit slippery, but they’d make do and get Luna into her home before dark set in.

  “So, were you guys taking bets on what the inside of the house looks like?” Luna fished the keys from her tight jeans.

  “Hand over the keys. We’re going in first, just in case.”

  “Seriously, Colt, it’s my house.”

  “I’m still not letting you in first.” He held out his hand. She plunked the keys into his palm and tried to pull her hand back, but he captured it with his fingers. He gave her a little tug and she fell forward. He met her in the middle and gave her a quick kiss. “You’re real pretty when you’re pissed.”

  The anger simmering in her eyes softened with the surprise of the kiss. In front of everyone. Sadie, his brothers, and a couple of guys from the stables, who walked back with Rory and Ford.

  “Colt, it’s no big deal. A pile of crap isn’t going to make me change my mind.”

  “Which is why I’m wondering what they might have done inside to push you along to seeing things their way.”

  “Miss Hill,” one of the men from the stables called.

  “Toby, it’s just Luna.” She looked at the other man. “Hello, Ed.”

  “Nice to see you again, Luna. Sorry about the trouble. We had no idea they’d done such a thing.”

  Luna waved it off. “Any other trouble here while they moved things out that I should know about?”

  Toby frowned. “They came in with three moving trucks and packed up everything. I wanted to check the house after they left, but Josh wouldn’t let me in. He locked up and took off, along with Simon and their aunt.”

  “Has Simon started working here?”

  “He walked through the stables, checking out the horses. Took a look around the property, especially the new covered arena. Nothing more than that.”

  “Okay. He’ll probably start sometime in the next few days if he’s going to start at all.”

  “What do you want us to have him do?”

  “Well, he’s not the boss or the owner, so don’t let him boss you around. He’s to learn to run this place if he wants to get his fifty percent. I suggest he starts as a ranch hand doing what the others do to keep this place running as smoothly as you make it run. Put him to work.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Toby agreed.

  “Luna.”

  “Luna.” Toby nodded.

  “If he doesn’t pull his weight, or refuses to do what’s asked of him, I want to know about it. I’m okay if there’s one area of the operation he’s better at than the others and he wants to focus on that, but he should get a feel for everything that goes on here. I’ll be doing the same.”

  Toby and Ed glanced at each other, surprised she’d show an interest in the daily operations, then stared back at her.

  “Okay, then, let’s see about the house.” She took a step forward but stopped and stared down at their joined hands, the keys locked in their combined grip. Her lips tilted in a soft smile. She headed for the stairs with Colt beside her. When he got to the door, he released her hand and unlocked the door. He pushed it open. The sickening stench hit him first. Worse than the manure. The sickening, acrid scent of rotting food. He stared at the wall across from him and the big bold letters scrawled in ketchup. BITCH.

  Sadie retched behind him.

  “Rory, get her away from the smell,” Colt warned.

  Colt stepped into the house, kicking a plastic bottle across the entryway. Luna came in behind him. “Stay outside until I look around,” he told her.

  “There’s no one here, Colt. Aside from the atrocious smell, nothing is going to hurt me.”

  “Stay outside and call the cops. They can’t get away with this.”

  Luna shook her head. “It’s not worth getting into it with them over petty vandalism. Hopefully they got it out of their system. I can’t really blame them. Though I wouldn’t do this, I would be really pissed if I lost my family home and most of my inheritance to someone else.”

  “You might change your mind about that once I check things out and see what other surprises they left.”

  “I’m coming in with you.”

  Colt let out an exasperated sigh. “Stay behind me.” He gave Ford a look. He moved in behind Luna. Between the two of them, they could protect her from any threat they might find. Right now, Colt searched for the source of the gut-souring smell, keeping an eye out for any more damage to the huge, amazing house.

  “Damn, Luna, this place is beyond great,” Ford said, bringing up the rear with Toby and Ed.

  “It’s bigger than any place I’ve ever lived, including my parents’ old ranch house.” Luna stopped behind Colt and put her hands on his sides and cursed under her breath. “Damn, that rug is ruined. That is no way to use a perfectly good bottle of red wine.”

  Colt stared down at the spray of wine across the almost white carpet in the living room. “You might be able to have a cleaning crew get that out.”

  “I don’t think so. Guess I get to pick out new carpeting. It’s going to cost a fortune.”

  “Good thing you’ve got one.” Ford pointed out exactly what Colt was thinking, too.

  “Oh yeah, right. New carpet!” She forced the enthusiasm because of why she needed new carpet, but she’d bounce back. Who didn’t like to shop? The excitement would be real when she started looking at samples. Especially once she embraced the fact she could pay the bill and didn’t have to worry about her next paycheck to cover it.

  “What color do you think, Colt?”

  Surprised she’d ask him, he looked around the spacious living room, taking in the massive stone fireplace and wood mantel. “Pull one of the darker tans from the stones. Maybe something that’s a few mottled colors to help keep it looking clean.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” She glanced around the room. “Those are the doors to the library. They should still be locked. I have the key. Same for the office on the other side of the entry. The bedrooms are down that hall and another hall past the office.”

  “How many rooms?” Colt asked.

  “Two next to the office that share a bathroom. Two master suites down that hall.”

  “Damn, this place is big.” Colt started toward the back and headed for the kitchen, following his nose toward the smell he wanted to get away from more than he wanted his next stench-filled breath.

  Everyone covered their mouths and noses when they entered the back kitchen and breakfast room.

  “Well that explains it.” Luna stared at the rotten food sitting on the counters and dumped on the kitchen floor. “I guess I can’t offer you anything to eat,” she teased.

  “Toby, you guys got some heavy-duty garbage bags out in the stables?”

  “I’m on it,” Ed volunteered, rushing to the front door and fresh air.

  Colt and Toby went to the breakfast nook and opened the windows. Luna unlocked the back door and
pulled it open. They got a soft cross breeze, but it wasn’t enough to sweep the stench out.

  “I’ll head down the hall and open up the windows in the bedrooms. We’ll air this place out while we move my things in.” Luna tiptoed around the mess on the floor, hitting cabinet doors shut on her way through the massive kitchen. She stopped by the sink and looked in. “Yuck. I don’t think I’ll be eating leftover lasagna any time soon.” She turned on the tap and hit the switch on the wall. The first switch turned on a light over the sink. The second turned the garbage disposal on.

  She drew her lips into a tight line and washed down the sink. She glanced at Colt but turned away quickly. Not fast enough for him to miss the shine of tears in her eyes.

  Colt braved the debris field on the floor and rubbed his hand back and forth across her shoulders, her soft hair brushing the back of his hand. “We’ll get this place cleaned up in no time, honey.”

  “I guess I have to buy a new refrigerator, too, since they took it with them. At least they left the microwave and dishwasher.”

  “That’s because they’re bolted down.” Toby finished closing the empty cabinets on the island but swore when he got to a set of drawers by the stove. “We’ll need something to wash out the drawers over here.”

  Colt swore, too. “I get they’re pissed, but this is just . . .”

  “Shit.”

  Colt turned to the man standing in the kitchen entryway. An overwhelming urge to tackle him and beat the living shit out of him washed through Colt’s body. Luna shut the sink and disposal off and clamped her hand over Colt’s forearm, holding him still.

  “We already cleaned that up on our way in.” Colt glared at Simon Travers, trying to see past the disgust in Simon’s eyes for the horrible scene in the kitchen. Colt actually couldn’t tell if the guy was a good actor or really had no idea his family had wrecked the place.

  “What?”

  “Load of horse shit someone left on the porch, blocking the door.” Colt couldn’t quite believe this guy had nothing to do with it, or at the very least knew his family did it.

  “Are you serious? Who would do something like this?”

  “Someone whose inheritance went to Luna and not him,” Colt suggested.

  Simon pointed at his chest. “You think I did this?”

  Colt had to give the guy credit. He almost sounded believable. Colt didn’t buy it.

  “Simon, what are you doing here?” Luna asked, still holding on to Colt’s arm.

  “I came by to talk to you about working here. Since you’re moving in today, I thought I’d start tomorrow with you.”

  Colt fumed. “Let’s get something straight, you aren’t working with her. She owns this place. You work for her. You earn your place here.”

  “But you move right in on her right after my father dies, she gets this place, and you get everything?”

  Colt’s muscles bunched, ready to go after the guy for saying such a thing, but Luna moved faster, stepping in front of him and blocking him from moving without shoving her out of the way.

  “Get out.”

  “What?” Simon narrowed his gaze on Luna. “I came to talk to you, not listen to him tell me what’s not mine and what I have to earn.”

  “Instead, you’ve accused me of sleeping my way in here, then you do the same to my friend. You and I will work out a schedule and what your role will be on this ranch tomorrow at seven, when we meet with Toby in the stables. Until then, I’ve got work to do to clean up this mess and get myself settled in the house.”

  Simon sucked in a deep breath and let it out, his nose scrunched from the atrocious smell. “We’ve gotten off to a bad start.”

  “A real shitty one,” Luna agreed, playing off the whole horse shit welcome. Colt had to give her credit, the woman had a good sense of humor even when she was pissed. He didn’t doubt that under all that anger simmering in her tense body was also hurt that Wayne’s family treated her this way and thought the worst of her when she’d done nothing wrong.

  Simon softened his tone. “I never said you slept with my father.”

  “Saying it and thinking it are two different things. Right?”

  “I didn’t think it either.” Simon raked a hand through his blonde hair, his frustration clear. “Listen, Luna, I didn’t have anything to do with this. Yes, my family wants what should have gone to them. I want what my father should have left me. That’s why I’m here, to get back at least half of what is mine. I don’t like that I have to do it. I don’t want to do it. But I will, because this place means something to me. This is my home.”

  “This was your home,” Colt reminded him. “Even if you get half the ranch, this is her house to keep.”

  Simon raised his gaze to the ceiling. “I know that. Believe me, it’s all I’ve thought about since he died and left everything to her. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a part of this place, of what he built, of the place he held so dear.”

  “Then you’ll show up for work tomorrow at seven and earn it like your father wanted.” Luna held her ground, not giving Simon an inch to wiggle out of doing what his father demanded. Colt admired Luna’s tenacity and guts to hold true to Wayne’s last wishes.

  “He loved this place,” Luna said, a touch of sadness in her voice. “I won’t let you destroy it. I won’t be persuaded to sell it and watch someone else carve it up and turn it into a bunch of overpriced mansions, so if that’s what you think you and your brother will do if you get your fifty percent, you’re wrong. I won’t sign off on that.”

  Simon huffed out a frustrated breath and turned to leave, but he faced Rory and Ford standing behind him like a wall.

  Colt let a smile touch his mouth when Simon turned back and glared at him. “You were right about one thing.”

  “What’s that?” Simon asked.

  “I will be here watching over her and this ranch. I may not have known your father well, but I did call him friend. He looked out for Luna, and so will I.”

  “You won’t have to protect her from me. I’m here to do the work, that’s all. Who knows? Maybe Luna and I will become great friends.”

  Colt simmered. Not going to happen, asshole.

  This time Simon turned and walked out, looking smug for riling Colt’s green monster.

  Ford and Rory let him pass.

  “You didn’t have to say that.” Luna broke the remaining tension in the room. “I can handle him and the rest of the family.”

  “Never said you couldn’t, but it doesn’t hurt to let them know you’re not alone here. You have people who will back you up. People you can call on if you need help.”

  “Or someone to intimidate them.”

  “I’m good for a lot of things besides kissing you, honey.” He tried to tease her out of her anger and frustration.

  It took a second for her to suck in a breath and let loose the smile she tried to keep from creeping across her face.

  “Oh yeah? What else are you good at?”

  “Now, darlin’, that’s a loaded question to ask a man in front of everyone.” He leaned into her ear and whispered, “If you think I like kissing your sweet, tempting lips, wait until I kiss every inch of you. Down your neck, over your mouthwatering, I-can’t-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them breasts, down the soft slope of your belly, until I taste you on my tongue.” He swept the tip of his tongue along her earlobe. She shivered. The grip she clamped onto his side when he leaned into her became painful as her hand contracted again.

  He kissed the side of her head. “Let me loose, honey.”

  She did all at once and whipped her gaze to his. “You’re diabolical.”

  “You’re cute when you blush.”

  She jabbed him in the gut with her small fist. “Let’s get this place cleaned up.”

  When they both turned to the living room, everyone was gone. They’d all disappeared to give Colt and Luna their privacy.

  Luna snagged the bucket of cleaning supplies off the counter. Colt took the roll of pla
stic garbage bags and pulled one off. The two of them scrubbed down the kitchen and the “un” welcome sign on the wall by the front door. Nothing could be done about the ruined carpet. Rory measured the space in the kitchen for a new refrigerator. Since they refused to let Sadie do any heavy lifting in her condition, she drove into town to buy a new fridge and groceries. The rest of the house needed a good cleaning, but they managed to move Luna’s things in without any further incident.

  Colt breathed a huge sigh of relief when Ford finished grilling up the hot dogs and hamburgers on the outdoor grill. They stood around Luna’s kitchen eating at the counter and helping Luna make a list of things she needed to buy for the house.

  “I’ll leave the spare rooms empty for now. The most important thing to get is . . .”

  “Chairs,” Rory pointed out.

  “Big-screen TV and a sofa,” Ford added.

  Luna laughed. The sound tightened Colt’s gut. He loved to hear the sound, but more so now, since Wayne’s family turned a day that should have been exciting for Luna—moving into this big new place—into something disheartening.

  The kitchen gleamed bright and clean. The sickening smell had long since dissipated with fresh breezes wafting through the open windows. Luna stood beside him, beautiful and relaxed after the meal they’d shared. He hooked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head. She giggled and stared up at him, a wide, open grin on her pretty face.

  “Thanks for all your help today.” She tapped her beer bottle to his near-empty one. They drank together.

  Colt smiled back at her, the light feeling inside of him when he was with her expanding. The long day wore him down, but she renewed him in a way he didn’t expect.

  Sadie yawned again.

  Rory hugged her close to his side. “I need to get this one home and into bed before she falls over.”

  Luna broke away from Colt, rounded the counter, and hugged Sadie. “Thank you for the emergency refrigerator and food run. This dinner was made possible by you alone.”

  “What are friends for but spending your money?”

  Luna laughed. “We’ll spend some more together when you help me pick out carpet, draperies, furniture, dishes . . .”