“Come on, I’ll show you to your cabin. You’re dead on your feet,” Clint told her in a gruff voice.
Obviously, she looked like shit. She had to fight the urge to fuss with her hair and clothing. What did it matter what he thought of her looks?
It only mattered whether she followed the rules. Which she was determined to do. She wasn’t going to give either brother a reason to…to discipline her.
Holy hell. She really had stepped into another world.
“Cabin?”
“Over the years we’ve had several cabins built for the people who work here. Don’t think it’s fair on people to expect them to bunk with strangers.”
God, it sounded like heaven. She hadn’t really thought about the sleeping arrangements. She was just grateful to have a roof over her head. She was mortified that they had figured out she’d been sleeping in her car, though.
He walked towards the door then turned to her with a frown. “You got any warmer clothing?”
“Um, I have a coat in my car.” It was a bit thin and threadbare, but surely it would provide some warmth.
“Make sure you remember it every time you leave your cabin. It’s gets pretty cold at night. You’ll catch a chill.”
She guessed he wanted to keep her healthy so she could do her job. Well, she wouldn’t let him down. She needed the money this job would give her. Desperately.
He pulled a jacket off a hook on the wall. Then surprised her by placing it around her shoulders.
“Oh, I couldn’t use this. Someone will miss it.”
“It’s mine,” he told her gruffly. He then pulled up the lid on a storage box by the door and pulled out a flashlight. “If you need a flashlight, you can borrow one from here. But keep this one in your cabin with you. I don’t want to catch you walking around in the dark without it.”
She nodded. That was something she could easily promise him. The dark was not her friend.
“You always been scared of the dark?” he asked in a gruff voice.
Damn it, she hated to let anyone know her weaknesses, but she’d promised to be honest. “For as long as I can remember.” She stepped out into the brisk air behind him. He hadn’t been exaggerating. It was cold enough to see her breath.
“I’ll be at your cabin in the morning to walk you back here.”
“If I have a flashlight, I’ll be fine,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to put you out.”
“I’ll be there.”
It only took a few minutes before they reached a small, well-lit cabin set back amongst the trees. For a moment she felt a bit worried at how isolated it was. She hadn’t seen any other cabins as they’d walked here. Safety wasn’t something she ever took for granted. But when she got inside, she was instantly charmed.
It was gorgeous. It was basically just one room with a door that she guessed led to the bathroom. A queen-sized bed was in the back left-hand corner. There was a small kitchenette with some built-in cupboards. To her right, a two-seater couch sat in front of an open fireplace which someone had thoughtfully lit.
It was magical.
She noticed her bags sitting by the door. “Someone brought in my stuff?”
“Zeke did,” he told her.
She blushed. Inky was sitting right on top of her bag. That was embarrassing. She wondered what he thought about her having a stuffed toy. Hopefully he thought it was just for sentimental reasons. Which it partly was.
“He’s taken your car up to his place so he can have a look at it for you. It’s leaking radiator fluid.”
“That’s kind of him…but I don’t have…I mean, I can’t pay him,” she said quietly, feeling ashamed at her lack of finances.
“All part of the job here,” he said easily. “I know the cabin is small. But all meals are taken at the main dining area. Those cupboards have a few things like extra blankets. Usually, people supply their own TVs, but I can probably find you a spare one somewhere.”
“Oh no, that’s fine. I can just stare at the fire.”
He frowned down at the fire. “You ever lit a wood fireplace before?”
“No, but I’m sure I can figure it out. Is there a place to get firewood from?”
He grumbled quietly. “Don’t want you lighting it on your own. You could hurt yourself. I’ll have someone do it for you.”
“I’m sure I can do it myself,” she said firmly.
He frowned and she knew he was going to argue with her.
“I’d rather not have a stranger in my cabin,” she told him.
Instead of arguing he gave an abrupt nod. “All right. I’ll show you how to light it tomorrow. But someone else will bring you the wood. They’ll stack it outside on the porch, all right? Breakfast is served at five-thirty, so it’s going to be an early start for you.”
“I can handle it. I’m an early riser.”
“Lunch is usually set out for people to grab themselves. Dinner is at six. We go to bed early around these parts.” He ran his eyes over her. “You should already be in bed.”
“That’s where I was headed.” Did everything come out like a command from this man?
“Good. I don’t want you getting too tired. And make sure that you lock this door after I leave. Key is already in the lock and there’s a deadbolt. Use them both, understand?”
“I thought it was safe for women here?” she said nervously.
“It is. But you’re still going to lock your door, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” she snapped back.
He gave her a stern look. “It is acceptable to call me sir, but you want to watch that tone, little girl.”
Crap. What happened to staying out of trouble and not giving him or his brother a reason to punish her?
“I’m not a little girl, you know.”
“Uh-huh.” He turned away and reached for the door handle. She was following closely, eager to shut the door behind him so she could have some time to think about all of this, when he turned suddenly.
She stepped back and tripped over her own feet. Clint quickly grabbed her around the waist, stopping her from falling.
“Shit! Sorry! I’m so clumsy.” Yeah, he probably got that since this is the second time you’ve fallen over your own feet today.
“What did I say about swearing?” he growled. His hands were still around her waist and she was only too aware of his touch.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
“That has nothing to do with health and safety, right?” she said quickly.
He narrowed his gaze. “Not a spanking offence. Yet.”
What did that mean? Before she could ask, he drew her in close and brushed his lips against her. It was just a soft kiss, but her insides danced. And when he pressed his lips to hers more firmly, she stood up on her tiptoes to meet him. He ran his tongue over her lips and they parted of their own volition. She could feel her entire body heating up, pressing against him. He took complete control of the kiss, which was good since she’d lost the ability to think.
When he set her back, she swayed slightly and he had to grab hold of her again. “You okay? Charlotte?”
She just stared at him.
“Guess that’s one way to stop you from swearing,” he muttered. “You all right?”
“Umm, yes?” She hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question.
He stepped back and the loss of his touch chilled her. She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Sorry,” he told her gruffly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
She wanted to ask why he had and why he now regretted it. Was it because she hadn’t been any good? She hadn’t liked kissing Brian; he’d been too rough and he would jab his tongue into her mouth until she wanted to gag. But when Clint kissed her, holy hell, it was like her body came alive.
But she didn’t ask, because she didn’t think she could handle his answer. Scared. Like usual.
“You sure you’re all right?” he asked her again.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
His gaze narrowed and she stiffened. Shit. Could he tell she was lying? To her surprise, he didn’t say anything, just turned towards the door. That was it? He was really leaving? Without any explanation? Without saying anything more?
Then he stilled. Turned back. Great. He was finally going to say something about that kiss. “Oh, and little girl?”
“Yes?”
“It’s also not a good idea to stick your tongue out at me the minute my back is turned.”
That wasn’t what she’d been expecting. Or hoping for. Wait. How had he known she’d done that earlier? Or was he just guessing?
He still didn’t leave. She felt the ridiculous urge to ask him to stay. What was wrong with her? She was used to being on her own. In places far less nice than this one.
He studied her with concern. “You’ll be all right on your own?”
“I’m always on my own.”
He frowned. “You get scared then you call me. You can stay at the main house.”
And be even closer to him? She didn’t think so. She didn’t want to push temptation.
“I’ll be fine.”
He just grunted but didn’t argue. Thank God. Once this man made up his mind, she was pretty certain it would be impossible to change it. “That reminds me. Give me your phone. I forgot to put our numbers in.”
She pulled it out of her back pocket and handed it over. He quickly added in some numbers. “You call me if you need me,” he told her, handing it back. “And plug that in straight away, I don’t want to see you with a phone that’s close to running out of charge again.”
“The battery doesn’t last long,” she explained. It was a piece of crap that often froze on her, but she couldn’t afford a new one.
He left without saying anything more. She waited until he was on the other side of the door before she gave him a salute. Then she quickly locked the door and slumped back against it. She studied her new home. Even though it was temporary, it felt like she’d won the lottery.
Strange though this place might be, it could very well be the break she’d been hoping for.
7
What had seemed like her big break a few days ago, was becoming somewhat of a nightmare. She now knew why Clint had warned her that life on the ranch wasn’t easy. Not that she didn’t love it here. She did. The people were friendly. Well, most of them. Allan still hadn’t warmed to her. She snorted. Warm to her? He watched her constantly, didn’t bother to respond when she asked him something and basically treated her like dog poo on his boot. But everyone else was nice. There was always someone around to lend a hand if she needed something. Not that she usually had to ask. The first day her alarm had woken her at four a.m. and by the time she’d gotten up and dressed someone had been knocking at her door to escort her over to the kitchen.
She’d been disappointed it wasn’t Clint. But she couldn’t expect him to escort her around. He had more important things to do. When she’d returned to the cabin after lunch, she’d found a stack of firewood on the porch ready for her to use.
She’d only just started to shut the door behind her when someone knocked on it. She’d opened it cautiously, wondering if it would be Clint on the other side.
More like she’d been hoping it would be.
But when she opened the door, a tiny woman stood on the other side. Her dark, curly hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that was off to one side. She was dressed in a bright pink jacket that went down to her knees, jeans and pink gumboots with pictures of daisies on them.
“I love your gumboots,” she told her immediately.
The woman smiled wide. “Thanks. Hi, I’m Ellie.”
Her face burned. “Sorry, that was rude. I should have said hello first.”
“Not rude at all,” she said easily, mischief dancing in her eyes. She glanced down at her gumboots. “These are the bomb. Bear bought them for me.” She used her thumb to indicate the silent man who stepped up behind her. Charlie’s eyes widened. Bear was a really apt name. He was enormous. His shoulders were so wide that she didn’t think he could fit through the door frame. The top of Ellie’s head didn’t even reach his shoulders.
Bear remained silent, watching her. She swallowed nervously and moved her gaze back to Ellie.
“Are you going to tell us your name?” Ellie asked her.
“Uh, oh, sorry, yes, I’m Charlie.” God, what was wrong with her? Had she forgotten all her manners?
“Are you going to invite us in?”
“Ellie,” Bear rumbled.
It was all he said, but Charlie jumped in reaction. He was even more intimidating than Clint and she hadn’t thought that possible.
Ellie stared back at him over her shoulder. “How are you going to light her fire for her if she doesn’t invite us in?”
“You know what Clint said, little miss.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Ellie turned back to her and to her surprise, reached out to grab her hand. “You don’t have to be scared of us, Charlie.”
“Oh. Um.” She glanced up at Bear nervously. “There’s no need for you to help me light my fire. I’m sure I can figure it out.” That’s what the internet was for, right?
Ellie lost her smile. Her body grew tense. And Bear reached up and placed a large hand on her slim shoulder. “Oh, right. I’m sorry we bothered you.”
Bear sent her a frown. Yeah, she got it. She’d messed up. She reached out and grabbed Ellie’s hand as she went to turn away. “Wait. Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just,” she took in a deep breath, “I find it hard to let people help.”
That was part of it anyway.
“And your boyfriend is slightly intimidating,” she whispered, gazing up at him again in the hope he hadn’t heard her, even though he was right there.
“Bear?” Ellie gaped at her in complete shock, as though that thought had never occurred to her. “You don’t need to worry about him. He’s just a big teddy bear, I promise.”
He was? She wasn’t so sure. But then she saw him glance down at Ellie and the look of love on his face made her breath catch. Wow. Yearning erupted inside her.
“Clint said you were worried about having a stranger in your cabin, so he sent me and Bear.”
Which was actually thoughtful of him. Sort of. If he’d sent just Bear, she would have been terrified, but it was difficult to be anything but charmed by Ellie.
“That was kind of him,” she said.
Ellie nodded. “Yep. Clint’s good people. He might act all gruff and bossy…wait, no he is gruffy and bossy but he takes care of those he considers his, which is everyone on this ranch. He likes to collect strays.”
“What?”
“Ellie, enough,” Bear warned.
She’d been growing more relaxed around Ellie, but Bear’s low murmur made her tense. Bear eyed her. “I’m no threat to you, little girl,” he told her.
“Of course he isn’t,” Ellie told her loyally. “Bear’s very protective. He’d never hurt a fly.”
Funny, because he looked like he wrestled alligators for a living.
“It sure is getting cold out, do you want us to show you how to light your fire?” Ellie asked.
Time to be brave, Charlie. And it was getting chilly. “Sure. Thank you. It’s very kind of you.” She stepped back.
Ellie stepped right in, while Bear crouched to pick up some wood that was stacked by her door. Ellie moved to one of the drawers in the small kitchenette and opened it, pulling out matches and some fire starters. She waited until Bear had unloaded the wood by the hearth then handed them to him. He didn’t say a lot as he showed her how to set the fire. It was obvious he wasn’t big on talking. Which was pretty funny, seeing as Ellie talked a lot.
She guessed that worked for them. By the time he stood back up, the fire was crackling away and Ellie had done a circuit of the room, telling her where everything was.
“T-thank you,” she said to Bear, wishing she hadn’t stuttered.
He nodded. Then he glanced over at his wife
who was busy taking her jacket off. “Ellie.”
“I thought I’d stay a while, keep Charlie company,” she explained.
Bear stared down at her, giving her a firm look which she interpreted to mean that she better not disappoint Ellie. Like she’d dare. But in all honesty, she was kind of glad of the company.
“That would be lovely,” she said.
Ellie beamed.
Bear nodded. “Come get you in an hour.”
“I can find my way home, Bear,” Ellie told him with a hint of exasperation.
Bear just stared at her.
“Bear, I’ve lived here for three months. I have this. I promise.”
“You get lost, you call me.”
Ellie nodded. “If I get into trouble, I’ll call. But I can find my way home.”
He nodded at Charlie then leaned down and kissed Ellie lightly on the lips. To her surprise the smaller woman reached up and put her arms around him, pressing close. He wrapped her up in his arms. Then he put her down and walked over to the door, opening it. He had to turn himself on a slight angle to get out the door.
“Behave,” he warned before he shut the door.
Ellie turned to her once he’d left. She gave her an expectant look. Um, what was she supposed to do? She’d never been good at this sort of stuff. Brian had finally stopped inviting people over because he’d been so embarrassed by her.
“I’d offer you a drink but I don’t really have anything, sorry.” There. That was something normal.
Ellie waved her hand and moved over towards Charlie’s bed. It was neatly made. Charlie tried very hard never to make a mess.
Ellie sat on the bed, jumping up and down slightly. “Ooh, bed’s a bit hard. Bear bought the biggest bed he could find for his cabin. It’s got a separate bedroom, though. We moved into a bigger cabin a few weeks back. Who’s this?”
She reached over and grabbed Inky. Shit, she’d put him under her pillow this morning and she thought he was well hidden, but then she hadn’t expected to have someone sit on her bed. She lunged to grab Inky, but Ellie was already holding him on her lap.
“Cute stuffy. What’s his name?”
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