by Rye Hart
“So, how was your night?” Luke asks innocently as I step into the barn.
“Fine,” I say, trying to stifle a smile. The last thing I want to do is discuss my sex life with my baby brother.
Fortunately, Luke seems to get the hint and moves on to other subjects. We discuss the plan for the day and he heads out to rustle the cattle from the far pasture while I get ready to head into town and pick up the feed. As I’m about to climb into the truck, I see Sydney standing on the back porch. She is sipping a cup of coffee and waves to me. I wave back and trot over to where she is. As I approach her, I’m again struck by how beautiful she is.
“Morning,” I say, placing a quick kiss on her forehead.
“Morning,” she repeats, smiling up at me.
“Did you sleep ok?” I ask her, and she answers me with a wicked grin.
I feel my groin start to get tight again and back away. “I’m headed into town to pick up some supplies, do you need anything?” I ask her.
She shakes her head and then asks a question that somewhat surprises me.
“Can I come with you? I wouldn’t mind seeing what Sheepshead is all about.”
We head into town and I am acutely aware of the stares we are getting from just about everyone on the street. This is a small town and everyone is always up in everyone else’s shit. It’s one of the main reasons I keep my trips into town few and far between. I much prefer the solitude of the ranch.
Walking into the feed store, I am stopped by no less than four people asking me to introduce them to my “friend.” Sydney politely responds and answers their questions about where she’s from and how long she’ll stay. She agrees to visit the diner for Madge’s famous lemon meringue pie and to check out the farmers’ market one Saturday. I’m impressed by how well she is handling the scrutiny. Then again, looking like she does, she’s probably used to the attention.
After I pay for the supplies, I casually hook my arm around her waist and guide her out of the store. I know the tongues will be wagging before the door shuts behind us but I don’t much care. The people of this town, while nosy, are good at heart. After our parents died, the whole place rallied around our family and helped Aunt Nora however they could. As much as I’m annoyed at the invasion of privacy every now and then, I wouldn’t leave this place for anything.
We stop into the grocery store and grab a few things that Sydney wants and we head back to the ranch. As we drive with the windows down, her auburn hair floats about her and she looks almost angelic. The length of bare thigh I can see under the hem of her shorts is distracting and I force myself to keep my eyes on the road so I don’t drive us into a fence post.
“Everyone in town seems so nice,” she says as we pull into the driveway.
“For the most part, they are,” I tell her. “Though, you will be the talk of the town, so you know.”
She laughed. “I kind of figured as much from all the questions. Besides, they’ve got to be wondering who I am to have caught your attention. From what I gather, you’re Montana’s most eligible bachelor.”
I groan and roll my eyes. “Hardly. There’s just a bunch of old busybodies looking at me to take their daughters off of their hands.”
I feel the weight of her eyes on me as I back the truck up to the barn to unload the sacks of feed. I turn to look at her and she’s regarding me pensively. “What?” I ask.
“Why haven’t you?”
I shrug my shoulders and start to climb out of the truck. “I guess I haven’t found one I wanted to be tied down to yet,” I answer.
Before she can say anything else, Luke comes storming out of the barn, as pissed as I’ve ever seen him. He’s waving a piece of paper in his hand and a string of expletives is flying from his lips.
“Whoa, whoa. What the hell is going on?” I ask, though I have a sneaking suspicion I know what it is. There’s only one person who can get Luke this worked up.
“Motherfucking Ben!” Luke nearly shouts.
I open the tailgate and sigh. “Now what?” I ask.
“Look!” Luke says, shoving the paper he’s holding at me.
I look down at the letterhead in my hands and feel the color drain from my face. That son of a bitch.
“He wants to sue us for ‘his’ stake in the ranch!” Luke is nearly hopping he’s so angry.
“Yeah, I can read,” I spit back at him.
“He’s never worked this land one day is his miserable fucking life since mom and dad died. He is entitled to exactly jack shit!” Luke says.
Before I can answer him, Sydney steps up to us. “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, or pry into your business, but is there something maybe I can help you with?” she asks.
I suddenly remember that she is a lawyer and that she might be able to help us figure out exactly what to do.
“Maybe,” I say. “Let us unload the feed and we can meet you inside in about twenty minutes.”
Sydney nods and grabs the few bags from the grocery store, heading into the house to put them away. I watch her go, thankful that she is here. As much as I don’t want to waste the little time we have together mired in my family drama, if she can help us, I’ll take it.
Luke and I finish up in the barn and head toward the house where Sydney is waiting. We walk in to find a plate of sandwiches and three tall glasses of iced tea waiting for us. Damnit, she’s making this hard. I could get used to this kind of treatment.
We sit down at the table and Sydney distributes the sandwiches. “Ok so why don’t you tell me what’s up. Who is Ben and why does he want to sue you?”
“Ben is our selfish sonofabitch brother who doesn’t give two shits about this family, except for any money he can get from us,” Luke spits angrily.
“Pretty much what he said,” I add, sliding the paper toward Sydney.
She picks it up and reads the contents carefully. “Ok first of all I need to ask who owns this land? Is it the two of you or was it part of your parents’ estate?” she asks.
“A little of both,” I answer her. “When our parents died, they owned seventy acres. About eight years ago, Luke and I bought another eighty.”
Sydney grabs a pen off of the counter and begins to jot down notes. “Typically, the children would be entitled to equal parts of their parents’ estate unless otherwise stated in the will.”
“No that’s exactly what the will said,” I answer.
“Fine, whatever,” Luke chimes in. “But he wants a third of the whole operation! He can’t do that!”
“When you bought the additional land, what money did you use? Was it an inheritance or did you use proceeds from the ranch?” she asks.
I clear my throat, a sinking feeling starting to settle in my gut. “Proceeds from the business,” I answer, and can see from her expression that was not what she wanted to hear.
“Well I need to dig into Montana law, but if you bought the land from proceeds made off of this ranch that was gifted to you, he may be entitled to what he’s asking for,” she says.
Luke slams his hand down on the table hard enough that the tea sloshes from the glasses. “Goddammit!” he shouts. “But he’s contributed nothing to the business. Nothing!”
“Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, that doesn’t matter,” Sydney says apologetically. “But like I said, let me do a little research and I’ll see what I can come up with. According to this letter, you have thirty days to respond.”
Luke gets up from the table and stomps outside, leaving Sydney and I alone for a moment.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you better news,” she says, sounding genuinely upset.
I look at her and shake my head slowly, wondering how in the hell she’s managed to become so important to me so quickly.
Chapter Nine: Sydney
After clearing the lunch dishes, I go to my room and fire up my laptop. I promised Cole and Luke that I would look into the suit that their brother is trying to file against them. As much as I didn’t want to do any sort of work while I w
as here, I can’t just let them flounder. If I can help them, I will.
I start to scroll through the archives of Montana property law and completely lose track of time. Before I know it, Cole is knocking on my bedroom door asking if I’m hungry for dinner. I close my laptop and rub my blurry eyes. I’ve been digging as deep into the laws as I can, but everything I’ve found is confirming my first instincts. I do not look forward to telling Cole what I’ve found.
I get up and open the door to find Cole leaning in the door frame all sexy as hell. His hair is tousled and he smells slightly musty from working in the field. None of that is enough to stop my mind from wandering to bad places. I throw my arms around his neck and bring his mouth to mine. All traces of the bad news I had to deliver are forgotten.
He steps into the room and closes the door behind him, turning to pin me up against it. My hands slide under his shirt and my fingers trace the lines of his well-defined abs. Good God this man is hot. I put my hands flat on his chest and push him away from me, moving quickly before he can pin me to the door again.
“I am hungry,” I purr as I walk backwards toward the bathroom, shedding my clothing as I go. “I think I’d like to taste that nice big cock of yours tonight.”
Cole’s eyes turn even darker and he makes a noise low in his throat that tells me he likes my proposition. He strides toward me, shedding his own clothes until we are both in the bathroom naked as the day we were born.
I turn on the water and step under the spray, pulling him in with me. As the warm shower cascades over us, I wind my arms around Cole’s neck and plant small kisses along his angular jaw. He tries to bring his mouth to mine but I tease him by pulling away before our lips meet. I can tell I’m driving him crazy.
Slowly, I sink to my knees in front of him and wrap my hand around the base of his now throbbing shaft. I love the fact that my fingertips barely meet around his girth. I begin to deliberately stroke him from top to bottom, watching how the purple head pulses with each pass. Cole is starting to fidget above me and I finally decide to relieve some of his tension.
I take his cock into my mouth and begin to suck deeply. He moans and fists his fingers in my hair with one hand while using the other to steady himself against the wall. I continue to squeeze the base of his shaft while I use my tongue to coax tiny drops of fluid from his tip. I lick the drips of cum off and swallow them greedily, urging him to spill himself down my throat. I meant it when I said I wanted to taste him.
Cole gives a tug on my hair and pulls me off of him before he can come in my mouth. “No,” he says throatily. “I need your pussy.”
I stand up to my full height and turn around so that my back is to him. Cole cups my breasts in his large hands, rolling my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers until I feel a mixture of pleasure and pain. I grind my ass against his dick and he slides two fingers into my cunt to see how wet I am. Satisfied with his findings, Cole bends me over so I am completely open to him.
He takes one of the fingers he just pulled from my drenched pussy and slowly pushes it into my asshole, using my own juices to lubricate the way. Never having experienced this before, my brain doesn’t quite know how to process it. I had always expected anal to hurt, but what Cole is doing to me with his fingers fells anything but painful.
After a moment, he withdraws his finger from my ass and centers his throbbing cock at my entrance. He grabs my hips in his hands and plunges himself deep into my pussy. I cry out at the sensation of him filling me so completely and place my palms on the shower floor so he can go as deeply as he wants. Cole takes my invitation and drives himself fully into me over and over again so that the sound of his balls slapping my ass fills the room.
I feel myself close to the edge of release when Cole again slides a finger into my asshole. I come immediately with an intensity I’ve never known before, my juices squirting out from my pussy and all over his cock and balls.
“Oh fuck! Oh my God. Fuck, Cole!” I cry out as my orgasm washes over me. It’s all I can do to keep my legs from buckling as Cole continues to pound into me from behind.
Cole thrusts roughly twice more before grunting and pouring himself deep into my womb. The mixture of our fluids runs down my legs as he helps me stand and buries his face in my hair. As our breathing slowly returns to normal, we take turns washing each other and I know in that moment, that I am already in love with Cole Parker.
Chapter Ten: Cole
I step out of the shower and wrap Sydney in a towel, pulling her against me. We stand like that for a few moments before I tip her chin toward me with my finger and kiss her deeply. When I pull back and look into her eyes I can see clearly that her feelings run as deep as mine. I shake my head in wonder.
“What?” she asks.
“I don’t know how or when, but you’ve really gotten under my skin,” I tell her.
“I know the feeling,” she says and lays her head against my chest.
I inhale deeply, feeling a sense of calm I haven’t known in a long time.
“Cole?” she asks.
“Yeah darlin’?”
“I really am hungry now,” she says.
I chuckle and finish toweling off. “Yeah I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite myself. What would you like?”
She thinks for a moment and then says, “Actually, I think I’d like to go into town to Madge’s. I’ve been thinking about that pie all day.”
We go to our rooms to dress and when I meet her again in the living room, Sydney is wearing a soft yellow fitted t-shirt and faded jeans that hug her curves in all the right places. It takes every ounce of my self-control not to throw her down and fuck the shit out of her right there on the floor.
We walk into the diner and the small dinner crowd greets us enthusiastically. Once we are seated, the other guests start peppering Sydney with questions: How does she like it so far? Am I being a good host? Will I be bringing her to the fair this weekend? Sydney graciously answers the questions, making sure that each person feels acknowledged. The way she is endearing herself to these folks I’ve known all my life makes me swell with pride. I simply have to find a way to keep her from going back to Chicago.
Once the rest return to their own tables, we place our orders and settle in to wait for our food. Sydney suddenly looks uncomfortable and I reach over the table to take her hand in mine.
“What’s up?” I ask.
She looks at me for a moment as if trying to figure out the best way to tell me something I’m not going to want to hear. I hold up my hand before she can say anything.
“Ben’s got a case, doesn’t he?” I ask.
She nods apologetically. “I’ve dug through every property law I can find but it’s all coming out as I suspected. Since the property was willed equally to the three of you, he is entitled to his third. And seeing as how the profits were made from business run on that land, he is entitled to that as well.”
I sit back in the booth and run a hand over my face, a knot forming in my stomach. “What are our options?” I ask.
Now its Sydney’s turn to look ill. “Well you can either cut him in on a third of the profits from here on out, or you and Luke can buy him out of his share of the land.”
My brain quickly starts to do the calculations. “And if we don’t have enough liquid cash to buy him out?”
“Then he could force you to sell the land and split the money in thirds according to your parents’ will,” she says.
Madge herself delivers our food and chats for a moment. I plaster my best fake smile on my face until she leaves us to eat, then I push my plate away, suddenly not in the least bit hungry.
“Is there any way to get Ben to reconsider?” Sydney asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t see that happening. After our parents died, Ben withdrew and all but refused to do any work on the ranch. Aunt Nora tried to make him help as much as she could but as soon as he turned seventeen, he filed for emancipation and took off. We’ve hardly seen him since.”
I nearly laugh at the suggestion. “It will be a cold day in hell when Luke sits at the same table as Ben. They were best friends growing up and Luke was hurt when Ben left home. I don’t think he’ll ever get over it.”
We both pick at our food for a bit before calling Madge over for the check. Sydney asks for a piece of the lemon meringue to go and we head back to the ranch. After letting her into the house, I tell Sydney that I need to go break the news to Luke.
“Why don’t you move your stuff to my room?” I ask, wanting her close to me from here on out.
She nods and smiles and I kiss her before heading out to confront Luke. I think I’d rather be kicked in the balls by one of the horses than break this news to my baby brother.
Chapter Eleven: Sydney
Cole leaves to go talk to Luke and I head to the guest room to gather my things. I’m almost giddy as I take my bags up to Cole’s room. I feel like I’m the lead in some cheesy romance novel, head over heels for the cowboy. My head is telling me this is all happening way too fast, that I have a life in Chicago that I’ll be going back to in a few weeks. But my heart is telling my head to shut the fuck up. And my pussy agrees.
I’ve never felt so satisfied in every sense of the word with a man before. Cole makes me feel beautiful, sexy, and appreciated; and it’s only been four days. My ex-fiancé hadn’t made me feel like that in damn near three years.
I flip on the light and survey Cole’s room. It is decidedly masculine, yet simple in style. A large four-poster king bed dominates one wall, and a stone fireplace sits across from it. I imagine being curled up on the floor in front of the fire with Cole and it sounds like pure heaven.
After a few minutes, I hear an engine go roaring past the house, followed by Cole muttering as he comes in the back door. I go down to the kitchen and find him punching numbers into his cell phone. After a minute, he tosses the phone on the table and shakes his head.