by Terry Towers
Her green eyes grew wide. “Ryker should have warned me about the roosters!”
“How did you manage to get on the roosters’ shit list anyhow?”
“I was just checking out the chickens and gathering the eggs. Since you’re out of commission and Ryker isn’t here, I thought I’d do it. Ryker said he does it every morning. Next thing I know I’m being chased and cornered by a couple of birds from hell!”
It was then that I saw a pillow case in her hand. It looked like it had a few eggs in it, certainly not as many as were out there. We were able to gather a few dozen a day; the workers would just take a carton or two home with them as they needed them.
“They’re all peck and no real bite.” I nodded towards the muddy boots sitting next to the door. “Those are steel toe boots; there’s no way they could have pecked through those. You were safe.”
“I’ve never been attacked by a bird before.”
“You’ll learn to ignore them like everyone else does. A little boot in the butt goes a long way when it comes to dealing with mean roosters. They’re just doing what they’re meant to do and protect the hens.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt the hens,” she protested, fixing the elastic holding her ponytail together that had begun to pull out of her hair.
“They don’t know that. And they don’t know you. They’ll come around and you’ll become a pro at it; don’t worry.”
She crossed the room and deposited her goody bag onto the counter. “Maybe. Next time, I’ll wait and go out with Ryker.”
“Good idea.”
“What do you want for supper?” She asked, going to the fridge and opening it up. “I haven’t given it any thought until now.”
I watched her as she scanned the fridge, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, popping her hip out with each shift. She had an amazing ass. Just seeing her ass in those tight jeans reminded me of this morning and my dick jerked awake. This was not going to work. I needed to get some distance from her for the time being. Maybe I’d discuss the kiss with her later, but wanting her wasn’t going to make the talk any easier. Yes, it was best to hightail it out of here and back to bed.
Pretending to yawn, I gave her a lazy smile as she turned to face me. “I’m sorry; the medication is kicking my ass. I’m going to bow out of supper tonight. Thank you anyhow.”
“Calvin.” She closed the fridge door and took a step towards me.
Shit, she wanted to talk about it. No thanks on that. Pretending I was oblivious to why she was attempting to stop me, I turned. “I’m good, really. Thanks again for the offer.” With those parting words, I got the fuck out of there as quickly as my crutches would allow, hoping she wouldn’t follow. Luck was with me; she didn’t. I suspected she was as reluctant to talk about it as I was.
Chapter 21
Ryker
What a long weekend, but finally it was over. The trailer was packed up with the goats, and I even bought Nina an adorable pair of baby lambs — one black and one white — and some peafowl. We had no reason for sheep or peafowl at the ranch, so we never got any, but I figured she’d love them. We had lots of space and it wouldn’t cost much to keep them.
“Jesus, this road never seems to end.”
“Tell me about it. Feels like we’ve been driving for days.”
Trent, one of the ranch hands who accompanied me for the trip, smiled as he looked over at me from the driver’s seat of the truck. “Considering you have a very hot woman waiting for you at home, I’d be anxious to get home to.”
Chuckling, I looked at the man who, at twenty-one years of age, was nine years my junior. Trent hardly had to worry about getting women; he had his fair share. In fact, he reminded me of me when I was his age, right down to the blonde hair and blue eyes. Not that nine years was a lot, but it was enough.
“You’ll find the right woman eventually.”
He chuckled and gave me a wink. “Not if I can help it. Got a few years yet before I want to take the dive and willingly go under the old lock and chain.
“It’s not that bad.”
“How do you know? You’re not married yet.”
“Fair enough.” I just knew it would work out. I couldn’t explain it to him; it was just a gut feeling. I hadn’t felt this way about any other woman. In retrospect, asking Nina to be with both myself and my brother had been a stupid idea. It had seemed like an alright one until I met her. Now I wanted her all to myself. Luckily, neither one of them was interested, and considering they didn’t even seem to like each other, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance of them wanting to take me up on the offer any time soon. I would have to work on them getting to know each other and finding a common ground. Calvin was a hard man at times, but he’d come around. Once he apologized, everything would be good.
Except the whole school thing. I sighed. She wanted to go to school, and that meant going to live in the city, most likely for a four-year program. That was an issue that would have to be addressed, just not today. We had plenty of time for that later.
“Besides, there’s such a buffet out there. Ever heard of Tinder?”
Trent cut into my thoughts, bringing me back to focus on him. “You do realize I’m not ninety. I do know what Tinder is.”
“Is that where you met Nina?”
“No.”
“How did you meet her? She certainly didn’t come from local stock. Not that the women in town aren’t worth a whirl or two, but…”
I hadn’t expected to be getting so many ‘where did you meet her’ questions. I was getting it much more than I liked. Though, in reality, how much worse is it then Tinder or one of those other sites? The premise was the same — find someone online and get together with them. My way was just more permanent, costly and had more risk involved. But after meeting Nina, I knew the risk had been well worth it.
What the fuck! If I didn’t tell Trent the truth, no doubt Calvin would correct me. “I met her on an overseas dating site.” No reason why the answer couldn’t be politically correct.
“Overseas dating site?” His brows furrowed as he took his eyes off the road to look at me again. “You mean like one of those mail order sites?” he asked, giving a little chuckle.
“I guess you could call it that.”
He laughed again. “Yeah, right. Real funny. Listen man, if you don’t want to share your source then fine. You’ve already got a woman; not sure why you’re being so aloof about it.”
“Why would that be so hard to believe?”
He laughed again. “Because the country is full of beautiful, single women. Why would you go looking internationally?”
“It just happened that way. Just drop it.”
Trent looked over at me again, his grin fading. “Holy fuck, you’re serious?”
“Yeah.”
“How much did she cost? Weren’t you scared of being scammed?”
Anger began to boil within my blood, but I kept it in check. “She didn’t ‘cost’ anything. I didn’t actually buy her! I met her on a site, we talked for well over a month and when I went to Moscow to meet her, I knew without a doubt she was the one.”
“Wow. But it had to cost something.”
“Yeah, website membership fees. I paid for her to fly here with me. Normal stuff. It’s not like I gave someone ten grand and they gave me a slave. She can go home anytime she wants.”
“Should have picked Calvin one up while you were there.”
Jumpin’ Jesus, this boy was thick. I shook my head. “Like I said, it’s not like it’s a department store. You have to meet them, have a connection…”
“Hmmm.” He didn’t say another word about it, and I was grateful for that. To say the conversation pissed me off would be an understatement. I really hoped this wouldn’t be the conversation I’d have to endure from everyone that was told the truth. Problem with it being such a small town was that information gets out really quick, and people never forget.
~*~ TT ~*~
Nina<
br />
My phone chimed signaling to me that I had a text message. Leaning forward, I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and looked down at the screen. As soon as I noticed the message was from Ryker my heart began to race. He’d been gone for two days and it was sheer torture. We’d only been together in person for a little over a week now, but it seemed like we’d been together for much longer and I was missing him terribly. I regretted not going with him to the auction.
Ryker: What are you doing?
I looked down at my pajama-clad legs and then at the television screen, where I was streaming The Big Bang Theory. With a shrug, I began typing.
Nina: Nothing much.
Ryker: How’s Calvin treating you?
My mind raced back to the feel of Calvin’s lips on mine and I groaned inwardly. I still hadn’t gotten around to talking to him about the kiss. I suspected that he was as reluctant to discuss it as I was. Maybe it was just better to forget it ever happened.
Nina: He’s treating me okay… We cleaned out his closet.
Nine: I really miss you. Wish you were already home.
Ryker: Look out the window and down the driveway.
“Look out the window,” I muttered, getting up from the sofa and making my way across the room to the window facing the driveway. What he wanted me to see was beyond me. Considering it was close to midnight, the driveway was insanely dark, the only light coming from the moon and stars above, in combination with the several lights mounted to the front of the house. I’d have to ask him about installing some more lights; the darkness seemed eerie to me.
A minute later, I noticed a hint of light coming from far out. The light quickly became brighter until I could make out the silhouette of a truck, but not just any truck; it was the one Ryker had left in, towing a large trailer behind it.
Releasing a loud squeal of excitement, I tossed the phone onto the sofa and ran from the room and into the kitchen. Grabbing my sneakers, I quickly pulled them onto my feet and opened the front door. I was standing on the front porch as the truck pulled up to the front of the house and came to a halt.
Ryker was in the passenger seat while a younger man who I’d seen around the ranch, but hadn’t actually met before, was behind the wheel.
I squealed a second time as I raced down the steps and met him as he was rounding the front of the truck. Without giving what I was doing any thought, I leapt up into his arms. Wrapping my arms around his neck and legs around his waist, I began to kiss him with urgency I’ve never felt before. It was the type of greeting I’d kind of expected in Moscow that didn’t happen.
Laughing between kisses, Ryker placed one hand under my bottom to support me, while the other hand became lost in my hair, his hand gripping the back of my skull as he deepened the kiss. Our tongues touched, shooting a bolt of energy through me and igniting the need between my legs.
The craziness of the day and anxiety I’d been feeling about the kiss I’d shared with Calvin evaporated. Once again, the only thing that existed in my world was Ryker and myself. Pulling back, but not letting go of him, I smiled, looking down into those amazing blue eyes of his.
“Evening, ma’am.” He grinned, displaying his dimples. “Reckon you missed me.”
“Yes! Oh my God, yes!” As much as I wanted to hold onto him forever and not let go, I unlocked my legs from around his hips and slowly slid down his body until I was standing on my own feet.
“I’ve got to unload the trailer before coming to bed.” He took a step back and gave me a playful swat on the bottom. “I’ve got a surprise for you as well, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get it.”
I jutted out my lower lip, pretending to be disappointed.
“I promise it’ll be worth the wait. Until then, why don’t you warm up the bed for me?”
The smile returned to my lips. “Okay. How long will you be?”
“Less than a half hour. I just have to unload the animals into the pens. Won’t take long at all.”
Giving him a once-over, I spun around and ran back into the house. Tonight was for us, I’d tell him about the kiss tomorrow…
Chapter 22
Ryker
I could really get used to being greeted like I did last night. I didn’t realize how good it would feel to have someone waiting at home, anxious to see me come back. It made me want to leave for a couple days more frequently just to get that type of greeting often.
We were up much later than I should have been, considering the amount of work that was ahead of me, but it had been well worth it. I couldn’t get enough of the feel of her naked body against mine, or the sound of her soft moans as I brought her to climax. Fuck, I was getting hard just thinking about it.
Rolling over, I spooned her, running my lips along the side of her ivory neck. I was tempted to wake her up and indulge in her once more but refrained myself. It took all my willpower, but I managed to slip out of bed and get dressed without waking her as she snored softly in the center of the bed. It amazed me how such a small body could take up so much room.
Time to get the animals sorted out and find out what Calvin wanted or needed done for the day. I wasn’t expected back until this afternoon but was too anxious to get back to Nina to stay over another night. According to Nina, he’d stayed in the house and mostly in bed for the weekend; no doubt he’d be primed and ready to work, with or without the cast getting in his way.
Making my way downstairs, I could smell bacon sizzling in the pan. Yup, Calvin was up. He must have seen that the trailer was back. At 6am, it was a little later than his usual time, but still early enough to get a full day of work in.
“How did the weekend go?” I asked as I entered the kitchen. Sure enough, Calvin was getting a full breakfast ready. We had cereal, oatmeal and other types of breakfast foods, but Calvin always insisted on a standard breakfast with bacon and eggs.
“It went. I didn’t get a damned thing done. Nina wouldn’t stop fussing.”
“That so?” I asked, cocking a brow up at him as I grabbed a box of Frosted Flakes and filled a bowl.
“Yeah. I have no clue what’s been going on other than what Kent’s told me. The whole damned place could be burned to the ground for all I know. I’m going out today, so you might want to keep your woman in check and out of my hair.”
“That’s a bit harsh. She did spend all weekend taking care of you”
“Never asked her to.”
Sitting down at the table, I watched his back as he began plating up his breakfast, waiting to eat until he sat down across from me. “You’d get a lot more work done if you had a hearty breakfast before work,” he grumbled, eyeing my cereal with distaste.
“This is just fine. I heard you two went through your closet and thinned things out.”
Calvin’s entire body froze for a split second, his hand halfway to his mouth. “It was time. I had nothing better to do. The boxes are in the garage to go to Goodwill.”
“I’ll take care of that today if you like.”
“No hurry. We need to get the animals settled in and vet checked. Lots to do that’s more important than running some clothes to town.”
“How did you find getting along with Nina? Since she helped with the closet, I’m going to assume you two have found a common ground.”
He stopped eating and stared at me a moment with a peculiar look on his face.
“What’s the problem? You don’t have to like her, but you do need to accept that she’s going to be my wife.” I didn’t really want to get into a fight with him over her, but I needed him to realize she wasn’t going anywhere.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
“If you’re going to piss on her then I don’t want to hear it.”
With a sigh, Calvin set his fork and knife down on the plate. With a shake of his head, he stood, leaving his barely touched food on the table. “Forget it. It’s not important.”
Frowning, I stood as well. “No, I want to know. What’s your deal? She stay
ed home just to take care of your ungrateful ass.”
“I like her. She’s fine.” He made his way to the door. “I’m going to check on the animals and make sure everything is working properly, I’ve been lazy long enough the past few days.”
Then what the fuck was his mental issue? Nope, he wasn’t going to hobble his ass out just yet, not until we cleared this up. Nina was an amazing woman and the woman I was in love with. He’d damned well better accept that fact or it’s going to be an uncomfortable life. “Then what’s the problem?”
He pushed open the door before turning back to face me. “Look, it’s nothing she did. She seems nice.”
“Then what’s your fuckin’ problem?” I came to stand before him, awaiting the answer.
“I kissed her. It just happened.”
My fist came bursting forth, connecting with Calvin’s jaw. Normally, Calvin could take my punches; we’d gotten into a number of physical battles over the years. But dammit, I still tried. While he was large and powerful, I was leaner and more agile. Sometimes Calvin would get the best of me; other times, I’d end up on top. In this particular circumstance, he was at a serious disadvantage. My unexpected fist sent him stumbling backwards, but due to the broken leg, he couldn’t keep his balance and went tumbling backwards through the open door, ending up flat on his ass staring up at me.
“What in the hell, Ryker?”
Normally, our fights would have advanced to me diving onto him and giving him another couple of whacks, but hearing my name yelled from behind stopped me.
“What are you doing, Ryker? Have you gone crazy?” Nina, wearing a pair of high cut pink shorts and white tank top, went running past me to crouch at Calvin’s side.
My anger became focused on her. “I leave for a few days and you go and kiss my damned brother! I asked you to make sure he doesn’t kill himself being stupid, not be his plaything!”
Her head whipped back to look at me so quickly that I’d have sworn she was possessed. Her green eyes flashed with anger as she slowly stood and squared herself to me. She may be a foot shorter, but she was damned intimidating right now as she advanced on me.