Restless Rancher

by Jennifer Ryan

  “Not sure. June is doing better, but Juliana got into some trouble, so Roxy and Adria are handling that.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  Noah tightened his jaw, making the muscle in his cheek tick. “How much do you know about Sonya, Adria, and Juliana’s mothers and how they were raised?”

  “I know the girls grew up together in a cottage on the Wild Rose Ranch property. Their mothers work at the Ranch. Adria and Juliana are twins and a couple years younger than Roxy. Sonya’s the oldest.”

  “Roxy’s mother, Candy, is a party girl. Sonya’s mother came from an abusive background. I guess you could say there’s abuse in all of their mothers’ backgrounds. Adria and Juliana’s mother was a junkie before Big Mama met her at a women’s shelter. She was about to lose her twins.”

  “Big Mama took her in, cleaned her up, gave her a job, and saved the girls.”

  “Yes. Addiction runs in families. Roxy, Sonya, and Adria have stayed away from that path, but from what I understand, Juliana has merrily skipped her way down it. She’s got a wild streak Roxy and the others have tried to tame. Adria usually talks her sister into doing the right thing, but lately, Juliana doesn’t listen to anyone. She’s over twenty-one and the party is just starting.”

  “Maybe it’s nothing more than a rebellious stage. That scene gets old fast once the initial fun and excitement wear off and all you’re left with is a massive hangover.”

  “Yet some people keep repeating it.” Noah gave him a pointed look, his mouth scrunched into a frown that said, I’m talking about you.

  “You have to want to stop or have a reason to quit. I had both. Maybe Juliana will figure out what she wants more than a good time before it takes over her life.”

  “I hope so. Roxy is really worried about Juliana. And Sonya.” Noah’s tone said more than the words he spoke.

  “You said her mom is okay after those fucking uncles roughed her up.”

  “She is.” Noah amended that statement. “Physically. A bruised and battered body heals faster and easier than the mind.”

  “That’s for sure. Anything I can do?”

  Noah held his hands up and let them drop. “Make Sonya happy. That will keep Roxy happy. Which makes me happy, too.”

  Austin smacked Noah on the shoulder and grinned at his best friend. “You really have it bad,” he teased.

  “I see it in you. I hope it works out with you and Sonya.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to make Roxy unhappy and, in doing so, make you unhappy.” He meant it, even if he infused a little sarcasm in his words.

  “Oh, I’ll have to kill you.” Noah’s lopsided grin took some of the sting out of the deadly glare he leveled on Austin.

  Noah slapped him on the back and walked down the porch steps to his truck, got in, waved goodbye out the window, then took off, leaving Austin standing there questioning whether or not this thing with Sonya would work out or get him killed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sonya parked the truck in the hardware store lot and stared up at the big blue sky. The same sky she saw at the Ranch in Nevada, but so much different here in Montana. She loved the wide-open spaces, hills that rose to mountains in places, and the crisp clean air.

  The quaint little downtown area had storefronts with overflowing pots of flowers in their doorways and pretty window displays. The coffee shop, restaurants, and specialty shops tempted customers with their yummy treats. Some even had tables and chairs out front to enjoy the warmer spring days.

  Black poles topped with white dome lights lined the streets.

  No neon lights promising all-you-can-eat buffets and girls, girls, girls.

  Not on this little all-American main street.

  She understood why Roxy wanted to leave the Vegas area and the Ranch behind and stay here.

  It had a lot to do with her sexy cowboy, but not all. This place just felt good.

  June pushed her to come back to Whitefall and finish the job. Of course, June gave the gentle order with a wink that what she really meant was Go get your cowboy crush. Her mother wanted her to be happy. Maybe she could be with Austin, living here on a ranch near her sister with a man who made her want things she thought only other people without all her baggage found and managed to hold on to for a lifetime.

  She needed to stop thinking like her mother and believe anything was possible.

  Okay, so maybe she and Austin were nowhere near the point it even looked like forever, but she’d like to see if they could take the open and honest conversations they’d had, turn the heat up, and at least take this thing to the next level—where she got her hands on him, while he was naked and kissing her stupid again and again.

  “You’ve got that look on your face again with what looks suspiciously like a smile.” Roxy grinned at her. “You’re thinking about Austin, aren’t you?” Roxy pestered her.

  “Shut up.” She might not be able to deny it, but she didn’t have to outright confirm. That led to questions and more of her sister’s teasing. She didn’t want either right now.

  “Come on, Noah texted that they just finished paying. They’ll be walking out any second. Noah kept our homecoming a secret so you can surprise Austin. We can catch up on what’s been going on at both ranches and have lunch before we head home. I can’t wait to see the progress at Austin’s place.”

  Sonya’s stomach tightened with anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see the house, but she really wanted to see Austin. “That house is going to look amazing when it’s done. You really did a wonderful thing for him, Rox.”

  Roxy touched her arm. “We know what it’s like to have nothing and no one. Well, you have June on your side always, but you know what I mean.”

  “I do. Austin’s father is truly something else. He really doesn’t care how much he hurts his only son.” It pained Sonya’s heart to think how deeply that cut Austin after growing up thinking his father loved him and wanted him to be a part of the family business and legacy. It seemed when Austin’s mother passed things changed, but then they took a drastic turn when Austin’s grandfather died and Austin inherited the broken-down ranch.

  She needed to think more about that.

  Something niggled in the back of her mind. She just wished she could figure out what really bothered her about the whole land thing.

  “Looks like he’s at it again.” Roxy pointed to Mr. Hubbard with a beautiful, young blonde on the other side of the street just outside the restaurant they were supposed to go to after they surprised Austin that they were back.

  “Who’s that with Mr. Hubbard?”

  “Austin’s ex.”

  Sonya couldn’t help noticing all the differences between herself and the woman Austin used to date. Her styled hair, polished clothes, confident air, makeup that perfectly enhanced her pretty eyes and bowed lips, and a figure that had all the right curves and proportions that didn’t match Sonya in any way. Sonya hadn’t done her hair since she took on the project. She wore it up in a ponytail. In jeans and a T-shirt, she didn’t have the same sophistication she’d mastered working at the accounting firm with her smart suits and silk blouses. While Sonya had soft curves, her lithe body showed off her firm, toned muscles, especially after all the physical labor she’d been doing lately.

  Physically, they seemed so different.

  Had he really fallen in love with her?

  Was it really over?

  Austin and Noah walked out of the hardware store. Noah pushed the cart filled with items to update the stables’ bathroom and office. Austin rushed ahead and jogged right past her and Roxy without even a glance and headed across the street and stopped right in front of his ex. He gave his father an angry glare, then settled his gaze on the beautiful blonde with a look Sonya couldn’t read because it was a mix of quickly changing emotions. Anger. Disappointment. Sadness. Other things too fleeting to comprehend beyond the fact she affected Austin deeply.

  Did he still love her?

  Sonya’s heart sank and set
tled like a stone in her gut.

  Was he hoping now that he was back on his feet they’d get back together?

  Austin didn’t think. He saw red and rushed across the street to confront his father who had walked out of the restaurant with Kelly on his arm. Her diamond engagement ring twinkled in the afternoon sunlight.

  He spoke to Kelly because no doubt his father would lie through his teeth. “After what he asked you to do, you stayed with him. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Kelly sighed and held her handbag in front of her. “Hello, Austin. You shouldn’t throw stones when your glass house has cracks.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It’s all over town. You’ve hooked up with some new partners. You were so angry about my using you as a stud, yet you went into business with those women.”

  Austin cocked his head and one eyebrow shot up. “The Wild Rose women?” Everyone in town knew about Roxy and that she owned the notorious brothel. Apparently they’d all heard about Sonya coming to town and working with him. No doubt, the gleam in his father’s eye meant he’d spread that bit of gossip.

  “Yes. Them.”

  “Jealous?” He didn’t really care if she was, because he wanted to rile his father.

  She scoffed and sputtered, “You have lost your mind.” Not really a straight answer, but it seemed she couldn’t come up with anything else.

  “Why do you care what I do? Once the money ran out, so did you.”

  “That’s not what happened.” She pouted and he regretted restarting this same old argument yet again. “You refused to see reason and a way out.”

  “You mean selling out to him.” Austin cocked his head toward his father, but didn’t look at him.

  “If not that, then at least finding something else to do with your life.”

  “If you’d stuck around long enough, you’d know I tried. He cut off every opportunity. No one wanted to hire me because he’d made it clear anyone who did would suffer his wrath. With his clout, business relationships, and the number of people and families dependent on him, no one wanted to take a chance on me.”

  Kelly gave his father a sideways look. She didn’t know that part.

  Oh yes, his father had torn apart his relationship with Kelly along with his life.

  The second his bank account hit rock bottom, their relationship deteriorated to fights that were all about what she thought he should do and how much he felt like a failure. He’d gotten himself into a damn hole he couldn’t climb out of because his father kept digging it deeper.

  Then he came back for more, trying to trick Austin into sleeping with Kelly—the woman his father now slept with every night—and trying to rob Austin of his future child.

  “I did no such thing,” his father lied right to Kelly’s face.

  She turned to Austin for an explanation.

  He didn’t even try to convince her that he was telling the truth, not Walter. “I finally have a chance to build my ranch into what I always wanted it to be.”

  “Is this how you want to do it? You refused my offer, then turned around and used money that came from prostitution.” Kelly’s blue eyes filled with censure, though he rejected it because she was the one who made that despicable proposition.

  The rage he felt then came back in a rush he couldn’t contain. “Hell yes, I refused. You wanted to trick me into getting you pregnant and not tell me about it all while you’re engaged to my father.” He lashed out when he should hold his tongue. “Let’s face it, sweetheart, you came begging for more because we both know who the better man is.”

  His father took a step forward.

  Kelly stepped in between them and shoved Austin back a step. “Stop this. People are already talking.”

  “Yeah, how long before they’re talking about my ex and my dad hooking up?” He looked past Kelly’s shoulder, directly into his father’s eyes. “You’re so concerned about how bad I made the family look, yet you go after a woman who is half your age and used to sleep with your son.”

  “What bothers you more? That she prefers me? Or that I can provide for her the way you never could and never will?” That hit too close to how he felt about taking care of Sonya. “That ranch will never make a dime. You know it and I know it. That slut—”

  “Watch it.”

  The warning didn’t stop his father from speaking his mind right over Austin’s words.

  “—will back out if she’s got a brain in her head.”

  “She knows a good thing when she sees it.” As intended, his cocky tone only riled his father more.

  Austin didn’t want to talk about how grateful he was to Roxy and Sonya for all they’d done for him. Neither of these self-centered people would understand how much it meant to him that his friends had his back when his very own family conspired against him at every turn.

  He needed Roxy’s help now, but he would pay her back. “It’s a business transaction. That’s all. Once I pay back the loan and am making a profit, it will all be legit. I’ll have everything I wanted and I’ll run that place better than I ever did Hubbard Ranch. Once I’ve got the horses and cattle and everything is up and running, it’s all me. The Wild Rose women will have nothing to do with it then.” He couldn’t help but try to make them see he’d be a success despite how hard his father tried to bring him down.

  “One of them is out there living with you,” Kelly pointed out.

  Why the hell did she sound jealous when she’d walked out on him?

  “Only during construction. Once the initial start-up is on its way, she’ll go back to Nevada.” Unless he convinced her to stay. But neither Kelly nor his father needed to know his plans for Sonya and seeing where they could take their intense attraction.

  She was supposed to be home soon. He couldn’t wait to see her.

  He didn’t want his father to know how much Sonya meant to him, because then, he might go after her.

  That thought turned his stomach. Sonya stood up to him once. That was enough.

  His father folded his arms over his chest and eyed him. “Someone like her doesn’t belong here. People like that get what they deserve. Just look what happened to her mother.”

  Another one of those alerts went off in his head. “How do you know about that?”

  “After she pulled a shotgun on me, I looked into her. Easy enough for my man to get one of those Wild Rose whores to talk for a little cash, and she had a lot to say. Prostitution leads to a lot of nasty consequences. Johns beating up whores and leaving them in seedy motels.”

  Kelly frowned again. “It’s terrible what happened to her mother, but not unexpected given what she does. Is that the kind of woman you want in your life, Austin, representing your business and making you look bad?”

  “Her life has nothing to do with my ranch.”

  Kelly frowned. “Yes, it does, Austin. You know it matters. Just look how people changed their minds about Noah when he started seeing John’s daughter. John knocked up a prostitute. People don’t forget things like that. Take Walter’s offer. Sell the ranch to him, take the money, and start your own ranch on your terms.”

  Austin pointed at his father. “He’s using you to get to me. Don’t you see that? You are just a pawn in his game.”

  Kelly shifted to his father’s side and took his hand, standing by her man and unwilling to believe the truth even when it was staring her right in the face.

  His father pasted on his wounded mask and tried to impart some fatherly wisdom to prove to Kelly he had Austin’s best interests at heart. “Listen to her before you have nothing, not even the tatters of your good reputation.”

  All Austin heard was, Give me what I want, or else.

  “I’d rather be in business with a bunch of whores than sell that land to you.”

  The gasp behind him startled him, but the victorious smile on his father’s face twisted his gut. He turned, knowing who he’d find behind him and wishing with every fiber of his being he could turn back time a
nd take back his careless words.

  He didn’t mean it. He just wanted his father to know anything was better than being under his father’s thumb.

  With Noah, Roxy, and Sonya behind them, he and Kelly hadn’t seen them standing there watching this scene play out, orchestrated by the man he used to love but now despised.

  He played right into his father’s hands and jeopardized his shot at a relationship with Sonya and his partnership with Roxy. Judging by the way Roxy held on to Noah’s arm, he’d pissed off his best friend, too, who looked like he wanted to kill him.

  Austin didn’t know which one of them to address first because he didn’t want to lose any of them, but the thought of Sonya leaving him tore his heart to shreds. He was both so happy to see her and unbelievably sorry she’d overheard this conversation. He’d held back what he really thought and felt about her and Roxy. Now they both had the wrong impression.

  “Sonya, let me explain.”

  “You may think I’m a stupid whore, but I’ve been enlightened. You made yourself perfectly clear.” She glared at his father. “They get what they deserve.” She nailed Kelly with eyes ablaze with rage. “My mother should have expected what happened given what she does?”

  Her gaze came back to him and filled with a heartbreak and pain he felt in his chest and all the way to his soul. The sheer force of the pain threatened to drop him to his knees.

  “How can you possibly think anyone deserves to be raped and beaten? Why? Because she was born to a mother too weak to defend her against an abusive father? Because her two uncles started molesting her when she was four and continued to do so even after she turned twelve and they started sharing her with their friends? For a price, of course. Yeah, sure, she deserved it. Her mother couldn’t help her. Her father turned a blind eye, too busy trying to put food on the table, getting by on minimum wage jobs that came and went because of his temper and drinking.

  “When she worked up the courage to tell her grandmother at age seven what her uncles were doing to her, her grandmother told her she’d asked for it, flirting and being all cute in front of them. What did she expect?