by V. F. Mason
“Look, I have no idea, okay? I got the job, so if you have questions, why don’t you ask Shane, Carter, or anyone else?” The girl stood there for several seconds of silence and then stared at me again. Her eyes took in all my features, and suddenly her angry posture relaxed and her shoulders sagged.
She shifted uncomfortably, blushed, and hugged the books tighter to her chest while biting her lip worriedly. It was the pose of a person who was used to people talking to her harshly. Was she bullied or something in her life?
“Sorry,” she murmured, and put her hair behind her ear. “It’s just that I haven’t been home since Christmas and didn’t tell anyone I was coming for the summer. Mom and Dad were acting weird, and now I see you here. Mom would never have allowed a housekeeper in the house. She loved taking care of it alone. Which means my suspicions were true all along, and she’s divorcing Dad.” Her words made me blink, because I’d never heard someone say so many things so fast, which is unusual, coming from New York.
Her eyes shifted to the floor, avoiding mine. She was weird and concerned, and I had no freaking clue about her parents, so there wasn’t much I could have said to her. In fact, I didn’t have to, because at that moment Ren entered the kitchen. He wore yesterday’s clothes, had several hickeys on his neck—gross—a morning beard, and his eyes were red. He’d missed breakfast, sex was probably more important.
“Maggie?” His voice was low, yet husky. There was a hint of danger there too.
Well, at least I knew her name. She blushed even more as she glanced at Ren then scanned the room as though she wanted to disappear.
“I thought you would be in LA.” His tone turned harsh, unwelcoming, and biting. I winced inwardly.
“I changed my mind about summer.”
His eyes became guarded and concerned, which surprised me, because I didn’t think a guy like him took anything seriously. I was also surprised by the fact there was any expression inside them at all. There was also longing, as though he tried to caress her with his eyes. “Weren’t you dreaming about the ocean for months?” he asked.
She repeated, “I changed my mind.” She said it so quietly I had to concentrate hard to understand what she was saying.
“Well, you should have said that in advance.” Maggie winced as she studied her feet.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” she whispered.
“Yeah? Well, I’m fucking surprised. I’ll give you that.” With those parting words, he went outside, slamming the door hard, the sound echoing in the empty house.
“So… are you hungry?” I asked. She was just standing there; plus, wasn’t it my job to care for the people of the household? At least, that was what Marta, our housekeeper, did. The woman always had cookies ready for me whenever I felt down. Maggie looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She wiped one with the back of her hand.
“No, it… it’s all right. I had a sandwich on the way.”
Somehow, I wasn’t convinced she was okay, but we didn’t know each other well enough for me to keep pushing her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I just didn’t know when to shut up, but her tears concerned me.
“Yeah, I’m okay. He’s always like that with me. I’m just hit with it every time I come home, and sometimes it hurts.” She put her books on the table with the bag and rolled up her sleeves. “Can I help you with the dishes? It always calms me down.”
“Sure.” It wasn’t like I knew what I was doing anyway. She came near the sink, saw what I’d done, and raised her brows.
“You put everything in the sink?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
“Well, no, we usually put everything in the dishwasher. It’s more economical to use water that way. And it saves time so you can do something else.” There was a machine for that?
“Sorry, I’ve just never done that before.”
She didn’t look surprised at that information. “I bet. I can help you.” And before I knew it, she showed me how to use the thing. Then I watched how she washed few remaining cups while I dried them with a towel. In some way, it was calming, but probably not when you did it every day.
Once everything was done, we put away the tablecloth and she cleaned the table. I mostly watched because she wouldn’t help me every day, and that would be my shit to do for the next six weeks.
“You don’t know how to cook either?”
“How do you know?” Was it obvious from my face or something? A forehead sign that said, She knows nothing about real-life jobs. Do not hire.
“I recognize Grandpa’s cooking.”
Oh, right. “Yeah, well, I mostly don’t know how to do anything, and Shane left like a whole list of things to do.” It was better to be honest, since she wanted to help.
“Then why did you take the job?”
“I had to. Needed it.”
She looked skeptical, but she didn’t say anything. What I’d discovered about her in the last hour was she never fought, even when she wanted or needed to. “I can help you with that list.”
“You really don’t have to. It’s my job, after all.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I have much to do. I’m sure my mom left for her sister’s in Los Angeles, and Dad’s trying to convince her to come back. Plus, you could use some help, and the house, or what little I saw of it, needs cleaning.”
She really was a nice girl, and part of me felt sorry for her and the situation she had with Ren, whatever that was. “It’s a deal, then.”
She smiled for the first time, and I thought she needed to do that more often. It suited her.
By lunchtime, I was ready to fall on the ground. My back was sore, my feet ached and for sure had blisters, my hands were too heavy, and my nose couldn’t take those awful bathroom smells any longer.
Maggie had shown me the closet under the stairs where all the cleaning supplies were, and then we went upstairs. First, we started with checking the rooms. She took up all the sheets, which was gross, because I knew who slept on them, and God knows if those guys had some sexy times with someone here. Anyway, we changed them, and it was hard, because I had never done it before, which Maggie thought was funny. Then I broke a bit of my nail and bitched about it for half an hour.
We dusted, vacuumed, and tackled the bathrooms. Cleaning bathrooms was a nightmare I didn’t want to repeat, but I would have to do it every day for the next six weeks, so I had no choice. My hands were covered in gloves and my nose tried to block all the smells. Thank God, I didn’t find any used condoms, because that would have been awkward and just ewww. It was such a hard workout for me; I was convinced I no longer needed to do my morning yoga or Pilates routines.
While we did all the chores, we had some time to chat. I discovered she studied at the University of Houston majoring in photography, and it was her senior year, so one more semester to go. Then she wanted to get her masters. She pretty much has never been anywhere but Texas and dreamed of traveling once she got her degree. I came up with some lame-ass story that I was studying at Columbia University—which was the truth—and dreamed of having a fashion line—which was the truth too—but I didn’t mention I had a lot of money, or rather, my family did. I was happy to have Maggie, because I had someone to talk to. Loneliness really wasn't my friend.
At noon, she told me we needed to hurry up, because the men would come in to have lunch. We went downstairs and Eknath was already there cooking, and like earlier, he didn’t talk.
Maggie walked up to him and said something in a language I didn’t understand; however, it sounded melodic. They hugged each other back and then he returned to cooking. I decided to ask her later what his thing was. I mean, he looked like a nice guy, and I wondered if maybe he was the wood artist.
We put plates and food on the table as people started to come in. Each greeted Maggie and some even slapped her gently on the back. She was clearly loved here, which made sense. She grew up with them and was sweet. She was probably their little princess.
“Maggie? What are you do
ing here?”
I tried not to react to his voice. After all, I’d avoided thoughts about him the whole day—okay, half a day, but I did. The presence of Maggie helped too, but what did it matter if my body burned at his presence?
He hugged her fiercely, and she clung to him as though she needed his strength.
“I just wanted to come home.” Her words were muffled against his chest, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous. I knew how wonderful that chest felt when he squeezed a body close to his, like he did mine last night.
“Shhh. I’m glad you’re home. I missed you, girl.” He brushed the hair from her face and they shared a smile. Surprisingly, Maggie was more relaxed with him compared to Ren. Shane’s eyes were soft when they focused on her as he gently caressed her cheek. Maybe there was something more going on there and I just didn’t see it.
I couldn’t look at them, so I took a plate and sat in the same place I did during breakfast. The food was good, but I wanted more rice and some vegetables. I needed some energy for cleaning the first floor. The last thing I needed was to pass out in the middle of my first day. Shane sat down next to me on my right, and Maggie sat on my left.
“Maybe you guys want me to switch places?” I made a move to get up, but a firm hand stopped me. His gentle touch burned my palm with heat.
“Sit down, Serena.”
“So… you guys grew up together?” Curious me couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Plus, I’d be spending a lot of time with them, so I needed to know at least the basic things about them. Or at least that was my excuse for asking.
Liar, liar.
“No,” they answered at the same time, and grinned.
Oh, give me a freaking break.
Shane looked down at his food, as his reply continued coldly, “I came here a year ago. Maggie was born and raised on the ranch. That’s how we met.” Maybe they developed some romantic feelings for each other during that time? There was a familiarity between them, but I doubted they used to be together. I couldn’t imagine being that friendly with any of my exes. Not that I had any real exes to begin with.
“We became friends after that, and he helps me with some of my photography projects during my visits,” Maggie said.
Why was I so bothered by it anyway? It wasn’t like I should care who he dated or liked. I noticed the absence of Ren again. Was he eating on his own or what?
“Where’s Ren?”
Both the bodies pressed to my sides tensed, and I raised my brows. That gave me an indication of two things. First, Ren was a sore subject for them and they didn’t like to talk about him. Second, they were bothered by my question.
Clearly, relationships were complicated on the ranch.
“Why?” Shane snapped, his eyes narrowing in anger.
“It’s just that he missed breakfast and now lunch, and we saw him when Maggie arrived, so—”
He didn’t let me finish. “He saw you?” Maggie nodded, letting go of the fork she was holding and studying Shane’s face carefully. “Did he say anything?”
“No, just asked why I was here. That’s it.”
“He was nice?”
“Yes.”
Did Maggie have some problems with her memory or what? There was nothing nice about how Ren treated her. It wasn’t my place to correct her though, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Okay.” Then he resumed eating and so did she.
It didn’t escape my notice that no one answered my question.
Shane
Maggie seemed sad, even though she tried to hide it through her smiles. I told Hawk many times it was stupid they never spoke with their daughter about their divorce, and that she needed to know. Instead, they kept pretending everything was okay, but she felt something was off. I didn’t want to talk about it, because family business was one thing between us that was off-limits.
So was the whole situation between her and Ren.
I really fucking hated Serena asking questions about him, and I found my reaction to it stupid. I couldn’t keep her out of my head since I saw her during breakfast, wearing those sexy shorts that showed off her even sexier legs while she looked so lost. She was out of her element here, and I just wanted to hug her. Not to mention I didn’t sleep for a long time after rescuing her from the spider.
But all those emotions gave me no right to feel territorial or possessive of her after knowing her only a day. Even while I was training Lightning, I was so occupied with thoughts about her that I almost got kicked in the leg. I couldn’t be careless like that, which just proved one thing. My body needed sexual relief and soon. These feelings were just a natural reaction to a beautiful girl.
The thing that bothered me most was Ren and Maggie. Major Armageddon was coming with those two. I usually managed to kick him out of the house by the time she was headed home so they wouldn’t see each other, but that time I wasn’t prepared. They’d both managed to show up unannounced. As if I didn’t have enough problems with all the other shit.
The girls talked about some music, discovering they had something in common. Maybe it was good they became friends, because then Serena would be occupied with someone else, and I could minimize my interactions with her. Maggie knew everything on the ranch, so Serena wouldn’t need my help.
By the time we were finished with lunch, I left to continue working with Lightning. I heard Carter calling for me as I was about to exit the room. “Shane, phone for you!”
I frowned, because I didn’t know who might be looking for me. Granted, I had a cell phone, which I never used, so I didn’t even charge it. Maybe I should after all. I went to the phone near the living room and picked it up.
“Hello?”
The female voice on the other end of the line sounded shaky and worried. “Shane?”
Well, shit, should have known it was probably her.
“Yes.”
“Shane—” She started crying and I didn’t know what to say. I pretty much cut all ties with everyone when I left my old life behind, mainly because I didn’t want to listen to anyone’s excuses of why they all lied. “Please don’t hang up.” She knew me well, because it was exactly what I wanted to do. She couldn’t say anything to me that could make it better. And she never understood that, either. Her lies hurt me the most.
“How did you get this number?” I never gave it to her. In fact, she didn’t even know I’d found Hawk. I’d just packed a bag and left.
“I tried to find you. I didn’t even know if you were alive or not.” More crying, and I felt a slight pain in my heart.
I remembered how I used to hate making her cry, how I wanted to make everything in the world okay for her. How she sang songs to me to make me sleep better, how she used to hug me and I would feel safe when everyone called me names. Her love was there all the time, and I threw it back in her face. Back then, it felt justified, but I no longer knew what was right or wrong. Somehow everyone ended up hurt, and I had no fucking clue how to fix it all.
“I told you when I came here that I was fine. You shouldn’t have called.”
“You’re right. You should have called me yourself.” She stopped crying and sounded more like the woman who’d raised me and didn’t let me get away with any shit. Well, until one year ago, when I’d done so much shit even she couldn’t have stopped me.
“You should have told me, Aunt Tara.” We were having the same argument all over again.
“I had no choice. I don’t know how many times I need to repeat it for you to get it.”
She was right, because I would never get it. “We always have a choice.” My voice turned harsh.
“Your mom made me promise you would never know the truth.”
“This conversation is pointless.”
“Shane, please.” She was begging. “I know you’re angry, but why would you throw away your whole life for this? Please come back.”
“I can’t, Aunt Tara. Not now, and maybe not ever.” Before she could say anything else, I hung up the phone, ignoring Eknath, who f
rowned at me. The guy could think whatever the fuck he wanted. It wasn’t as if he spoke his opinion on the matter anyway. Half the time, I had the feeling he didn’t like me. I sure as hell didn’t get warm hugs from him like he gave to his granddaughter.
Fuck this shit.
Serena’s laugh echoed through the house, and my fists tightened. She was a distraction I didn’t need. She brought up all those unwanted emotions, and I couldn’t have that.
The bar tonight sounded like a good idea. Once my dry spell was history, she would no longer be the object of my desire.
The bar was crowded, as usual, and there was smoke all over the place. It had good booze and music, and it was all thanks to the owner, Grady. He used to be the bad boy of the town and even spent some time in juvie. Then, as far as I knew, he traveled on his bike, came home with several tattoos, had enough money to buy an apartment nearby, and got the bar from Henry. He had run it smoothly ever since.
No shit was allowed here, and he took care of everything, bartending every night. Grady was older than me by a few years, and lots of people were afraid of him. He wasn’t one you'd like to mess with. I liked the guy. We had a few drinks together, and he was the only one I could relax with. Probably because there was no small talk. He would pour a drink and ask no questions.
That suited me just fine.
I visited the bar once or twice a month, when I felt like I needed a break from the ranch work. Usually, I wasn’t interested in women. None of them appealed to me much, and in the small town, getting laid was disastrous. What the fuck was I thinking coming here?
Ren was pressing into some girl on the pool table while he stood between her thighs and kissed her deeply. She was wrapped all around him, and by the look on her face, she was in a state of euphoria. He just seemed to do it out of habit. After all, he hit the bar every day, and every time, he managed to fuck someone new. I didn’t know how long he planned to do that, fucking himself into oblivion, when clearly he wanted only one person.