by Cassie Cole
Here, everything was peaceful. It was damn near silent by comparison, like the entire world had been muted. I don’t remember much from last night: I came home, cooked a frozen pizza in the oven, and then crashed on the couch with Heidi.
I rolled over and opened my crusty eyes, finding myself face to face with an empty bottle of the cheap Newman’s Best whiskey my dad always kept around the house. An empty tumbler sat next to it on the coffee table.
Alright, maybe that had something to do with my sleep.
I got up and stretched. My phone said it was 7:45, and was down to just 15% battery. I still had no signal, which was probably what was draining the juice. Putting it into airplane mode would probably be a good idea.
I wandered into the kitchen while the gears of my brain started turning. No signal meant no email on my phone. No internet whatsoever. I thought about that for a few moments. It was a concept I wasn’t exactly used to. When was the last time I was off the grid? The last time I was here, I guessed.
I found a coffee mug in the third cabinet I checked, then filled it with steaming hot coffee from the freshly brewed pot waiting on the counter.
What I needed to do was call my boss on the land line. Tell him what was up, let him know I wasn’t deliberately ignoring my phone. The panic of not checking my email for 12 hours began to make my heart race. I quenched it with a sip from my mug. Ahh, coffee made everything better. Especially when you didn’t have to sit around while it brewed.
Wait. Coffee? I looked down at my mug, then at the coffee machine on the counter. Had I gotten so drunk that I pre-programmed the coffee maker to be ready when I woke up?
Something clattered in the master bedroom.
I froze the way a scared animal freezes, ears perked and listening.
I was suddenly very aware of how vulnerable I was. In the middle of nowhere without an easy way to call for help. If word had gotten out that my dad had died, the ranch would be a good target for someone wanting to snoop around and steal stuff.
The noise could have been Heidi. I hadn’t seen her since waking. That was a calm, reasonable explanation. But when I opened my mouth to call her no noise came out. Right now, silence felt like safety. The moment I ruined it I would be announcing my presence.
I tip-toed around the kitchen and down the hall to the master bedroom. Every third step drew a creak from the old and broken floorboards, which made me pause and listen again before continuing. I reached the open doorway. I stepped inside.
The man was just inside the door to the left. He was bent over something by the bed, showing me a muscular man-butt in blue jeans. The sight triggered my fight or flight instinct, and failing to choose one of those, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
He jerked his head, slamming it against the underside of the bed frame. He groaned and turned toward me. I prepared to hurl my scalding coffee at his face, but he didn’t make any move; he merely held his head and winced at me.
He was shirtless, with a body covered in muscle lines and veins that bulged against the skin like they were trying to break free. He had a prominent nose, and eyes like sapphires that held a peacefulness in them which calmed my heart a few beats. He wore plain jeans with brown riding chaps over them, tasseled on the ends. He scratched his mop of dirty blond hair.
The man was familiar, but I couldn’t place how.
“I…” I muttered, still holding my coffee mug like a hand grenade. “Umm… who…”
“Good morning to you too,” he said in a chipper voice. “Didn’t think I’d hurt myself this morning. At least, not until we got started on the fence. Always prick my fingers on the barbed wire. Doesn’t matter how careful I am. Still come back with blood on my fingertips.”
He spoke in a rush, hardly pausing to breathe. And then he rolled one shoulder, which triggered my memory.
“You were naked!”
“Naked?”
“Yesterday!”
“I was naked a few times yesterday. Took a couple showers. Changed clothes twice.” An easy grin spread on his face. “I can be naked today too, if you’d like. I’m halfway there.”
Footsteps stomped down the hall toward us. Landon Hughes skidded to a halt like a cartoon character, eyes wide with worry.
“What happened?”
“Don’t look at me.” Shirtless guy held up two wide palms. “I was playing with the dog when she started screaming.”
Heidi came scrambling out from under the bed, tail wagging like it was all a game. Everyone was waiting for me to say something.
“Don’t look at me like I’m the jerk for screaming. You came into my house without permission!”
They glanced at each other, which told me I was wrong. Landon looked apologetic, then said, “We, uhh, rang the doorbell a few times but nobody answered. Your car was out front, and the door was unlocked, so we poked our heads inside to make sure you were okay.”
“I was sleeping!”
“You mumbled and waved us on,” shirtless guys said, crossing his arms over his chest. “So. We came inside and started working.”
Landon gestured with a tattooed forearm. “Cindy, meet Chase, my youngest brother.”
“You were naked!”
“He’s naked a lot,” Landon said. “You’re gunna have to be more specific.”
I tried not to scream. It was too early for this. “I was driving into town yesterday and saw a nude man riding a horse. That was you.”
“Ohh,” Chase, said. “Yep. Sure was.”
“He lost a bet,” Landon explained.
Chase leaned in conspiratorially, close enough that I could smell his spicy deodorant. “If you couldn’t tell from my tan, I’ve lost a lot of bets.”
Landon put a steadying hand on my back. “I’m sorry we frightened you. Let’s talk in the kitchen.”
As we left the bedroom, Heidi shoved her head against my leg and panted happily. “Some guard dog you are,” I muttered.
“You know, I do remember a car passing me yesterday,” Chase said. “Slowed down real careful. Like they were getting their money’s worth.”
I stiffened. “I was slowing down because a damn horse was in the middle of the road.”
“Sure, but then we left the road. You still drove by nice and slow.”
“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt now?” I asked to change the subject.
“Why aren’t you wearing pants?”
I flinched as I looked down at myself: I had on panties and a thin night shirt. Thank goodness they were a nice pair of panties instead of a ragged old pair with holes.
I refilled my coffee from the pot even though I’d only taken a few sips. “I intend to fix that after I finish my coffee. Also, I’m not showing up for my first day of a new job.”
“Chase will put on a shirt,” Landon said. “Look. I’m sorry about all this. When you waved us in we thought we had the go-ahead to start working. We’ve made some progress.”
“When I said I’d see you tomorrow, I meant at a reasonable time. Like 9:00.”
Landon snorted like I’d made a joke. “A rancher’s day starts early, ma’am.”
“Don’t call me ma’am,” I said, gesturing with the mug. “It makes me feel old. I’m gunna put on some clothes and then we can get started.”
“Yes ma… err, Cindy.”
I went to find my suitcase, keenly aware of their eyes on my ass and not sure how I felt about it.
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Cassie Cole is a Reverse Harem Romance writer living in Norfolk, Virginia. A polygamist/polyamorist at heart, she thinks Romance is best when served in threes, fours, and fives!
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