Break the Barrier (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #2)

1. Thea

thea

There was something oddly calming about a loud bar late into the night.

People love Fridays in our small town, and Bottle Grounds has quickly become the hotspot for everyone, from the merchants on Main Street to the people they call friends or family to the hard-working farmers who worked all day and sometimes all night, and even beyond that.

It was what I’ve always wanted it to be.

When my sisters and I moved to Acton, Colorado, it was this tiny town way off the map. No one from the bigger cities knew of its existence, and I was perfectly happy with that.

I just wanted to get away from the life that came before our time here.

It was a sudden move.

I saw my chance to make it and took that chance without looking back.

When I was a young twenty-two, my parents tragically died in a plane crash. My father had his own plane that they used for business trips, and Mom always tagged along when she could.

But freak weather from out of nowhere had taken that plane down and taken our loving parents with it.

I had no idea that the last time I would ever see my parents would be at our usual Sunday brunch, chatting about tennis and the newest Chanel bag, about my sister Tori’s newest boyfriend, about Annmarie and Juniper begging for tickets to the latest trendy boy band, about my littlest sister, Ophelia, having her first crush.

It all seems so silly now, knowing that’s what our primary discussion was when we could have said and done so much more in their final moments with us.

Then, after they were gone, I was suddenly responsible for all four of my little sisters. It was a daunting task that I didn’t want to do alone, but I was willing to make it work, for them. For my parents.

Thankfully, my parents had the house and expenses covered, leaving a good amount for each of us girls to use for our futures.

Unfortunately…I didn’t make the best use of it at first.

“Thea! There’s someone here to talk to you.” My sister Annmarie’s voice cuts through the fog in my brain. It’s been yet another long day, and at the end of the night, my mind drifts and focuses on every wrong and stressful thing happening in my life.

“Just a second!” I call over the loud laughter, the music, and the chatter. The constant noise was like a balm to my soul.

The thing that bothered me the most? Silence.

Because in that silence, I could hear everything.

Every creak, every whisper, every breath, every branch of a tree shifting in the night. Every heavy-booted step coming my way…

Someone bumps into me from behind, and I turn to see Jason, a high school student who helps out a lot on the weekend, shoot me a shy and apologetic smile. “Sorry, Thea.”

“No problem.”

The thing I love about this small town is that everyone knows each other, and most of the time, that means they treat each other like family. It was a heartwarming place, and we’d been welcomed in with open arms.

I peek down to the end of the bar, and sure enough, my heart falls into the pit of my stomach, and my hands start to itch with nerves.

It’s exactly who I’ve been avoiding.

Logan Cash.

The tall, ridiculously handsome, broad-shouldered, brown-haired cowboy.

I was avoiding him like the plague.

A few months ago, I’d been…dumb and offered him a deal.

He could have him and his friends come in and start up a darts league in the bar, but he had to do me a favor first.

The thought of that favor makes my cheeks burn.

I can’t believe I actually asked him.

Not only did I ask, but I also drew up a contract.

But…desperate times.

I was feeling threatened, worried for my safety and the safety of my bar, and the safety of my sisters.

Somehow, this was the solution that hit me.

I could ask Logan, who’d become something of a good friend over the few years we’d been here, to help me out by pretending to be my husband and assume financial responsibility of my assets.

It was all in the name of protection.

Logan had looked at me like I’d grown an extra head, with whiskers and a tail and maybe even some purple spots or something too.

I knew the moment it left my mouth that it was the stupidest thing to do.

Not only had he not technically responded—although I did let him set up his dartboards—but he was now badgering me to know what this was all about.

And that is why it was stupid.

My business was just that—mine. I didn’t need some rough-and-tumble cowboy to come in and try and save me.

Although that is basically what I asked of him.

I sigh and start to turn away, but before I can do so, Logan’s eye catches my own, and he gives me a look that sends a shiver of what should probably be terror, but feels more like delight, zipping down my spine.

Oh god. Why, why did I do this to myself?

I take strong, measured steps toward him and attempt to come up with some sort of measly excuse for my actions on the way.

And even though the bar top is about thirty or forty feet long, and I have to weave in and out of my employees on the way as they refill our generous customers’ drinks, I still make it to Logan in no time at all.

“Dorothy.” His deep voice moves right through me, and I cross my arms at the stupid effect he has on me.

“Logan.” He’s the only one in the world who calls me Dorothy, and I kind of don’t hate it, which I hate.

My voice catches, and I clear it before I raise my chin and meet his green eyes.

At six foot three, I have to look up at him, even when I’m five foot eight, and his towering height makes me want to tuck tail and run right into the back room. “What is it you need?”

He raises an eyebrow at me and leans an arm against the bar. “You gonna act like you don’t know?”

There was something about the way he spoke, it wasn’t a southern accent, considering he was from here, but there was still something so…country about it that made me want to listen to him speak all day.

Just…not to me.

“Let me see,” I start, turning to face the barback and grabbing a towel. Anything to keep my hands busy. “Did you need some more dartboards? I’m not sure we can spare the room.”

“This is not about dartboards, Thea.” He growls, stepping behind the bar and into my space. I glance to the left and see my sister Annmarie smirking at the scene. So not helping. Thank you, little sister.

“Logan.” I take a deep breath, which is the wrong move because his cologne invades my senses, and I’m suddenly not able to think or speak.

“Thea, if something is going on with you, I want to help.”

I glance at him and can tell he’s being completely serious. And I know he would help, that’s just the kind of guy he is.

“I know. I just, I’m sorry for springing what I did on you.”

He sighs and lets his hands find purchase on the bar, so we’re behind it with my back to it where everyone can see him leaning over me.

His eyes catch mine, and I can see how much this is concerning him, which was never my intention. “You need someone to marry you? ”

“I—” I glance to the right where my sisters are far enough away not to hear, but I don’t want to talk about this here.

Logan follows my line of sight. “You in trouble?”

I let my head give a small nod. “I can’t talk here.”

“Okay.” He leans closer, and I don’t even know if he realizes that he’s doing it. “We need to talk about this. If you’re in trouble, I want to help.”

“Logan,” I start, but he raises a hand, settling it on my neck and tilting my chin up to see him.

In the entirety of our friendship, he’s never once touched me like this. I’ve never been open to being touched like this, not for a long time, but I’m suddenly hoping he never stops.

“Thea, I don’t know if you know this.” He licks his lips and my eyes…well, they linger there until he speaks again. “But you’re my friend, and if one of my friends is in trouble, I’m going to do what I can to help them.”

I knew it was a bad idea to ask him.

“It’s not fair to put you in this position.”

“I’m putting myself in it.” He speaks matter-of-factly. “So, get on board because whether you like it or not, I’m going to help you.”

God, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.