Chapter 5
Eli filled his extra-large coffee cup to the brim. He needed something to get him through the rest of the day. After scrubbing a hand over his face, he shook his head. Damned if the woman wasn’t already giving him issues.
Everything felt different. Not dangerous or scary, but there was a different atmosphere with Crysta around. Even after just a few hours. Eli leaned against the counter and sipped some Kona coffee as the floor above squeaked and groaned. There hadn’t been a woman living in the house for as long as he could remember.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Joe.”
There was no answer. He didn’t know if he expected one or not. Hoped for one maybe. Never in all the years since he’d arrived had he needed more guidance. He needed to keep his head on straight and Joe would have definitely helped with that. Or at least smacked him around a little. The woman was getting to him in certain ways and he didn’t like it. Not at all. He didn’t know her at all and wanting her caused so many complications. The ranch, his own conscious, and then there was the issue of the opened gate last night.
It was a worry. They weren’t a big ranch, mainly moderate in size, but Joe had insisted on a state of the art system. He probably needed to call Conner Dillon to ask him about the breach.
Normally, it wouldn’t bother him that much, but to have it happen on the day that Crysta arrived was odd. Both he and Joe had a lot of old enemies, and it was one reason they had implemented strict security on the ranch.
“Is there any coffee left?”
He had been so deep in thought he hadn’t heard Crysta approach.
“Yep, and freshly brewed.”
She made her way around the kitchen as if she belonged. It was something that had left him feeling slightly unbalanced. She poured her coffee and then leaned back against the counter opposite his.
“So, want to tell me about the security issue.”
He frowned. “Not much to tell.”
She rolled her eyes and he wanted to smile. She had the look of her father and a bit of her mother from the old photos Joe had left of her. But, there was so much of Joe in her expressions and mannerisms, there was no doubt they were blood related.
“Okay, sorry. Everyone at the ranch has strict orders not to leave the gate open.”
“It was open the day we came.”
He nodded. “Yes, but that was special circumstances.”
“Makes sense. But you keep it locked otherwise? Can’t people just climb over it?”
Yeah, they could, but they had motion detectors. That didn’t work up front unless the gate had been locked. It had all been disabled. After talking to his head foreman, no one had messed with it.
“There are other measures that are locked in for that.”
He could tell she was annoyed by the answer but she didn’t push it. It was a reprieve from the discussion, but he knew it wouldn’t be the end of it. He had a feeling not much got by Crysta.
“There’s a meeting tonight with the workers. I want to formally introduce you and we need to talk about the security breach.”
She nodded and sipped her coffee. He studied her for a second and saw the dark circles under her eyes.
“I should have thought you would be tired. We should have waited until tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “This is a working ranch. I want to get started tomorrow.”
“Started?”
“You do know I ride, right?”
“Joe mentioned you did a little.”
She snorted. “A little? Barrel riding champion of South Central Texas, thank you very much.”
Her lips curved up into a cocky grin. He knew it was a bit of a challenge to him. She was there and she wasn’t going to hide away. Damn if that didn’t make her even more attractive.
“So, you want to really work the ranch?”
She laughed. “I can deal with being in the background, but I would like to see all the land. Joe loved it so much. My mother did too.”
“But she never came back.”
Her smile faded a bit. “Time. That was one issue. And whatever went on before she left.”
“You don’t know what that was about?” he asked.
She shook her head as the front gate buzzed. He walked to the front of the house and looked at the video cam.
Damn.
He knew Sam Kaheaku would show up, but he had hoped it would be a few days.
“Well, you might get an idea about what kept her away from the island. Your uncle’s here.”
* * *
She didn’t like him.It wasn’t that often she made a judgment on a person within a few minutes time with them. Sure, she had met him at the reading of the will, but now, looking at the large Hawaiian man frowning at her, she felt as if he was judging her and found her lacking.
“So, what the hell is going on here?”
She glanced at Eli waiting to see what he would say. His expression didn’t tell her much. She assumed that was more for Sam’s benefit and not hers.
“Not sure what you mean, Sam.” His voice held a hint of amusement but she knew without a doubt, Eli wasn’t amused.
“With this one here finally, I figured you would be interested in talking.”
The only sign of irritation on Eli’s face was a slight narrowing of his eyes. “Talking?”
“About settling? After this idiocy is done, I suggest you sell to me.”
“Why would I do that?”
For a second, Sam looked like he was confused. He looked at her, then back to Eli. “It’s Kaheaku land.”
“No. It isn’t. Joe did this on his own without your help. This has nothing to do with the family. He told me what you did when he came back here. I saw the way you disdained him and his life. You hated him and he didn’t want you to have the land.”
“Our land marches side by side.”
“And this ranch is three times as big as yours. I happen to know you don’t have the money to buy this ranch.”
“And I will point out that I am a Kaheaku.”
Both men turned to her as if she had popped out of thin air. They were both giving her a look that told her they weren’t happy with the interruption. She didn’t give a damn. She’d grown up in the military so a couple of Alpha males staring her down didn’t scare her at all.
“I still live here. I own it. You might not realize it, Sam, but Joe and I became close in the last few years. I’m sure that he wouldn’t be happy if I sold to you. If I sell to anyone, which I doubt, it would be to Eli. He helped Joe build this ranch up, and he has more right to it than the family that turned their back on Joe.”
He stepped closer, his cane thumping on the Koa wood floor. He leaned closer, enough for her to feel his breath on her face.
“He was unnatural, but you would know all about that.”
Fear slipped down her spine. She didn’t like to be bullied, and she had dealt with more than one during her teenage years. But before she could yell at him, Eli stepped in.
“You might want to take a step back there, Kaheaku. I would hate to hurt a crippled man.”
Eli used the same tone he had the day of Joe’s memorial service. It did more to scare her than any yelling would have.
Sam turned to face Eli. She was worried there would be a physical fight when Sam Jr., stepped in. “Dad, we need to get on. We have that meeting later.”
Sam stared at Eli for a moment longer, then, without another word, he turned and walked out the door. When the door shut behind Sam Jr., Crysta let out a long, slow breath.
When they were alone, Eli said, “So, I guess we know why they didn’t like your father.”
She sighed. “Dad said her father was worse. Which is odd because Joe had no prejudice.”
“It isn’t common here.”
She nodded. “I…I need a few moments alone.”
As she started up the stairs, he said, “You know, there’s nothing unnatural about you, Crysta.”
Crysta stopped, turned around, and walked down the last few steps. She stopped in front of him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not being a total bastard about me having half the ranch. And…for being the son that Joe always wanted. He loved you like blood.”
He said nothing as she turned and made her way up to her room. She needed time alone and a little rest. She had a group of men to talk to tonight, and she had no idea if they held the same feelings as Sam or not.
* * *
“Did you take fingerprints?”Conner Dillon asked Eli.
“I’m not the bloody FBI, Dillon.”
He made a sound that told Eli he wasn’t happy with that answer. “We see nothing here other than someone punching in the code. I’ll do some work on it and see if we can figure out just who the bastard is. Anything else?”
He thought of the tire. “Not sure.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I had a flat tire. Just from looking at it, it looks like nothing, but I’ll take a closer look.”
“What the hell are you waiting for?”
“Jesus, Dillon, I’ve been busy. Had to get Crysta settled, then that bastard uncle of hers showed up.”
There was a beat of silence. “He’s the one Joe was worried about?”
“Yeah, but I can’t see him doing that.”
“He wants the ranch.”
Eli thought about it. “Yeah, there’s that. But he doesn’t have the money. Also, he couldn’t run around doing this kind of stuff. He’s not physically capable.”
“So, if you lose the ranch because Crysta runs off scared, he will be able to buy it very cheap, correct?”
“Yeah, but if that’s what he expected of her, he learned today that it won’t happen.”
“He threatened her?” Dillon asked irritation threading his voice. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that first?”
Eli sighed. “First, I thought you would want to know about the security breach first. And no, he didn’t outright threaten her, but it was close enough. But he damned near called her something that would have had me ripping him apart.”
“I understand.”
Of course Dillon did. His wife was the heir to a large fortune, but the family wanted nothing to do with her, because her father had been black.
“She stood her ground though, so if that was his plan, I don’t think it will work. Maybe he learned that today and will back off.”
“Or get more dangerous.”
That was what worried Eli. They had avoided Joe, even after he became ill. Maybe in their minds, they would be able to get some of the land. Thinking he would just hand over the ranch to the family that had rejected Joe was just damned idiotic.
“True. The security is running now, but I think we need to change the code early this week. Make sure whoever had the code can’t get in again.”
Papers rustled over the phone. “Sounds good. Do you want me over there?”
“No. I can handle her.”
There was a beat of silence. “What?”
Shit. “I mean…I can handle it.”
He was slipping up on the phone with Dillon after the first day with Crysta. He definitely needed to get his head screwed on straight.
“I’ll let you know if anything happens over here. It might all be coincidence.”
“You do that. And, Eli?”
“Yeah?” Eli asked.
“Make sure to keep your head screwed on straight.”
Then the line went dead. Dillon was irritating but he was right. There might not be anything going on, but it would be best for all of them if he kept his senses clear. He needed to get over to Oahu and blow off some steam but he didn’t see that happening any time soon. So, he just needed to suck it up.
* * *
Crysta was nervous.It was like she was a student teacher in front of the class for the first time. Studying the group of men who had gathered, she saw many faces she recognized. Almost all of them had been at the service a few weeks ago. Expressions ranged from blank, to smiling, to downright nasty. They were all looking at her as if she were an oddity. So, they were reserving judgement? Maybe some of them didn’t think she would stay. Crysta Miller was made of stronger stock. She’d handled teenagers, and they were scarier than this lot. The thought had her lips curving.
“What are you smiling about?” Eli said, leaning close enough that she felt his breath on her ear.
It took all her power not to shiver and lean closer. She turned and then had to take a moment to compose herself. This close she could see the deepest blue of his eyes and they made her lose most of her thoughts. She didn’t have a doubt now that he was a Dom and seeing him this close, feeling his body heat, was enough to make her yearn.
Oh, god.
“I was just remembering my first day at teaching.”
He smiled, slowly, sexy, and her heart turned over. The man could tempt a nun to sin. Over and over and over.
“I bet you were fantastic.”
She laughed remembering the first day of teaching hell.
“I wasn’t at all but I loved it.”
“But you don’t do it anymore.”
“Not right now. I might return, but I was too far away from Dad when he got sick. I couldn’t leave him on his own, and I also needed a break.”
He opened his mouth but was interrupted by the foreman.
Jerry Mitchell was an older Hawaiian with a weathered face and nice eyes. Oh, he knew how to scare the crap out of his workers, but she knew he was kind from the way he looked at her. He reminded her a bit of her father.
“Okay, shut the hell up.” The room quieted down. “Now a lot of you got to meet Crysta at the memorial for Joe, but now she’s your head boss, just like Eli.”
She snorted and got a mean stare from Jerry. Okay, maybe he could scare her too. She sat up straighter and tried not to look at Eli. She knew he was probably laughing at her.
They went through a few things, talking about the upcoming ranch party they have every year. Her mind started to wander. It had been a long trip from the mainland and now, a meeting…Crysta wasn’t a woman who liked to deal with that. She’d been a teacher, but she used all her extra time to play outside.
“So, if anyone has any questions, let me know. Ms. Miller, did you want to say anything?”
Almost every person looked at her. Damn. She hadn’t expected that she would have to have coherent thoughts.
“Uh, okay.” She stood and the room swayed a little. “I want to thank everyone for the welcome. I know that most of you understand the terms of the will, but I wanted to make sure everyone realizes that everything stays the same. Eli is going to teach me a bit about the ranch and I’m going to be out there working, but just so you know, I don’t expect special treatment. Thank you all for being so welcoming.”
She sat back down next to Eli. Mike got back up and started talking. She couldn’t believe that her heart was beating so hard. She hoped they didn’t notice.
As if reading her thoughts, Eli leaned closer and said, “You did good, Crysta.”
She released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “Thanks.”
A few minutes later, the meeting was over and they were walking toward the house.
“Wanna ride tomorrow?” Eli asked.
She glanced at him. For a second, she had thought he meant…
“If you don’t want to, we can--”
“No, that will be great. I’ve wanted to see it all since Joe told me about it.”
“It’s a date,” Eli said with a smile.
They walked into the house without another word. The day of travel was starting to hit her. She suddenly felt so tired that the thought of undressing seemed to be too much.
“Hey, you go on up. I have some work to do,” Eli said.
“Night, Eli.”
He stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched her. When she reached the top and glanced down, he was gone.
She needed a good night’s sleep and she would stop daydreaming about her partner. Well, okay, maybe not stop, but at least control it.
Because falling for her last Dom had left her emotionally scarred and she wasn’t ready for that again.
No man was worth it.