Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
REMINGTON
T he credits roll, and I back out of the app before turning off the TV and glancing down at Erin. She’s breathing deeply, obviously asleep. I’d like to stay here like this, in the dark, for a little while. I’ve grown to crave time with this woman. The more I get, the more I want. I’m greedy for it.
For her.
My family isn’t wrong when they say there’s been a change in me since Erin came into my life. I feel lighter, happier. More at ease. My responsibilities haven’t changed, but Erin makes my life so much easier with her help with the kids, and more than that, just being near her quells the stress I always seem to carry.
I’m grateful to her for that.
Rather than wake her to go to bed, I lift her into my arms and carry her through the house to her bedroom. The room is filled with the scent of her now, along with peppermints, thanks to the bowl of them on her dresser.
I lower her to the bed and cover her with blankets, tucking her in.
She stirs and opens her heavy eyes and smiles up at me. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure, Doc.”
I can’t resist leaning in to kiss her soft lips. I want to stay here, or better yet, take her up to my bed and get lost in her before we both fall asleep, tangled up together.
But that can’t happen with the kids in the house.
“Sleep well, beautiful,” I whisper as she burrows down into the covers and falls back to sleep.
The more time that Erin spends out here on the ranch, with not just me but also my kids, the more I’m convinced that she belongs here. I know that it’s fast, but I don’t know what life would be like without her.
I do know that it would be fucking miserable.
After my parents come back with the kids next weekend, I’ll sit down with Johnny and Holly for a serious conversation. I’m not sure yet what I’ll say, but I need to know how they feel and how they’d react to Erin integrating more into our family, not just as the nanny.
The thought makes me nervous and excited all at once, but I’m past ready to have Erin with me, in my bedroom, every night.
I’m not quite fully awake when I make it downstairs to the coffee maker, and I’m surprised to find Erin already there, brewing herself a mug.
“You’re up early.” I move in, kiss her forehead, and wrap my arms around her. She leans in, hugging me back.
“I woke up about an hour ago and couldn’t fall back to sleep.” She yawns and steps back when her coffee is finished brewing, then grabs the flavored creamer she loves. “I might as well get started with the day. Do you have a lot going on today?”
“Just the usual amount.” I set to work getting my own coffee ready. “What time are you meeting with my mom?”
“Around noon. She’s going to text me when she gets back from her Tai Chi class.” Erin grins over the rim of her steaming mug. “I love how active your mom is.”
“She rarely stops moving,” I agree. “I think she was so used to being busy, chasing around so many kids for all those years, that it’s become a habit, and she just keeps going. And I’m glad for it. Dad’s the same. He may be retired, but there’s hardly a day that he doesn’t come out to the barn to oversee something.”
“Well, I think it’s great. I’m going to do some morning yoga and some meditation, and then I’ll get the kids off to school.”
Knowing that the kids are still in bed, I pull Erin against me and kiss her long and slow. I’m satisfied when I pull back and she’s just a bit breathless, those sleepy eyes wide awake and firing at me now.
“If I can manage it, I’ll swing by later,” I promise her.
“Sounds good to me.” Erin winks at me. “I’ll be here all morning.”
Thanks to a hay order that went horribly wrong, and a busy morning of interviewing for summer ranch hands, the day slipped away from me, and there was no time to go to the house for some time with Erin.
“How many head do we have going to auction this fall?” I ask Lucky from across my desk.
“Eight hundred,” he replies. “Wait, that’s eight hundred and two.”
“That’s up a little from last year,” I murmur, taking notes. “Okay, and who do you think we should hire from today’s interviews?”
“If I’m being honest? None of them.”
I don’t disagree. I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them.
“I have to hire someone, Lucky. Brady will be out on the circuit soon, and summer’s busy.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, son. I get it. I’m just saying that if I’m being truthful, not one of those four boys are cowboys.”
I toss the pen down and rub my eyes, take my hat off, and scratch my head.
“Shit, I guess it’s back to the drawing board. I’ll put out another ad. I’d like to have two more hands hired before June.”
“We’d all like that,” Lucky says with a chuckle. “But those boys today wouldn’t have fit in, and none of them had the build to do the work. They’d just be exhausted, and likely hurt, every day. That’s not what we need.”
“You’re right about that. We don’t need it. Hell, three of them admitted that they applied for the job because their dads made them.”
Lucky winces. “I’ll ask around again to see if anyone I know is looking for work.”
“I appreciate it. I’m going to go see how it’s going with my mom and Erin. Erin applied for the bookkeeping position.”
“We like her,” Lucky says as I stand. “Now, she’s someone who fits in.”
“Yeah.” I grin and settle the hat on my head once more. “She does. I’ll come back out here in a bit.”
Lucky nods and walks away as I climb into the Jeep and set off for my folks’ house. Erin and Mom are walking out of the house as I pull in, both of them smiling and happy.
That’s a good sign.
“Oh, hey, Rem,” Mom says as I walk toward them. “Erin and I were just finishing up here.”
“How did it go?” I push my hands into my back pockets so I don’t just immediately grab for Erin and kiss the hell out of her.
“It went well,” Mom replies, looking over at Erin happily. “I even gave her a little quiz, and she passed with flying colors.”
“It wasn’t an easy quiz, either,” Erin says with a laugh. “I might have started to break out into a sweat.”
“You did great,” Mom reaffirms and wraps an arm around Erin’s shoulders. “She’s accepted the position, and we’d like to dive into training on Wednesday.”
“Wow, that’s great. I’m glad that you had a good meeting.”
“Oh, Joy,” Erin begins, “would you mind giving me a ride into town? My car is done, and I’d like to pick it up and bring it out to the ranch before I have to pick the kids up from school.”
“I can do that,” I offer before Mom can reply.
“Oh, I know you’re busy,” Erin begins.
“I can take an hour and help you with this. I think it’s the least I can do.”
“That’s perfect because I have to get ready for my book club. I’m hosting tonight,” Mom explains. “It’s my turn. I’ll see you Wednesday morning, Erin.”
“I’m excited,” Erin replies and then follows me over to the Jeep. “Seriously, your mom is the absolute best. She’s so dang smart. I didn’t realize that she’s continued to further her education every couple of years because things change so fast in the world of finance, and she’s totally on top of it. I liked her a lot before, but now I think she’s the shit.”
I snort at that as I pull onto the highway.
“My mom is totally the shit. So, you still plan to use the Suburban when you have the kids, right?”
Erin immediately nods. “Oh, yeah. I know that you’re the most comfortable with that, and honestly, I like driving it. It’s so big. It feels very safe, and that makes me feel better, too.”
“Good.” I reach over and take her hand, lifting it to my lips. “I want to keep all three of you as safe as possible.”
She grins over at me. “I get that. I’ll drive the big car. But I definitely have to get my vehicle and pay Brooks.”
From the number of cars in the parking lot at Brooks’s garage, I’d say the man isn’t hurting for business.
“Hey, Erin,” Brooks says as he wipes his hands on a rag. “Remington.”
“Brooks,” I reply with a nod.
“Wow, this is a little more than we thought,” Erin says as she looks at the invoice. “Cars are expensive to fix.”
“They’re ridiculous,” Brooks agrees. “But she’s in top shape now and should last you for many years. I’ve warrantied all my work for a year. If anything happens between now and then, you just call me, and we’ll fix it.”
“That’s pretty great,” Erin says with a nod before passing Brooks her credit card. “I’m just glad it didn’t happen when I was on the freeway between here and Seattle. That would have sucked. ”
“Big time,” Brooks agrees with a smile as he runs her card.
When the bill is settled, all three of us walk out to where Erin’s car is waiting. It’s actually a small SUV and doesn’t look all that old.
“This isn’t a beater,” I say with surprise.
“No, I don’t drive a beater ,” Erin replies.
“I admit, I had the same reaction,” Brooks says with a laugh. “No, it’s a good car. Sucks that you were just outside of the warranty, though.”
“You should have just bought a new one,” I tell her.
“A new one would have been a lot more than what I just paid for the repairs. Besides, it won’t get driven as much now, since I use the Suburban so often with the kids.”
If I have my way, she’ll be in the Suburban most of the time.
Hell, every time if I can talk her into it.
“Thanks for the ride,” she says with a smile and opens the door. “I’ll see you later.”
She gets in and turns the engine, smiling even wider when it roars to life. After a quick happy dance in the front seat, she pulls out of the parking lot.
Brooks and I watch her go, and he slides his hands into his pockets. “She’s a great girl.”
“Yeah.” I nod slowly. “She is.”
“There something going on between the two of you?”
“Yeah.” I turn to him now and level my gaze with his. “There is.”
“Figures.” Brooks lets out a humorless laugh. “The good ones are always taken. Well, good luck there, man.”
I’ve always liked Brooks. He’s about a year older than me and moved to town when we were in middle school. He’s always been a nice guy.
“Thanks. And thanks for fixing her up.”
“It was kind of a shit show,” he admits. “But it’s solid now.”
“Good to know.”
“I bought some horses,” Ryan says as I walk into the barn after returning to the ranch.
“How many is some ?” I counter.
“Six,” Brady replies with a grin. “Our brother doesn’t do anything halfway.”
“That’s a lot of horses for one person.”
Ryan shrugs. “They were all together at this farm, and I couldn’t break them up.”
“Aww”—Brady ruffles Ryan’s hair—“you’re just a big softie.”
“Where are they?” I ask.
“At my place, but I’d like it if you and Brady would come out and take a look at them. They were neglected for a while, and they’re a little skinny. I got a clean bill of health from the vet, so none of them have disease, but they need some work.”
“You have time for six rescue horses?” My eyebrows climb in surprise. My brother is a workaholic. He barely takes time to eat.
“Yeah, I do. I told you, I’m here for the long haul.”
“Let’s go see them, then. Hey, Lucky!” The older man turns when I call over to him. “Want to go see some horses?”
“I’ll never turn that down,” he says with a grin.
The four of us ride in Ryan’s brand-new truck over to his ranch. It’s about a ten-minute drive. The first thing that comes into view is the house.
It’s fucking massive.
Ryan had the old house that once stood here torn down, and, to his credit, it needed to be. It had been abandoned for a long time, so the house was crumbling and not safe, even for restoration.
The new dwelling has a wall of windows that gives him a view of the mountains, and now the six horses grazing in his pasture.
The new barn is also nice, with ten stalls and a tack room that most cowboys would drool over.
Which Lucky does when we walk inside.
“We have a tack room at the ranch, you know,” I remind him with a laugh.
“Not this fancy,” he replies. “Of course, once it starts getting some use, it’ll get dirtied up.”
“I hope so,” Ryan says. “It’s just been sitting here, and it’s time there was some life in this barn. Come on, I want to show you the horses.”
As we walk out to the pasture and get a better look at the horses, I see what Ryan was talking about. Their manes and tails haven’t been brushed out in a long time, so they’re full of burrs and are tangled.
Three of them are way too skinny. One has a broken hoof.
“This is going to be a lot of work,” I murmur as one of the mares nudges my shoulder. I turn and rub my hand down her neck, and she sighs. “God, they’re just a bunch of lovers.”
“They’re all like that,” Ryan agrees. “They’re docile and sweet, and someone really failed them. None can be ridden as is, but I’ll get them healthy again, and then they’ll be great for riding.”
“You said you had them all tested for disease?” Lucky asks.
“Yeah, and they were all negative. They’ve been treated for worms and given vaccines. The corral they were in was just mud. They were all caked in it, and I washed them all. You could tell they felt so much better after a bath.”
“I bet they did,” Brady murmurs, nuzzling one of the horses. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
“We all will,” Lucky puts in, making Ryan grin.
“Thanks. I’ll need some help.”
My phone rings, and when I glance down, I see that it’s Will Montgomery.
“This is Erin’s dad,” I say as I accept the call. “This is Rem.”
“Hi Rem, it’s Will. I just left a message for Erin but wanted to reach out to you. It turns out that the man who was in prison for stalking Erin has been released. She asked me about it yesterday, but it was Sunday, and we had to wait for someone to be in the office. I saw your security setup when I was there, but how do you feel about beefing it up?”
“Hold on.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Erin had a stalker ?”
That grabs everyone’s attention. They walk closer, listening.
“I’m sorry. I thought she would have told you. Yeah, about five years ago. He’s been in prison, but she had something happen at work yesterday that scared her, so she reached out to me. He’s been released. Now, he can’t legally leave Washington, and in the restraining order, it says that he can’t ever live within a hundred miles of Erin, but people don’t always care about restraining orders.”
My heart has plunged into my stomach. Why didn’t she tell me about this last night?
We’d agreed on no more secrets. No more lies.
“Do you know where he is?”
“Well, he met with his probation officer last month, as usual. So, we don’t think he’s left the state.”
“He’s been out for more than a month, and no one told you?”
“I’m pissed, too, trust me.”
“I’ll beef up security,” I assure him. “We’ll get started right away.”
“Thanks. Until we have eyes on this guy, I think it’s smart.”
“How bad was it? Five years ago?”
Will sighs in my ear. “It was as fucked-up as it gets. Talk to her about it.”
“Oh, trust me, I will.”
I hang up and turn to the other men, who are quiet.
“How much did you hear?”
“Most of it,” Ryan replies.
“I want cameras everywhere on the ranch. We’ll install a gate, as well.”
“What about motion lights?” Brady asks. “Especially at all the access points to the ranch.”
“That’s a good idea. Let’s do that. I’d like it all in place by the end of the day tomorrow. This is the priority.”
They nod in agreement.
“One more thing,” I add. “Bruiser will be riding with Erin everywhere. He’s now her own personal bodyguard.”
“You got it,” Lucky says.