Chapter One
Warren
PRESENT DAY
“Kick me one more time, you little shit…”
Shaking my head, I stifle a laugh and walk toward my brother Bodie, who looks ready for a fight. His brows are drawn and sweat lines his forehead as he tries to lift her hind leg. Each time he attempts to pull her hoof between his thighs, she whinnies and jerks out of his grip.
“I dunno if I’m rootin’ for you or Lilith.” I stand next to the quarter horse who’s giving him hell and pat her back.
Bodie glances at me, his lips in a hard line. “No wonder she’s named after an evil demon. She nailed me in the balls twice already.”
This time I do laugh. “Yikes. Hope you didn’t wanna have kids.”
He’s been learning how to become a farrier so he can do our horses when our current one retires.
He’s only been practicing for six months, so he needs a bit more experience before he’ll be ready to take over the job.
Considering he’s eight years younger than me and only twenty-one, he’s got time to figure it out.
“At this rate, I’m gonna be down a testicle.”
I snort, taking pity on him. “Want some help?”
“Gee, ya think?”
“Damn, settle down. No wonder you’re makin’ Lilith anxious as hell. She can sense your nerves.”
Sliding my palm down her rear and leg, I motion for him to move.
“Nice and easy,” I say calmly. Once I’m in position, I pull her hoof into the farrier stand and when she doesn’t move, I pat her again. “That’s my good girl.”
“Well, shit. Didn’t know I was supposed to talk dirty to get her cooperation.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and huffs at how easy I made it look.
I lift a shoulder, crossing my arms. “It’s what every woman wants to hear.”
“Pfft. How would you know?”
Rolling my eyes, I don’t bother engaging. It’s not the first time he’s given me shit for staying single for seven years and it won’t be the last. I may not be with Maisie anymore, but she’s still my damn wife. I’m nothing if not loyal and faithful to the vows we said to each other eight years ago.
Even if she’s not.
“Get outta the kick zone and stop being squirmy, then she’ll do exactly what you want,” I tell him, handing him the rasp.
“Another woman tip?” he mocks.
“Yeah, consider it a freebie,” I deadpan, leaving the grooming stall and heading toward my office at the back of the barn.
It’s been a long week, and I’m ready to wrap it up.
One more day and then I can take it easy for the weekend.
Not that there isn’t work to be done, but we save the hard shit for the weekdays when we have more workers.
As the Ranch Operations Manager, my tasks include a lot more than ranch hand duties.
It comes with a bullshit amount of paperwork and emails.
Bodie’s the only other sibling who works exclusively on the ranch side with me. Posey manages the goat farm and the family soap company, Langston Soapworks. Colton and Bellamy work on the resort side, dealing with operations and guest services.
My parents couldn’t pay me enough to deal with people every day.
It’s bad enough I have to manage the employees and their half-assed excuses on why they’re late or how they forgot to request off—usually the day before they need it, too.
Most of them text me instead so they don’t have to see the disappointment on my face or get told no in person.
I wasn’t always this way, but certain life experiences made me bitter and less tolerable.
Like after my wife and I did long-distance while she went to college, all for her to leave again four months later for an apprenticeship in New York.
I supported her the best I could, hoped she’d gain the experience she was after, then return and find a job here. Or hell, work remotely or start her own business.
But then?—
I shake my head to get rid of the dark thoughts threatening to consume my mind. There’s no use going down that path again when I know where it always leads me—drinking until I pass out and sending her drunken voicemails she’ll never listen to.
The only response I’ll get is another certified letter with divorce papers inside.
Over my dead fucking body am I signing those.
She can face me instead of being a coward if she wants one that badly. Until then, I’ll continue writing return to sender and let her eat the cost of her lawyer’s fees.
“Hey, boss!” Nicky pops in through the doorway while I sit behind my desk and read through emails.
Hesitantly, I glance up and grimace at his too-wide grin that’s probably meant to butter me up before he tells me something I don’t want to hear.
“Whaddya want this time?” I grumble, shifting my gaze back to my screen.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds…” His eager tone tells me otherwise and he continues without waiting for me to respond. “I need a couple weeks off.”
“When?”
“Um, see…that’s the thing.” He sits in the chair across from me.
“Nicky,” I bark. “Get on with it.”
“Starting Monday.”
That’s four days from now.
“You know the rules. Thirty-day notice for anything over five days.”
“I do! And normally, I’d give proper notice, but to be fair, I didn’t know Darla thirty days ago.”
That grabs my attention. “Excuse me? Who’s Darla?”
“My fiancée! We’re getting married this weekend, and I promised her a honeymoon in Mexico. Hence…the short notice.”
My lip curls. “ Hence …being denied. I’ll give you one week. That’s it.”
“But—”
“I don’t have coverage for two weeks.” He should be thankful I’m even giving him that on a four-day notice.
“What if I?—”
“Nicky.” I blink away from the screen and shift my eyes to his panicked ones. “Why the hell are you marryin’ a woman you met less than a month ago?”
“She’s my dream girl.” His gaze with heart-shaped pupils stares back at me.
It makes me sick.
“It’s never gonna work out. You know that, right?”
“Yes, it will. Not everyone’s as cynical as you. When you find the one , you don’t let her get away.”
Poor sucker is living in a delulu world.
“You think a ring and a piece of paper is gonna keep her from runnin’ off with the next guy?”
Or moving to another state.
“She won’t if you let me take her to Mexico for two weeks!” He scoffs as if I’m to blame.
I roll my eyes at his dramatics. “Since I doubt you’ll leave the bedroom, tell her one week in Mexico and one week here at the resort won’t make a difference.”
“Are you serious?” His face lights up and he nearly leaps out of his seat. “You’ll let us stay there?”
“Assumin’ I can find somethin’ available, yes. But it’s comin’ out of your vacation pay and your ass will be here workin’ while she stays there. No excuses.”
It’s the middle of May, the start of our busy season, but I’m sure Colton can put them in one of the cabins or domes undergoing a remodel. As long as the bedroom and bathroom are available, they won’t need much else.
“Deal!” He jumps to his feet.
I shake my head at becoming a softie.
Twenty bucks says he sneaks off for a quickie at least once a day .
“And you’re gonna love her. She was a belly dancer at a hotel in Vegas and can spin around me in two seconds flat. She’s also very flexible…if you know what I mean.”
I wait to see if he’s fucking with me or not.
“So anytime the resort needs extra entertainment…”
“I’ll let Colt know,” I blurt, letting it become his problem since he’s the resort operations manager.
“Thanks, Warren. I owe ya!”
“Mhm,” I murmur.
Once he vacates my office, I finish my work and then check in with Bodie.
“Almost done?” I ask, noticing he’s cleaning out the grooming stall.
We muck the stalls every morning, so it’s rare he has to do it again in the evenings.
“Blythe took a shit right as I was cleaning her back hooves and got it all down my back and in my hair.”
It’s then I realize he’s shirtless.
“Well… shit .” I cough through a laugh, unable to hold back. “I mean, that sucks.”
“Yeah…it fuckin’ does. I had a date tonight, but instead, I’ll be showerin’ horseshit outta my pores for three hours.”
“I’m sure it ain’t that bad.”
“Come closer and smell for yourself,” he bites out. “Nicky nearly threw up when he came to help me and said I should soak in vinegar. Pretty sure that’ll have my date runnin’ for the hills.”
“Coulda been worse.” I shrug, walking toward the exit. “Coulda gotten it in your mouth!”
“That’s very reassurin’!” he calls out.
I walk backward as I shout, “Try baby shampoo! ”
“Seriously?”
“Yep! There should be some travel bottles in the stock room.”
We store everything needed for the resort at The Branch Haven where the guests check in. The staff grab what they need and restock after check-out.
“Thanks!”
I wave, heading toward my truck.
It’s only a ten-minute drive to my house. Mostly because I have to drive slowly through the ranch and up into the mountains where I built my A-frame cabin, but the view from my deck is well worth it. Even better is the peace and quiet.
When I park and get out, I head toward my chickens. They cluck and swarm me as soon as I walk through the gate.
“I’m comin’, hold your feathers.”
I only have half a dozen of them and one rooster, but it’s more than enough for fresh eggs every day. My siblings usually sneak over and steal my extra ones like the freeloaders they are.
If they’re not taking my eggs, they’re helping themselves to my fridge and robbing my food they’re too lazy to go buy on their own.
I need to get better at locking my patio door on the lower level. They know if they can’t get through the front, the other one is probably unlocked.
“Who’s got some eggs for me?” I check their nests and find six fresh eggs.
In the mornings, I let them out so they can wander in the fenced-in area, then at night, I sprinkle out more food and refill their water before tucking them into bed.
Which is a fancy way of saying I lock them in their coop so they can sleep on their roosts or nesting areas .
There are too many curious animals that come around at night, so I keep them safe inside.
“One, two, three…” I count as they go in and realize I’m missing one. “Kelly Cluckson, time for bed. Where’re you?”
The moment I call out her name, I regret caving when Bellamy begged me to let her name a couple of them. She and Bodie are twins and the babies of the family, so they’ve grown up always getting their ways.
She finally struts in, and I close the door. “G’night, girls and Chucky.”
Charles got his nickname after he chased Bodie around the yard, then nearly pecked off his face when he tripped and face-planted on the ground.
He hasn’t tried to steal my eggs since then.
I strip out of my work clothes and get in the shower to wash off the barn smell.
The hot water feels good on my achy muscles, and although it wasn’t a labor-intensive workday, they still get stiff.
Constantly lifting, moving, or even sitting behind my desk with a tense posture makes me feel like I’m sixty instead of twenty-nine.
My after-work routine is simple. Put on comfy clothes, listen to music or an audiobook as I make dinner, and eat on the couch while catching up on the news. Most nights, I’m passed out before nine.
When there’s a knock at my door, I sit up and stare at it. I’m not in the mood to deal with any of my family members tonight, but considering the wall is covered in floor-to-ceiling windows and they can see inside, there’s no use pretending I’m not here.
Except when I open it, it’s the last person I expect.
My wife.