8
T he screen door swings open the second I lift the coffeepot off the burner. I groan. It’s too damn early for my brothers to come storming in here like cattle after the restless night’s sleep I had.
I pour myself a cup of coffee, roughing a hand through my hair.
I blame Ruby.
I laid awake all night wondering about shit I had no business wondering about.
Like that look of sheer joy on her face when she saw the cottage.
I may as well have handed her a diamond necklace.
Her feeding Hungry Hank like she wasn’t afraid he’d chomp her goddamn hand off.
That girl batting her lashes and strong-arming me into a summer job and me being the damn fool who said yes.
Hell, I had to.
There was no way I was letting her stay at the Yodeler.
“The barn better be on fire or someone better be injured,” I snarl at the approaching clomp of boots. “Fatally.”
“Hell, it’s better than anyone being fatally wounded,” Ford chortles, rounding the corner to steal my cup of coffee. After a long sip, he grimaces. “Christ, you make this like you’re trying to give me a heart attack.”
I snatch the cup back. “Make your own damn coffee, then.”
Ford grins. “But I like insulting yours.”
The door clatters again. I raise my eyes to the ceiling, wondering why I even bother. The main house where I live is the home base for all things Montgomery. Family traditions, poker nights, whiskey, and gossip. Good luck keeping anyone out.
Tearing the coffeepot off the burner, I refill my cup. I need the energy to deal with these idiots.
Ford raises a brow. “What’s got you pissed?”
Before I can tell him to mind his own fucking business, Wyatt’s voice rings out down the hallway. “Looks like we got ourselves a couple of nieces, assholes!”
At the news, I blow out a breath, trying to calm the hell down and focus on something good for once. “Everything okay with Emmy Lou?” I ask as Wyatt and Davis round the corner, shit-eating grins on their faces.
“Everything’s great.” Davis tosses me his phone. “See for yourself.”
“Hell, I’m sending ‘em a pony,” Wyatt announces, staring at his own phone.
I read my little sister’s text.
Meet Daisy and Cora, your new nieces and goddaughters. We’re tired but happy. Call y’all later. Love you boys. EL.
Beneath her text is a photo of snugly swaddled babies, one in pink, the other in yellow. Rosy-cheeked and cherubic. New Montgomerys. Instantly, my heart feels a thousand pounds lighter. Thank fucking Christ, everything’s okay.
I give Davis back his phone. “Pretty damn cute. Identical?”
Ford shakes his head. “Nah. Taking after me and Davis already.”
Davis leans on the live edge counter top. His eyes scan the cold scrambled eggs and leftover pastries from yesterday’s breakfast before settling on me. “Now that we got the sweet shit out of the way, you wanna tell us what Stede had to say?”
Wyatt collapses onto a bar stool. “I’m more interested in Charlie giving away free lodging.” He lifts a suggestive brow. “Taking in strays?”
I scrub a hand down my face. I’m not in the mood for Wyatt’s bullshit. “If you’ll shut the fuck up for one second, I’ll tell you.”
I cross my arms and rehash with my brothers the conversation with Stede about the threat of land developers.
“What do you think they’ll do?” Wyatt asks when I’m finished.
“They’ll be nice when they come to offer to take the ranch off our hands. When we tell them to go fuck themselves, that’s when they’ll start threatening us,” Ford guesses.
“We’ll be ready if they come.” Davis’s face is grim. “New security system’s going up on the north side of the ranch. Eyes on the road.”
“Got a time frame?” I ask, setting my now-drained cup on the counter.
“Next week sometime.”
At the coffee pot, Ford says, “And the girl? What’s Fairy Tale doing here? She didn’t get enough action at Nowhere?”
Sighing, I rub a hand over my jaw. “She thinks she can help us out with our ...issue. Start a social media account. Give us some good PR or whatever.” I look around at my brothers. “I hired her for the summer.”
Wyatt, looking like he took a long whiff of dogshit, rolls his neck around on his shoulders. His haggard groan fills the kitchen and I roll my eyes. The only one more dramatic than our mama is Wyatt. Even Emmy Lou’s got her head on straighter than this kid.
My brothers stare at me with doubtful expressions.
“Look, I don’t want her here anymore than you do, but we gotta try something.”
“If you don’t want her here, then why she’s in a cottage and not a cabin?” Wyatt asks with a sly smirk.
“What?” I snap. “Yeah, I’m gonna put her down by the river. You know those fuckers flood if we get two inches of rain.”
Davis thinks about it. “It’s a good idea, Charlie. We had three more cancellations this morning.”
“Shit.”
Maybe it wasn’t the worst idea hiring Ruby. If we can co-exist for three months, get the ranch back on track to recoup some money and guests, then it won’t be a complete loss.
“As long as she doesn’t get in the way.” Wyatt tears himself off the barstool and paces to the counter.
“If she tries to fancy us up, I’m putting my foot down.
” Still grumbling, he dips down by the built-in desk and bangs underneath the cabinet.
His voice comes muffled, annoyed. “She’ll probably have us singing songs around the goddamn campfire by the end of the week. ”
“No one’s singing,” Ford barks.
“No one wants you to fucking sing.” I pinch my brow. So much for a relaxing morning. “Shut the fuck up, Wy. And what the hell are you doing down there?”
We all freeze when there’s a light tapping on the screen door.
Heads swivel as a barefoot Ruby appears in the kitchen. A laptop’s tucked under her arm.
Fuck me. Another sundress.
“Excuse me.” Her pretty face is a beam of sunshine and hesitation. “I’m sorry to interrupt—”
“No interruption, honey.” Ford lifts his coffee cup. “What can we help you with?”
I shoot Ford a warning look. If he didn’t call every woman in town honey , my fist would be in his face.
“Hi. I’m Ruby,” she chirps, before taking a step into the kitchen. As she tucks a long strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze locks on mine. “Charlie, I’m not getting Wi-Fi down at the cottage. It worked fine a second ago, but now there’s no signal.”
I frown.
You’re welcome , Wyatt mouths to me before heading Ruby’s way. “Hey, Ruby. I’m Wyatt, the handsome one.” He shakes her hand, and I groan inwardly when I see the router cable sticking out of his back pocket.
“Nice to meet you,” she says with a full-wattage grin. “All of you.”
Ford gives her one of his charming grins. “I’m Ford and this is Davis, and what can we get you to drink? Water, beer, coffee? Have a seat.”
“No, no, and yes, please.” She pulls out a stool at the island and sets her laptop in front of her. “With cream, if you have it.”
I cross my arms. “We don’t.”
Ford shoves me out of the way to set a steaming cup of coffee in front of Ruby.
“How’s the ranch treating you?” Davis asks.
“Oh, it’s beautiful. The fresh air’s like knockout gas. I slept so well last night.” Again, her eyes lock on mine. “I watched that video you told me about, Charlie.”
The way she says my name, the way she stares at me like there’s no one else in the room, does something to my stomach. Something I don’t like one goddamn bit.
“And?” I ask.
“And it’s bullshit.”
Davis chuckles at the swear coming off her lips. It seems unnatural coming from her pouty pink mouth. Girl couldn’t be more adorable if she were made of kittens. Christ.
Ruby’s brow wrinkles in consternation. She looks so damn pretty, it’s almost unfair. “That lady ...it was almost like she wanted to cause trouble.”
Ford looks over at me and Davis with a triumphant smile on his smug face. “See? She gets it.”
“Amen,” Wyatt drawls.
Ruby opens her laptop. “I also got started on your Instagram account.”
I raise my brow. “That was fast.”
She flashes a grin, takes a small sip of coffee like she’s savoring it. “No time to waste, right? In fact, I thought we could get started today.”
“We?”
I already don’t like where this is going.
“Well, yes,” she says, her bright smile growing. “I can do the whole setup on my own, but I’d like to see the ranch. So I can get a real sense of how it operates.”
“Like research?” Wyatt’s leaning in, so close he could smell her damn neck. If she turned her face, they’d be inches apart.
I glare at him. We’re a close family, but that doesn’t mean I won’t run my little brother’s head into a fucking wall if he crosses a line.
“Exactly. It won’t be so bad,” Ruby reassures, no doubt seeing us all wilt.
“I already snagged the username, and I’ll spend a few weeks creating the content I need for the channel before I ramp up.
I just have a few questions. Like how many acres is it?
And how many employees? And the obvious—why is it called Runaway Ranch? ”
She chirps on, her voice like a melody as she rattles off questions, oblivious to the silence that’s fallen, but I’m not.
Tension as thick as fog rolls in.
I don’t miss the concerned look Ford trades with Davis. I try to ignore how damn hard my jaw is clenching, how my fists have balled up, and my stomach’s in a goddamn knot.
I grunt and shove back from the counter. I don’t want to talk about Maggie. Diving into the specifics of how the ranch got its name isn’t high on my list of priorities today. Neither is giving Ruby a personal tour of the property.
“I got morning chores to get to,” I say roughly, dropping my coffee cup into the sink. “So, I’m afraid I can’t help you right now.”
“I could go with you,” she offers, looking at me hopefully over the top of her laptop. Her eyes are wide and eager. “I can help with chores.”
Silence.
Ruby bites her lip. “If you’re busy, maybe someone else can give me a tour?” She glances around the kitchen, flashing all of us an encouraging smile.
The sound of her voice—cheery and relentless—has irritation washing over me. She won’t back down, and the thought of someone else showing her around the ranch raises my hackles.
That’s when I realize what my fucking problem is.
There’s something hypnotic about her sitting there with her bold blue eyes and cherry-red lips. In my kitchen, at my counter, drinking a cup of coffee like it’s another normal morning on the ranch. She’s a pleasant person to be around and I haven’t had that in a damn long time.
She’s pretty. Too pretty.
It scares the fuck out of me.
“Can’t.” Davis is already moving to the door. “Ford and I are taking a group up on the ridge for a cattle drive.”
“I can’t either,” Wyatt says, slamming a Diet Coke and grabbing a pastry. His sweet tooth knows no bounds. “I’m training Fallon in the pasture today.”
“Y’all gonna kill each other,” Ford points out.
Wyatt laughs. “I keep hoping she falls off a bull, but I’m not gonna get that lucky.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Ruby. “You get bored with Charlie, come see the show.”
“Get outta here,” I growl.
“See y’all around,” Ford says, flipping a wave, and in return, I flip him off.
I watch as my brothers exit the house, their laughter carrying through the screen door.
Assholes.
Ruby slides off the barstool, the hem of her pink sundress riding up to expose long tan legs and a flash of a curvy ass. Her big blue eyes land on me, expectant. Her pretty face all business. “Should we get to it? Chores?”
Three months, I remind myself. Three goddamn months.