5. Evan
FIVE
EVAN
Admittedly, seeing the woman from the Rasa standing outside Ma’s door was a shock to my system. For more than a few seconds, I’d thought I’d actually lost my mind. Ma’s gravelly voice had ripped me back to reality, and instead of saying hello, I’d panicked.
Just as well. Her reason for being at Redemption couldn’t be a good one.
Everyone here knew that. I just couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
All afternoon something had dogged me, and I couldn’t quite place it.
After my responsibilities were done, I’d checked on Gemma’s chores and had had to finish those too.
I rubbed my aching shoulder. I really needed to talk to her about getting her shit done on her own.
While deep down I knew I was only enabling her by doing the unfinished chores myself, I also couldn’t afford for us to get kicked off the ranch. Not when it was her life on the line.
Being at Redemption was the only way to keep her safe.
Gemma’s chores had taken almost as long as my own because I was so distracted by thoughts of our new guest. I’d spent the better part of the evening walking around like a stalker, just hoping for a glimpse of her shiny black hair or the slope of her toned shoulders.
After tossing and turning for most of the night, I gave up hope that I was going to get any sleep at all.
Four a.m. came quick, and I dressed in my standard tan field pants, white T-shirt, suspenders, and boots.
I didn’t mind the early-morning hours. The quiet had become something I craved.
I brewed a cup of strong black coffee, filled my travel mug, and headed out to the main barn.
It was easier to hammer out the chores and care for the animals before the rest of the crew showed up for work.
A dim light illuminated the inside of the barn, and my heartbeat ticked upward. No one was ever awake at this hour, and a wave of unease roiled in my stomach. Less than a year ago I would have been reaching for a gun, and my hand twitched.
You are no longer that man.
I closed my eyes and breathed through the panic that heated my veins.
I softened my steps as I approached the barn and hugged the outside wall.
It could be anyone—a ranch hand who got an early start or someone who’d left the light on by mistake.
As I listened around the buzzing in my ears, faint grunts and sighs floated on the night air.
Maybe one of the heifers is laboring.
A smile cracked my face wide open when I peered into the barn to see it wasn’t a heifer but our newest ranch guest grunting and muscling her way around the bales of hay. Hair in a tangled mess and slipping out of her loose ponytail, she grabbed the twine wrapped around the bale and hefted it up.
“Argh!” When the bale didn’t move, she kicked it.
“Fuck!” She glanced at her hands and wiped them on her jeans.
Bits and pieces of hay floated around her and stuck into the tops of her sneakers.
She really needed to buy some work boots.
The woman bent down, and I had a full, uninterrupted view of her perfect ass.
A scrap of black lace peeked out over the waist of her jeans, and I had to tear my eyes away.
That skimpy thong was definitely not functional ranch underwear.
Another grunt and swing of her arms and the bales barely moved from one pile to the next.
“Need a hand?”
Her head whipped up, and her gorgeous caramel eyes pinned me in place.
“It’s you.”
“And you.” A smile twitched at my mouth. “Let me help with that.”
She said a tight “No, thank you,” but her eyes most definitely said Fuck you . A surprising and unfamiliar bubble of humor tingled in my chest. As I walked closer, I slipped a pair of leather gloves out of my back pocket and held them up for her. “Here.”
Through the strands of hair stuck to her forehead, she glanced between the gloves and my face. Clearly, she did not want to have any help. “Go on,” I continued. “You’re gonna tear your hands up like that, and then you’ll be useless around here. I don’t want to have to do your chores and mine.”
She scoffed and swiped the gloves from my hands. They were comically large on her, but at least it would keep the delicate skin on her hands from tearing open. I’d also learned that the hard way my first week on the ranch.
“Well, I see your charms are limited to strange women and dark parking lots.” She turned her back to me and continued to ineffectively move hay.
I watched, allowing her to work in silence.
I grabbed a rake to muck out the stalls to keep myself from moving her aside and taking care of the bales myself.
When she’d gone silent, I risked a peek at her and saw her studying a small piece of paper.
She looked around and then raised her arms, letting them fall down and slap the outside of her thighs.
I stifled a groan at the way her muscles jigged slightly and caused the flash of an image of how those thighs might quake if I were between them. I set my rake down and stalked toward her.
“What is it? Show me.” My voice rattled out harsher than I’d intended. I nodded toward the paper.
She looked at me and seemed to be debating whether I was worth the time and energy. “My chore list. I don’t have a clue what half of this shit even is.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I hear that. I felt the same way. Why don’t you let me take a look at it.”
Her eyes flicked up and down my body before she handed me the small slip of paper. “I’m Val. New here.”
Val .
Her name bounced around my head and settled in deep. I studied her short chore list, and she took the opportunity to smooth her hair back, resecuring it tightly. With her dark strands pulled tight and away from her face, familiarity bloomed.
And then it hit me. Chicago.
I cleared my throat and delivered my well-practiced introduction. “My name is Evan Walker.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Damn. I fucked that up.
I still hadn’t gotten used to my new name, and although I’d always been Evan Marino, Walker was who I needed to be. Despite the clunky, overly formal introduction, she didn’t question me .
“I take it you’re not from here.” Her eyes still raked up and down my body. An unexpected urge to spill everything—tell her that we’d met before, kind of—clawed at my throat.
A strangled “No, ma’am” was all I could muster.
While I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her, I needed to get out of that barn.
To talk to Ma about why the hell a police officer, let alone the one I’d taken a bullet for, was standing in front of me at the ranch.
It was too close. Too risky for Gemma for us all to be in the same location.
I needed answers. Now.
I turned on my heels and stomped toward the exit.
“Hey!” she called after me. “Where are you going? I thought you said you’d help!”
“I’m going to find Ma.” I didn’t bother to turn as I moved across the barn. “I need to find out why the fuck you’re in Montana.”
Despite the early hour, Ma was already in the kitchen arranging grab-and-go breakfast for anyone who might wander in looking for food. Humming to herself, she all but ignored my heavy footsteps and glare as I planted my hands on my hips. “What the hell, Ma?”
“Oh, Ace. Good morning.”
“Why is she here?” I demanded.
“Oh, I see you’ve finally realized who our new guest is. Less than a day. I’m impressed. That means Agent Walsh owes me twenty dollars. He bet it would take at least a week, but I knew you’re too sharp.”
“Is this a joke to you?” Anger rose and flared in my chest .
Ma’s eyes whipped to mine, and before she could speak, Val burst into the kitchen. “What is going on around here?”
Ma tipped her head. “My office.”
My jaw ticced but I followed her order. Val stomped behind me. After closing the door to her office, Ma leaned against her desk to face Val and me.
“I’m sure you’re both surprised.”
“I don’t even know what’s going on.” Val gestured toward me. “What’s your problem?”
“Val,” Ma began, “Evan has just discovered that you share a very important connection.”
Val looked between the two of us.
Ma added, “Evan is also from Chicago. He is the man who stepped in front of a bullet for you.”
Val shook her head in disbelief and raised her palms. “No. That’s not possible. Both men died that night.” She steadied herself and seemed to be processing the information Ma had slung at me. “Wait, is Officer Bucholz alive?”
Ma’s voice dipped lower. “Unfortunately, no. You did lose a fellow officer that day. However, as you can see, Evan is very much alive.”
Val rubbed her temples as the weight of the information settled in. “The girl. There was a girl there. Tell me she was real.”
“Gemma.” My voice was rocky over my sister’s name.
A deep sigh whooshed out of her. “I knew it. I knew I wasn’t crazy.”
“Ma, why is she here? Is she testifying? She’s a cop who was there that night. She puts us all in danger.” Anger dripped from my words, and Val winced beside me.
“You know as well as I do that everyone is well protected here, if the need should arise. The reasons for Ms. Rivera working on the ranch are a federal matter. I may like you, Evan, but don’t forget I am a federal agent, and you are working for me.”
Respect bolted my mouth shut, but untethered rage whipped through me. Rather than lash out, I stormed from the cramped office. Burying myself in work, I refused to think about the reasons I’d stepped in front of Val that night or how her showing up in my life knotted my insides.