Chapter Nineteen
Royce
I’m halfway under the bottom bunk when Cabe drops a handful of screws onto the floor beside my head.
“Pretty sure those are important.”
I slide out from underneath the bed frame and glare at him. “I double-checked. I don’t see anywhere that’s not secured.”
I look at Micah, who’s studying the sheet in his hands. “Anything in the instructions?”
He shrugs. “Maybe they’re extras.”
Cabe snorts. “Should have let Jovie’s dad put the damn thing together. It wouldn’t have taken him three hours.”
I shake my head and go back to tightening a bolt.
Ryder’s room is coming together.
The bunk beds sit against one wall, freshly assembled and waiting for mattresses. There’s a wooden dresser beneath the window, a low bookshelf ready to be filled, and a couple of cowboy-themed quilts to be unpackaged.
It looks like a kid’s room. Not some temporary place Ryder is staying. His room.
I like the thought of Marina and her kid calling this place home.
I tighten the bolt another turn.
“Damn,” Micah says.
He’s standing in the doorway, staring down the hall.
“What?”
He jerks his chin toward the hallway. “Marina.”
I glance past him just as she walks by.
She’s wearing a pair of cutoff denim shorts that hug her ass and a fitted tank top, her dark hair pulled up in a messy knot, leaving a few strands falling around her face. Bare feet slap quietly against the floor as she carries an armful of neatly folded towels against her chest.
Micah watches her disappear around the corner. “Holy hell,” he mutters.
Cabe lets out a low whistle. “She is smoking hot.”
My wrench stops moving.
“Stop ogling her, jackasses.”
Cabe grins. “I’m just saying, Bryce might’ve made a tactical error in hiring her.”
I look at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She’s going to be a distraction.”
“You don’t even work at the academy,” I snap.
“I mean, for the teenage bull riders,” he says. “Half those kids are already walking around like they’re God’s gift to women. Put Marina in the arena, teaching, and they’re going to forget which end of the horse goes forward.”
Micah laughs. “And they’re going to hurt themselves, trying to impress her before going back to their bunks and—”
I tighten the bolt so hard that the wrench squeaks. “Knock it off.”
The room goes quiet.
Cabe slowly looks at me as Micah’s eyebrows climb.
I keep my eyes on the bunk bed. “I’m serious.”
Cabe grins. “What the hell’s up your ass?”
“Nothing,” I say, tossing the wrench onto the floor. “She’s here to work. She’s got a kid. She’s got enough going on without you two acting like a couple of horny twelve-year-olds.”
Micah folds his arms. “Interesting.” He looks at Cabe. “I think we might have stumbled onto something.”
“You might have stumbled into being a couple of sleazy assholes who objectify women.”
“Royce”—Cabe leans against the wall, looking entirely too pleased with himself—“do you have a thing for her?”
I laugh.
Micah’s smile turns downright evil. “Oh, this is good.”
I stare at him.
He stares right back.
“I think,” he says slowly, “we may need to worry less about the little wannabe cowboys keeping their hormones tucked in …”
Cabe starts laughing.
Micah finishes, “And more about the full-grown bull riders doing the same.”
I grab the nearest pillow from the floor and chuck it at his head.
He ducks.
Micah is wheezing.
I rub a hand over my face. “Let’s just finish the damn bed.”
“Yes, sir.” Cabe looks back down at the instructions, but his lips are twitching.
And I know I haven’t heard the end of this.
We finish with Ryder’s room, clean up the mess we made, and gather our tools.
Marina stands in the doorway, looking around at the newly organized space, and something about the smile that spreads across her face makes all the frustration and lifting worth it.
“Thank you,” she says. “Seriously. He’s gonna love this.”
“It was our pleasure,” I say.
“Can I make you guys lunch? I don’t have much, but I can throw together sandwiches.”
Cabe suddenly checks his watch. “Oh hell. Micah and I have to get back to the ranch. We have a fence down that needs attention.”
Micah’s eyebrows shoot up. “We do?”
“Yeah. Matty called, remember?” Cabe says, giving him a pointed look.
“Oh yeah,” Micah says. “That’s right. She did.”
I narrow my eyes at them.
Cabe points toward the front door. “We have to go.”
They start walking backward, both of them grinning like idiots.
Marina turns to me. “What about you?”
“He can stay,” Cabe calls.
I stare at him over her shoulder. He wags his brows at me.
Marina glances over her shoulder.
I flip him off, and he laughs as the door closes behind the two of them.
Fuckers.
Marina looks after them, confused. “They don’t need you?”
“Apparently not.”
She turns back toward me.
“I don’t really work on the ranch. Cabe’s the foreman, and Micah is one of the hands. Ax and I just jump in occasionally when we’re home.”
“Oh, okay.” She gestures toward the kitchen. “You can sit. Lunch won’t take long.”
I follow her.
“Sandwiches okay?”
“Sandwiches are great.”
She opens the refrigerator and starts pulling things out—bread, sliced turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes. She moves around the kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets, searching for what she needs, not completely familiar with everything yet.
“Ryder!” she calls toward the living room. “Go wash your hands, baby.”
A little groan floats back from the living room, where he’s playing in front of the fireplace. Then he hops to his feet and goes trotting toward the bathroom.
I grin. “He always listen that well?”
She shoots me a look over her shoulder. “Absolutely not.”
I laugh and take a seat at the island.
She starts assembling the sandwiches.
“So,” I say, “how’d things go in Dallas?”
“Fine. Got everything I wanted.” She slides a slice of cheese onto a sandwich. “And I donated everything else.”
“Everything?”
“Pretty much.” She shrugs. “There was no point in hauling a bunch of stuff I didn’t care anything about all the way to Wyoming.”
Makes sense.
“And Rowdy?”
That earns me a smile.
“He’ll be here soon.”
“Good.”
She opens the cabinet above the sink. Then she rises onto her toes. She’s trying to reach something on the top shelf.
I watch her stretch, fingers brushing the edge of a large colander.
I stand, walk up behind her. “I’ve got it.” I place one hand lightly against her hip.
Her body goes still as I lean into her. I can hear her sharp intake of breath as the warmth of her settles against my chest, and the sound makes my pulse kick.
I reach over her shoulder and grab the colander easily. “Here you go.” I set it on the counter in front of us.
She clears her throat as she slowly turns to face me. “Thank you.” Her voice comes out breathless.
I stay there, pressed into her, for another beat before stepping back.
She doesn’t look at me as she takes the colander and turns toward the sink to start washing a bunch of grapes.
I return to my stool.
The corner of my mouth pulls upward.
Yeah. That affected her too.
A minute later, Ryder comes barreling into the kitchen, hands freshly washed.
He climbs onto the stool beside me.
“Hi, Royce.”
“Hey, little man.”
Marina brings two plates over and sets one in front of him. A sandwich with the crusts neatly trimmed and a pile of grapes beside it.
“There you go.”
Ryder immediately grabs half the sandwich.
Marina looks at me.
“Do you need your crust removed too?”
I glance down at the sandwich on the other plate.
Then back at her.
“Nope.” I shake my head. “I’m a big boy.”
Her mouth curves. “Good to know.”
And the way she looks at me makes me wonder if she’s talking about more than sandwiches.