Chapter Five
Olivia looked down at her phone as the plane began to
roll to the private hangar. The flight was short. Almost an hour, but it seemed
to go quickly. Too quickly since now she had to make a few things clear, and
she didn’t want to upset the nice place she was in with Garrett. But she was
going to.
It was fifteen minutes from the private airport to the
ranch, and then she could chuck those two men in the bunkhouse and hide in her
own place until she needed to work with Garrett. Keane would be out in the
field or in the barn or the foreman’s office. Which was across from hers.
Maybe they shouldn’t go into the office. Maybe she should
view this as remote work. She could fake a cough or bubonic plague. Anything
that would put doors between her and those two men.
Because she was already wondering why they shouldn’t spend a
couple of weeks together. Maybe while her parents were in Dallas. No one had to
know. They could get all the tension out of their systems. When her parents got
back they would be perfectly professional.
No. She was not giving in to her stupid yearning. All it
would get her was another heartbreak and everyone worrying that Olivia would
never find someone. Her sister and mom would go into overdrive and…
Shit. She remembered something her mother said and pulled
out her phone. She found the long-running text chain between herself and Lexi
and quickly typed.
Mom
said you wanted to set me up with a couple of guys who work for you. Was it
Garrett and Keane?
Garrett stood up, grabbing his bag, and Olivia turned her
phone so he couldn’t catch a glimpse of what she was texting.
The last thing she needed was that man getting some hope. If
he had hope, she was in serious trouble because he was so damn charming when he
wanted to be. And he was an asshole when he thought she wasn’t around.
Damn it. She kind of understood why he was irritable. She
was, too. She wondered if things would have turned out different if she had
stayed in bed and they found out their predicament at the hotel. They could
have discussed it without all the tension.
And if she had tension, they would fuck it right out of her.
She couldn’t get it out of her head. Them. How she felt when
she was between them. How good it was to have two sets of hands on her body.
Two mouths to kiss and four arms to hold her.
Her phone pinged and she looked down at the screen.
Yes.
Oh, Liv, they’re perfect for you. Smart and hard working but not pretentious.
Well, Garrett can be sometimes, but they teach that at law school. And Keane is
the sweetest guy. Honestly, they remind me a lot of Aidan and Lucas.
Did
you mention me to them?
I
wouldn’t do that. I was going to talk to you about them at brunch, but I lost
track of time. It’s so quiet in the hotel room. No chaos. It was beautiful. I
think I want to stay here forever.
Her sister lived on a bustling ranch. Three of her four kids
still lived there as adults, working the ranch, and they could be a lot to
handle. She didn’t get much sleep. Or rest. Or quiet.
You
could have said something to me so I would have known who to avoid.
There was a pause and then bubbles.
Avoid?
There was a rumor that you might have had some fun on the night of the wedding.
Was it them?
There was a flurry of emojis, and Olivia realized she’d made
a terrible mistake.
I
love you. Stay out of my love life.
Even as the bubbles showed Lexi was writing her back, she
slid her phone into her Prada bag and stood as they came to a stop.
Keane let out a deep breath of relief. He ceased gripping
the arm of the seat and seemed to calm.
She would give it to the man. He didn’t complain once. He
apologized for his midair problems and just seemed to survive the flight.
It made her want to take care of him. She’d quietly told the
flight attendant to make sure he had some ginger ale and crackers. Keane had
been extremely sweet in his gratitude.
“I’ll make sure you have a car when you need to get back to
Deer Run,” she promised and then looked the two of them over. “I want to talk
before we get off the plane.”
Garrett gave her a smile. “Of course. Although it might be
more fun to get some lunch somewhere and talk over margaritas. Lucas told me
there’s a great Mexican place in town.”
“I don’t think it’s a fun talk,” Keane said, his eyes grim.
It was almost enough to make her say yes, let’s go to
the Mexican place on the square and with enough tequila she could forget
all her good intentions and fall into bed with them. They could start the
hands-off stuff tomorrow because surely all she needed was one more night with
them. Then she would be satisfied and ready to move into her life where she
worked and was everyone’s fun aunt.
She forced herself to do what she intended. Distance. That
was all she needed. Some carefully placed distance.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to share my house.
It was the original plan because I do have room for you, but I think it would
be awkward,” she explained. “I know I mentioned it earlier, but I want to make
sure we’re all clear on that.”
Keane nodded. “We can handle the bunkhouse, or Garrett might
get a place in town. I assume you have an office off the ranch.”
“I’m staying with you,” Garrett said quietly, and he was not
talking to her.
“It’s okay,” Keane assured him. “It might be easier for you
to stay in town and work. It might be easier for me.”
Garrett’s eyes went sad. “Is that what you want?”
They seemed to have some conversation without words. They
communicated through looks and raised brows, the language of a friendship that
went back decades. Finally, Garrett turned to her and gave her a tight smile.
“I’ll get a room in town.” Garrett fumbled with his phone.
“I don’t suppose you have ride shares out here.”
“We have one, but I believe she’s at church right now.
Pretty much everyone is.” She did not like the guilt she was suddenly feeling.
They looked like puppies she kicked. Gorgeous, muscular, manly puppies who knew
how to top a girl.
She needed to stop. It was getting weird.
“Well, I’ll see if there’s somewhere I can wait.” Garrett
stood and looked stoic. Like he was facing a fate worse than death, but he was
determined to do it with dignity and be kind to his executioner.
She bit back a groan. “I’ll give you a ride, Garrett. I have
an SUV here. You don’t have to sit and wait for someone to help you.”
He ignored her sarcasm and merely gave her a nod. “I
appreciate that. I would also like access to the office and the records I’m
supposed to go over. Can I walk from the motel?”
“It’s only a couple of blocks, but I could pick you up. I’m
not trying to be a monster here.”
Garrett held out a hand as though waving off her words. “Of
course not. I’m sure if I were in your position, I wouldn’t want to hang out with
my regretted one-night stand. It’s okay. I’m a big boy. I can make it to work
but I would like a way to get in. Unless you don’t want me there if you’re
not.”
He was taking everything the wrong way. She didn’t regret
her night with them. She regretted that it couldn’t stay this perfect,
beautiful moment because they had to bring reality into it.
Was all she wanted moments?
“Of course not. I’ll give you the code and show you around.
I can wait while you check in. Keane isn’t working until tomorrow.” She gave
him what she hoped was a bright smile. “You’ll like the crew. They’re nice.
Josh has trained them well.”
“I’m sure they are, Miss Barnes-Fleetwood.” Keane stood and
grabbed his duffel, placing it over his shoulder.
Her fathers talked about how they would be given trash bags
when they had to move foster placements. Not suitcases. Trash bags. Did Keane
remember that time? Was he grateful he didn’t have to put what little he had in
black bags someone might mistake as trash and throw out?
“You can call me Olivia,” she replied. She didn’t think
their acceptance would make her ache the way it was.
“I think we should keep this professional, like you said,”
Keane replied.
“No one calls me by my last name.” Not going the way she
wanted. Of course she wasn’t actually sure what she wanted beyond to not be in
the position. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m coming off cold when what I’m really doing
is processing. I do it slowly and not always well. I don’t want to avoid you.”
They both gave her the same pointed look.
“Fine. It’s weird because we had wild sex last night and I
never thought I would see you again. Which was why I allowed myself to have
wild sex in the first place.” She probably shouldn’t have said that. They were
making her flustered, and that was a good enough reason to keep them at arm’s
length. Wasn’t it? Or should she be a bit flustered? She pushed aside the
thoughts. “Sorry. That was too much information. I hope we can have a good
working relationship. That’s what I’m trying to establish. Boundaries. I’m going
to go and get the car. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She needed air. Olivia was well aware she was fleeing the
scene of her… She didn’t even know what to call it. They weren’t trying to
humiliate her.
She took the steps faster than she should and she started
for the ground. Damn it. She was the one humiliating herself. Right before she
went into a death dive, a strong arm caught her.
“Hey, you’re lucky I’m here, baby,” a familiar voice said.
Her heart threatened to stop as she looked up. The face was
familiar, too. Scott Whittiker. Her almost fiancé. The asshole who treated her
like gold until the moment she was no longer useful to him, and then he was out
of here.
She pulled away, forcing herself to stand tall. Like she
hadn’t almost faceplanted in front of a bunch of people. The day was getting
more surreal by the moment. “What are you doing here?”
He gave her his brightest smile. The one that said hey,
I’m handsome and smart and have all the right connections so you’ll forgive me
for anything. “Well, it’s kind of fate, and I’ve stopped fighting it. I’m
the new rep for Organic Foods.”
She was meeting with the new rep on Monday with plans for