River Road (River's End Series, #4) (8 page)

“Where was his wife?”

“Jack’s first wife died when the boys were three and ten. She had a heart condition. She died almost unexpectedly.”

“Oh. That’s very sad. What happened to their parents?” She held in the sigh. It didn’t change the fact that Jack was a controlling, misogynistic pig, or that he could still be a serial killer, which would justify why her mother hid his existence and ignored her son. Kate still clung to that reasoning, because if that weren’t the case, she’d have to start dealing with what that made her mother.

It meant that her mother had abandoned her own child.

Kate wasn’t sure how to accept that knowledge in contrast to the image and the experience of the mother
she
knew and loved and dearly adored.

“Their parents died together in a car wreck when the boys were young, and Jack was merely twenty. He pretty much raised his two younger brothers, but especially, the youngest one, Joey, who was only five. Jack was more of a father figure to him.”

Kate’s face scrunched up in displeasure. Oh, great! He was a sad, tragic hero with dead parents, no wife, and raising three young kids all alone? Crap. Still didn’t mean his personality wasn’t terrible. He could beat up Erin or the kids. He could be mean and stingy and awful to them… Perhaps her mother was right.

“Where are you from?”

Erin leaned over the railing, rubbing her hands together, and lifting her face as she stared off towards the river, taking in a deep breath. “Seattle.”

“How’d you end up here?”

Her smile was small and quick. “By accident, really. I came after my brother, who was working here. I stayed after he left.”

“And snagged Jack.”

She laughed. “Nobody snags Jack. But yes, we eventually fell in love.”

“Idyllic story.”

She snorted. “Oh, good God, no, it wasn’t. I slept with his brother, and my brother stole a bunch of money from them, and disappeared with my car, stranding me here.”

“You?” Kate burst out laughing. Now they were talking, and she felt a sudden kinship with Erin she wasn’t sure she
could
feel. “Which one? The big one? Shane?”

“No. The young one. Joey. The one Jack thinks of as his son.”

Kate shook her head. “How do you get past something like that?”

“Lots of patience, and lots of avoidance of the subject. It helped when Joey returned to the Army about then, and he hasn’t been back for more than a few visits.”

“What will you do if he comes back to stay? What will Jack do?”

Erin shrugged, easily. “Welcome him.”

“You’re telling me Jack doesn’t care? He isn’t crazy with jealousy? I’m not sure I could handle that. My sibling and spouse?”

“I’m telling you Jack knows what I feel and for whom.”

Kate flushed. “Sorry, I’m prying. But this place is kind of fascinating.”

Erin’s smile was indulgent. “I must say you are by far the most curious guest we’ve ever had. Shane mentioned running into you and the boys both said you ended up down at our beach. All these questions about us…”

Her words trailed off. Kate kept her stance casual and easy. “I’m on vacation all alone and come from the city. I love the city. I have no idea what to do with myself here. I’m desperate for human interaction. Call it being bored and you all are the only distractions.”

Erin laughed out loud, hitching her foot up on the bottom rung of the fencing. “Why are you vacationing all alone here then, if you don’t like it?”

“Oh, I like it. Surprisingly, I do. But it’s so foreign sometimes, it feels odd. Like I’m a duck waddling around a football field. I’m harmless, just a curious kind of person. Especially about that which is so strange to me. You know what I mean?”

Erin nodded. “Yes, I felt like that about this place from the start. Being from Seattle too, it was nothing I had any knowledge of.”

“Yet you stayed?”

“I fell in love with this place, the lifestyle, and the family as much as I did Jack.”

Maybe she just wanted to live there and Jack was a good man to be with in order to make that happen. Kate still wasn’t convinced. Erin straightened off the rail. “Oh, there’s Shane. He could take you up on the four-wheelers.”

Kate sighed. She wanted AJ, but accepted the big, long-haired Shane. He was an amusing companion. She could hear more gossip. She soon learned all about his wife Allison, and baby, Rosie. In fact, that was all the man talked about each time they stopped zooming up and down the old logging roads and canyons. By the time they got back, she had dust pouring from every pore, hair follicle, and crevice in her body. She had loved it, however, and the faster, the better. Kate managed to master the machines far quicker than riding the horses, and soon they were racing hell-bent down the dusty, abandoned roads, and up into the hills until they roared down into the ranch, at full throttle in a race for their lives. Shane won by just a tire length and had Kate ranting and raving as she got off and threw her helmet down. Shane laughed and grinned at their bickering before it drew the other ranch hand—Caleb, Kate believed his name was—and later, even Jack, who frowned at her. He probably didn’t like all the fun happening.

AJ was stacking farm implements in one of the barns nearby and his neck twisted as far as it could when he caught her shriek of laughter after shutting the vehicle down. Passing by him, she blew a kiss and continued on towards her cabin. He worked all day on the lawn in front of the cabins. She made it her business to spend the afternoon by wearing her skimpiest bikini. It had triangles on top that let her breasts peek out on both sides and a small bottom. It was simple, classic black, but she added some heeled sandals that only made her legs seem that much longer. She lounged on her deck for several hours, sunbathing and spraying baby oil on her skin until she was all slick and shiny. Closing her eyes, she sighed as the sun warmed her skin and the heat seemed to sizzle off her. Finally, this was her idea of a vacation. Later, she sauntered up towards the ranch, strutting a bit, perhaps, and garnered a few whistles from ranch hands who smiled back with a wave. She also got a few stares from the male spouses of guests. She made it her business to make sure AJ, busily loading the grass squares onto a tractor bucket, noticed her by fluttering her fingers at him. She was forced to talk to Jack when he stepped out of the barn as she passed it after a substantial chat with a dirty ranch hand named Jordan, whom, she learned, was Caleb’s brother. Pedro, another ranch hand, came by with nary a glance her way. She studied him with undisguised interest. He was super quiet, she observed, but different than AJ. He didn’t seem to notice she was around. Language barrier? Maybe. But she heard a few words of English. Still, usually men looked at her even if she wasn’t their type.

She had all eyes on her. She was almost sure that AJ had noticed her, but she couldn’t figure him out. He didn’t glance at her. Or let his eyes linger on her or even seem to pursue her. Didn’t he feel the same connection that she did?

Finally, Kate gave up and went to bed, spending the next few days repeating all the learning and talking and traipsing around the ranch. No one stopped her, but she got lots of odd looks. She assumed no other guests made themselves quite as at home there as she did. They weren’t policing her, but they did give her a few concerned looks. She worked daily on her tan, making sure she was always in AJ’s proximity when she did so. But the oppressive heat often drove her inside, where she tackled her work. The place really did need a pool. The river was raging and dirty with snow melt, the big sticks and even trees drifting past the shore. It was useless now for cooling off in, especially where the guest’s beach was located. It wasn’t half as nice as the one she found her nephews on.

If this place belonged to one of her clients, she’d give their marketing efforts a complete make-over. The Rydells could be making a killing there. She grudgingly had to give them that. It was a unique spot that provided a totally unique experience for tourists. For city people like herself, they weren’t just on vacation. With a pool, they could capitalize on a relaxation spot and more, the unparalleled experience of actually witnessing how the ranch ran right there. The horses literally grazed all around them in the vast tract of sweeping farm land that encircled them. The horses were the key, and she’d definitely maximize their novelty in all marketing suggestions.

Not that the Rydells were sophisticated enough to hire her. Still, her ideas were bursting in her mind to share.

Finally, however, AJ was digging holes in the cleared area and planting trees. He said hello to her, but kept his face down and his mind on his work, no matter how much she tried to distract him. Frustrated and growing bored, she considered leaving. Then she pondered the idea of revealing herself to Jack. Then… well, she didn’t know what she really wanted to do.

Other than AJ. She really wanted him. Maybe it was time to make that happen.

THERE, AT A TABLE, sat AJ Reed. Kate’s blood started to warm and simmer. He could have it nearly boiling in minutes. Had she ever been so physically attracted to a man before? No. Not even when she was younger. Not even in college. There was never a man so physically hot to her. Maybe it was all the difference she saw in him. He had a neck as thick as her thigh. His shoulders made him appear square and bulky as he sat in the chair. He made the normal, average-sized chair look like a toddler seat. Sitting alone at a small table in the corner, he was quiet and unobtrusive. His hat was still on as he stared down into the glass of clear liquid before him. His hand came forward and his fingers encircled it, lifting the glass and making it look like a thimble to his lips. He took a small sip before he set it back down and did it all with an ease and almost mannerly way that didn’t totally match his bulky, red-necked country persona. He wore the same ripped, snarled-up jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt with a picture of man lassoing a horse on it.

Bored out of her ever-loving mind, Kate strolled towards AJ, glad for the distraction, but was disappointed when he didn’t even glance up or notice her seductive saunter. However, a few other patrons, similarly dressed as AJ but without the appealing looks, eyed her walking up. She intended for them to see her too and smiled her greetings at their appreciation of her effort. She was wearing a cute-as-hell jean skirt she found at the same place where she got the pink boots. Together, they made her forever long legs look awesome as hell too. The tank top showed off her boobs, which were rounded and plump, surgically enhanced, and one of the first investments she made after securing her condo, car, and investment property. They were a personal reward after she took care of all the boring stuff. And her breasts
were
exquisite, even if she did say so. From a small A cup, she now had two large, plump Ds. She filled out the top, and her bright red bra lace peeked over the edge of her ribbed tank top. She didn’t want exotic boobs, just a good-sized handful. Sexy. And their perkiness helped a lot too.

Still, AJ missed it all. She sighed. He was a tough nut to crack. Harder than she first anticipated.

“Hey there, cowboy. This seat taken?”

He glanced up, almost jerking to attention, as if he’d been lost in contemplative thought. What did a ranch hand contemplate? What kind of deep thoughts crossed his mind? She couldn’t fathom what they might be. When to feed the livestock? Where to store the poop? When to cut the hay or whatever green crop grew in the fields, which they constantly watered? She gathered it was important stuff, like her office equipment, laptop, printer, and iPad were for her.

He swallowed and stared at her, a surprisingly quiet man. She ignored the fact that he didn’t answer, and scooted right in.

“Is this like a honky-tonk bar? Never been in one. There’s one in Seattle called The Achy Heart, but I never hit it. My friends went though, did the step-dancing stuff, what do you call it?”

“Line dancing?”

“Yup, that two-step stuff. I can’t do it. Can you?”

He shook his head. “No one dances here. It’s just a tavern. Mostly just working hands. Don’t get too many of the tourists in here.”

She glanced around and nodded. “I’m seeing that.” She let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “I see too, I wasted my cute-as-hell outfit. Showering was dressing up to be here, huh?”

His gaze barely glimpsed her before resting back on the glass. The position of his hat only allowed her to see the tip of his nose and lips and chin. He was good at hiding, she’d give him that.

The waitress came by and grumbled, “What do you want?”

“Whatever he’s having,” Kate said, pointing at AJ and trying to get him to raise his head and engage her.

He did. Then he frowned and shrugged when the waitress’s eyes landed on him, waiting. “Water. No ice.”

He didn’t even crack a grin. The waitress sighed. “Great. Two waters, no ice; coming right up.”

Kate bit her lip, she was not expecting that. She asked, “Are you a recovering alcoholic?”

He finally met her gaze with little surprise. “No. I just don’t drink much.”

Huh. He was such an enigma to her and what she expected. She motioned to his nonlethal drink. “Wasn’t expecting to drink water. I need something stronger; be right back.”

She jumped up and scooted after the waitress to order a drink with some alcohol. The waitress nodded, her expression much happier; no doubt at the possibility of earning a tip at some point. Kate leaned on the bar and the man next to her smiled, his gaze centering on the substantial cleavage that spilled out of her tight shirt. She smiled back. “Dream on. You’re older than my dad.” Though her dad was dead too, the man got the point. Nevertheless, he smiled with appreciation at her, despite being caught, and she returned the smile. She got her drink and headed back to AJ, feeling frustrated when his gaze didn’t follow her or linger on her walking. Nothing. It was like AJ was immune to all of her enticements.

Sure, it happened, but not when she felt that kind of chemistry with another person. Their eye contact left her skin feeling flushed and heated. That could not be imagined just on her end. She wasn’t cocky enough to assume all men fell at her feet in adoration. No. Duh! She knew when she was attractive to men, as well as when she wasn’t a man’s type. The ones who liked sweet, girl-next-door types weren’t usually interested in her.

She sipped the drink as she sat back down before lifting her leg and slamming her heel on the table. “What do you think of my new shit-kickers?”

His head jerked up when her foot thumped the table. Exactly as she intended. She wasn’t being ignored. She would figure this man out. Most men weren’t too hard. Sex and sex. Especially if they were attracted to her. Unless he was gay. Maybe he had a little
Brokeback Mountain
fling going on. Hey, that’s cool, but disappointing because she wanted this man so badly. Never before had the physical appearance of a man turned her on so much, and without even touching her. She usually demanded a bit of damn finesse and attention in the form of dates and compliments, petting and some kind of adoration. Never had she felt so turned on by a man who rarely met her gaze or said her name or even acknowledged her presence. Yet it wasn’t silent and rude, like some men could be. No. Apparently, AJ was just that quiet. And shy almost. That still stunned her.

“AJ? The boots?” she pressed.

“They’re pink.”

“Pink and fantastic.”

“Better than those spiked things, I suppose,” he finally relented, and added, “You’d have twisted an ankle at some point if you kept wearing those.”

She slammed her glass down and removed her foot, leaning forward. “That’s some good stuff. Sure you don’t want any?”

“I’m sure.”

She waved to the waitress for another round and turned back to her shy, quiet cowboy. “So AJ, what are you doing in here, looking all contemplative?”

He sipped his water. “Trying to relax.”

Good lord, she could not get anything out of him. Usually people, men especially, warmed up to her, but not this one. Country music crooned in the background, one song after another. This one was moaning on about lovin’, fishin’, and huntin’. She laughed. “This music. Just fits the damn scenery here. It’s all I’ve ever heard since I got here. One sad song about losing a wife or husband or dog after another.”

“Yup, it’s pretty popular ‘round here.”

She finished her drink and her blood started to heat up. Meanwhile, AJ shoved his water away. Water! Sitting in a tavern to sip water. How funny. He rose up to his full height and adjusted his hat. “Well, enjoy your evenin’, Kate.”

Her lungs deflated as she blew out a sigh. What a letdown. After days in this county, rural hell, she still had nothing to show for it. She was missing her mother and feeling so out of sorts, she couldn’t even get this man to crack a smile or show a spark of interest in her. He passed around her and started towards the door; her back was toward him. The waitress served Kate her last shot just then, and Kate swiftly downed it. Then she slammed the empty glass on the table and fished around in her small purse for some cash, which she tossed down as she slid her chair back. With a renewed sense of purpose, she rose and started across the small room, her boots clicking on the plank floor. God damn, she would not be so ignored.

It was very dark in River’s End. There was one central streetlight in front of the church. The rest of the lights that broke the darkness were only citizens’ porch lights, and a few more distant farm and ranch lights. Her eyes adjusted to the gloom. The river splashed down the embankment where the tavern was perched.

“Hey, cowboy? Give a girl a ride?”

AJ glanced at her from where he was just sliding into the truck he drove there. She thought it belonged to the ranch. It was green and old, with a boxy back end and big, wide tires that lifted it higher off the ground than normal trucks. There were no running boards.

He stared at her through the windshield before giving her a slow nod. His reluctance was real. She’d driven her own car, but left it as she jumped inside the truck, glad for her long legs. Her skirt rode up when she slid onto the vinyl bench seat. Two tears in the seat made it uncomfortable and the synthetic fabric stuck to the backs of her thighs. She scooched up and down to get comfortable, yet each time, it felt like her skin was being pulled off. “God damn. You should have warned me not to wear a skirt on this seat. It’s like a cheap laser-hair removal.”

His gaze flickered to her legs then. Even AJ wasn’t totally immune to her body parts and the way she wiggled all around. Her skirt was short and high. His view rose to her chest and higher. “What about your car?”

“You can bring me back tomorrow,” she said, smiling with confidence. “I downed another shot. Probably shouldn’t drive, not even that short distance.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Shifting the truck into gear, within minutes, they were back on the bumpy driveway of the ranch. The main house porch lights and yard lights were on, but no one was around. AJ drove past it all and down towards the work buildings until he finally stopped under a carport. The silence seemed louder than the rumbling of the old truck. He slipped the keys out and turned towards his door without even a slight glance her way. She sighed. Okay, this was going to take bold, decisive, obvious moves. But she could handle that.

He pocketed the keys and stood near the truck’s rear end that stuck out of the carport.

“So where do you live?” Kate inquired.

He nodded and pointed toward the left. She glanced over and saw a long trailer not too far inside the yard. It seemed private enough that he had plenty of his own space. There was a deck leading up to it. Not ideal, but not terrible, either; it could do for tonight.

“Oh.”

He had the nerve to step around her. She gnashed her teeth. He was either completely obtuse, or simply confused. How could he not sense what she was about? Enough with her feeble attempts. It was time to accomplish her goal.

She stepped right back in front of him so he had to stop dead. He frowned at her, and their eyes were level with each other. “AJ, do you find me at all attractive?”

“Uh, I don’t know. It’s irrelevant. Jack forbids his employees, such as me, from mingling with any of the ranch guests.”

Irrelevant? Didn’t AJ feel the heat sizzling between them? And how dare Jack decide with whom his grown, adult employees could or could not have sex. She’d never heard of such a rule. What a complete power-tripping asshole her brother seemed to be.

She sucked in a breath and prepared to go into battle against her tyrannical brother, if only for AJ. She stepped forward. So tall, she managed to make AJ take a step back into the wall behind him. His hands came out to cup her elbows, and no doubt, push her off him.
No can do, cowboy,
she almost announced with a smirk. But she didn’t want to scare him off, lest he literally run from her.

She stared right into his eyes. Such pretty eyes for this rough, weathered man. Hazel in color, they appeared unsure as he stretched his neck back as if to give himself more space. She leaned forward so her fingernails touched his forearm and trailed her index and middle finger down his left arm. It excited her to be so close to his bulk, especially when he suddenly stiffened at her touch.

“Kate…” His voice sounded wary. He was warning her, but she ignored him. All he had to do was step to the side and deflect her passes. His throat twitched as he swallowed. Nerves? It fascinated Kate to know she could make this big beast of a man feel nervous. But she was beginning to really believe she could.

“AJ,” she mimicked his tone. Then she smiled at him and rubbed her fingernails up his arm again, adding her other hand. His breathing visibly increased. She followed his arms up to his beefy, tight biceps towards his shoulder and then made a line down his chest. Slow and steady, her nails and then her fingertips pressed into his skin. His breathing hitched, and his stomach quivered when her skin touched his abs. Lower and lower she descended, fixing her gaze on her hand. The heat of his skin scorched her through the thin layer of his cheap t-shirt. He nearly gasped when she didn’t stop at the waistband of his jeans, but went right over them and touched him. He immediately pushed back against her searching fingers with hard heat. Impressively hard heat. She glanced up at him. His mouth dropped opened and his breathing became fast and short.