Page 16 of Wanting Wentworth

“Jerk you never would have brought him here?” Popping my door open, I give him a quick grin. “It’s fine, Damien. I’ve been dealing with assholes practically my whole life,” I remind him while I slide off the bench seat to plant my boots in the dirt. “Besides—I asked for it, remember?”

“You asked for help,” he says, clearly still embarrassed over the way his brother behaved. “You didn’t ask to be insulted and harassed on your own front porch.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to remind him that technically, Northpoint doesn’t belong to me. Instead, I do my best to make light of the situation. “I’m a big girl, Damien. It’s going to take more than what some pretty boy from California can dish out to break me.” It’s not true. After that initial interaction with Damien’s brother, even though he agreed to let me continue to work at Northpoint, it took everything I had to keep my emotions in check because it was obvious he didn’t want me there. That he saw me as a nuisance and that pissed me off. Just when I was about to jump out of Damien’s truck and tell him that I changed my mind, he opened the door himself and apologized.

I asked him to take off his sunglasses so I could be sure I was looking him in the eye when I told him to stick his apology up his ass, but then he took them off and... well, things didn’t go according to plan.

Because I was right.

Damien’s brother is drop dead gorgeous.

I never thought I was the type of woman who could be swayed by a pretty face but that man just proved me wrong.

A strong, angular jawline that leads into a set of cheekbones that a runway model would sell her soul for. A straight, slightly aristocratic nose, set above a full, perfectly shaped mouth... but it was his eyes that got me. Seeing him without the sunglasses, I would have immediately marked him and Damien as brothers, even if he hadn’t told me they were related. Damien’s eyes are dark brown that lighten a bit in the sun. His brother’s are even darker. When he took off his sunglasses, they looked almost black, with barely any distinction between the iris and pupil. Having them aimed at me was unsettling. Almost demonic... and hot as hell. Before I knew it, I was accepting his apology and agreeing to come back.

“I’ve got to head over to the Garrett place this afternoon,” Damien tells me, stopping me before I say my goodbyes and head into the house. “A couple of their horses are due to be re-shoed.” In addition to one of my dad’s ranch hands, Damien is the only farrier in the valley. “I’ll head to town afterward and pick up what Wen—James needs to make it through the rest of the week and take it up to Northpoint myself, okay?”

Suddenly, it’s not Damien talking to me—it’s Luke. Offering to head up to Northpoint to do my chores for me.

Go back to bed, Kaity—I’ll drink your poison and take care of your chores. And when Dad starts griping, I’ll take care of him too...

“No.” I say it loudly and with enough force to widen his eyes set him back in his seat. Embarrassed, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I appreciate the offer but we both know what will happen if my father finds out I shoved my chores off on you.”

Damien’s brow crumples beneath his cowboy hat. “Kait—”

“I’ve got it handled,” I tell him before forcing a smile onto my face. “Besides, if I don’t go back up there, he’s going to think he scared me off and you know I can’t have that.”

“Okay...” Damien nods his head and sighs. He knows the real reason I refused his offer but he won’t embarrass me by calling me out on it. “I’ll be at the Garrett’s until about six or so. You can get me on my cell if you change your mind.”

I won’t change my mind but I nod anyway. “Thanks, Damien.” I give him another smile this one not so forced before I close the truck door between us and head into the house.

Inside, it’s cool and quiet—a reminder that my mom and dad are in Helena, taking care of whatever business was so important that they had to leave without warning. That means it’s just Abbey and me for dinner tonight.

“Abbey,” I call up the stairs while I pull my boots off because if I wear them in the house my mother will sense it, all the way in Helena. “Want to go into town with me? We can get cheeseburgers and milkshakes at the diner for dinner.” There are few things Abbey loves in this world as much as she loves milkshakes.

Despite the offering of milkshakes, nothing but silence answers me.

Frowning, I set my boots on the bottom step of the staircase and take the narrow hall from the entry way, past my father’s study and what my mom calls the company room, toward the back of the house where we actually live. “Abbey?” Passing the living room, I find it empty. It’s summer break for her, she should be lounging on the couch, watching tabloid television or reading one of her insipid celebrity gossip magazines. “Abbey...” Starting to worry, I step into the kitchen to find her sitting at the table my parents and I had breakfast at this morning. Seeing her floods me with relief. “Jesus, what are you doing?” I ask her, continuing into the kitchen to open the fridge. “Why didn’t you answer me?” Pulling out a pitcher of iced tea, I carry it to the counter to grab a glass. “Ab—”

“Where have you been?” Something about her tone, stops me cold. Setting my glass on the counter, I turn to look at her. She’s sitting ramrod straight in her chair, tall, willowy frame held stiff.

“Northpoint.” I tell her carefully because I get the feeling that for whatever reason, even though no one has actually said it out loud, I’m not supposed to tell anyone that we have someone staying up there. “You know where I was.” I laugh a little while I turn back to my empty glass to fill it. “It’s not like my schedule has—”

“You don’t have to lie,” she says, cutting me off in a biting tone. “I saw you get into Damien’s truck this morning.”

Sighing, I finish pouring my iced tea. Leaving the pitcher on the counter, I carry my glass to the table to sit down across from her. “Abbey...”

“It’s fine.” She gives me a sullen shrug, the look on her face telling me whatever’s going on in her head, it’s anything but fine. “I just wish you wouldn’t lie to me about it.”

“About what?” I ask, even though I already know.

She flicks a glare at me, her blue eyes blazing. “About you and Damien.”

“Damien and I are just friends.” I give her a gentle smile. Damien swears there’s nothing going on between them but I know my sister. No matter his feelings on the subject, she’s been infatuated with him since he turned up on the ranch, looking for work. From the look she’s giving me, infatuation turned into love, somewhere along the way. “I swear it.”

“You got into his truck this morning.” The glare she’s aiming at me wavers, suddenly unsure.

“I did.” I nod, deciding not to mention that I saw her watching us from our bedroom window. “He was headed to Helena and offered to drive me up on his way out. That’s it—I promise.”

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