Page 10 of Love, Hate, Love

“Only Chuck.”

“Some of them live here. Some come in like it’s a regular day job.”

We walked into the bunkhouse, and three sets of eyes turned to us.

“Hey, all. This is Leah. She’s going to be working here,” Missy said, as if I’d been hired like a normal person and not sentenced to forced labor in order to dodge a federal sentence. It was a kind effort, but I wouldn’t kid myself into thinking they didn’t already know. The world seemed to know. “Benny there works with the horses, and so does Adam.”

Benny didn’t seem older than twenty and looked as if he were going to trip over his own feet as he nodded at me with a goofy, lopsided smile.

Adam, on the other hand, was pure man, and broad in all the places a woman, me included, tended to like. His smile was confident as he tipped his hat to me.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, and I was pretty sure he probably didn’t have to say much more to get most women in bed.

The way his eyes settled on me, I was fairly certain I’d just received an invitation too. I gave a small smile, not RSVPing.

Elijah fell somewhere in between the two, with sandy-brown hair and a demeanor that was easy and inviting, but did not lead to his bed. “Nice to meet you. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Missy, we need more eggs,” Elijah said.

“You know you can go get them, right?” Missy said.

“But you go there a couple times a day. You can’t just bring them?” Elijah said.

“Fine, we’ll go get them, but we want some of that bacon when we get back,” Missy said, watching what Elijah was pulling out of the refrigerator.

“I’ll make you both omelets if you go get them.”

“You good with that?” Missy asked, as if I had a say in anything.

“Sounds great to me.”

“See? Leah’s easy. You should be like that,” Elijah said.

“Oh, Missy can be pretty easy too,” Adam said.

“Go screw, Adam,” Missy said at the same time Elijah chucked a roll at his head.

“I was only kidding around,” Adam said.

“Come on, let’s go get the eggs. Adam usually leaves early, so by the time we get back he’ll be gone.”

We left the bunkhouse and all the dread I’d been feeling about my first day was fully gone. I could do this, with these people, for a year. Not only could I do it, I might even enjoy it.

Chapter5

Kade

It wasafter two in the afternoon when I pulled back up to the ranch. If I could’ve stayed out all day, I would’ve, but there were things that I had to do around here. What I wanted to do was be away from her until I beat these feelings back into submission. Seeing her after so long had shocked my system. It felt like I’d stepped into a time machine and my body felt the jolt of a rough landing. I just needed to reset.

I got out of my truck and immediately spotted Leah. Gone were the fancy clothes and the smooth blonde perfection. Instead her hair was up in a ponytail and her fine clothes were swapped out for worn jeans and rough cowboy boots. Her face was lit with laughter as she perched on a fence beside Missy.

Chuck strolled over and stopped beside me, leaning a forearm on the hood of my truck. He turned to where my eyes were glued.

“She’s settling in just fine. I don’t think she’ll be anywhere near the trouble you made her out to be.”

“I never said she’d be a problem.” Maybe she wouldn’t befor them. It was only me she could take out at the knees.

Chuck adjusted his hat. “You might not have said it to me, but that’s exactly what you implied when you dumped her on my lap. Plus I heard some of the other things you said.”

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