OLIVER: WESTERN CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE (Blackwater Canyon Ranch Book 2)

by Stark, Cindy

  That was fine. She didn’t need to be his friend. In fact, she didn’t need to be friends with any of the ranch hands.

  She only needed to survive and be ready to move to the glamourous and happening town of New York City. Then her life could start, and she wouldn’t have to see Oliver again. Hard to believe she’d actually thought him to be cute. His surly attitude dropped him down to a four. Maybe even a three.

  She popped the trunk and pulled the handle on her own door, only to have Oliver tug it away from her, opening the door the rest of the way. His gaze was unreadable as he extended his hand to help her from the car. She considered refusing, but that would only give him another reason to argue with her. “Thank you.”

  He closed the door behind her, and they both moved toward the trunk. His muscles flexed as he pulled out his duffle bag and both of her suitcases, and she begrudgingly admired his form. She didn’t know how much he had going on upstairs, but if she ever needed someone to, say, lift a car, she’d call him.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen suitcases that color of pink before.”

  No doubt he mocked her this time. “There’s nothing wrong with pink. It’s pretty, and it’s easy to spot on the airport’s luggage carousel.”

  “I’ll bet it is.”

  She shook her head in disgust, took hold of one of the suitcase handles, and prepared to grab the other.

  He snatched the second handle before she could claim it. “I’ll get them.”

  “I can take care of my own, thank you. I managed to get them this far. I’ll be fine.”

  He covered her hand with his on the handle of the first suitcase, making it impossible for her to move it. “Don’t worry about your luggage. Go on in and say hello to Rachel. She’s been talking about you all week, driving the rest of us crazy.”

  Daisy hesitated, flicking her gaze toward her suitcases. The last thing she wanted was to be beholden to a man she liked less every minute she spent with him. “But there are three of them, and mine are heavy.”

  His mouth curved into an amused grin that would have been devastating on a nice guy. “Do you doubt my ability to carry your luggage, Daisy?”

  His question couldn’t have been more ridiculous with the muscles he sported, but she didn’t want to admit it. “No.”

  “Good.” To prove his point, he slung the straps of his duffel over his shoulder and easily lifted both of her suitcases. The only proof that he carried any weight was the defined muscles bulging in his arms.

  “I’m going to throw my bag in the back of my truck, and then I’ll bring yours inside.” The look he gave her dared her to argue.

  “I wouldn’t want you—”

  “Do you have an aversion to someone helping you?”

  The bluntness of his question surprised her. “Excuse me?”

  “I offered to take your bags inside for you. The proper response would be to show appreciation and not stand here arguing with me, making me hold your suitcases even longer.”

  She opened her mouth. Then closed it. “Thank you, Oliver. I appreciate it very much.” Her tone matched the clip of her gait as she marched away. Apparently, one’s attitude was not as important as one’s brawn when it came to ranch hands.

  Chapter Three

  Oliver watched as Daisy stomped away. Rachel’s sister sure was pretty, but, boy did she have attitude. By looking at her flashy car and clothes, he could tell she was all about material possessions. She wanted life in the fast lane. If he thought she’d listened, he’d tell her a thing or two about big city late-night parties with booze, sex and drugs. About the shallow existence that comprised his childhood while he watched his dad smoke and drink anything and everything.

  Money could buy the silence of any number of child welfare workers, along with many other things.

  But Daisy wouldn’t listen. He was sure. Most people who hadn’t lived that lifestyle would never be able to comprehend. He could only wish her luck and hope he didn’t encounter her too often before she was happily on her way to New York.

  Oliver deposited his bag and strode toward where Daisy stood in front of the door. She lifted her knuckles and rapped sharply on the wooden door, then waited.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, coming up behind her.

  “Knocking.”

  “Just go in.”

  “I can’t. That would be rude.”

  He shot her a skeptical look as he set down one of her suitcases. “Of course, you can. You’re family.” As he leaned past her to open the door, he caught a whiff of her perfume. The same scent he’d indulged in the entire way to Blackwater.

  “Are you going to block the way for much longer?” he asked when she didn’t move.

  A hesitant look hovered in her eyes. “I’m a little nervous. I haven’t seen Rachel since her wedding.”

  “That was over a year ago.”

  “I know.” Her gaze turned defensive.

  He had no idea what Daisy had to be nervous about, and he didn’t care, either. “Unless you plan on staying out here forever, you might as well get it over with.” He nudged her inside the cozy living room.

  He’d spent many a night sitting in front of the fire with Rachel and Oliver, and he’d come to think of them as family. He had more in common with them than his father for sure.

  “Rachel? We’re here,” he yelled, causing Daisy to startle, which brought a smile to his face. He elbowed the door shut. “She’s probably in the kitchen from the smell of things.”

  Daisy glanced across the room toward the kitchen. “Whatever she’s cooking smells amazing, and I’m starving.”

  Before Oliver could respond, the sound of boots hurrying across the wooden floor echoed out into the living room. Rachel appeared wearing her long dark hair in a ponytail. She wore a fitted black T-shirt, old jeans and worn cowboy boots. She always had a smile on her face, but she positively beamed this time.

  “Oh, my God.” Rachel rushed forward and embraced Daisy with a warm hug. “I hardly recognize you with your red hair.” She stopped and lifted a curl from Daisy’s shoulder. “Beautiful. And look at that skirt! You always wear the prettiest clothes.”

  Rachel turned and grinned at Oliver. “Isn’t my baby sister lovely?”

  “Rachel.” Daisy flicked a glance in his direction. “Stop.”

  “She sure is.” Oliver couldn’t have agreed more. Too bad she didn’t have the personality to match.

  ****

  Fierce emotion surged inside Daisy at the sight of Rachel, surprising her. “I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you sooner.” She hugged her again before she stepped back.

  “That’s okay. I know you and mom are busy with your lives. How’s school?”

  Daisy shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s just, you know, school. I’m off for the summer, and then I’m transferring to New York, and I’ll finish there.”

  “That’s excellent.” Rachel grinned as though she was truly happy for Daisy. Her gaze traveled over Daisy’s shoulder to where Oliver stood.

  “I promise I won’t stay away for so long next time,” she reiterated, hoping she’d gain approval in Oliver’s eyes. Not that she cared. Only that she didn’t like being judged harshly for no good reason.

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m happy that you’re here now.” Rachel linked her arm through Daisy’s and glanced over her shoulder as she tugged her toward the kitchen. “Would you mind lugging those up to Daisy’s room?”

  “Sure thing, Rach,” Oliver said, sounding sweet and kind, and completely different from how he’d spoken to her.

  Daisy glanced around the cozy kitchen as they entered, admiring the rustic oak table and tied-back lace curtains. “This house is amazing. It’s nothing like I remember it.”

  “I’m not surprised. It’s been years since you’ve been here.” Rachel deserted her at that point and strode to the stove where she stirred whatever simmered in a pot.

  “Besides the wedding in Moose Meadows last year, it’s been eighteen years.�
� A hefty dose of shame followed her words.

  Rachel stopped stirring and turned to Daisy. “I know. Not since that day…”

  The day she’d fallen from a horse and broken her leg bad enough she’d needed several surgeries. “That seems like a lifetime ago.” Even when they’d been in town for the wedding, she and her mom had only come up for one day and hadn’t visited the ranch.

  Her sister’s expression turned melancholy, surprising Daisy. “We used to have so much fun here when we were kids. I always wished you’d want to come back.”

  “You had fun. I broke bones.” She laughed. “This was always your place, Rachel. Not mine.”

  “I guess so.” Rachel walked to the fridge and removed a tray of cut fresh vegetables, which she deposited on the kitchen table.

  Daisy lifted a carrot stick and bit into it. “You loved the adventure, and I was always afraid you’d get hurt when you did crazy things.”

  “I understand. Still, that’s why I love it so much. Even now, I can’t predict what tomorrow will bring. There’s always something new, and it’s so much better than being locked in an office building all day.”

  “That’s where we differ. I like being inside a comfortable building and able to control the heat or air conditioning. There aren’t any snakes or wolves that are going to jump out from behind the couch and get me.”

  Rachel laughed at that. “In all this time, I’ve never had either of them hurt me.”

  Didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. “How about I help set the table?” Daisy asked, moving to a safer topic of conversation.

  She’d barely carried the stack of bowls to the table when Oliver reappeared. He gave her a cursory glance before he focused on Rachel. “Caleb in the barn?”

  “I’m sure. Tell him dinner is almost ready, okay? You’re going to stay, aren’t you, Oliver?”

  He slid a look in Daisy’s direction and then shook his head. “Nah, I should probably head home. I need to check on things.”

  Rachel narrowed her gaze. “Don’t feed me a line, Oliver. There’s nothing there that can’t wait. I know as well as you do you’ll end up eating cereal for dinner. You should stay, and you can head home afterward. I insist,” she said when he started to argue.

  He smiled and dipped his head in acquiescence. “Okay. I’d be crazy to pass up a chance to not cook.”

  “Damn straight,” Rachel said with a sassy smile.

  Daisy paused a moment to assess her own embarrassingly poor cooking skills. Perhaps, she could have Rachel teach her a thing or two while she was there. She waited until Oliver headed out the back door before she spoke again. “He’s much nicer to you than he is to me.”

  Rachel glanced toward the closed door and then back to her. “Oliver? He’s one of the nicest guys I know.”

  Could have fooled her. “Then maybe he’s having a bad day or something, because he was surly the whole way here.”

  Her sister paused and turned toward Daisy. “That doesn’t sound like Oliver at all. Wait until you get to know him better.”

  Daisy tightened her jaw. She hadn’t imagined his orneriness. “If you say so.”

  “I’m going to whip these potatoes really quick,” Rachel said as they finished preparing the meal. “Would you mind going out to let the guys know dinner is ready?”

  “Sure. Point me in the right direction.”

  Daisy exited through the kitchen door and made her way toward the big red barn. She paused halfway there and looked around. It took her a second to realize what was wrong, but now she knew.

  There was no noise.

  She couldn’t remember when, if ever, she’d been in a place that was so completely silent. No cars passed. No people. She couldn’t even hear a bird chirp at that moment.

  Was this what it was like to be deaf?

  The peacefulness was a balm to her weary soul, and she stood for a few moments taking it all in.

  As she approached the barn, male voices wafted out the open doorway.

  “She’s very pretty. Rachel said she’d modeled back in high school.” The man didn’t have a southern drawl, so she assumed Caleb was talking. She’d only met him the one time at her sister’s wedding and couldn’t remember his voice very well.

  Daisy smiled at Caleb’s compliment. It was too bad she and Rachel hadn’t been closer so she could know him better. He seemed like a great guy.

  “Oh, she’s pretty, all right, if you like your women all sparkling and fancy,” Oliver added. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s most definitely a high maintenance princess.”

  She halted in her tracks, stung by his words.

  “I didn’t think so.” Caleb sounded skeptical.

  “How much time have you spent with her?”

  “She came to the wedding. Seemed nice enough to me.”

  Thank you, Caleb.

  “Well, whatever.” Oliver didn’t sound convinced. “You’re the one who has to live with her for three months. Not me.”

  She growled under her breath. Really? What a jerk.

  Daisy gave herself a few seconds to calm down and then she entered the barn. Both men seemed surprised to see her. Oliver cast a guilty glance at Caleb before looking back at her. She sent him a chilled smile and hoped he understood the meaning behind it.

  “Rachel asked me to let you know dinner is ready,” she said to her brother-in-law.

  “You’re not going to say hello?” Caleb asked with a smile.

  Daisy warmed, grateful for his friendliness. “Sorry. Of course.” She strode forward and was caught off guard when he pulled her in for a big hug and slapped a friendly kiss on her cheek.

  “I’m happy you’re here,” Caleb said. “Rachel talks about you all the time, and I’m glad I have the chance to get to know her only sister.”

  She tuned out her anger at Oliver. “Thank you. I’m happy to be here, too.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but she couldn’t tell him otherwise.

  “Good then. I say let’s eat.” Caleb held out his elbow for Daisy.

  She accepted the offer of his arm and cast a snarky glance at Oliver as though to say, see, he likes me. Then she turned and allowed Caleb to escort her to the house.

  Chapter Four

  Daisy didn’t look back to see if Oliver followed her and Caleb as they walked toward the house. Unfortunately, when they entered the kitchen door, Caleb also held it open for Oliver.

  Rachel looked up and smiled as though all of her family had come home. “Since this is the first time Daisy has been to Blackwater in far too many years, I decided we should have a real celebration.”

  Daisy turned toward the table to find that Rachel had added a bottle of wine along with a big bouquet of pink and lavender carnations. The warm welcome tugged on her heartstrings. “Oh, wow. Thank you. This is so unbelievably nice. You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble for me.”

  “Of course we should,” Caleb said as he slid out Rachel’s chair and waited for her to sit. Before Daisy could seat herself, Oliver did the same for her.

  “Thank you,” she said as gracefully as she could. She didn’t want him to be nice to her, not after what he’d said in the barn. She’d heard what she’d heard, and she wouldn’t forget it anytime soon.

  “No problem.” His voice was low in her ear as he helped her scoot her chair forward. The shiver his words created was an unwelcome visitor.

  Caleb sat across the table from Rachel, which left Oliver directly opposite her. She flicked a glance toward Rachel as she spoke, and then peeked back at him. He still watched, unnerving her.

  Midway through the meal, the lovely Riesling worked its magic, and she relaxed despite Oliver’s continued assessment. Most of the time now, he quickly looked away when she caught him watching.

  Rachel rested her chin on her palm and smiled. “Daisy, remember that summer when we spent a whole day down at a river fishing and catching frogs?”

  Daisy laughed. “I’d forgotten all about that. Didn’t you still have frogs in your
pockets when we went home? I can remember driving in the car with mom and dad and hearing one of them croak.”

  Caleb lifted his wine glass in a toast to his wife. “You were a rebel even back then.” Before he drank, he realized his glass was empty. He lifted the wine bottle and then frowned. “It appears we’re in need of more celebratory liquid. Everyone okay with whiskey?”

  “Sure,” Rachel and Oliver said in unison. The group turned to her.

  “Of course.” She’d never been much of a whiskey drinker, but when in Rome…

  Daisy accepted the lowball glass of whiskey Oliver handed to her, and she found herself staring once again into his engaging blue eyes. His fingers brushed hers, and her body reacted by flushing her with warmth.

  “Our mom freaked out when she heard the frogs and made dad pull to the side of the road,” Rachel continued once they’d completed their toast. “He pointed a finger at me, because we all knew it wasn’t Daisy, and he made me get out to empty my pockets. While we were standing outside, he told me that he needed to act like he was punishing me for my behavior because mom was mad.”

  “He did?” Daisy frowned trying to clear her foggy head enough to remember what her father had been like. She’d been so young when he’d died, and she only retained a few fleeting memories of him.

  “He always looked out for me that way. He understood that I was different from you and mom, and he tried to honor that.”

  Wistfulness fell over Daisy. “I wish I could remember him better.”

  Rachel gave her a melancholy smile. “Me, too. He was a great guy, and we lost him way too soon.”

  “To your dad,” Oliver said and lifted his glass.

  They drank to a few more things like a good year for calves, no recent trouble with the wolves, and for the American way of life. Silly things, but she could see they were important to those around her. By the time they finished dinner, her head floated on her shoulders.

  Someone’s foot bumped hers beneath the table, and Rachel laughed. “Oops. I thought you were Caleb.”