by Marla Monroe
“You’re what, three months behind on it?” he asked.
“A little over two. I paid part of one of the payments. I just needed another two or three months until I sold the remainder of our spring stock to catch it up. I do this every year. They’ve never called in my loan before,” she told him, fighting the tears.
Where they came from, she didn’t know because she’d thought she’d cried herself dry by now. Just hearing Thorne talk about her failure to run the ranch with two built cowboys knowing all about it was enough to wring water from a stone. She ached from the pain of it. Even though she knew nothing could ever become of the way she felt about them, Sierra couldn’t help the flood of hormones in her veins anytime they were near. She didn’t really know them, but she knew she wanted them.
“You’re right, banks don’t normally call in loans over a couple of missed payments when past history shows that you always caught it up at a certain time of the year. We think it’s all a game this Dexter asshole is playing with you,” Thorne said.
“Sedona said he’s been after you since high school. He thinks he has you cornered now,” Rollan told her.
“He does. I don’t have a choice,” she spat out bitterly. “Either I become his mistress or my sisters don’t get to finish college. They’ll be stuck in the same rut we’ve been in for fourteen years with no way out. We won’t have a home or a way to make a living.”
“Shh, Sierra. Don’t let that bastard upset you anymore. We’re going to help you get your life back and make sure the girls finish school,” Thorne assured her.
“But how? What can you do?” she asked, still fighting the tears.
“We’ll buy the ranch from you and pay off the loan,” Rollan said.
She knew her mouth hung open at his answer. Did they think she hadn’t thought about selling it before? It still left them without a home and no way for her to support her sisters while they were in school. She started laughing. It was laugh or cry.
“What?” Rollan asked. Confusion gave him a comical expression.
“That doesn’t do anything but get Dexter off my back. While I would love to do that, just to free myself of his hold, I can’t do it. I need the ranch to support Bethany and Sedona, but thanks for the offer.” She stood up with the intent of showing them out.
“Sit down, Sierra. We’re not finished,” Thorne said. “You’re not giving us the chance to explain before you brush us off. Just listen, baby. I promise we have it all worked out.”
Sierra slowly sank back on the chair and set the coffee cup on the table next to her. He was right. She wasn’t really expecting them to come up with anything, so she wasn’t really listening to them. She would hear them out without saying anything again.
“Okay, you’re right. I’m listening.”
Thorne nodded at Rollan. “Go ahead and tell her what we were thinking.”
“If we buy the ranch from you and pay off the loan against it, which would get Dexter out of your hair. Then, you would work for us, handling the ranch and cooking for us. We’re going to put more hands over here so you only need to deal with the paperwork and day-to-day operation. You know what you’re doing, Sierra. You just don’t have the help that is required to run a ranch,” Rollan said.
“You’ll get a generous salary plus a cut of the profits from the sale of the cattle to help with the girls’ living expenses. Once they are finished with college, you can save that money, and if you want to buy the ranch back from us, we’ll sell it to you. If you don’t, you can either continue to work for us or move on to do whatever you want to do. You’ll get a bonus to help you set up wherever you want to go.” Thorne watched her as she thought about what they were offering.
Sierra had to swallow hard around the lump in her throat. Why where they doing this? Was it all a ruse just to get the same thing that Dexter had wanted—to get in her pants? They were good looking men. They wouldn’t need to go to this extreme for piece of ass. Besides, she still didn’t know if they were more than business partners. What would they want with her if that were the case?
It all swirled around inside of her head, confusing her and giving her hope all at the same time. She didn’t really care about owning the ranch except to make sure the girls were taken care of. She loved ranch life, but working herself to death with no one to help her wasn’t her idea of heaven.
“What are you thinking, Sierra?” Rollan finally asked her. “Is it something you can live with? You don’t have to stop doing what you already do other than leaving the hard work to the hands, and you’re still providing for your family.”
“I don’t get it,” she said. “What are you getting out of it? Why would you even want to take on another three hundred acres when you’re still working on what you have?”
“Your land has a great water source and you and Sedona are excellent cooks. Maybe she wouldn’t mind helping with meals until she goes to school while you get the ranch in order. It will give her some extra spending money for clothes and stuff.” Thorne leaned forward. “Besides. We really like you, Sierra, and in all honesty, we want a chance to prove to you that we care about you. No strings, just a chance to prove we are good, hardworking men who think you’re the prettiest, most determined female we’ve ever met.”
What Thorne said floored her. They thought she was pretty? They wanted to get to know her? She wasn’t sure what to think. Was it just another way to convince her to say yes and then they would coerce her into bed with them?
Wait! Them? As in both of them? What am I thinking? I can’t handle one man, much less two. I’ve only had two boyfriends in my entire life. What do I know about a ménage relationship?
“Talk to us, Sierra. What are you thinking? I can tell you’re panicking by the look on your face,” Rollan said.
Both men stood up and knelt in front of her. They each took one of her hands in theirs. It seemed so right and natural, but how could she be sure they weren’t playing the same game Dexter had been playing?
What choice do I have? At least they’re being honest about how they feel and are giving me a chance to take care of the girls. Dexter doesn’t care about me, much less about my family. But can I trust them to keep their end of the bargain?
Sierra figured she could get it all put into writing in a contract like Dexter had, but she didn’t want that. She didn’t want a cold piece of paper promising her the world when they all knew it was still just a piece of paper. She’d have to fight for it if they decided to renege on the agreement. She didn’t have the money or the strength to go through that.
“I’m not sure what to say. It’s more than generous of you to even offer it. I just can’t understand why. You’re not getting all that much with buying the ranch, and you’re going to pay me to manage it and cook? I just don’t get it.”
“It’s not about money or the land, Sierra,” Thorne told her. “It’s about you.”
“From the moment Thorne saw you, he wanted you. He came home talking about you and when you showed up with your sister bringing us a home-cooked meal, you had me as well. There’s just something about you that calls to us. We want the chance to explore it with you and see where it might lead,” Rollan explained.
Both men squeezed her hands as she let what they’d said settle inside of her. Could she trust them? Did she want to?
Yes. I do. I want to believe that they really do care about me and want to get to know me for me, not the ranch.
“I–I want to try. Are you sure you can handle paying off the ranch and paying me to run it and cook for you?” she asked. “I don’t want you to have to struggle to pay bills. It wouldn’t be worth it.”
“How much do you owe the asshole?” Thorne asked.
“I’ll have to look at the latest note, but right at sixty thousand dollars.”
Rollan’s mouth dropped.
Thorne stared at her as if she’d said a billion dollars. It was too much. They couldn’t handle that amount. Her heart burned in her chest at the wash of disap
pointment that flowed through her.
“It’s okay. I really appreciate the offer.” She wouldn’t let them know how much it hurt to see a way out only to have it jerked out of her reach.
“That’s all you owe them and they’re pulling your loan?” Rollan asked.
“Well, yes. I know it’s a lot—” she began.
“It’s nothing, Sierra. We can easily buy it for twice that. What has us so upset is that they would do something this devastating for sixty thousand dollars when the ranch is worth well over a million.” Thorne stood up and starting pacing.
“I don’t understand. I owe the money. I’m sure there are other charges they will add along with the late fees they’ve added to it.”
“Baby, they’re taking advantage of you in more ways than one. If they foreclose on your property now, they would have to pay to sell it off and still provide you with the difference. You could sell it to anyone for what it’s worth and still have the money to take care of your family. Why did you think you couldn’t sell it and live off the rest?” Thorne asked.
“According to the appraisal they had done on it for the loan, it was only worth about two hundred thousand plus the worth of the cattle left at the time of sale. Even if I pay off the loan and other bills, I’d only have about a hundred and thirty thousand left to see my sisters through school and me a place to live until I could find a job.” She didn’t understand why they thought it was worth so much more when the appraisal hadn’t said that.
“Someone lied to you, baby. With the water source you have and the way the grazing land is divided naturally with the water and the rocks, it’s easily worth the million,” Thorne told her. “We can afford to pay you five hundred thousand right now, and if you’ll accept it, we can pay you the rest over time. That will get you free of Dexter and give you the money you need for the girls,” Rollan offered.
“We’d still like for you to manage it and cook for us. We’ll pay you a fair salary for that,” Thorne said.
“Five hundred thousand? You’d buy it for that even though the appraisal said differently?” She gaped at them, unsure if they were crazy or insane.
“Like I told you,” Rollan said again. “They lied to you. That appraisal is probably a forgery. No reputable appraiser would sign off on something like that.”
She lifted her chin and smiled. “I’ll sell it to you for eight hundred thousand dollars with four hundred down and the rest paid over time.”
“Sierra, it’s worth more than that. We’re not going to take advantage of you like that,” Thorne said. Both men stood up.
“It’s my price. You’re doing something for me that no one else ever has. You weren’t going to expand your ranch in the near future since you just bought it and have a lot of work that needs doing. Buying mine for the full price would stretch your resources and cash flow. I won’t allow you to do that when you’re doing me a favor.” She stood up and still had to look up at them. “I’ll work for you, too. I can keep the ranch running so that you don’t have to worry about it until you are ready to combine the two all the way. If you follow through with adding more hands, I can easily do that and cook for you.”
Thorne smiled down at her and before she knew what he was going to do, the big man latched onto her arms and pulled her up to kiss her. She’d been right. He had the most kissable lips she’d ever seen. They molded to hers before he deepened the kiss by licking along the seam of her mouth. She opened to him before she let herself think about what she was doing.
He had only enough time to sweep his tongue through her mouth before Rollan pulled her out of his friend’s arms to take control of the kiss on his terms. Why had she ever believed that they might be sexual partners as well as ranch partners? Even if they were bisexual, she wasn’t going to fight the attraction she had for the two men. Ménage relationships were frequent in the Riverbend community. It didn’t matter that they were closer to Sagebrush than the other town.
Rollan slowly pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. His breaths heaved out almost as fast as hers did as she struggled to regain some measure of control. She couldn’t deny the wetness between her thighs or the thrill in her blood from their kisses.
“Who was the lawyer you used to look over the contract Dexter sent you?” Rollan asked.
“Nate Hodges. He’s in a town three hours north of here. I like him. He didn’t want me to sign the contract but couldn’t think of anything to help me, either. I guess maybe if I’d given him all the information, he might have been able to tell me what you’ve told me,” she admitted.
“That’s all water under the bridge now. Do you think he would see us tomorrow?” Thorne asked.
“I’m sure he would. If for no other reason to find out what I’ve done now,” she mused.
Rollan grinned. “Once we get something drawn up to get us through the mess with Dexter, we’ll have him draw up a more formal contract. For now, it will work if he will do a quick deed for us.”
“I’m sure he will. What about Dexter? I only have till tomorrow’s closing time before he closes the loan,” she reminded them.
“We’ll go see him together as soon as we finish with this Nate Hodges.” Rollan kissed her cheek.
“In front of the lawyer, we’ll pay you several hundred dollars for the property as a down payment with the rest to be transferred to your account later that day when we go to the bank,” Thorne said with a grin. “One thing you’re going to need to do is make out a grocery list that we can fill while we’re in town.”
“Goodness. I don’t know what you have already,” she said, trying to switch gears.
“Basically, we have a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, some cheese, eggs, and about eight pounds of hamburger meat in the freezer. We were existing on sandwiches and soup, so we probably need everything,” Rollan said with a sheepish expression.
“Um, okay. I’ll put together a list of things to start with tonight. Is there anything specific you don’t like?” she asked, a little overwhelmed.
“No beets and no tofu. We like the basics, meat and potatoes,” Thorne said with a chuckle.
“You don’t have to worry about either of those things with me. I’ll talk to Sedona to see if she wants to cook for a few weeks before she leaves for school. Between the two of us, we can cover your place and ours, I think. You’ll need to let me know who and how many hands you plan to hire or send this way so we can adjust the meals, and I’ll need to add them to the schedule.”
“What time do we need to be here in the morning to ride out to that lawyer’s place?” Thorne asked.
“He’s more likely to have time to see us if we get there early. I’d say we need to leave here by six, if that will work for you,” she said.
“Get some rest, Sierra. We’ll be by at six in the morning. Stop worrying now. We’ve got this handled. You’re not alone anymore, baby,” Rollan told her.
Sierra followed them to the front door. They each pulled her into their arms and kissed her. It didn’t feel odd to her. It felt right. She liked the sense of safety she felt in their arms. It was as if all of her fears had vanished when she was surrounded by the big men. As they drove away, she waited for the worry and despair to return, but it didn’t. That was more of a miracle to her than the fact they’d actually come up with an answer. For the first time in maybe sixteen years, Sierra didn’t feel as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. A sense of relief and freedom settled there instead.
Chapter Ten
Early the next morning, Rollan and Thorne arrived on time to drive Sierra to see the lawyer once again. She wasn’t nearly as nervous or sick to her stomach as she’d been before. She’d slept the best she could remember sleeping in more years than she could count. It was amazing how relaxed she felt when some of the burdens she’d been carrying for so long were lifted. She only wished she could share all of them with the two men who’d rescued her from a fate worse than death.
“What’s got you smiling this m
orning?” Rollan asked.
Sierra wasn’t sure how to answer. If she told them the truth, it might make them uncomfortable. They might think she expected them ’to bail her out of all of her problems.
“I guess I am a little happy. The stress over losing the ranch and the ability to support my family had been a lot worse than I’d realized. Then when I thought I’d have to…” She trailed off, not wanting to spell it out in front of the two men.
She hated for them to know what she’d been willing to do. She was sure they thought of her as nothing but a slut, and oddly enough, Sierra didn’t want them to see her in that light. She liked them—really liked them.
“You shouldn’t have to worry like that, Sierra. You’re not alone any longer,” Thorne told her. “You can always come to us. We’re here for you and your family.”
She looked up at his profile as he kept his eyes on the road. His mouth had thinned into a tight line and his brows were furrowed as if he was angry. Then he relaxed and reached over to take one of her hands into his. He squeezed it and glanced at her before releasing it and returning it to the steering wheel. His face relaxed and a small smile replaced the tight mouth from earlier.
“Why don’t you tell us a little about the ranch and what you think needs tending to first,” Rollan said. He stretched his legs out and rested one arm along the back of the seat so that one hand lay close enough to her shoulder to touch it.
She drew in a deep breath, realizing that she wanted him to touch her and she desperately wanted to touch him. There had to be nothing but hard muscles beneath his shirt. It stretched wide across he shoulders, almost too tight. She imagined that his abdomen was taut and well-defined. The strength of his hands spoke of hard labor and the ability to handle the most stubborn of horses, maybe women, too.
As fast as that thought entered her mind, Sierra banished it. They were going to be her bosses. She didn’t need to think about them in that way. She didn’t need to think of any man like that as long as she had her family to see to. They came first.
