“Tends not to work quite as well when it’s below thirty-five degrees Celsius.” He shrugged. “These cabins aren’t exactly new.”
I nodded. “Well, I happen to think it’s perfect the way it is.”
“Where did you live before?” Kyle lowered his large body into one of the tiny wooden chairs around the table.
“I lived in a lot of places growing up, but I settled with Rhett in a little town outside Edmonton.”
“How long were you with him?” He asked, his tone tense.
Turning around, I leaned my back against the counter as I listened to the coffee maker brewing behind me. “I started seeing him when I was fifteen.”
“How old are you now?”
“Twenty-two.”
“You were with him for seven years?”
I nodded, glancing at my toes. Damn, I really needed to paint my toenails. The purple paint was beginning to chip. “Yes. And before you start wondering how - he wasn’t always a bad guy.”
“But he turned into a bad guy?” Kyle asked darkly. He looked so angry and that shocked me. Kyle didn’t really know me, and he had no reason to be angry with Rhett for what he did other than for the principle of it. Laying a hand on a woman is wrong. I know this - everyone knows this. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. It does.
“I suppose.” I nibbled my lower lip as I tried to swallow the build up of emotion in my throat. Thinking of Rhett was hard. I’d loved him so much. In him, I’d found the ability to believe that there was more in store for me from this life than pain.
I’d been so terribly wrong.
...I leaned back on the bed, Rhett’s bed, in his cousin’s house. I’d been in this room so many times before, but never like this. Never with Rhett nearly naked and me panting beneath him. This was different from all the other times I’d slept over at his house. I’d been with him for a year. I was sixteen now, old enough to do this - or that’s what everyone said, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t terrified. Jana said it hurt the first time, but she also said that sex felt good. I had to believe her. Everything I let Rhett do to me felt good. Every time he touched me, it was amazing.
I wanted this. I want this, I want this, I want this.
“Fuck, you’re hot.” Rhett growled as he lowered himself onto the bed between my legs and my heart raced painfully. It was uncomfortable.
When I’d agreed to spend the night here, I hadn’t thought this was how it would turn out. I’d spent so many nights here, and Rhett had never pushed for this. But we’d been seeing each other for almost a year and I knew he was growing impatient. I knew he wanted sex and I didn’t want to lose him.
Lifting my hands, I traced the lines of his chest with my fingertips. He was a beautiful man, and he was only eighteen...
“Kami?” The deep sound of Kyle’s voice brought me back to the here and now. Shaking my head of thoughts of Rhett, I focused my eyes on Kyle who was gazing at me with confusion. “Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere.” I turned my back to him, feeling shaken at the memory of my first time. It had started out so sweet and turned out so frightening - kind of like my entire relationship with Rhett.
“I take it black.” Kyle said from behind me and I jumped. “Sorry.”
“I didn’t know you were so close.” I waved away his apology, handing him the mug. “Black coffee.” I scrunched my nose. “Isn’t it a little bitter?”
“Coffee’s coffee. So long as I’m getting a hit of caffeine, I’m good.” I watched him raise his mug to his lips and couldn’t help but notice, for what felt like the billionth time, how handsome he was.
Kyle was the complete opposite of Rhett - and I liked that. Banishing the thought, I asked. “Why didn’t you come get me when you went for my car? I could have helped you.”
He shrugged. “I asked Collin to help me. I figured you might be sore.”
He figured right, but I wasn’t about to admit that. “Collin’s another of your brothers, yes?”
“Yeah, he’s the second youngest. A couple years younger than me.”
“How old are you?” I blushed at the question. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
Kyle chuckled. “I’m twenty-seven. Logan and I are pretty close in age.”
“And Collin is twenty-five?” I asked.
Kyle nodded. “Yeah. Then there’s Luke. He’s twenty-three.”
“Luke’s the baby of the family, right?” Damn, four boys - kudos to Gracie!
“He is, but don’t let him hear you calling him that.” Kyle shook his head, thumbing his chin. “He’d loose his mind.”
“Luke’s the one who works in the stables, isn’t he?”
“Sure is.” Kyle’s eyes were pinned on me. “Were you thinking of working in the stables over mountain climbing?”
The tone of his question had me wanting to assure him that there was nothing more I wanted to do than mountain climbing. I wondered, what was it about me that Kyle found so interesting? Since last night in the truck, the man had practically been around me as much as he could, asking all kinds of questions. Some were loaded and some weren’t.
This one, however, was definitely a loaded gun.
I felt my lips curl in an easy grin as I answered. “No, I wanted to mountain climb.” I gave a small shrug. “But I would really like to learn how to ride. I’ve always loved horses, you know?” He nodded and I continued. “They’re just so majestic.”
“If you want,” he took in a deep breath and I sensed he was nervous. “I can teach you.”
I raised a brow. “You ride as well?”
“My brothers and I know how to do everything on the ranch, but we specialize in one thing.” He took another sip of his coffee, “Well, accept Logan. Logan likes it all and teaches everything, but he’s even more antisocial than I am.”
Curling my hands around my mug, I laughed. “You really don’t seem all that antisocial to me.”
His eyes glittered. “You bring that out in me, Kami.” He sighed. “Believe me, I’m not mean, but I’m not very friendly.”
Settling back in the chair across the table from him, I tucked my feet beneath me. “I think you see yourself differently than the world sees you.”
“Don’t we all?”
“I suppose.” I shrugged. “I want to invent myself into someone I would be proud of.”
“You aren’t already proud of yourself?” His voice was thick with curiosity.
“No.” I brought my coffee to my lips. I was trying to buy myself time to come up with an honest, well-worded answer to his question. “I guess I just thought I would have more than I do.”
That wasn’t worded well at all.
“How do you mean?”
“This just isn’t where I saw myself at twenty-two.”
“Where did you see yourself?”
“I know I’m young, but I’ve always wanted a family.” I blushed. “I never really had one myself and I really thought that I’d be married with kids by now. Rhett and I were together for so long, I thought,” Shaking my head, I rubbed my brow. “You know what I thought.”
Kyle looked shocked. Maybe I’d startled him speechless, or enough to run away screaming. I mean, that’s what most men did when they found out a woman wanted a child, didn’t they?
Finally, Kyle found his voice. “You want kids right now?”
“Well, no.” I scoffed. “That’s kind of impossible as I don’t have a man in my life anymore, and I want to be set up, with a good financial backing, before I bring an innocent into this world.”
Lifting his hat from his head, he dragged a hand through his hair before placing the hat back on his head. “I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting that.”
“You asked.” There was no way I was apologizing for what I wanted.
“I sure did.” He nodded, his eyes growing serious. “What did you mean you didn’t have much of a family for yourself?”
“Just didn’t.” I shifted awkwardly. “It’s my turn to ask the questions.”
/> Kyle didn’t take his eyes from me. Not once. “Shoot.”
“Is this where you saw yourself?”
“You mean without kids and all that?” He narrowed his eyes on me and I fought a shiver. The man was intense. Although, not as intense as Logan, Kyle could induce a real good shiver.
“Sure.”
“I never really thought about it, to be honest. All I wanted from life was to be here on the ranch.” He nodded to himself. “I love this land and the life it gives me.”
“Mountain climber by day, cowboy by night?” I teased.
“More like mountain climber by summer, cowboy by winter.”
“I see.”
“It’s a good life out here, Kami. I think you’ll like it here.”
Looking deep into his eyes, I agreed. “I already do.”
***
Tucking my chin into the large scarf I’d wrapped around my neck, I hobbled down the steps of my little cabin with Kyle behind me. My little orange car was hooked up to the back of Kyle’s truck - and she looked bad.
Covering my mouth, I gasped. “Oh my God!”
Kyle hissed in a breath between his teeth. “It’s pretty bad.”
“What did I hit?”
“Snow.”
My eyes bugged. “How in the world would snow do this?” I kicked at the white glittered puffs on the ground. “It’s so soft.”
Kyle shook his head. “Not when it’s been sitting there the entire winter. When snow piles up like that, Kami, it’s practically turned into a pile of ice. The entire front end of your car is damaged. I’ve taken a look beneath the hood and I’m sorry to say, that your car’s totaled.”
“Totaled.” I whispered, feeling drained of all hope. How was I supposed to work here on the Ranch without a car? There was no way I could walk everywhere, it would take me forever! How would I get groceries and do my laundry? Shit!
“It’ll be alright.” Kyle promised for the second time.
I scowled, pointing at my car. “Do you see my car, Kyle?” He nodded and I continued without giving him a chance to say anything else. “It’s, in your words, totaled! How is everything going to be alright?”
“Don’t panic, Kami.” Kyle’s voice was filled with calm. “I have an extra vehicle you can borrow until you can get a new vehicle.”
Covering my face with my hands, I moaned. “I shouldn’t have to borrow a car from you.”
“Life gets in the way, sometimes.” He said gruffly. “Accept help from friends when they offer it, alright?”
“Is that what you are to me?” I asked. “My friend?”
He frowned. “I was hoping to be that to you.”
Feeling like a complete charity case, I nodded. “I’ll work really hard to save enough to buy myself a car soon.”
“I know you will, Kami.” Kyle nodded. “But you don’t have to worry about it.”
Looking at my toes, I murmured. “Thanks again, Kyle.”
Would I always feel like I was thanking this man for something? From the moment I’d met him, he’d been rescuing me. Would I ever be able to repay my debts to him?
Kyle slid his fingers under my chin, tipping my head back. “Don’t mention it, Kami. I want to be here for you.”
His words made my heart race. I breathed, “Why?”
His eyes darkened. “Because you deserve to know you’re worth it.”
Chapter 8
Kyle was sweet. He was intense, a little brooding, slightly overbearing, and completely enthralling. The man practically melted my heart. Never, not once, had Rhett taken such careful care of me.
In the two weeks I’d been at the Ranch, Kyle had practically become my best friend. I saw him almost every day. He’d taught me how to not fall off a horse every time the horse took a step, and now he was teaching me the basic components of mountain climbing, or rock climbing - whatever you wanted to call it. We were starting with the indoor facility he ran throughout the winter. It was huge. I’d been working the desk with another girl, named Clea. She was nice, a little over the top with her makeup, hair, and dress, but she was a good person and her humor was off the charts. Seriously, the girl could make anything or anyone laugh. I really enjoyed her exuberant company while working.
It was honestly surprising how many people the Ranch filtered through in the winter. People from all over the world vacationed here and worked here. Life moved along at a great pace and I was so indebted to Ember for pushing me to take this job.
I talked to Ember on the phone almost every second day. For the first week, she’d been giving me updates on Rhett. Apparently, he’d been going crazy trying to find me. He was going around town making threats and vandalizing whatever was nearest to him when his searching resulted with no success.
Lately, Ember had refused to talk to me about Rhett. I knew he wasn’t dead, or in prison, because he was still calling my phone every hour. However, I knew Ember sensed my guilt at making Rhett so wild and obsessed and I had a good feeling it was my guilt that lead to her sealed lips when it came to any, and all things, Rhett.
“I’m heading out.” I waved to Clea as I pulled my purse up onto my shoulder. “Have a nice night!”
She winked, “You too, babe.” And then she waggled her brows at me as she eyed Collin, who was taking over the night shift in the rock climbing facility. Being that it was winter, and everything was frozen over, there wasn’t much in the way of water sports. Collin liked to sleep in and that made him the perfect filler to replace Kyle at nights.
“Again?” I glanced discretely at Collin and Clea grinned widely. “I thought you’ve been there, done that?”
“Oh, but some things are fun to repeat.” She fanned herself.
I grunted, only partially amused. “I’m sure they are.”
“I’ll tell you all about it.” She shimmied away from me, more than likely on her way to flirt, shamelessly, with Collin.
“I don’t want to hear it!” I called out as Kyle appeared beside me.
“What don’t you want to hear?” Kyle asked.
I smirked. “You don’t want to know.”
“Actually, I do.” He grinned down at me. “Out with it.”
“Believe me, you really do not want to know.”
His grin tipped at the corners, turning into a frown. “It’s about Collin, isn’t it?”
I shrugged as I replied in a smart-ass, sing-song tone. “I told you, you didn’t want to know.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He placed his hand on my lower back to guide me from the gym. “What do you want to do tonight?”
“I thought movies were our Friday night tradition?”
“Are they?” He made a show of thinking. “I don’t think I got the memo.”
“Ha ha ha.” I said dryly. “We’ve had a movie night for the last two Fridays, I just thought we were making traditions, here. My apology.”
Kyle chuckled. “Never apologize, sweets. You know I’d take spending time with you over anything else.”
“Awe,” I gave him a gentle punch in the arm. “You’re so sweet.”
“I know.”
I rolled my eyes. “And conceited.”
He feigned a wounded expression. “I am not conceited.”
“Right.” I nodded exaggeratedly. “Are you following me home or am I meeting you at your place?”
“I’ll follow you home and we can drive together?” He proposed, a question hanging at the end.
“You know that if you drive me, you’ll have to drive me home after the movie.” I winced. “I don’t mind driving myself, you know.”
“I know, but I don’t mind driving you either.” At my unsure expression, he continued. “At leas that way I know you’re home safe.”
I thought about telling him that my little cabin was practically in the middle of nowhere. Unless I was mauled by a bear I’d make it home safe. But I didn’t say that. Instead, I agreed.
“Okay,” I shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
I smirked, opening the door of his jeep. “I’ll see you at the cabin.”
I climbed inside and Kyle rested his large hand on the door, leaning down slightly. He said gruffly, “Drive safe, Kami.”
“You know I do.” I eyed him seriously. “I haven’t hit the ditch since that first night. And that was because of the snow!”
I was still prickly about the horrible driving record I’d gotten around the Ranch. I’d even shown Reese and her horrible ditch encounters to the curb. That was just embarrassing. When Logan learned there was another alleged horrible driver on the roads of the Ranch, he declared firmly, that if Reese made a move to drive herself anywhere, he was tying her to the bed. I did not find that funny.
Kyle snorted in much the same way I had heard Logan snort at Reese before he grunted. “Yeah, because I put chains on the tires of the jeep.”
“That storm was insane!” I huffed a reminder in case he’d forgotten. “Because I’m a damn good driver.” Kyle pinned me with dark eyes and I mumbled on a lower breath. “And because you put chains on the tires.”
He cocked a grin. “That’s my girl.” I heard him say as he closed the door.
My heart was a mess of beats in my chest, as it always was, when he called me his girl. I don’t know why, but I loved the sound of that. Over the course of two weeks, Kyle had wrangled my heart, and he was slowly, ever so slowly, reeling me in.
I wondered if he knew what he was doing to me, or if his endearments were intentional. I honestly didn’t think they were, though. Endearments just came naturally to us. With Kyle, everything was so simple and easy. Natural. Our relationship just kept growing, our friendship getting stronger.
But that was the thing - we were only friends.
Kyle hadn’t made a move to make me feel as though he wanted anything more. Although I wasn’t entirely ready for a relationship, because let’s be honest, I just got out of a horrible seven-year relationship, I did have feelings for Kyle. I didn’t exactly know what those feelings meant yet, but they were there. And they were growing.
Banishing the thoughts from my mind, I watched Kyle climb into his truck from my rearview mirror before pressing my foot down on the gas pedal. I drove through the winding roads of the Ranch, which I now knew, to my little cabin.
A Safe Surrender: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Donnelley Brothers Book 2) Page 7
