by Rhonda Lott
“It’s just the two of you guys out here?” Brook asked.
“I have two ranch hands that come in everyday to help me with work, but mostly it’s just us.”
Brook gazed over at Chris, with that same sad expression. “Well, that sounds like a lot of fun to live with horses in your back yard. I’m a city girl so I’ve never been around horses in my life.”
“Are you’re traveling through on your way home?” Dean asked.
“No, I, uh…” She glanced over at Chris, who was listening intently, eyes aimed at her mouth.
Like father, like son, he thought. Then frowned, no way. She was sitting there doing nothing but being pretty as hell and winning him and Chris over in less than an hour. He had to get rid of her in the morning.
“Go wash up for bed son.”
Chris grumbled, slowly walking off to do as he was told.
“Now, tell me what has you so scared?” Dean leaned back in his chair.
She bit her lip, as if weighing what she would and would not tell him. Her eyes came up to him, clear and bright brown, turbulent with some deep emotion. They reached in and touched something he’d closed down for a long time. It was disturbing, yet compelling. He wanted to know what brought her such pain, because it swirled within her pretty eyes.
She took a deep breath. “I’m running away from my ex-husband, trying to find a new life for myself.”
“Running away. That means he’s chasing you or he did something to you.”
“I don’t know if he’s chasing me, but he did stalk me, cause me to lose my teaching job, and basically made it impossible for me to live in the town I’m from. We married right out of college and he was a great husband for about a year. He started to become overly possessive. That progressed into verbal abuse, and then finally he got physical and punched me. I divorced him soon after that. Kevin took that as a slap in his face, since he believed he did me a favor by marrying me in the first place. So, now I’m searching for a place far away from him to start over. Just to let you know, you didn’t let a crazy woman into your home, only a lost one.”
Her honesty came through with every word she spoke. He knew what being lost felt like, even though he had his ranch, Chris, and friends, he still felt the agony of feeling like the world was against you and having to start over from scratch. Building a new life after Nat was the hardest thing he ever had to do, having a partner that you loved and treated you in such a deplorable way, forcing you to run away with nothing but the clothes on your back. Now, that was an agony he hated she had to endure.
“Where do you think you’ll go?”
“No idea. I’m driving until some place strikes me as livable. Just call me a gypsy.” She grinned.
He saw a lot in that small smile. She joked and smiled to hide the hurt. He never learned to do that. He just pushed his pain down, worked, took care of Chris and that was it. Keep moving every day and not think. A shock of understanding and compassion filled him. He liked her spirit. It took guts for her to uproot self and get out from under the shit that was heaped on her.
“I think you’re going to find a good place and be just fine, Ms. Brooklynn Southerland.” He gave her a smile and for the first time in a long time it wasn’t a forced smile.
“I’m fighting to be fine, Mr. Dean Mills.”
“Come on, I’ll show you to the spare bedroom and thank you for the meal, it was the best one we’ve had in a while.” He admitted freely.
“You’re welcome.” She said softly, moving behind him down the hall.
Dean carried her backpack and let her into the room next to his.
“Thank you for this. I think you’re a little growly, but deep down you have a good heart. Good night.”
Dean stared at the closed door for a long while. She was sweet, but the truth was. He didn’t have a heart. That particular organ was ripped out of him two years ago.
CHAPTER THREE
Brook tossed and turned. The bed was warm and comfortable, but for the life of her she couldn’t drift off. Her mind was unsettled. Dean’s handsome face and Chris’ adorable grin kept popping up behind her closed lids. She flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Dean was a conflicted man, distant, and haunted. Love for his child was plain to see in his eyes, but there was an angry bitter side to him as well. He seemed pissed at the world. Then he told her she would be alright with such conviction and sincerity it touched her heart. Only her parents believed in her like that, they knew she would pull herself together. Dean experienced something devastatingly painful, it showed in his eyes, and the cold way he treated people. Nothing got close, nothing that could hurt him anyway.
Beside the bed, a clock ticked the seconds away and outside the wind howled. She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh of relief that Dean and his son took her in, out of the freezing wind and blinding snow. Luck was with her to have found them, even if Mr. Mills grumbled about her being there, it could have been much worse for her. The house was warm and dry, so why couldn’t she sleep?
Brook kicked the thick blanket off. The room was too hot or perhaps it was her. She felt as if she were suffocating. She had to put Dean out of her thoughts, but he was intriguing and so damn handsome. Finding a job and a place to live weighed heavily on her shoulders. She didn’t need to be worried about a brooding rancher and his kid. No, in the morning if this damn snow lets up, she was going to get her car and keep on moving. The little town of 3000 people, West Haven sounded like as good a place as any to start over.
The window exploded, shards of glass, and snow flew across the room. Brook screamed, covering her head from the raining glass. What in the world just happened? Did the storm knock down a tree limb into the room, but there wasn’t any tree limb. The window blew up for no apparent reason. She was lost in a state of bewilderment when her bedroom door banged open and Dean, wearing nothing but his black briefs, rushed in with a gun in his hand. His eyes landed on her, taking stock of her, then searched the room.
“You ok?” He asked.
Snow and freezing wind swept through the busted out window, swirling like a dust devil in the room. Brook nodded, not giving a thought about being in only a sleeping shirt, she jumped up and ran behind Dean, grabbing him tight around the waist.
“What the hell was that?” Brook asked.
“Daddy?” Chris came to the door in his Star Wars pajamas, his eyes wide.
Brook took him in her arms, his body shook and Brook didn’t know if the poor thing was cold or scared.
“It’s ok Hun, just an accident.” She soothed him. But in her heart, she knew better.
Dean picked up something from the floor, it was a rock with a piece of wet paper rubber banded around it.
“What the F…” Dean stopped himself and glanced at his son.
Brook shot him a worried look as he unwrapped the note. Then her heart fell at the look of pure rage that skidded across Dean’s face. Transforming it into something truly scary.
He took Chris from her arms. “Come with me.”
They went downstairs. Dean gestured for her to spread a blanket on the love seat. He placed Chris down.
“You two should sleep here for the rest of the night. He left her there for a moment, then returned with a blanket for her in one hand and a blue tarp in the other.
“What’s going on?” Chris asked, his voice cracking a little.
“I don’t know Hun, but I’m sleeping right here across from you. It’s ok, go on back to sleep.”
The sound of a hammer pounding carried through the house, before Dean came down. Dressed now in jeans and a T-shirt, but sill bare foot, he sat in the chair across from her. He ran his hands through his already rumpled hair. He looked as perplexed as she felt, just more snarly and angry. He stared at Chris sleeping on his back with one arm hanging off the love seat, before turning troubled gray eyes her way.
“What just happened, Dean, what was on that paper?” Brook asked, afraid to hear the answer.
He leaned for
ward, a lock of hair falling forward, and his jaw ticking slightly. “I’m coming for you. That’s it. Just I’m coming for you.”
**
Dean came awake to the sound of Chris’ laughter. The events of the night before flashed back into his mind. What kind of person, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a snow storm, tosses a fucking note on a rock through a window? It was the foolish act of a kid or a sick fuck. Dean went into the kitchen and skidded to a stop at the door. The place was cleaned from top to bottom and smelled of lemon cleanser. He almost didn’t recognize his own kitchen. Pans and dirty dishes were nowhere in sight, the room sparkled. Chris munched on toast and there was a pile of scrambled eggs in front of him. Brook laughed at the way he was devouring his food, her eyes so kind and warm.
“Come have breakfast.” Brook said when she noticed him.
“When did you do all this?”
“Earlier, I have to move when I’m stressed, so, ta da.” She spread her arms wide.
“Humph.” He grunted.
She stared at him, blinked twice at his response, and frowned. All the warmth bled out of her face and eyes. Dean felt properly reprimanded, without her saying one word. He ducked is head and took a big fork full of his eggs. They were fluffy and melted in his mouth. The toast was buttery and crunchy, not half charred to hell and back like his. Before he knew it, his plate was empty. Brook sure knew her way around a kitchen, she was obviously a tidy woman, and Chris liked her. Dean didn’t want to think what he was thinking. She was a beautiful woman, his attraction to her was real and frightening in ways he couldn’t accept.
His life was falling apart. The house was filthy, Chris was a terror and he spent more time cleaning and cooking than running his ranch. His need for a housekeeper outweighed everything else.
“Daddy, can I go play?” Chris asked, fidgeting in his chair.
“Yeah, son, but keep to the yard.”
Chris jumped up, and ran to the mudroom by the door. He pulled on his coat, hat, and gloves, then stomped into his boots. He let loose a loud “Wahoo,” before running out the door.
Dean chuckled.
As Brook cleared the dishes, he watched her. She worked with a quick, efficiency that impressed him. Stretching above her head, to put away the plates pulled her white sweater tight across her full breast. Dean’s eyes followed the line of her body down to her perfect ass. Sweet Jesus, he was a pervert.
Dean cleared his throat. “I want to ask you something, Brook.”
“Yes, I imagine you do.”
Brook returned to her chair, placed her hands on the table, and sighed. A robin’s egg colored band was holding back her hair, making her dark brown eyes appear large and innocent. She reminded him of a school girl waiting for punishment.
“What do you imagine I want to talk to you about?” Dean asked, wondering about her nervousness.
“The rock, the ‘I’m coming for you’ note. It was more than likely my ex-husband, Kevin, is responsible for all that.”
“Wait a minute. You believe this guy, followed you through a snow storm and threw a rock through my window?” Dean thought about that for a minute. “I don’t see that happening, sweetheart.”
“Well, who else could it be, unless you’ve pissed somebody off lately?”
Dean shrugged. “Nope, everyone loves me.”
“I doubt that.” She muttered under her breath.
“What, what was that?”
“Oh, nothing.” She stood. “Thank you for giving me shelter from the literal storm, sorry about the window. Once I’m gone Keven will no longer be a problem.”
“I’m offering you a job.” He blurted out.
Brook canted her head and looked at him like he’d grown another head. “You wanna do what now?”
“I need a housekeeper. I know that you’re a teacher and this might be a step down for you. We need someone to cook, clean, and keep an eye on Chris. I’m really in a bind.”
“But, what about Kevin?” She asked, with a frown. “He’s unstable. I’ve had to endure his craziness and the last thing I want is to bring that kind of destruction here, not with Chris around.”
Dean rose to his feet. He took her hand. “Did he hurt you physically, Brook?”
“At the end, yes.”
Dean’s muscles tightened. She was so earnest and easy-going. Even when he’d turned her out to the storm, she forgave him and popped off a joke. What kind of monster could harm her?
“Can’t stomach a man putting his hands on a woman. If it is him and he shows his face around here I’ll take care of him. You will be safe here. My ranch hands, Tony and Gavin are here every day, even if I’m not.”
She closed her eyes for a second. “Safe here.” She whispered like a prayer.
“You need a place to get back on your feet, this is as good a place as any.”
She glanced out the window at Chris rolling big balls of snow for a snowman.
“West Haven, my new home?” She bit her bottom lip, scrunched up her brow, then nodded. “If you think you can handle me, then you got yourself a new housekeeper.”
The back door creaked open and a big blond man stepped inside, stomping snow off his boots.
“Gavin, this is our new housekeeper, Brook. Gavin and his brother Tony work the ranch with me.” Dean told her.
“Good morning, Gavin, nice to meet you.”
Dean noticed the way Gavin’s eyes widened and the way he tried not to let on he was checking Brook out. A ripple of anger shot through him, before he reined it in. She was not his. It shouldn’t matter one bit to him if Gavin was attracted to her, but it did matter. It mattered in a way that had Dean anxious for the man to say what he came to say and get the hell back out his door.
“Morning, nice to meet you too, Brook.” Gavin gave her a bright smile.
Dean bristled more. Gavin was the quiet type and Dean hadn’t seen him smile ever. Now, he had a grin the size of Texas plastered on his face and couldn’t peel his eyes off Brook. If this went on any longer, Gavin was gonna lose a couple of those pearly whites of his.
“What’s up Gav, you and Tony bring Brook’s car in?”
Gavin jerked his head towards Dean as if he just remembered Dean was in the room. “Right, that’s why I came. The car is gone.”
“Gone, what do you mean?” Dean asked.
“We found the spot where she went off the road, but there was no car. It looked like somebody got there before us, hooked it up to their vehicle and towed it away.” Gavin gave Brook a sympathetic glance.
“But the storm, who would do such a thing in that weather?” Brook asked the question that the two men were obviously thinking.
Dean could see in her eyes, she knew the answer. Her ex was a crazy bastard to do all this in attempts to get at her. Was he making the right decision hiring her? His life was complicated enough without bringing someone else’s baggage into it. Brook’s body seemed to shrink after she heard about her car. She was still afraid of this Kevin. Alone with no one to help her, she was trying to get away and start a new life. As he watched the confidence fading from her, Dean knew he had made the right decision. They would help her and if her ex showed his face, he would teach the fucker how to treat a woman. He would, if he could, give her a place to start building a new life for herself. Anticipation built in him. He was broken in so many ways, but the idea of putting Brook back together gave him a sliver of hope that he might be able to pull his busted life back from the brink of hell.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Come on you can make it.” She pleaded. The old rusted up, Ford truck, shuddered to a stop in front of Parker’s Grocery Store. Dean let her drive his father’s truck since her car was never found. Brook unbuckled and as usual thanked God, she’d made it. Thirty minutes felt like thirty hours behind the wheel of the clunker. Today was her weekly shopping trip to West Haven for food and supplies. It was supposed to be a weekly trip, but in the past six weeks she’d been to town quite a few times to pick up a c
ertain six year old. Slowly, Chris was mending his ways and for the past two weeks, he hadn’t been sent home from school. He was the brightest and the best part of her new life. Chris tried the frog in her bed trick, she just put the little bugger in his cereal bowl. When the frog jumped out at him she thought he would be startled, but it only made him roll on the floor with laughter. They were partners, him and her. He helped her clean, did his chores, and was even teaching her to ride. Lord knows his daddy wouldn’t get close enough to her to throw water on her if she were on fire. Yeah, the little hellion touched something deep within her and brought back some of the joy she thought she would never find again.
Brook headed into the store, mind set on her list and not paying much attention to the people around her. The town’s people were friendly, she loved to talk to them, especially the old timers, but today she had a long list of things to get and not a lot of time. If she started conversations with anybody, her time schedule would be thrown off. Tonight she was making a special meal for everyone to celebrate her birthday. Nobody knew it was her birthday, but that didn’t matter. For the first time in a long time she would be spending her special day with people instead of alone. Kevin never remembered and for so long she considered it just another day. Now, she was a new woman, with a new life and she was going to celebrate her birthday.
A sudden chill struck her and tension knotted her stomach. The same knotting she got every night before Kevin came home from work. Brook twisted about searching the isle, but there wasn’t anybody there. She knew her instants were dead on, they never let her down. Snatching the last item on her list off the shelf, Brook speed walked to the check out. A friendly clerk with red hair and freckles, no more than nineteen chirped happily as she rang her up. Brook’s stomach churned, she felt its contents rising. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she thought her body would shake to the thunderous beat. Tapping her foot, Brook bit the inside of her mouth, the urge to run had her body jerking. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of him. He was standing outside the store with his back to the window. Was it Kevin? He had Kevin’s big muscled body type, but he was so bundled up with, heavy coat, skull cap and gloves she couldn’t be sure. He was facing away from her, but she knew he was waiting for her. Maybe she was just being paranoid. There hadn’t been any sign of Kevin for the past six weeks.
