by Aria Ford
Alex gave me a serious look. “You know, Darby – you need to slow down sometime.”
“Oh, for...” I glared at him. My brother is a handsome, six-foot man with blue eyes and a stunning smile. The fact that he's a well-earning financier doesn't make him any less appealing to girls, either. But sometimes, especially now, when he treats me like his baby sister, I want to punch his arm like when we were kids.
“What?” he asked, those baby blue eyes serene. “It's true, Darbs.”
“That doesn't mean that it makes it any easier to hear it, over and over again. If anyone else tells me to slow down, I swear I'll...”
“What was that, auntie Leona? No, it's okay... we're both vegetarian. Yeah.” He turned back to me. “Come on, Darby.”
I sighed. “Alexander, you know what?”
“What?” he asked.
“I'd only agree to something like this for you.”
Alex looked pleased. He smiled at me.
“I'm glad to hear it, Darby. Well. Come on. We should go in before we cause even more disturbance... as two vegetarian-borderline-vegans in this place, we're freaky enough.”
I laughed. Alex had a way with words. I often thought he should have gone into law. He could persuade anyone to do anything. As it happens, I was the one who went into law. Funny how these things happen.
Which was, of course, my problem. I am a junior lawyer at a busy firm. I need to work. Hard. I really don't need to spend a week sitting on my bottom in the middle of nowhere. But since I'd already been persuaded to come on this crazy family reunion thing, I might as well go along with it.
“Okay,” I said to Alex. “I'll join in. But only if you promise me we'll stick to my plans.” My plans were to get on the plane in two days' time.
“Okay,” he promised.
“Good.”
I let myself be persuaded to follow him into the tent my uncle had raised in the sprawling backyard.
“Whoa!”
I caught my breath as someone stumbled into me. How rude! I was about to let slip a word I'd never normally use in polite company, when the someone turned around.
I stopped dead. With strawberry-kissed hair, a long, lean face and the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen, the rude guy was stunning. He was dressed in a denim jacket that looked like it really was torn and grease-stained, jeans and a t-shirt. There was at once something really hot and something a bit unkempt about him – imagine a skinny, strung-out and slightly stubbly Matt Damon.
Not too skinny, mind – the shoulders under that jacket were ripped.
“Uh,” I said, blinking. “You might have looked where you were going,” I added, feeling slightly nettled.
“I didn't see you there,” he said with an uneasy shrug. He was already turning away.
He didn't seem particularly contrite and my anger rose. It was bad enough being persuaded into this in the first place without this rudeness. This was my family gathering!
“Well you should have looked,” I snapped.
I saw Alex go red beside me and I rounded on him, too. “What, Alex? It's rude to walk into people. If you're even a bit polite, you apologize.”
Alex went redder. “Sorry,” he said. “This is my friend, Jared.”
“Your friend?” I was astonished. Hot or not, the guy looked like Alex must have picked him up at a rough bike rally. Not that Alex rides bikes.
Alex looked embarrassed. “Yes. I met him when I was living in LA.”
“Oh.”
I was surprised. I was going to ask more, but the rude guy spoke. He made wide eyes at my brother.
“Alex, I should go.”
“What?” I said. I don't know why, but that made me even angrier. I hadn't had an apology, and now he was ignoring me and interrupting my discussion with my brother. “Listen, you,” I said. “At least apologize before you go.”
I kept my voice low, but as it happened I didn't need to worry – the collective Gilmore family was making enough noise in the tent to cover an apocalypse.
He looked helplessly at Alex, as if to ask him why this strange woman was shouting at him. Alex winced. “Darbs, he...”
“I don't care what he does or doesn't do,” I said. I glared at the man. He glared back, those blue eyes iced. I found I was enjoying this now.
“I'm here as a guest,” the man – his name was Jared, I must remember that – reminded me.
“I'm here as a Gilmore,” I snapped.
The man's eyes widened and then narrowed. He pushed past me out of the tent.
Alex looked at me. “You upset him,” he said.
“I upset him?” I felt my temper direct at my brother now. “Alex! I didn't do anything. He started it. I...”
I trailed off as my aunt appeared again.
“Are you all gonna join in?” she asked.
I sighed. “Coming, auntie.”
I put my hand on Alex's arm and led him into the tent.
“We can't just leave him like that,” Alex said, hesitant.
“Like what?”
Alex led me back the entrance and he pointed at Jared. The garden was cooling off to evening now, the sky pale blue. I could just see the shape of Jared at the gate, the paler color of his shirt and the pale blue jacket. He was leaning on the gatepost, his hands balled into fists. He was staring out across the landscape. He looked sad and tense and worried. I felt my heart twist with feeling.
“What can I do?” I asked hesitantly.
My brother shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe I should call him. He's...it's a long story.”
“I've got a reasonable attention-span,” I said hotly.
Alex grinned at me. “Sometimes I forget you're twenty-seven,” he smiled.
“You're four years older, big-brother.” I protested, but his smile was so gentle that I couldn't really be mad at him. Not for long.
“I know,” he said. “Listen, don't let Jared upset you, okay? I'll explain why, later. Just... forgive me?”
I smiled. “For what, Alex?”
“For bringing someone rude?”
I laughed. “Oh, Alex. It's not your fault.”
He grinned. “Thanks.”
He was about to go outside and talk to his friend when I put my hand on his arm. “Let me,” I said. I don't know what made me say that. But something about that defeated pose made me want to reach out to the odd stranger.
Alex raised a brow. “You sure, Darbs? He's...unpredictable sometimes.”
I frowned. I was starting to wonder what exactly it was that was the matter with this guy. I knew I'd probably hear more about it sometime. For now, all I wanted to do was make things better. I headed out into the garden.
“Jared?” I called.
He turned around. His face was tight with emotion, his blue eyes staring reproachfully. I sighed.
“Look,” I began. “We can forget it. Okay? Whatever I did that... stressed you. You're welcome. Alex invited you. It's not like he didn't invite me too. Kind of,” I shrugged.
His face changed from bleak to confused. “How d'you mean?”
I sighed. “Well, I didn't want to come. Not really.”
“It's your family,” he said woodenly. “Like you said. You belong here.”
I sighed again. “You think so?” Sometimes I felt like an outsider. Not with Mom, Dad or Alex, obviously. But with Dad's crazy mountain connection, yes. The idea of neat, trim ordinary people who lived neat, ordinary lives didn't seem to have occurred to anyone around here.
He grinned. “I dunno about that.”
I laughed. “Thanks.”
When he smiled, I noticed again that he was really handsome. Those blue eyes had a hesitant quality, as if he was waiting for censure. I felt my heart flip. What was in this guy's past? I wished I knew.
He looked at his hands. “I didn't mean offense,” he added. “I mean, now. And earlier. Sorry.”
I was stunned. He had apologized? To me?
“It's okay,” I said. “I was a bit over-the-top.”
<
br /> He shook his head, grinning. “You sure put me on blast.”
I smiled. “I get a bit mad sometimes.”
He chuckled. “I guess I do too.”
Again, I noticed that hesitance about him. It was a weird combination. Either he was so intense and cold, or the opposite – hesitant and shy. What was with this guy? I was interested. I wanted to get to know him better.
I shrugged. “You new here?”
He nodded. “Grew up in LA.”
“Oh?” I frowned. “Why the move?”
He looked at the toes of his scuffed shoes and said nothing. I shrugged.
“You know what? It's cold out here.” I shivered, rubbing my shoulders in an exaggerated manner. “Go inside, huh?”
He said nothing. His eyes were still focused on the ground and his throat worked as if he was trying to swallow some deep worries. When he eventually looked up, he didn't say anything still. He just walked toward the tent.
“Okay,” I shrugged. “We'll go inside.”
I hadn't meant for him to hear it, but he did. He turned and looked at me.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I'm... a weird dude.”
I smiled. “Probably not that weird,” I assured him. He grinned, that sweet smile.
“Maybe not.”
We went into the tent together.
I saw a seat with Alex and Mom and went to join them. Alex looked across to where Jared was joining my cousins in the only other available seat round the big outdoor tables. He looked at me and made round eyes.
“Well done,” he said.
I frowned. “What, Alex?”
“I thought it would be harder to persuade him to come in here.”
That was weird. I made an inquiring face at my brother. He shrugged.
“I'll tell you tomorrow. Okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
At that moment, my aunt appeared, to announce that dinner was at last ready. I could smell the scents of it wafting from outside, where Uncle and his friends some of the others were manning the barbecue.
“You two okay to start with salad?” she asked, frowning at us.
I looked at Alex and he smiled back.
“Sure,” he said. I nodded.
“Of course.”
When she'd gone he whispered to me. “I think I managed to get uncle to put some butternut squash on the barbecue. We won't starve. I promise.”
“Whew.”
We laughed and clicked our glasses and settled down to dinner.
Throughout the evening I was aware, peripherally, of Jared. He didn't talk to many people, and he seemed inward and serious. I frowned at Alex but he held onto the story. He wasn't going to tell me until tomorrow.
So until then I would have to wait and be in ignorance.
CHAPTER TWO
Jared
I sat in the yard and watched the sun light up the hillside.
That was one of the reasons I'd chosen to come up here. The beauty. This landscape was amazing. For a kid who'd grown up in the concrete maze of inner-city LA, the place was something else.
Not that my mind was that focused on the sunshine. I was more focused on the girl I met the other day.
Alex's sister.
I didn't know her name – Alex had forgotten to tell me – but I couldn't get my mind off of her.
It wasn't just the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the lovely face or the stunning figure with the slim waist and full breasts and curvy hips. It was the way she'd looked at me. Like I was a human being. Like I could be better.
People who have manners apologize.
I chuckled, remembering that. Whew! She'd really put me on blast. I was surprised her family hadn't heard us – but then, there was enough noise in that tent for nothing to have carried over into the main part.
I couldn't forget my happiness when she'd come over to chat more. I'd thought I'd blown it. That she'd have me evicted or something.
The thought of her actually coming to talk to me was something I'd not imagined.
Why would she want to talk to me? I looked down at my hands. Knotty with veins, corded with muscle, the knuckles of my right scarred from punching things – and people. That hand told me all I needed to know about myself. It told me that I wasn't exactly what I'd look for to meet my sister. Not that I'd know. I didn't have a sister.
I basically didn't have a family.
I had parents, for sure: A dad who screamed abusively at my mom, and me – whenever I showed up, which wasn't by choice very often – and a mom who'd been sober quite rarely. I didn't blame her. I hadn't wanted to be sober to see the stuff we saw.
“Jared!”
I looked up as Cody – my new colleague – called my name, startling me out of my thoughts.
“Hey, Cody,” I said in a quiet voice. I didn't really want to be disturbed right now. Even though I knew he was right. We had to go work.
“You turned out the barn?”
“Sure I did,” I said, feeling a bit defensive. I'd been here two months. They didn't exactly have to still act like I was a newbie.
“Sorry,” Cody said with a sigh. “I guess I'm just twitchy 'cos the boss is coming down.”
“Oh.” I sighed, taking long, deep breaths. The boss was Mr. Haddon – the owner of the ranch. We worked it – Me, Cody, Jeff and Nichol. We were cowboys.
Yeah, that seems weird. For a city boy, it was weird: but then, I wouldn't have ended up here if it hadn't been for Alex.
“I guess I should relax, huh?” Cody sighed. “Not too much to do before we gotta go get them in again. Hey?”
I chuckled. There was always plenty to do around the ranch – even now, I guess I should have been checking the barn, cleaning up a bit. But I wasn't.
“We should go see what Nics is up to.”
“Mm.”
Like me, Cody didn't seem too interested in doing work today either. He looked like he was thinking about something else.
“What?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Don't look like nothing.”
He smiled. “It isn't nothing.”
I guessed. It was a girl. Cody had been watching Dayna, a girl who lived in Green River and worked at the store – for weeks. We all knew about it. I guessed something had happened. Something good.
Oddly, seeing Cody so cheerful made me wonder about myself. I wasn't exactly envious of his happiness – not exactly. I was just wondering. What would it be like, to feel like that? I couldn't have imagined it.
Not until I saw her.
I wanted to slap myself. Why was I being so dumb? I met a girl – not any girl – the sister of a guy who'd more or less saved me – at a party. We chatted.
And now here I was, imagining her in bed with me?
I blushed.
“What?” Cody asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Don't look like...”
“Stop it, Cody,” I said. I hadn't meant to be snappy – I like Cody and even when I'm in one of my really weird moods he can get through to me like no-one else can. But even so.
“Sorry,” he said.
I sighed. “It's not you,” I said more-reasonably. “It's me. I'm just...weird at the moment.”
He chuckled. “Weird at the moment?”
I scowled, but I was laughing. “Yeah. Fine. Weird. Always.”
Cody laughed. “You're just fine,” he said kindly. He looked at me and then across to where Nics was appearing out of the barn.
I nodded, brushing my jeans off and standing. “We should go.”
“Mm.”
We stood and headed over to the barn to help the others muck out.
While I was busy shoveling ordure out of the stalls, I couldn't help but grin. I enjoyed this stuff. It sounded crazy. Compared to the place where I grew up, good, honest cow-dung was just that. Real.
Yes, it smelled. Yes, the work was tedious. And demanding. But it was real.
“Hey! Jared?”
“What?” I asked. I looked up at Jeff and Cody where they were working just ahead of me.
“Last one to get done's paying for lunch.”
“What?” I stared. “Hey! Not fair!”
We all laughed as I started frantically digging with renewed vigor. It wasn't like we earned a princely sum as it was. The thought of paying for all of them for lunch was quite an incentive to work faster.
“I'm not paying for Nics,” I said. “He eats like a blast furnace.”
We all laughed. Nichol actually looked shyly pleased. Cody gave him a shove, laughing.
We all set to work with renewed speed.
While I worked, I found my thoughts straying again to Alex's sister. Those blue eyes, those firm breasts. In my fantasy I was kissing her as she leaned against me, those fabulous curves in my arms...
“Watch it, Jared!” Cody yelled. “You almost got hit just then.”
I looked round with some horror, noting that I was in the direct line of fire for Jeff's dung shovel. I jumped back.
They all laughed.
“Hell! Never saw a body move so fast,” Jeff laughed. “Anyone would think it was poisoned.”
I chuckled. “It's not far wrong,” I observed, taking in a big breath and coughing. They all laughed.
We spent the next twenty minutes gritting our teeth, shoveling dung. Then Cody called a halt.
“Hey, guys. Looks like we're done.”
I blinked, looking around. He was right. We'd managed to clear up the small barn. I wasn't going to think about doing the big one – that could wait until after lunch.
“Right. Let's call it a day.” Jeff stretched.
We all nodded in approval. I flexed my arm, feeling the shoulder aching. One of the great things about farm-work, I admitted shyly to myself, was what it did for the body. I had always been tall and lean, but all this shoveling had added an extra thickness to my muscles, bulking out my shoulders and biceps in a way I'd never have expected. Even after two months, I felt like I'd really filled out.
And the girls seemed to notice.
“Hey, Jared,” Willerby, one of the waitresses in the place we usually ate, greeted me. Jeff whistled and I scowled. He stopped.
“Will you guys leave it alone?” I asked, not particularly angrily, when she'd gone. Jeff gave me an apologetic nod.
