Wild Ride

by Tiffinie Helmer

  Damn it, she was a wreck—her hair in a ponytail with half of it falling out, no makeup, and sweaty, wearing a ratty t-shirt and shorts.

  She frowned and planted a hand on a cocked hip. “Which one are you?” she asked, even though she knew. Dare had a swagger about him that Ryder didn’t.

  “Still mad?”

  “Depends. How are you going to make up for standing me up again? And it was standing me up, even though you called in a replacement.”

  “You were more easy-going in high school.”

  “Well, what can I say? My patience for bullshit has diminished with age.”

  Derek choked on a laugh behind her.

  “I thought I would start with flowers.” Dare handed her the ostentatious bouquet of mixed roses, dahlias, and tiger lilies. She hated tiger lilies. Their over-powering, sickly-sweet scent caused her to sneeze.

  “Bless you,” Dare said.

  She took the flowers so that she could get them away from her nose and moved them into the kitchen. Glancing around, she realized she had nothing to put them in. She filled up the sink and deposited them in there for now. After Dare left, she’d take out the tiger lilies and throw them away so she could enjoy the other flowers. “Thank you for these.”

  “You’re welcome.” He glanced around the kitchen. “I’d still like a tour of the place, if you’re willing. I really am sorry about the other night and the switcheroo.”

  She wanted to stay mad at him, but it was hard to. It was easier staying mad at Ryder for some reason, which she couldn’t figure out why. “You need to promise me right now that you will never do that to me again. And I mean never.”

  He held his fingers up in the Boy Scout Pledge. “I promise.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “When were you ever a Boy Scout?”

  He looked at his three-finger salute and then made an X over his heart. “I cross my heart and hope to die if I ever pull something like that on you again.”

  “You won’t have to hope to die, I’ll take care of that for you.”

  He laughed and then wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “See, this is why I’ve missed you.”

  “Death threats?”

  “No, you make me laugh.” He kissed her forehead and then released her. “Take a break and give me a tour. Please.”

  She looked up at him and those beseeching eyes so like Ryder’s, but more playful and less serious, less intense. “Fine. Come on.”

  She took him through the lower level of the house, ignoring Derek waggling his eyebrows at her as they walked by.

  It was interesting the differences between giving Ryder a tour and then Dare. Dare listened, nodding in the appropriate places, praising her plans, but didn’t offer any ideas like Ryder had. Ryder had seemed vested in her project, while Dare was more of a bystander.

  They entered the master suite, and Dare laughed. “This house has lived through a time warp.”

  At the sound of his voice, Morgan peeked out of the bathroom, and then came up sharp, smoothing her dark honey hair back.

  “I didn’t know we had company. Hi, Dare.” Morgan brightened.

  Oh, man, she doesn’t have a crush on Dare, does she? He’ll just break her heart.

  “Hey, ya, Morgan. Looking good.”

  Gabi elbowed Dare sharply in the ribs.

  “Ouch.” He rubbed his side. “What did you do that for?”

  “Come on, you need to go. We have a lot of work to get done today.”

  “I was hoping to take you out to lunch. After all, I owe you a meal.”

  “You owe me more than lunch, and you know it. Plus, as you can see, I’m cleaning today. If you want to stay and help, you’re welcome to.”

  “Uh…”

  “I didn’t think so.” She grabbed his arm and led him toward the stairs and away from a wide-eyed Morgan.

  “Leaving so soon?” Derek asked when they reached the great room.

  “Looks that way,” Dare said as Gabi dragged him out of the cabin. She released her hold on him once they were outside on the porch. “What was that all about? First the elbow punch and now tossing me out.”

  She poked his chest. “Do not make eyes at my sister.”

  “I wasn’t making eyes at her.” He rubbed where she’d poked him. “What is she, twenty, twenty-one?”

  Twenty-two. “She’s too young for you.”

  “I’m not interested in her. I’m interested in you.”

  “You sure have a weird way of showing it.”

  “Would this help?” He slid a hand into her hair and leaned down to kiss her.

  She froze. Not knowing if she wanted to kiss him or push him away. The decision was taken out of her hands when his lips settled gently over hers. Curiosity had her responding. She’d kissed Dare before, back in high school. While the kiss was enjoyable, it didn’t set her afire like Ryder’s had.

  She broke off the connection and stepped back. “I really need to get back to work,” she murmured not able to meet his eyes, knowing they would show puzzlement.

  “Are you sure I can’t talk you into playing hooky?” He gave her an impish smile, trying to coax her into spiriting away with him. “It’s a beautiful summer day. We could go swimming.”

  “Can’t do it. Sorry.”

  “Then promise to have dinner with me this Saturday. I swear it will be me and only me, no excuses, no cancelations.”

  She looked at him from under her lashes. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Dinner and dancing at the Pump House. Brey will be singing.”

  “Then I’ll definitely be there.” Brey was one of her favorite musicians and she couldn’t be happier for him and his songwriting success. She’d always wondered why he hadn’t gone into performing his own songs too. He did the occasional small stage stuff but seemed content to stay in the background and have others sing his heart-wrenching ballads.

  “I’ll pick you up, say around seven,” Dare said.

  “Make it exactly seven and not a minute later, and you have a date. But this is your last chance.”

  “Got it.” He quickly kissed her again and then swaggered off the porch. He turned before getting into his truck. “Give my dad a call for a bid on what you need done around here. I’ll make sure he gives you the family discount.” With that, he climbed in and started up the truck.

  While she watched him drive off in a cloud of dust, Derek and Morgan joined her on the porch.

  “He’s so dreamy,” Morgan said with a sigh.

  Gabi narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Don’t be thinking of him like that. And he isn’t the only one who is dreamy, his brother is—” She stopped herself when she realized she was about to give too much away. But Derek caught it. Her brother was always quick to pick up on things.

  “Do you have something going on with Ryder?” he asked. “I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation with Dare and his attempt to apologize for the other night with Ryder.”

  Gabi felt the heat of her blush blooming in her cheeks.

  “Wait? You’re dating them both?” Morgan asked, her voice full of awe. “Man, why can’t I have your life? First, Kauai, and now twins!”

  “Nothing is going on with Ryder. Not really.”

  “Spill it,” Derek said.

  She huffed out a deep breath. “The other night I was supposed to have a date with Dare, but he couldn’t make it, and in his infinite wisdom, he conned Ryder into doing a twin switch.”

  “Oh boy, that sounds so fun,” Morgan said. “What? They’re identical. If one brother isn’t available, you can settle for the copy. Both are too hot for their own good. I don’t see how you can go wrong.”

  “Agreed on the hotness factor,” Derek said. “But I have a feeling something happened with Ryder. Something you don’t want Dare to know about.”

  She wrestled with herself for a second. Did she confide in her siblings? The three of them had always been really close as it felt like it was them against Bailey and Harper since the
re were six years between Derek and Bailey. It was as if there were two sets of families. The first three kids, and then the last two.

  “Ryder kissed me the other night. Well, technically I kissed him first.”

  “Way to take the reins, sis. How did his kiss measure up to Dare’s?” Derek asked.

  “Dare’s is enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. He knows what he’s doing, but Ryder…I would have borne his children if he’d asked me to at that moment.”

  “Wow, you have a problem,” Derek said.

  “Don’t I know it,” she mumbled. She frowned when her attention was caught by something in the bushes. Was there an animal out there? Most likely, this was Alaska after all. “Let’s get back to work.”

  “Slave driver,” Morgan muttered.

  Gabi followed them inside but turned to search the surrounding area before closing the door.

  She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, and not by the four-legged variety. She’d experienced the sensation more than once over the last couple of days.

  It might be a good idea to borrow one of her dad’s shotguns since she planned to stay out here by herself starting tonight. It was probably nothing, but she’d sleep better knowing she had protection in case she needed it.

  Chapter 6

  Ryder entered Wilde Log Homes, having just hung up with his twin, who informed him all was right in the world with Gabriella. It was hell knowing Dare had another date with Gabriella.

  How could she kiss him, respond to him like she had, and then accept a date with his brother?

  Colette, their long-time business manager, handed him a stack of messages. The one with Gabriella’s name leapt from the pile. He disregarded the rest and read what Colette had written down as he walked into his office:

  Bid request.

  “Colette!” he hollered.

  Her desk was located in the large open-concept kitchen, living, and dining room, while he worked out of a room not much bigger than a laundry room. Actually, it was a laundry room on the blueprints. The Wilde Log Homes office was one of their premium log house plans showcasing the skills and talents of what they offered.

  His dad commandeered the biggest office space located right off the great room with double doors opening to a plush office reminiscent of a British library. While Ryder’s office had a hand-me-down desk, dented filing cabinets, and scared bookcases that held an array of blueprints.

  He was fine with the tight space. He hated being in the office to begin with, and after an hour spent imprisoned here, he itched to get outside. Didn’t matter if it was forty below, he’d rather be working with his hands than on a computer, talking on the phone, or pushing papers any day of the week.

  “You hollered, my liege?” Colette peeped her head into his office. She was dressed in her usual eighties garb, the collar of her dress shirt standing at attention, large geometric earrings paired with an equally large necklace. Her bleached blond hair teased around her head and was held back with a lacy headband. “You really need to clean this place up. I don’t know how you can find anything.”

  He’d heard it said that a messy desk was a sign of an intelligent and creative mind. That was good enough for him to let the mess continue to breed. Eventually, Colette would have enough and attempt to straighten and organize. He hated it when she did that because he couldn’t find a damn thing when the place was clean.

  He held up the message. “Gabriella Waterman. How long ago did she call? What did she say?”

  “It’s written down on the message.” Colette pointed to the left-hand corner. “There is the time of the call, and I wrote down that she wants a bid.”

  “Yeah, I got that. Did she say anything else? Did she ask for me personally to give her the bid?”

  “What she said didn’t really make sense. When I asked her who she wanted me to send out, she said to surprise her. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Unfortunately, it did.

  He thumbed through the rest of his messages, stopping when he came to the one from Leia Atwood:

  Call me!

  “That girl has called three times this morning,” Colette said, seeing him staring at the message. “You’re going to have to do something about her. I’m tired of fending off her calls for you.”

  He’d broken off their relationship two months ago. It wasn’t lost on him that the fire he’d been trapped in, when a log beam had fallen on him and broken his leg, had been set just days after their messy break up.

  He’d thought they were just casually dating, and the only reason he’d continued to see her was because his sister Sorene didn’t want him to. It was childish and obstinate on his part, and he’d paid for it.

  Leia had tormented his sister all through school, nicknaming her Sorry instead of calling her Sorene, which some of the other kids had adopted. She’d basically picked and bullied Sorene throughout school to present. He’d never been a witness to the bullying since Leia and Sorene were five years Ryder’s senior until a couple of months ago when Leia had started showing her true colors. He’d enjoyed Leia’s company, liking that he was dating an older woman. Age, in his opinion, had no bearing on love. Though he hadn’t loved Leia and wished now that he hadn’t let the relationship continue as long as it had. He hadn’t meant to hurt Leia. But after a few red flags, he’d known she wasn’t for him and had broken it off as gently as he could.

  Leia still refused to believe that they were over. He didn’t know what it was going to take for her to believe it and had started ghosting her—not returning her calls or texts and avoiding her whenever he could. That didn’t seem to be working. If anything, Leia had become more insistent, following him, showing up at the Pump House or his job site, and making a general nuisance of herself.

  While he had his suspicions that she had started the fire, the authorities hadn’t been able to prove arson, though the fire had been deemed suspicious. His firefighter sister Kennadee had done her best working with the fire marshal from Fairbanks, but the trail had gone cold for now.

  He gathered the messages and tossed them onto his desk, keeping the one from Gabriella and punching her number into his cell phone, saving it in his contacts.

  “Hello?”

  At the sound of her voice a pleasurable shudder trembled through him and he had to clear his throat in order to speak. “Gabriella, it’s Ryder.”

  “Is it now?” she said in a mocking tone. “And how do I know you aren’t Dare?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he was the one who’d had his hands under her dress the other night but didn’t. Instead, he chose to ignore the question. “I hear you’re wanting a bid. I can be there in thirty minutes.” He was due out at the Graham job site, but he could be late. After all, he was the boss.

  “I’ll see you then. And Ryder?”

  “Yes?” The way she said his name had him waiting with bated breath.

  “Make sure it’s you who shows.” She hung up.

  Ryder stared at the phone, and then tucked it into his pocket. He glanced up to see Colette still standing there with a knowing look on her face.

  “Gabi Waterman is sure a comely woman.”

  “That she is.”

  “Isn’t she dating Dare? I’ve seen them around town together a few times.”

  He grunted and let Colette interpret the sound however she wanted. “If you need me, I’ll have my cell. But don’t need me.” He hated the damn phone.

  “I’ll bother your father instead. He’s been slacking on the job what with Brey helping out now that he’s back from Nashville.”

  “Do that. Thanks, Colette.” He bent down and kissed her cheek. He didn’t know how he and his father kept things running this time of year without her militant skills. She kept them running tight and efficient during the crazy summer months when the sun refused to set. They had to get as much work done as they could now since winter was coming and would be here before any of them were ready for it.

  “Give Gabi m
y best,” she hollered after him as he left.

  His best is exactly what he wanted to give her.

  He needed to stop thinking about her like that, but she was like a siren, a temptation he didn’t seem to have it in him to resist. No way should he be heading over there to give her a bid, a bid that he already knew would be too reasonable, and he would be the one to do the work if she decided to go with Wilde Log Homes. No way would he leave his fellow contractors alone with her unsupervised. They were a randy lot.

  What kind of masochist did that make him? A dead one, if he wasn’t careful.

  It wasn’t long before he pulled up in front of Gabriella’s place. Grabbing his clipboard and donning his toolbelt, he climbed the porch steps. He could already tell she’d been busy cleaning the place. The windows sparkled, and the porch had a pot of forget-me-nots spilling over the rim. He raised his hand to knock, and the door opened before he could. He stood there like an idiot, his fisted-hand hanging useless in mid-air.

  She took his breath away.

  There was no way to describe the sucker punch every time he saw her. His mouth went dry taking in the jean shorts and form-fitted tank top in a bright pink, making her eyes seem that much bluer. A shimmering pearl hung from a delicate gold chain around her neck, highlighting the golden shine of her tanned skin. She literally glistened, her face flushed, as if she’d been working hard—or having sex.

  Get that thought out of your head.

  “Sorry, I’ve been cleaning.” She brushed at her clothes, bringing attention to how her breasts filled out the tank top.

  He wasn’t going to make it.

  “I can come back another time,” he croaked out, his eyes riveted on her tight body in the skimpy outfit. Well, it wasn’t really skimpy. His sisters wore stuff like that all the time when they were working or hiking. But on Gabriella, she seemed almost naked. The sundress the other night had flirted around her, flowing in a teasing manner.

  But this.

  He could see her curves, her hips, her tiny waist, and those long, gorgeous legs lay bare to his gaze.

  “This works for me if it does for you. Come in.” She opened the door wider for him to enter.