by Liv Brywood
“I do care.” He jumped up and walked toward her, forgetting his nudity. “I’ve never stopped caring about you, but you can’t see it. You can’t see past your fancy job and your powerful position to see how much I care.”
“I don’t want to fight.” She sighed and turned toward the door.
“Please stay. We should talk about this,” he said.
“I can’t. If you can’t understand why my company is so important to me, then you don’t know me anymore.”
His jaw dropped as she opened the door and left. It slammed closed, rattling both the windows and his nerves. A low growl rose up from deep within his chest. His bear roared with frustration. Damn stubborn woman. And damn him for caring so much about someone who couldn’t give a damn about him. She’d clearly used him for stress relief, nothing more. He shouldn’t be surprised. She never thought about how her choices affected those around her. She only cared about herself and her company. How could he possibly love a woman like that?
After a quick, ice-cold shower, he dressed and stomped back toward the main house. He’d left his work gloves in the mudroom. He needed to go heave about five hundred bales of hay to work off the frustration. Maybe he’d spend the rest of the day mucking stalls too. Why not wallow in shit too?
As he reached the back porch, Diesel opened the screen door. He strolled out.
“Hey,” Diesel said. “Did you have a good time?”
“What?”
“With Violet,” his brother whispered in a conspiratorial tone.
Aaron glanced over Diesel’s shoulder to see if Beth was lurking in the background. The last thing he needed was a lecture from his sister. He didn’t see her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t within earshot.
“I’m heading over to move hay into the small barn. I could use a hand,” Aaron said.
“Sure.”
After grabbing their gloves, they walked toward the larger barn.
“How’s Violet doing?” Diesel asked.
“She’s… stubborn.”
“Like most women.”
“No. She’s worse. She’s obsessed with her job and doesn’t give a damn about anything or anyone else.”
“That can’t be entirely true,” Diesel said. “She flew back for her sister. So she cares about her.”
“I guess.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
He gave his brother a sharp look of warning. Normally he didn’t like to kiss and tell, but Violet had his boxers in a twist. As long as his brother tread lightly, he’d talk about what had happened in the cottage. He needed to talk to someone with some sense in their head.
“Yeah, I did.”
“So what happened? And I don’t mean in the sack. What happened after?”
“Everything was going fine until it wasn’t. One minute she’s wrapped around me like a minx, and the next she’s yelling at me like I’m a piece of cow dung on her boot.”
“What did you say to get her all riled up?” Diesel asked.
“I told her that she belonged here with her family.”
“Doesn’t she own a company in San Francisco?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter,” Aaron snapped. “She belongs here with…”
“With you?”
“With her family.”
“You’re not her family.”
“I know.”
“But you want to be?”
Aaron grabbed a pair of hay hooks from a shelf and walked toward a towering pile of hay bales. He stabbed the first bale with the hooks and hauled it toward a wheelbarrow. He couldn’t respond to his brother. He couldn’t admit the truth. Even after all these years, he still loved her.
“I take it she doesn’t plan on staying?” Diesel asked.
“No.”
“Then you shouldn’t go down that path in your head. Consider her off-limits. She’s only here temporarily until her sister gets better. She’ll be gone before you know it. If you don’t want her to rip out your heart again—walk away. Pretend she’s back in San Francisco.”
“Easier said than done,” he grumbled.
“I know what’ll cheer you up,” Diesel said.
“Yeah?”
“Dana Mulberry’s working at Sweets N’ Treats. I hear she’s been asking about you. Go get some ice cream and let her know you’re interested.”
“But I’m not interested.”
“The only way to get over falling off a horse is to get right back on another one.” Diesel grinned.
“Yeah right. When was the last time you jumped back on a horse?”
“We’re not talking about me,” Diesel said. “We’re talking about you and Dana. She’s hot, so what’s the problem?”
Aaron grumbled under his breath. Dana wasn’t even a blip on his radar compared to Violet.
“Maybe I need to give her more time,” he said.
“Dana? Or are you still talking about Violet?” Diesel asked.
“Violet.”
“You’re hell-bent on getting your heart stomped, aren’t you?”
“I changed my mind. I don’t need any help.” Aaron grabbed the wheelbarrow full of hay and rolled it toward the barn door.
“Suit yourself,” Diesel said. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again, but I can’t stop you either.”
Aaron gripped the wheelbarrow handles and steered it through the field. Violet was obviously upset by everything going on with her sister. Maybe if he gave her some space, she’d come around.
A twinge of guilt flitted through his chest. After picking her up from the hospital, he should have taken her to the main house instead of the cottage. She needed a warm cup of tea, not a hot romp in the sack. Although he’d only intended to play Monopoly with her, he’d made a huge mistake by giving in to his bear’s need to touch her. This was all his bear’s damn fault.
The creature growled, insisting he had nothing to do with Aaron’s choices.
She’s our mate.
“No, she’s not,” he grumbled.
But as he hauled bales of hay across the land, he couldn’t help but wonder if the beast was right. Was Violet really his mate? And if so, how could he possibly convince her to stay?
One week after her disastrous fling with Aaron, Violet stood by her sister’s hospital bed. Nothing had changed. The doctors kept insisting that she could still wake up, but Violet’s faith was starting to wane.
Her phone rang. She dug through her purse and answered it.
“Hey Brad, please tell me you have good news.”
“I wish I could. When are you coming back?” he asked.
“I don’t know. The doctors say there’s no timeline for this type of injury. Why, what’s going on?”
“The auditors found some anomalies in the purchasing department.”
“What kind of anomalies?”
“The totals aren’t adding up. It looks like someone might be skimming,” he said.
“What? Who?”
“They don’t know yet. For now we’re keeping this hush-hush. I have Paula looking into it.”
“Paula? Why not Drew? He’s the purchasing manager.”
“Paula’s good with numbers,” he said.
“She should be. She runs accounting.”
“And…”
“What?”
“We think Drew might be the one who’s skimming,” he said softly.
“What? But he’s been with me since the beginning. Why would he steal from us?” Her stomach churned as the toxic sludge of betrayal dumped into her gut.
“I don’t know. I’ve got it handled for now, but we need you back,” he said.
She paced the hospital room for a minute before stopping next to her sister’s bed. She couldn’t leave yet, not until her sister woke up. What if something happened? What if she went back to San Francisco and her sister died?
“If we don’t get this handled, we could lose everything,” Brad said, as if she needed a reminder.
“I’ll check with the doct
ors again and get back to you.”
“I didn’t want to call and worry you, but this is important.”
“I know. I’m glad you called.”
After hanging up, she plopped into a chair and leaned over to bury her face in her hands. She was torn between wanting to stay with her sister and wanting to fly back to save her business. How could she possibly choose?
Her parents walked into the room.
“What’s going on?” her mom asked. “What happened?”
“I got a call from work. We have a huge problem that I need to fix.”
“Bigger than your sister’s life?” her mom snapped.
“Yes,” Violet hissed before immediately regretting her outburst. Of course nothing was more important than her sister. But what good could she do sitting by her side day after day?
“I can’t believe you,” her mom said. “You don’t give a damn about your own flesh and blood. What happened to you? I know I didn’t raise you to be like that.”
“Honey,” her dad murmured. “The doctor’s right outside. I think we should have her come in to give us an update.”
Her mom nodded stiffly before turning her back on Violet. Her dad left the room for a moment before returning with the doctor.
“Has there been any change?” Violet asked.
“Not yet. Again, it’s hard to predict what the brain will do with these kinds of injuries,” the doctor said. “It can take weeks to heal. It can take months. Or… she might not wake up.”
Her mom whimpered. The doctor gave her a sympathetic look before apologizing for needing to leave to check on other patients.
“I feel so helpless,” Violet said.
“There’s nothing we can do but pray,” her dad said.
“A lot of good it’s been doing,” she grumbled.
“Don’t you dare,” her mom snapped.
“Let’s go outside for a bit,” her dad said as he put an arm around her shoulders. When they reached the waiting room area, he stopped. “Your mom doesn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“Yes she does. I don’t know what I ever did to make her hate me, but she does.”
“No. She’s just torn up with the grief.”
“I can’t do anything to help her.”
“None of us can,” he said.
“So why does she hate me so much?”
“She’s disappointed. She wanted to leave the honey business to you, but you don’t want it. You’re not just rejecting her, you’re rejecting everything we worked hard for our whole lives.”
“But what about the business I built? Can’t you understand how much it means to me?” Violet couldn’t keep her voice from cracking. All she ever wanted was for her parents to be proud of her accomplishments. Was that too much to ask?
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“You mentioned you were having some trouble at your company?”
“The auditors think someone may be stealing from us.”
“Do you need to head back to fix the problem?” he asked.
“I trust Brad implicitly, but I can’t burden him with running the place. I’ve already been gone almost two weeks.”
“You should head back.”
“You don’t think I should stay?” she asked, surprised.
“The doctor said we can’t do much but wait around. There’s no point in letting your company fall apart while we wait. If you want to go back to work, do it.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I won’t stop you.”
“Say the word and I’ll stay,” she said.
“Go. Take care of your business. If anything changes here, I’ll call you.”
“I should go say goodbye to Mom.”
“I don’t know. She was pretty agitated,” he said. “She might need some time to calm down. I’ll tell her I told you to go.”
“She’ll be furious.”
“I’ll find a way to make her understand. I promise.”
“Thank you, Dad.” She gave him a hug. “I’ll call every chance I get.”
“I know, Pumpkin.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she waved goodbye. She made the drive back to her parents’ home in the car she’d rented the previous day. Of course she’d already paid for the whole week. Oh well. At least she’d be able to go back to work. A place where she actually felt useful.
After packing her suitcase, she hauled it out to the car. She heaved it into the trunk and slammed it shut. As she brushed her hands against her jeans, she glanced over at Bucking Bear Ranch. Part of her wanted to tell Aaron she was leaving, but another part wanted her old life back. She hadn’t spoken to him since the day they’d made love in the cottage, but she hadn’t stopped thinking about him. She’d probably ruined their friendship, but she was too overwhelmed to try to repair it. Eventually, she’d call him and see where they stood. And hopefully they could find a way to be friends again.
Chapter 8
Aaron gave the reins a quick tug. He’d been training the new mare for several weeks but she still refused to follow some of his commands. Although he loved breaking in new horses, this one was trying his patience. The horse tossed her head as if agreeing. They were both done for the day.
As he dismounted, his soon-to-be sister-in-law Kim appeared at the edge of the ring. She held a glass filled with ice and a light green liquid. His mouth watered.
“I brought you some jalapeño lemonade.” She passed the glass through the metal bars. “What are you doing out here? It’s hotter than a cayenne pepper on a canker sore. You should wait until the sun goes down.”
“Thank you. I’ve been working with Grace.”
“You named her Grace?” Kim raised a brow. “Isn’t this the horse you’ve been swearing about all week?”
He nodded as he took a sip. The sweet dance of lemonade across his tongue lasted about three seconds before fire burned in its place.
“Damn. What did you put in this?”
“Pureed jalapeño. I wanted to try out a new recipe. Lemonade is great on a hot day, but I thought it would be fun to add some spice.”
As he took another sip, condensation trickled down the glass. Spicy fire spread through his mouth and throat. He coughed and handed the glass back to her.
“It’s a bit strong,” he choked.
“Too much jalapeño?”
“Yes.” His cheeks flushed and sweat dripped from his brow.
“Uh-oh. I’ll be right back.”
As she raced back toward the house, he swiped the back of his hand across his tongue. Salty sweat replaced the heat for a second before being devoured by flames of hot pepper. He eyed the water trough on the other side of the fence. Tempted to dunk his entire head in the water, he took two steps toward it.
Kim jogged across the field. Milk spilled over the edge of the glass she held. By the time she reached him, the glass was half-empty.
“Drink this.” She thrust it toward him. “It will neutralize the capsaicin.”
He chugged the milk. The heat dissipated a bit, but pepper-fueled embers still burned on the tips of his taste buds.
“I guess I should rework that recipe,” she said.
“Rework it. And next time, use your fiancé as the guinea pig. Where’s Zack anyway?”
“He went into town to pick Jameson up from a bar.”
“At least he’s not drinking and driving,” he said.
“You should come back to the house for a bit. It’s way too hot to be outside. Everyone else is hanging out in the kitchen munching on cornbread and biscuits. Beth baked about three dozen biscuits this morning. I’m not sure why, but she was in one of her cooking frenzies.”
“I don’t want to be cooped up inside right now. I’ll be fine.”
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“It doesn’t sound okay.”
“Beth’s wearing off on you already,” he grumbled.
“Is this about Violet?” she asked.
“My si
ster needs to keep her mouth shut.”
“Beth’s worried about you. And I can’t say I don’t blame her. You’ve been moping around all week. Did something happen between you two?” Kim asked.
“She’s… she’s got a lot on her mind right now with her sister being sick and her company’s problems.”
“Beth said you two dated when you were in high school.”
“We did. But that’s long over.”
“Are you sure? When I met her at lunch last week, she seemed to be hanging on every word you said.”
“She was?”
“Yep.”
He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care. But he did. Having Violet so close but not being able to talk to her was killing him. He’d been staying away so he could give her space, but she hadn’t contacted him since the day they’d slept together.
“Maybe you should invite her over again,” Kim suggested. “Zack and I are planning on barbecuing ribs for dinner.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’ll let Zack know we’ll be expecting her tonight. There’s more milk in the fridge if your tongue’s still on fire.”
“Thanks.” He grimaced as she turned to walk away.
Grace whinnied. He petted her neck and shoulder.
“Good girl. I know it’s not easy being tied up and bossed around, but you’re going to make a great riding horse one day.”
When she tossed her head and snorted, he laughed. He led her to the barn and brushed her down. After feeding her a couple of carrots, he latched the gate on the stall.
“We’ll ride again tomorrow.”
The horse turned and pointed her butt in his direction as if to tell him what she thought of his comment. He chuckled and headed toward the main house. He needed to get cleaned up before heading over to the Olsens.
Thirty minutes later, he knocked on the Olsens’ front door. Mrs. Olsen answered.
“Aaron, it’s so nice to see you. Would you like to come in? I don’t want all the air-conditioning to get sucked outside.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
He took off his Stetson as he followed her into the house.
