Roped In

by L. P. Dover

  The house was quiet, but there was a noise coming from the back. Logan told me not to take any shit and I wasn’t planning on it. Blake was going to talk to me, even if I had to force it out of him. Finding my way through the huge house, I stormed outside. With his back to me and a hammer in his hands, Blake crouched low to the ground, pounding nails into a wooden fence. His muscles flexed with each strike, but I was too pissed off to even notice how sexy his body was. Who am I kidding? I noticed the first time I saw him.

  “Dammit,” I hissed low. I couldn’t be thinking about him like that. He was an ass, end of story.

  Getting to his feet, he glanced at me, then focused back on the task at hand. “Something I can help you with?” he muttered.

  “I thought maybe, since we’re going to be stuck with each other for a while, we could talk. Our stories need to be consistent if we go out in public. I don’t know what all you know.” I said it nice and sweet, even though I wanted to take his hammer and slam it against his head.

  He turned to me. “That’s the thing, Hollywood. I don’t know our story because I didn’t want to take this fucking job. Just know this, I’m not going to kiss your ass because you’re famous.”

  Sucking in a breath, I could feel the blood rushing to my face.

  “You see me as a dirty, worthless cowboy who doesn’t know anything other than shoveling shit and playing in the dirt.” He stepped closer and I stumbled back, the look in his eyes making me tremble. “I’m a trained killer, princess. The government calls me in to solve cases they can’t. But yet, here I am . . . babysitting you. It’s a fucking joke.”

  My heart raced, anger boiling in my veins. “So keeping me safe is a joke? I’m here because Robert says you’re the best.” I laughed with no humor behind it. “I find myself wanting to explain who I am, but then I remember I don’t give a shit what you think of me. I didn’t want to leave my family and friends behind, believe me. If you want me gone, I’ll be glad to go. I refuse to be treated like shit when none of this was my fault.”

  He studied me for a minute. A small smile appeared, making me shiver. “Actually, I don’t think I want you to go,” he said.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh yeah? Why is that?”

  His grin grew wider. “I’m starting to think you might be good to have around. How about we trade services? I keep you safe, in return for a favor.”

  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  He shook his head. “And there you go, assuming shit. I don’t need you to get a piece of ass, sweetheart. I can get that anywhere.”

  “You probably do, too.” I grimaced. “Look, I don’t exactly need you either.”

  “Great. Now that we have that settled, let’s get down to business. If you want me to keep you safe, you have to work for it. Chores around the ranch will do fine. However,” he started, glancing down at my manicured hands, “I don’t think those will stay pretty very long.”

  I clenched my fists, hiding my long, pink nails. “Why don’t you just worry about keeping me safe and I’ll do what I have to do.”

  With a devilish smirk, he looked into my eyes. I stared right back and didn’t waver. “You think you can handle the job?” he asked, his voice seductive and deep.

  I stood up straighter. “I know I can. Just tell me what to do.” I wasn’t going to let him mock me.

  “All right. Be up and ready to go at dawn. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

  Blake

  “Good morning, Mr. Evans,” Jerrod said, handing me a thermos.

  I opened it up and took a deep breath. “Is this the coffee you were telling me about?”

  He smiled wide. “Yep. My mom said you wanted to try it. My grandmother in Hawaii sends it to us. Supposedly, it’s the best.”

  I took a sip. “I believe you’re right. Will you tell your mother thank you?”

  He nodded. “Of course. She had to go in early to the hotel, but I’ll tell her this afternoon.”

  Jerrod Kalani was fifteen years old and a hard worker. His mother had wanted me to hire him to keep him out of trouble. When he’d found out I was a cop, he got his act together quickly. It was fun telling him stories of my adventures undercover. I couldn’t wait to get back in that line of work again. Keeping the ranch up had taken me away from it all.

  Jerrod started toward Snowflake’s stall. “Wait,” I called.

  He turned around, furrowing his brows. “Is there something else you need me to do first? I have to make sure I get to school early so I can finish studying for my Algebra test.” Every morning, he’d come and help me in the barn, before getting ready for school. I never asked him to do it, but it was something he enjoyed. Plus, he got paid nicely for it.

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Why don’t you go and study, instead of worrying about this today. I got it covered.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Go.” I chuckled, waving him off. “And good luck on your test. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks.” He rushed to his bike and sped down the driveway. As soon as he was gone, the light in Hadley’s room turned on. I could see her silhouette through the sheer, white curtains.

  I had to hand it to her, she knew how to fight back. For dinner last night, I’d placed a can of beans on the kitchen counter with a note that read, Enjoy. It was meant as a joke, but she’d opened them up and ate straight out of the can. I was impressed. For the rest of the night, I didn’t hear any more from her, other than the sound of her crying softly in her room. It made me feel like shit for being a dick to her.

  It wasn’t long before the back door slammed against the side of the house. Judging by the sun peeking behind the mountains, she was right on time.

  “I’m here,” she called out.

  Over my shoulder, I watched her approach. She had on a pair of ripped jeans and a snug green T-shirt that hugged her body perfectly. Fuck, she’s hot. It didn’t help that I could see her nipples through her shirt. My cock twitched, but thankfully, I had my back to her. Snowflake whinnied and stomped her hoof. I guided her out of the stall and Hadley’s eyes brightened.

  “She’s beautiful,” she gushed. Reaching her hand out, she ran it down Snowflake’s face.

  “Being a city girl and all, I didn’t think you’d like animals.”

  Her gaze darkened. “You’re going to start this again?”

  “What? All I said was, I didn’t think you’d like animals.”

  She rolled her eyes. “And I guess I can’t sing country music because I’m from the city too, right? You can’t always judge a person by where they’re from. Obviously, you were raised in a barn, but I’m not holding that against you. Now where do you want me?”

  She was a spitfire; I liked it. It took all I had not to laugh, especially when I pointed at the rake. “Snowflake’s stall needs to be cleaned out. You can take her shit and put it in the dump truck over there,” I said, pointing to the old truck. The look on her face absolutely priceless.

  “So it’s literally a dump truck?”

  “Yep. And once that’s done, I’ll need you to clean out the rest of the stalls. Think you can handle it?”

  Sucking in a breath, she blew it out and headed straight for the rake without acknowledging my question. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her slip into the stall and get to work. I would’ve given anything to take a picture. She looked like she’d blow chunks at any moment.

  While she finished up the stall, I went about my morning workout with Snowflake and moved on to Nightshade, my black stallion. My grandfather had bought him for me a couple of years before he died, hoping we’d be a good match for each other. He was strong and fast, perfect for rounding up cattle.

  After I finished my chores for the day, I sat on a hay bale and watched Hadley finish up in the barn. My hat sat low over my eyes, as if I was snoozing. She glared and flipped me off a few times, but I kept a straight face. When she was done, she stormed over to me and hit my boots with the rake.

 
; “I’m done cleaning the stalls. What’s next?”

  Taking a deep breath, I scrunched my nose. “I think you need to take a shower. You smell like shit.”

  She turned on her heel and grumbled the word ‘asshole’ under her breath. I burst out laughing and followed closely behind her. When she got inside, she quickly rushed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door. I wondered how long it would take her to break.

  Hadley

  One Week Later

  Blake was a fucking prick. There was no way I could survive being with him for months. Hell, just a week with him was torture. The physical labor I could handle, but the mental jabs would be my downfall. I needed support more than anything and I wasn’t going to get it from him.

  Luckily, I had the phone Logan left me. I needed to hear Felicity’s voice. She answered on the second ring.

  “Hello?”

  I cleared my throat. “It’s me.”

  “Oh my God, Hadley, you sound horrible. Are you okay?”

  “Trying to be. It’s been a long day. How’s Nick?”

  She blew out a frustrated breath. “Still the same. He hasn’t woken up yet. You wanna talk to him?”

  A tear slid down my cheek. “Yes.”

  The phone shuffled and I heard her voice in the background. “He’s on.”

  “Hey Nick, it’s me. I wish I could be there with you. I miss you and Felicity so much. When you pull through this, we’re going to celebrate, okay? It sucks not being able to hear your voice. I could use it right about now.” The line grew quiet and Felicity got back on.

  “How’s it going out there?” she asked.

  I had just gotten out of the shower and my arms were on fire from shoveling all day. All I’d had to eat were a bowl of carrots and a cucumber. “It’s horrible,” I answered honestly. “The guy they have me with is a complete douche. I’ve tried to be nice, but he’s still an ass.”

  “What have you been doing?”

  I snorted in disgust. “You don’t want to know. Let’s just say I hate the guy I’m with more than I hate Lydia Turner.”

  “Wow,” she gasped. “That’s pretty bad.”

  Lydia was my nemesis and it was no secret we had bad blood. When I started winning more awards than her, she openly trash talked me to the media. The paparazzi had tried to get me to retaliate, but I refused to fuel the fire.

  “It’s worse than bad,” I stated.

  “I’m sorry, Hadley. I know it can’t be easy. In other news, I did spend today going over your schedule. I know you said you were going to handle it, but I went ahead and canceled your shows. Everyone’s talking about you right now.”

  I sat down on the bed. “Great. I can only imagine what they’re saying.”

  “Just do me a favor and stay away from the TV. Can you do that?”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t even have time to watch TV anyway.” The line went quiet and all I could hear were the beeping of machines and the sound of Felicity’s breathing. She had to be exhausted. “Felicity?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Thank you for handling my schedule. I promise I was going to do it.”

  “I know, but I needed something to take my mind off of Nick. I’ll talk to you later.” We said our goodbyes and hung up.

  I didn’t want to leave my room, but I was starving. There were no smells coming from the kitchen, which only made me hungrier. A can of beans wasn’t going to cut it tonight. The only reason I ate them all week was to prove a point. I wouldn’t do that every day.

  My dirty clothes really did smell like horse shit, so I piled them in the laundry basket and took them downstairs. The laundry room was right by the kitchen. I started up a load, then made my way into the kitchen. My cheeks flamed when I saw what was on the counter.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I snarled. There was a bottle of water and a pack of beef jerky. I could see Blake through the window with that smug grin of his, but the asshole didn’t know I was watching. He rode off on the black horse and disappeared across the pasture. “Payback’s a bitch.”

  I searched through his refrigerator and cabinets until I found everything I needed. It wasn’t going to be much of a dinner, but at least it would be hot and substantial. I was starved, so anything I could cook up would be heaven, even if it was eggs, bacon, and frozen biscuits. Ever since I was a kid, I loved breakfast for dinner.

  As quick as I could, I whipped up the eggs and bacon and threw the biscuits in the oven. He might think I’m Hollywood and not be able to wipe my own ass, but I was going to show him. Once everything was done, I put everything on my plate and ate it all. I’d never eaten so much in my life. I was down to my last piece of bacon when he waltzed through the door.

  “Damn, something smells good in here,” he announced.

  “Have a nice ride?” I asked, turning to face him. Why did he always have to have his shirt off? It was distracting, making it hard to hate him when he looked like that.

  He took off his cowboy hat and strolled over to the stove. “You didn’t cook me any?” he asked.

  I held up the last bite of bacon and tossed it in my mouth. “I did, but I ate it all. Here,” I tossed him the bag of jerky, “bon appetite.” Not waiting for him to speak, I turned and walked back to my room. But I did catch the look on his face. Absolutely priceless.

  The next morning, I went right out to the barn. Blake was already out there with Snowflake, so I grabbed the rake and went straight to her stall. I gagged a few times from the stench, but after smelling it all morning, I got used to it. I may not have been raised on a ranch, but I was pretty damn good at adapting.

  The day went by slow but once Blake was done with the horses, he lounged out on the hay bales and fell asleep. What the hell was with that? Gritting my teeth, I finished cleaning the stalls. “Have you heard anything from Robert?” I asked, raising my voice with each word.

  He tilted his hat and acknowledged me before lowering it back over his eyes. “Nope. He’ll call when they find something.”

  I slammed the rake against the wall and started toward the house. “All right, well I’m done here. I’m going inside.”

  Jumping off the hay bale, he rushed up behind me. “Hold up, princess, there’s something else I need you to do.”

  “Seriously?” I scoffed. “I’ve been shoveling your horse shit all day. I might be in hiding, but I still have a job to do.”

  He motioned for me to follow him. “Like what?”

  Rolling my eyes, I followed behind him. “My songs don’t write themselves. As soon as I get back home, I’m going to be expected to have some songs to record. Being knee-deep in shit doesn’t exactly give me inspiration.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “You write your own songs?”

  “Shocked?” I countered.

  We walked inside and past the staircase. “A little. I thought most of the singers out there only sang shit other people wrote for them.”

  “Just goes to show how ignorant you are.”

  He let the comment go and led me into a bedroom where clothes were scattered all over the floor and the bed was unmade. Mouth gaping, I stepped over one of the mounds of dirty clothes.

  “Uh, what are we doing in here?”

  The room smelled exactly like him, all done up in earthy tones; very cowboyish, with fur-skinned rugs on the floor. There were plaques on the wall, but I couldn’t see what they said. Maybe they were given to him for being Douchebag of the Year. Even on the fireplace mantle there were pictures of him and other people, including one with him and a young woman. I wondered who she was.

  He waved toward the mess, grabbing my attention. “I need you to clean all this up. I have a date tonight and I don’t want her seeing it like this.”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  Lifting his shirt, he tossed it on the dirty mound of clothes and started unbuttoning his jeans. “Not at all, princess. You need to hurry before she gets here. I don’t think she’ll lik
e seeing another woman in my room.” Turning his back to me, he lowered his jeans and boxers to the floor, and grabbed the towel that was on his bed, wrapping it around his waist.

  I didn’t see his backside because I was blinded by anger. As he turned back around, I picked up an armful of his dirty clothes, and hurled them at him as hard as I could. His hands lifted, making him lose his grip on the towel. “Clean up your own damn room, asshole! I’m out of here.”

  Storming out the door, I rushed upstairs and packed my bag.

  “Hadley, wait,” Blake shouted. He raced up the stairs, but I locked the door before he could get in. As fast as I could, I searched through the phone until I found the number for a cab service. Blake knocked on the door, his voice softer. “Please open up, so we can talk.”

  Dialing the number, I flipped him off even though he couldn’t see me. “Go fuck yourself. It’s too late for that.”

  I requested the cab and hung up quickly. The sooner I could get out of that house, the better. Once I was all packed, I stood by the window until I could see the cab coming down the driveway. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I slammed open the door. Blake’s head jerked up and he lifted his hands in defeat. At least he’d had the decency to put his pants back on.

  “Don’t go,” he said. “Let me explain.”

  Huffing, I pushed past him and rushed down the stairs. “I don’t want to hear a single thing you have to say. It’s obvious you don’t want me here. You treat your horses better than you treat me.”

  “Where the hell are you going to go? You’re under my protection.”

  I stopped at the door and opened it wide, the cab crunching on the gravel as it came to a stop. At this point, I was more exhausted and lonely than angry. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and faced him. “I’m a big girl, Mr. Evans. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to keep me safe. But I have to say, I’m sorely disappointed.”