by Meg Ripley
“Max? Is he the one who told you that?” he asked, his gaze sharpening.
“Like it matters,” she spat bitterly, before turning on her heels to exit the room.
“Don’t. I love you,” he said grabbing her arm.
Brooke glared balefully at him, wrenched her arm from his grasp and slapped him as hard as she could.
“That’s too damn bad because I hate you!”
She ran out of his library and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut after her. She could hear him calling her name even through the shut door but she ignored him. She flung herself onto the bed and cried for all she was worth.
Minutes later, she dragged herself out of bed and started throwing her belongings into her suitcase; she was done here, she thought. She felt empty and drained; Tyler had taken everything she had and flung it right back in her face.
It was time to go. She had never liked Montana anyway; too many skeletons.
****
Brooke whistled to herself as she brushed her hair into a glossy sheen. She had all the time in the world on her hands these days. She had quit her job soon after returning to New York and was currently searching for a new job. Handing her resignation letter to Collins just as he had been about to whip out one of his famous pink slips had been sheer bliss.
She grinned anew just remembering his flummoxed expression.
As she grabbed her handbag and headed towards the front door, she adjusted the strap of her leather wristwatch. She opened the door without looking up and promptly slammed into a brick wall.
All the air whooshed out of her lungs as a pair of strong, masculine hands shot out to grab her and hold her steady.
Brooke looked up disbelievingly into a pair of hooded grey eyes and watched in disbelief as his lips canted one of those slow sexy smiles he did so well.
“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk. Then you can toss me out on my ass. Please.”
Longing warred with reluctance inside of her; longing won and she angrily stepped back to allow him into the lobby.
“Yes?” she said aggressively the moment he sank onto a sofa.
“First off, I’m sorry for the way things went down. I never meant to hurt you and I swear on my life I did not seduce you for any reason other than the fact that I could not help myself.”
Silence.
“Brooke you have no reason to believe anything I say, but if you will believe nothing else, believe this: I went after you on my own accord.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My family has an awful secret yes, but I was never bothered about it. That was always my mother’s headache.”
“I see. And what’s this horrible secret?”
“My dad had an affair right after their marriage and had me. She has always taken it as a personal kick in her teeth and seems convinced that knowing he left the reins of the company to an ‘illegitimate’ son may affect the company’s stocks, especially since the family is associated with strong family values and all.”
It all made sense now. Painful sense.
“I was never bothered by my roots. He loved me and cared for me, but I think she sees me as a symbol of his infidelity and I don’t blame her. I understand, which is why I barely go to Montana.”
It was so simple and yet so complicated.
She dropped her head, examining her hands. Then deciding, she raised tear-brightened eyes to his and said, “I am originally from Montana.”
She saw surprise flit across his features which he quickly suppressed.
“I ran away from home when I was sixteen.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, “The usual; drunk mother, weird step-father and step-brother. They never hurt me but I knew they could one day. I broke my step-brother’s leg one night and ran away that night. I have not looked back since.”
Bile rose in Tyler’s throat, “Did they hurt you?”
“No. I was just afraid they might.”
“Why did you tell me that?” he asked.
“You trusted me,” she said simply.
Their gazes clashed, held and no more words were necessary as she crossed the room to sit on his lap.
“I never discussed seducing you with anyone. Max might have suggested that at a family meeting, but my sights were already set on you. From the first day I looked into your eyes, I was a goner.”
Brooke blushed prettily, ducking her head and making him chuckle in amusement.
“So where do we go from here?”
“I want to get to know you better, Brooke. I am already in love with you, but I would love to see what more it could be.”
Her heart melted as she gazed into his dark, languorous eyes and said, “I love you too, Tyler.”
His grin was pure evil as he hauled her closer and said, “In that case, you’re gonna have to stop wearing those damned pantyhose.”
“Huh?”
He stroked his thumb across her lips.
“You’re going to go insane replacing them because, I promise you: I will destroy every pair that gets in my way.”
Laughter fled as he replaced his finger with his lips, kissing her with enough tenderness and heat to make her toes curl.
THE END
Riding The Cowboy Brothers
“OK, I guess that's everything,” Olivia sighed as she closed the trunk of her navy blue Focus. She turned to Michelle, the young woman standing behind her, and wrapped her arms around her tightly. The two had been roommates, classmates and best friends for the past three years. Olivia swallowed hard, fighting back tears that were brimming in her blue-green eyes.
“I'm going to miss you so much,” Michelle choked, and Olivia nodded in reciprocation.
Olivia felt like the proverbial lion with her tail tucked between her legs. She couldn't believe she was heading for home. No doubt, her family would view her as the petulant child, determined to do things her own way until she realized mommy and daddy had known best all along. She'd driven away from her family's ranch three years ago toward a better life; a life in the glamorous fashion industry—or a two-year program at a prestigious fashion school to be precise.
She'd decided there was no way she was going to spend her life surrounded by cows, horses, chickens, goats and every other animal that made her feel like she was living in a petting zoo. “And somehow that seemed unfair,” Olivia thought ironically. With the nearest neighbor living miles down the road, Olivia was the only creature on her parents' ranch who was not getting any petting.
But, a year after graduating at the top of her class and absolutely no job prospects in sight—unless one would call a part-time job at the local Walmart a prospect—and Olivia was forced to admit defeat. Nearly penniless, she was using the last of her meager savings to make the shameful trek home.
“Just think, I'll be the most stylish woman on the ranch. And you never know. One day Diane Von Furstenberg's car might break down right outside and she'll be so impressed with the fashionable girl who gives her car a boost that she'll take me under her wing. I could be designing for one of the most prestigious fashion houses in no time,” Olivia tried to lighten the mood.
She released Michelle then and slowly made her way to the driver's side door. Olivia waved goodbye, slid into the car and slowly drove out of the apartment building's parking lot. And in just a few short hours, she'd be pulling into the ranch's long front drive.
“It isn't all bad,” she reassured herself as she drove.
In truth, she'd missed her family terribly, finding it strange and difficult to see them so infrequently. She had assumed she'd get used to it, but even now as she drove home in defeat, she knew that at least a small part of her was already excited to see her parents once again. They had empathized with her when she called to tell them she'd be moving back home, but the tone in their voices was hard to miss—they were sad to hear their daughter was struggling but obviously happy to have her back. Olivia smiled. She supposed she could have it worse
. Sure, she'd bombed in the real world, but her family was right there waiting for her with open arms.
Still, she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do now, and her thoughts meandered through the limited possibilities as she merged onto the highway that would lead her home. “Do I resign myself to an ordinary life on the ranch?” she wondered. “Bring modern fashion to the countryside in hopes of eking out a meager existence dressing the local ranchers in style? I could always become the first fashion designer for farm animals,” she considered wryly, and then giggled aloud at the ridiculous images the thought brought to mind.
It was enough to jostle Olivia out of her misery. “That's the end of it,” she determined as, hours later, she pulled off the highway and onto the road that was so familiar. Just twenty more minutes and she'd be home, and she would sulk no more. Sure, she had no idea what lay ahead of her, but she was young and had time to figure it out.
A smile returned, as she used up the brief remaining moments of the drive to reminisce over her years away from home. She'd left the ranch an inexperienced juvenile, eager to sample everything the big city and life in the fast lane had to offer. She'd met a multitude of wonderful people—and a few creeps and degenerates—along the way. She'd grown in so many ways over the past three years that, even if her adventure in fashion ended here, she was a better person for it.
Olivia took a deep breath as she spied the gates that marked the entrance to her parents' ranch, and she whispered as she exhaled, “Home.” Another minute and she had pressed the buzzer and the gates had opened before her. She began to ascend the long drive to the sprawling house at the top, vaguely able to make out the two figures awaiting her on the front porch—her parents, no doubt. But her attention was drawn elsewhere.
A new figure appeared from beyond the side of the house, moving easily but deliberately toward the home's front porch. Even after such a long absence, she would recognize his confident stride anywhere. Dean. She'd spent countless hours watching him throughout her teen years and even more conjuring images of him in her adolescent fantasies. Oh, she'd almost forgotten how hot and bothered he'd made her, but it was coming back to her quickly now.
Olivia had never been quick to envy—she was generally happy to see others get, even when she didn't, but she remembered one evening Dean had forced her to succumb to the green-eyed monster. She'd been sixteen at the time. She had walked into the horse stalls late in the day to find him brushing down one of the family's horses after a hard ride. She'd never before thought she could be so jealous of a horse. She'd stood there, unable to move or tear her gaze away, watching the taut, sinewy muscles of his arms flex as he moved along the horse's body. He'd obviously gotten a good workout too; his naked torso still glistening with sweat. God, how she'd wished she was the horse right then. Hell, she would have been happy to be the T-shirt casually draped over his shoulder. He spoke and her eyes were drawn to his lips, watching them move as he talked softly to the horse. Until then, she had no idea a man's lips could be so captivating, but her body had begun to ache and throb as she imagined all the wicked things those lips could do to her.
Olivia shook her head, trying to stem the flow of arousal that had begun to course through her veins and force her thoughts back to the present. She'd been just twelve years old when nineteen-year-old Dean had first come to work on the ranch, and only a doe-eyed virgin seventeen-year-old when he'd left at twenty four to attend to some family matter. He'd never seen her as anything other than the rancher's kid. Olivia had left for college while he was still away, but seeing him now told her absolutely nothing had changed. “Damn!” she cursed quietly, begrudgingly acknowledging her hopeless infatuation with her parents' number one horse wrangler.
She slowed as she approached the top of the drive, giving herself an extra moment to regain her composure. Dean had reached the porch at the same time she slid her car into park, and she watched as he spoke with her father, doing her best to keep her gaze from settling on his lips.
“Enough! Let's go, Olivia,” she chided herself, forcing the car door open and stepping out onto the pavement.
Dean had just begun to turn away, heading back in the direction from which he'd emerged. But he saw her then and stopped, and Olivia could have sworn his mouth dropped open for the briefest of seconds. His eyes swept down her body and back up to meet her eyes as she ran her fingers nervously though her long, auburn tresses. Dean's jaw took on a harder edge before he turned quickly and headed around the side of the house.
It happened so fast that Olivia wondered if perhaps she'd imagined his response to her; years of longing leaving her just a smidge delusional. But her parents were already descending the front steps, hurrying toward her, and just seconds later she was wrapped in her mother's arms. She forced Dean to the back of her mind once again. It seemed inappropriate to be thinking about the hot horse wrangler as her father leaned down to kiss her forehead.
“Hi Mom. Hey Dad,” she greeted them, returning her mother's hug and kissing her father's cheek. “I've missed you guys.”
“And we've missed you terribly,” Olivia's mother uttered as she fought against the tears welling in her eyes, squeezing her daughter tight for one more moment before releasing her hold. “We're so sorry it didn't work out like you'd hoped, but you're here now, and we'll figure something out. Miracles happen, Olivia,” her mom told her emphatically.
From birth, everyone had called Olivia the miracle baby. Her parents, Christine and Robert, were much older than most, told for years they would never conceive a child of their own. And then one day, years after giving up on ever having a baby, Christine had surprised everyone by announcing she was pregnant.
Can't argue over miracles with Mom, Olivia thought wryly, nodding her acquiescence instead.
Robert turned toward the house, leading the small group inside and out of the blazing heat of the midsummer's sun.
“So, your mother has a surprise for you, Olivia. Might as well get it out of the way now, Christine,” he mentioned as casually as he could manage. She eyed her mother suspiciously.
“Well, you know we're just so glad to have you back home for now, Olivia. And there are others here who have missed you while you've been away, too.” Christine paused, but Olivia remained silent, waiting for her mother to continue.
“I know you're not one for big parties and such, but I was just thinking a little gathering to welcome you home wasn't too much,” Christine smiled innocently.
“And all the fun starts in a little over five hours,” Robert grinned, no doubt knowing Christine had planned on breaking that part to their daughter more gently, but unable to resist getting his wife into a little trouble.
Olivia feigned an angry look, but couldn't help joining in her father's joviality with a grin of her own. Truth be told, she'd become much more accustomed to large crowds since going away to school. While the college campus wasn't large, she'd attended her fair share of parties both on-campus and off, and even frequented the occasional nightclub to further her worldly experience in the big city.
“It's OK, Mom. I know you couldn't resist,” Olivia smiled and kissed her mother's cheek before turning past the main foyer and through the open concept living area toward her bedroom beyond. She paused mid-step, realizing her parents might have changed things around while she'd been gone; perhaps they'd turned her bedroom into a sewing room, or replaced her bed with a billiard's table. Her parents must have understood her hesitation.
“Of course it's still your room. You'll always have a place here at home,” Christine assured her.
Olivia smiled brightly and then continued to her room with her rolling luggage in tow. Closing the door behind her, she rolled the luggage to the bed and immediately began stripping off the viscose dress clinging to her heated skin. She unzipped her luggage, rummaging for a cotton sundress and then continued onto the window, enjoying the coolness of the room's air conditioning on her naked flesh. She pulled the curtains aside—there was seldom anyone so
near to the house in the rear yard. As she looked around, it surprised her to find the familiar scene outside so comforting. It's as if she'd been away out of necessity for all these years and just now coming home to the place she'd missed so much.
“Strange,” she thought, feeling rather perplexed. Had she really just been the petulant child, determined to do things differently? Is this where she had belonged all along?
Her thoughts changed direction quickly as she saw Dean striding through the yard. God, he was gorgeous. Over six feet tall, broad shouldered, sinewy muscle everywhere. Olivia could feel her satin thong getting wetter with every second she continued to stare at the cowboy Adonis in the yard. Funny though, she remembered him spending a whole lot more time with the horses when she was here last, and less time looking like he was running the place...
Oh, hell! That was it, wasn't it? Her dad was in his sixties, and his daughter had shown absolutely no interest in taking over the ranch. Dean looked like he was running the ranch because he was. The idea of Dean permanently ensconced at the ranch both aroused and frustrated her; drooling over him day-in, day-out—no person should be subjected to such torture.
Olivia raised her arm, reaching for the curtain's edge, but her movement must have caught Dean's attention and his eyes found hers instantly before traveling down her body. She knew she should move away from the window or close the curtain in a hurry, but she stood there, clad in a skimpy satin bra and thong. And when his heated gaze returned to her eyes she forced herself to meet him there, staring back like the young, desirable woman she was, no longer the doe-eyed teenager. She'd never been so bold in her life, and a thrill coursed through her body knowing he was looking at her. But he didn't stop. Was he as aroused as she was? Or was he having fun with her, seeing if he could make her squirm? The thought of the latter made her blush profusely and she darted away from the window. But, not before she saw the corners of his lips pull up in a sexy smile, leaving Olivia quite certain he must have been toying with her.
