Chapter Two

Colton’s revelation should keep Meadow away from him. As annoying and immature as she was, she clearly wasn’t stupid.

Now she would know enough to stay away from him.

With his heavy bag in hand and his rucksack slung over his shoulder, he strode toward the impressive barn. The siding was black with a pristine fence enclosing what he guessed was a corral on the side and more fencing that separated pastures for cows.

A few men were out working on a piece of heavy farm equipment, but not many. Not enough workers for a property this big.

The main house looked like a huge cabin built for royalty. The log siding was where the rustic aesthetic ended, though. The front door was modern, and the thick beams supporting the porch were painted black to match the barn. A wide porch wrapped around the side. From here, he spotted a grouping of chairs to while away lazy days.

Lush green fields stretched out from all sides and ran straight up to the purple foothills in the distance. Beyond that sat the mountain range Forest had talked about so much.

It felt like stepping into a memory that didn’t belong to him.

As he watched the men, one dropped something. The loud clanking noise made Colton’s chest seize.

Instinct kicked in, and he almost reached for a rifle on his back that wasn’t there.

He dropped his hand. This wasn’t battle. No one was shooting at him. He was on a ranch in the Montana mountains.

The patter of boots on the ground behind him made him toss a look over his shoulder. The little blonde spitfire rushing to catch up to him brought a sigh to Colton’s lips.

What could Forest’s little sister want? Nothing good, he was sure.

He lengthened his strides, and she jogged faster. When she grabbed his arm, he stopped. She stood close. So close that a jolt of awareness rolled through his groin and reminded him that he was a man who hadn’t been laid in several months.

She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and sky blue, fringed with dark lashes that seemed devoid of mascara. Which surprised him.

Colton didn’t like surprises.

This woman—young woman—was not for him.

He shook her hand off his arm.

“What you said about Forest—”

He cut her off. “Your father deserves to know I got your brother killed.”

She sucked in a sharp gasp. The sound doubled his awareness of just how close she still stood. As if she refused to back off, no matter what terrible things he told her.

He twisted away from her and continued toward the barn doors thrown wide open only steps away. A few flies buzzed. The scent of hay sitting in the sun, gently reeking, filled his nose.

As he reached the opening, a man stepped out. Tall, muscular but lean. His light brown hair was threaded with silver, but his Stetson covered most of it.

If Forest were allowed to reach this man’s age, he would have looked like him.

The man wiped his hands on a faded old rag. Under his cowboy hat, his eyes were faded too—dimmed by the pain of life.

Colton had seen it before. Hell, he sometimes saw it reflected in the mirror right before he shoved away the memory of what happened back in that goddamn desert.

Sean Gracey, owner of the ranch, and Forest’s father, gave him a once-over. “You must be the new ranch hand.”

“Yes, sir.” He wasn’t so long out of the military that he didn’t remember to show respect.

“What’s your name again?”

“Nox. Colton Nox.”

“Well, Nox, what makes you think you have what it takes to work on the Gracey?”

“Your son said so.”

A weighty silence hung between them, a fog of loaded words that went unspoken. “What happened to my son?”

Colton held his gaze. “I got him killed.”

“Jesus Christ!” The soft blasphemy exploded from Meadow, who stood off to the side, watching the exchange.

Gracey’s jaw shifted. The crease bulged, and his fists curled. When he spoke, the words blazed with barely harnessed fury. “What the hell are you doing on my land?”

Colton raised his jaw. “Forest and I had an agreement. If one of us didn’t make it out, the other would see to it that our family didn’t lose their livelihood. So I’m here. I’m here to work.”

The flies seemed to buzz louder. Colton swore he could even hear the sun beating down on the land. And Meadow was right—it was hot. He needed to get himself a hat if he was going to work outdoors.

Assuming that Gracey didn’t throw him off the ranch that had been in his family for three generations.

For an excruciating heartbeat, Forest’s father sized him up. This could go either way—and Colton knew it.

Finally, he nodded. When he twitched his head for Colton to follow, he did.

He led him through the barn, past empty stalls, to a side door leading into the corral. “You ever see a horse before?”

“Couple times.”

“Well, each of these horses are worth more than your life.”

The harsh, blunt words made Colton shoot a glance at Meadow, who’d trailed along on this tour. Now he could see what Forest meant by his dad and sister being cut from the same bolt of cloth.

There was an even younger sister as well. After Forest’s death, she took off to backpack Europe. Colton didn’t know much about her—Forest’s biggest concern was for Meadow.

He wasn’t here to impress her or her father. He was here to fulfill a promise to his best friend.

Without another word about the horses, Gracey walked back out. Colton trailed a step behind, with Meadow on his right. Having her with him made him feel a little more sure of his reasons for coming, but he didn’t want her around at all.

Not when those tanned legs were a mile long and he wanted to throw her boots over his shoulders while pounding into her.

The young woman he saw in Forest’s photos had grown up.

She better keep her distance from him too.

Gracey pointed at the house. “You’ll never be invited in the house.”

“Daddy!”

He didn’t react to Meadow’s outburst. Colton didn’t either.

“The work you’ll be expected to do is all outside. You’re low man on the totem pole, so be prepared to shovel a lot of shit.”

He glanced over at Meadow and saw her grin flash, her teeth dazzling white. She didn’t even bother to hide her amusement. Of course, she’d said the very same thing when she greeted him at the airport.

Gracey turned and struck off in another direction. He pointed out several outbuildings and led him past an empty chicken coop with a flock pecking the grass outside. Finally, he stopped in front of a building that looked one step lower than what the chickens got, though larger.

“This is the bunkhouse where you’ll be living—unless you fuck up and I throw you out. From now on, you’ll take your orders from Zach Webb. He’s in charge around here.”

Colton met his gaze. “Thank you, sir.” Gripping his bag tightly, he ducked under the doorframe and entered the bunkhouse.

A wall of heat blasted him in the face, along with the reek of BO. He’d survived worse conditions.

His eyes adjusted to the interior lighting, and he was looking at a worn wood table piled with bags of potato chips and a jar of pickles set off to one side. Five guys gathered around it.

A big guy who looked as if he’d participated in his fair share of fistfights lounged at the head of the table. His gaze raked over Colton. “Why the fuck are you in my bunkhouse?”

He dropped his bag to the dusty floor. “I gotta say, the greetings around here are warm as hell.”

Behind him, Meadow snickered. Everyone else was dead silent.

Colton leveled his gaze on the cowboy who thought he was big shit when he was barely a fart. “I’m your new ranch hand. Call me Nox.”

* * * * *

Meadow slipped her feet into her Laramie cowgirl boots, the ones she picked up in the expensive outfitter in Bose last time she was there. Straightening, she smoothed her hands over her breasts and the stomach-baring white cotton top she wore, and down to her denim skirt hanging off her hips.

The skirt was a bit too short. So was her top. She angled her body left and right to examine her appearance. She had to admit her tight top made her pushup bra earn its keep.

Friday nights around the ranch were extremely dull, which was why she always headed into Eden to meet her friends for dancing and a round of drinks.

Turning to the full-length mirror in the entryway, she fluffed her long blonde tresses. The ends curled low on her tight abdomen that also drew a lot of attention if she chose to show off her hard work spent training horses five mornings a week and all those disgusting protein shakes she forced herself to suck down to stay fit.

Satisfied that her appearance would catch the attention she was seeking, she left the house and stepped onto the wide front porch. The roof offered a hint of respite from the hot sun. But she had no intention of lingering in the shade.

No, after a full week of trying to catch Colton Nox’s eye, she was through playing cat and mouse. Or in this case, just cat. He hadn’t paid her a bit of attention.

Today, there was no way he’d be able to ignore her when she paraded by.

She strolled down the steps and across the thick grass, angling toward the corral where she’d seen him working at this time every day this week. A free-range chicken skittered out of her path, and she lengthened her strides to reach the corral faster.

Every time she tried to run into Colton or talk to him, he brushed her off.

A few ranch hands were in the training ring, working with horses. As she approached the fence, a cowboy looked up from the filly he was training and thumbed his hat in greeting.

He said something to another guy, who moved to take over with the training. As the ranch hand sauntered her way, he gave her a wide smile. She leaned her arms on the fence and smiled back.

Colton wasn’t in sight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around. Any moment, he could walk out of the barn and see her.

“Hi, Dude.”

Dude was the name everyone called the ranch hand. Apparently, he earned it on one of the other big ranches and brought it with him to the Gracey.

He nudged the brim of his hat up to eye her. His gaze dropped from her face to her cleavage enhanced by the pushup bra and tight-fitting top. “You headed to the Badlands this evening?”

“Every Friday.”

“Gonna do some dancing?”

“Plan to.” She cast a look around the vicinity, but only managed to catch the attention of a couple guys walking out of the barn. One carried a saddle, but rather than put it on the horse it was meant for, he set it on the top rail of the fence and leaned in to talk to Meadow.

“Hiya, Meadow. Looking mighty pretty today.” His eyes creased when he smiled. She might think he was good-looking in that rough and rugged way all cowboys did, if she didn’t know what a man whore he was down at Badlands. It wasn’t only a rumor that he slept with all the girls in town—she’d seen him leaving the bar with them.

“Thanks.” She tried to keep her focus on the small talk, but she turned her head left and right, hoping to see Colton. She was wasting her time standing here.

She pushed off the fence. “Well, I’ve got better things to do than stand around talking to you two.”

They laughed at her biting words, and she felt their gazes on her ass as she walked away.

She strutted around the front of the barn. An older guy who shod their horses drifted to the door to watch her. As she rounded the corner, she caught sight of the ranch manager, who threw her a smile and a wave. As soon as she entered the bar, plenty of guys would be eye-fucking her.

She only wanted attention from one man, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Colton Nox wouldn’t even give her the time of day. She was beginning to feel like Forest’s nerdy little sister all over again.

She continued to roam the ranch in search of the former SEAL turned cowpoke. At least her father had left the ranch for a conference, and she didn’t have to worry about him telling her off for how she was dressed. Anyway, she was an adult and didn’t need him to shield her.

Not that her father ever had. That was Forest.

“Don’t you think you should go inside, out of this heat?” The drawl came from behind her. She spun, heart thumping at the thought of Colton standing there.

But it was only Zach, the ranch manager.

She gave him a defiant look. “If my father told you to watch over me, you’re wasting your time.”

He chuckled. His eyes crinkled with amusement that changed him from the stern guy who’d done a stint in prison before coming to the Gracey Ranch to something more relaxed. “Your father did mention he’ll be gone a few weeks. Those meetings with feed suppliers and horse buyers takes time.”

She cocked a brow. “So he did tell you to watch over me.”

He studied her for a long moment. “I’m in charge of the ranch while he’s gone.”

“I don’t need looking after. Spare your energy for the horses and the guys you boss around.”

God, she was tired of being treated like a gangly kid. Her father would never see her as an adult, and since Forest’s death, he’d come down even harder about her behavior. Not that she ever got herself in trouble. Sure, she flirted with the ranch hands and a few men down at Badlands, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t one hundred percent in control at all times.

She brushed her long hair over one shoulder. “I’m heading into Eden tonight. Don’t wait up for me.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Webb looked over her outfit like some protective uncle.

The last thing she needed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a man who knows how to treat me right—at least for the night!”

Webb laughed again, but this time his eyes narrowed as if he didn’t quite know whether or not to believe her.

Since she wasn’t getting what she wanted from this conversation—and she hadn’t found Colton either—she walked away from the manager without another word. As she crossed the yard to her pickup parked in front of the four-stall garage, she swept her gaze over the ranch in hopes of seeing Forest’s military buddy.

From the brief times she’d seen him, she sure remembered every detail about him. His height and build, the way his dark eyes settled on her and seemed to trace her movements—at least before he realized she caught him looking.

By the time she reached her vehicle, she was sweating slightly from the extreme heat that wouldn’t improve after the sun went down. Badlands would be even hotter, with all those bodies crowded into a stuffy building, doing two things that raised their temperature even higher—drinking alcohol and dancing.

She jumped behind the wheel of her truck and sang along with the radio as she drove into Eden. The small town was filled with pedestrians walking the streets to visit the pubs and restaurants. Parking on both side of the street was packed with the kind of cars that stuck out here as belonging to city folk. Any self-respecting Montana native owned something with four-wheel drive for the mountainous terrain.

Aiming the air conditioner vent at her breasts, she attempted to cool down before she walked into the bar and met her girlfriends, like she did every Friday night.

In the back of her mind she heard the echo of Forest’s words.

Be careful while I’m gone, Meadow. You know things can happen quick.

Well, her brother wasn’t coming back. She was on her own, and she did plan to exercise caution tonight, like every night she left the house.

She also wasn’t kidding when she told Webb she was going to find a man tonight.

For all of her twenty-six years, living in a small town populated mostly by men, Meadow…was a virgin.

A big fat untouched nun. While her friends were hooking up, Meadow went home alone.

And she was tired of it.

Oh, she had good reason for waiting. But she was sick of being the last virgin in Montana over the age of twenty.

As she bumped into the parking lot of Badlands, she was more than ready for what the joint was known for—tossing back a few drinks and finding a little trouble. She spotted her friend Desiree’s SUV parked near the door and squeezed into the small space beside her.

The thump of the music’s bass shook the walls and thrummed through the evening air. When she climbed out of her truck, she double-checked that it was locked before stowing her key fob in her bra for safekeeping.

Now she only had to avoid leaving her drink unattended. Just in case, Forest had always told her. And she had to make certain to leave the bar with a group of people so no one got a chance to harass a lone woman in the parking lot.

Suddenly, she realized that while her big brother was no longer with her, he still watched over her. The precautions he drilled into her carried on the legacy of his protection.

The door opened, letting out a blast of music right in her face. Two guys stumbled out, supporting a third between them.

Meadow turned her head to watch them. Her hair waved over her cheek and into one eye, but it didn’t obstruct her view of a tall, muscular man standing at the bar.

Meadow blinked several times to adjust to the dim lighting of the interior. She must be seeing things. Why would Colton Nox be at Badlands when the other ranch hands were still wrapping up evening chores before heading into town for some fun of their own?

She jerked forward, intending to ask him exactly that, but a familiar whistle sounded from her right. She glanced around to see Desiree at one of their usual tables, waving for her to come over and join her.

Giving Nox another narrow look he never saw, Meadow headed over to the table. She pulled out a seat and plopped into it without tearing her stare away from Forest’s friend.

The bartender slid two bottles toward him, and Nox wrapped a hand around each before turning away.

Two beers. Who was the other one for? Unless he was double-fisting tonight, he was buying someone a drink.

He disappeared, swallowed by the crowd lingering around the edge of the dance floor.

Desiree snapped her fingers in front of Meadow’s face. “Who are you so focused on?”

“Nobody.” She popped out of her chair. “I’ll get us the first round.”

“The waitress will get—” Her friend’s words were lost as she left.

Meadow rushed to the bar and quickly leaned over to order two drinks.

“Wooee! Look at you!” A guy on a barstool wagged his brows.

She cast him a narrow glance. “Go fuck yourself.”

He laughed, but she wasn’t going to waste her time talking to someone like that. She was too busy staring at Colton.

He had one of the local girls tucked up against his side, his arm draped over her shoulders much the same way that Meadow had seen in Forest’s photo of the buddies in his squadron.

Then Meadow switched her attention to the lucky woman.

Gabby Raylon. Son of a bitch! Of all the people for Colton to hook up with.

The other girl was always terrible to Meadow, ever since Forest dumped her for cheating on him. Did Colton know that? Surely not. How could he possibly know?

He moved his hand, wrapping those long, tanned fingers around her shoulder and spinning her to face him. Then he cupped her face in one big palm…and kissed her.