Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Zach

I t was usually no problem to clear my mind and get through my day, but as I worked alongside Hal and my men, my mind kept drifting off. I kept going back to that conversation in the barn the night before with Rae. She really had surprised me.

I was willing to admit I'd made a snap judgement, painting her as a spoiled little socialite who thought she was better than the rest of us. That one single interaction had changed my mind completely. I knew I was wrong the instant I walked in and saw her with that horse. Selfish people were usually selfish with everyone , humans and animals alike. They didn't discriminate. But she'd won Sassy over in less than a handful of days.

She'd come up in conversation more than once among the other hands, and it was easy to see she was quickly starting to win everyone over. Then there was that smile. God damn , but I hadn't been able to get that smile of hers out of my head. I was surrounded by the beauty of this place day in and day out, still, I wasn't sure I'd seen anything more beautiful than Rae Blackwell's smile. It had the power to light up an entire block during a blackout.

Damn it . I caught myself getting lost in thoughts of her again as I finished brushing Roam down after a long day's work. I walked him to his stall and tossed him a flat of hay before shutting him in for the night.

I headed in the direction of the office, deciding my time would be better used getting some paperwork done than it would be going home, where I'd most likely stand at my living room window and stare out toward that damn cabin before finally taking my sorry ass to bed or into the shower where I would undoubtedly beat off to the image of a certain city girl, just like I had the past couple nights.

Christ, I was pathetic.

As I reached my office door, the sound of large tires crunching on gravel caught my attention and pulled me in the opposite direction, toward the open barn doors. I stood with my feet braced and my arms crossed as the unfamiliar pickup eased off the gravel road and came to a stop beside my truck. My shoulders tensed and the muscles in my back knotted up as I waited to see who was behind the wheel. The last time I'd gotten an unexpected visitor, the news had been far from good. However, when the driver's side door was thrown open and the man stepped out, all the anxiety that had started to sprout like weeds overrunning a flowerbed died off and a smile tugged at my face.

"You gotta be shittin' me." I let out a bark of laughter while the man threw his arms out to his sides, closing the distance between us.

"Surprise!" Connor Bennett exclaimed, the very same shit-eating grin he always wore stretched wide across his face.

"It sure as hell is." I pulled him into a quick, back-slapping hug before letting go and taking a step back to get a good look at him. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doin' here, man?"

I met Connor on the rodeo circuit years ago, long before I took over Safe Haven. I did a little tie-down roping when I was younger, just for fun, but I'd only been okay at it. I knew I'd never make a career out of it, and hadn't really wanted to. Unlike Connor. He was a nationally ranked bull rider. He was a legend on the circuit and a celebrity in the world of rodeo. He had more sponsorships than I could count, and a face made for Pbr to plaster on all their promotional materials. The man made a living on the backs of some of the rankest fucking bulls alive, and he was damn good at it. He'd even come in second at the World Finals the year before. Not that he was happy with that. The man wasn't going to be satisfied until he was the champion. No matter the beatings his body had to take.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere in Wyoming right now, gettin' your ass tossed off a bull or beddin' down with a handful of buckle bunnies?"

"What? You haven't been followin' along with my career?"

I lifted my arm and waved it out. "Been a little busy here makin' a living for myself, brother. I don't have time to stare at your pretty face on the TV screen."

He pulled off his ball cap and swiped a hand through his hair before slapping it back on his head with a sigh. "Busted up my knee a couple months back, had to take a little time off. Headed home to rehab it for a bit, but you know how I am."

I sure did. The man had the attention span of a toddler in the middle of a sugar high. Couldn't sit still for long to save his life. Originally, he was from a small town in Texas called Cloverleaf, but seeing as his career took him all over, basically year-round, he didn't really have roots anywhere. He'd visited here more than once, staying a few days at a time over the years, but I wasn't sure the man could be content settling down in any one place.

"Shit man, I didn't know. You okay?"

He balled his fist and knocked on his right thigh above his knee. "I'll be good as new. Don't worry about me. But until I can get back on a bull, I figured I'd come see your ugly mug for a bit, maybe give you a hand on the ranch for a while, if you need it." His mouth curved up in a grin. "Maybe spend some time with that beautiful sister of yours," he added, earning himself a punch to the arm.

I jabbed a finger in his laughing face. "You go near my sister and you'll never get on the back of another bull, 'cause I'll kill you," I warned, even though I knew he was just talking shit.

He chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Message received loud and clear." He pulled his cap off again, going through the same motions as before: dragging his hand through his hair before yanking it back on again. It was a tell of his, a nervous tick he couldn't control, letting me know he wasn't as okay about his injury as he claimed to be. But I wouldn't push. If he wanted to talk about it, he would. Until then, I'd give him that play.

"Does your offer to help around here mean you're plannin' on staying for a while?"

He lifted his shoulder in a careless shrug. "It does if you're cool with it."

"Hell, Connor. You know the answer to that. You're always welcome here. You need a place to stay or did you already book yourself a room at the lodge?"

He shook his head. "Lodge was all booked up. Figured I'd find something in town if I needed to. Or, hell, I'd even be willing to crash in the bunkhouse if I have to."

I clapped him on the shoulder and used my grip to spin him around and start us in the direction of our trucks. "Like hell, I'm puttin' you up in the bunkhouse. You'd corrupt every damn one of those cowboys in no time. I'm sure we can find you somethin' fast enough."

"Sounds good to me. Then we're going out for a beer. It's been too long, man."

It sure had. And a beer sounded a hell of a lot better than paperwork or pining over the new girl, which were the only other options I had until Connor showed up.

"Damn, I missed this place," Connor said as he looked around the Tap Room from his stool at the high-top table we'd commandeered as soon as we arrived. For being the middle of the work week, the place was hopping. Then again, that was always the case.

The bar had been a fixture of Hope Valley for generations, and Lennix had made it even more popular when she expanded it, turning it into an actual brewery, complete with its own brewmaster and everything. The old bones of the bar were still there, but there was also a space for people to come in for tastings and tours. Where the ranch was in my soul from a young age, this place was all Lennix's, and our parents hadn't batted an eye when they retired from here and handed the reins over to her and let her run with her vision for the place.

I sipped a new pilsner that had just been put on tap as I proudly observed all the work my little sister had put in. "Yeah, it's not so bad."

Connor scoffed. "Not so bad? You kiddin' me? You got great beer, great music, and more gorgeous ladies than any one town has the right to have." He looked at the group of women a few tables down from us and winked, sending them into a fit of giggles and whispers. Connor Bennett had a reputation throughout the rodeo circuit as a ladies' man. He'd been dubbed the bull-riding playboy years ago, and there couldn't have been a more fitting moniker. I wasn't sure if the reputation came honestly or if he was doing his best to live up to it, but I couldn't recall a single time we'd gone out together that he didn't leave with a woman on his arm. Christ, some nights he had two.

He let out a low whistle, lifting his beer in salute in the women's direction. "Damn, would you look at them?" He jabbed his elbow into my arm. "Which one's caught your eye, wingman?"

I shook my head and took another pull of my beer. "None of them. You're on your own tonight, buddy."

Connor bugged his eyes out dramatically and sputtered. "What the hell are you talking about? We're always each other's wingman. Don't wimp out on me now."

"Not wimping out," I said with a shrug, a long day of ranching finally catching up with me. I was exhausted, it was getting late, and I had to get up early to do it all over again. "I'm just not in the mood."

His chin jerked back in surprise. "You settle down while I wasn't lookin' or something?"

I snorted into my beer, shoving the image of Rae that popped up away as fast as I could. "No, I haven't settled down. I'm just not feelin' it. Nothing wrong with that."

I tried my hardest not to squirm as he studied me like I was a specimen beneath a microscope. "You're so full of shit." He barked out a laugh. "Who is she?"

Ah fuck .

"Who's who? "

And double fuck .

"Well, if it isn't my girl, Len." Connor grabbed hold of my sister and pulled her into a tight hug that eventually morphed into a headlock. She batted at him until he released her, then slugged him in the shoulder once she was free.

"Thought I saw my brother sitting over here with an asshole." She shot Connor a cheeky smile. Despite my earlier warning, I knew I didn't have anything to worry about when it came to my friend and my sister. Their relationship was a lot like my relationship with her. They gave each other shit, but there wasn't a single spark to be found. She knew his reputation, and while she held affection for him, she thought his man-whore ways were beyond pathetic.

"It's good to see you too, sunshine. I've missed you. You decide to leave all this behind and run away with me yet?"

Lennix laughed, a deep, rolling belly laugh. "Man, you're a looker, Con, but I wouldn't let you near me like that if you bathed in an entire tub of hand sanitizer first."

I chuckled as he smacked a hand to his chest. "You wound me. I thought we were destined to be soulmates."

Lennix rolled her eyes before turning back to me, resting one hand on the table and the other on her hip. "What were you guys talking about before I walked up? "

"Nothin'," I said at the same time Connor answered, "The chick your big bro is sprung on."

Lennix widened her eyes, gaping at me. "You're into someone? Who? How did I not know?"

I let out a low growl, scowling at Connor and silently promising payback. Maybe I'd release Gretel in the cabin he was bunking in—a cabin that happened to be nowhere near Rae's. I could let her take a chunk out of his ass for a change. "Because there's nothing to know. There's no woman."

Connor coughed bullshit into his fist. That did it. I was going to commit murder. "There's a whole table of lovely ladies right over there, and your brother hasn't so much as glanced in their direction. That can only mean one thing." He waggled his brows for dramatic effect. "He's got his eye on someone else."

Lennix watched me closely for a second before sucking in a gasp. "Oh my God. It's Rae, isn't it? It is! It's Rae!" She let out a squeal and did a little happy dance as I felt the tips of my ears start to burn red.

"Who's Rae?"

"Rae's no one," I ground out.

"She's new on the ranch," my sister continued, not giving a damn about my level of discomfort. "And she's totally beautiful."

They both turned to face me, matching asshole grins on their asshole faces. "Well, well, well. Isn't this an interesting turn of events?"

I was officially done. Standing from my stool, I removed my wallet from my back pocket and pulled out a few bills without counting and tossed them on the table. "I'm out," I stated gruffly, sending murderous vibes at a laughing Lennix, not that she cared. She'd stopped being scared of me around the age of five when she turned into a little demon who started fighting dirty. She'd rip the hair from my arms or legs, scratch, bite, or pull my hair. I pointed my finger at Connor's face. "And for being a dick, you can walk back to the ranch."

He grinned unrepentantly. "I don't think that'll be necessary," he said as he faced the table of women once more, shooting them a wink. "I don't think I'll be returning to the ranch tonight either."

I shook my head as Lennix curled her lip in disgust. "Suit yourself. See you guys tomorrow."

"Goodnight, big brother," Lennix called as I started out of the bar. "Tell Rae hi from me."

Fucking hell .