Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

After they hung up with Aiden, they found Easton and Walker waiting in the foyer for them. The four of them went on a long horseback ride around their property. Eva wore a hat and sunglasses in case they ran into any of the ranch hands. Easton explained their workers were trained guards as well and wouldn't rat her out, but it was just smarter to have fewer people know the Eva Chevron was here.

She'd never say anything to Miles's brother, but it was irritating when somebody called her the Eva Chevron. She was proud of her acting talent and prowess, but she wanted to be seen for herself, for her heart. Miles seemed to see her that way. Not that it could matter.

It was wonderful to be on a horse again and the ranch was picturesque, large, and intriguing. For all intents and purposes, the Colevilles appeared to be wealthy ranchers protecting their prized Brahman bulls with the huge fence and security guards. What guests didn't see was the security center, the fact that every ranch hand doubled as a guard, was heavily armed, and how well-trained at fighting and with weapons these cowboys were.

Easton and Walker told her more about Jacey Oliver's stay with them and how they went to check on Jacey and Cade Miller's property up the canyon now that the newlyweds were in hiding because the nefarious Benjamin Oliver was still at large. They told her about Elizabeth Oliver staying here as well and her heroic boyfriend Lieutenant Hays West swimming up that very river and proving a criminal could get in that way. They now had a very secure grate under said river. Lieutenant West was coincidentally best friends with Shawn Holister and the deceased Mercedes Belle. It didn't bother Eva that they name-dropped. She'd met the sweetheart Mercedes before and the Viking Warrior Shawn.

They stopped at the side of the lake and the rope swing Elizabeth Oliver had swung off of. The men stripped off their shirts and slid out of their cowboy boots, set their weapons down, and swung in wearing their jeans.

Eva reminded herself she wasn't dating Miles and had never been into ‘shallow hookups' like Autumn had teased about. She shouldn't make Miles an object and gawk at him without a shirt on. But there was well-built, and there was beautiful, and Miles's upper body was eons past both. He was a work of art. She closed her eyes, but it didn't matter. The image of his tanned skin and muscular body were imprinted in her mind.

Not to be outdone by the famed Elizabeth Oliver, the ice queen, Eva swung into the lake in her T-shirt and shorts. It was exhilarating and chilly. She liked the look of appreciation in Miles's eyes, before she reminded herself about Lily for the twentieth time in an hour .

Poor Lily. Did the woman know Miles was a two-timer? Eva would never have believed it herself if she wasn't the one the enticing Navy SEAL was looking at so earnestly. Miles seemed too loyal, from ‘good stock' as her dad would say. The way his mom had reacted, and even Easton's wide eyes at Autumn's ‘shallow hookup' comment, made her believe Miles would feel the same. Was he only interested in her as a bodyguard? He was a diligent bodyguard, but he'd also leaned in and almost kissed her and touched her more than was necessary to do his job. She couldn't riddle him out.

They returned their horses to the stables after they finished their ride around the ranch. Easton and Walker wanted her to tour their cabins.

They made it to Miles's cabin. The space was as manly and appealing as he was. It was set up similar to his brothers', with two levels, a wide front porch, rustic beams supporting the porch overhang, and lots of windows. The main level was an open living area with a laundry room and half bath, the upstairs a small loft area extending over the living room. Off the loft was a master suite and two extra bedrooms with a bath between them.

She couldn't stop envisioning him and Lily cuddled in the front porch swing, on the couch, in his bed … Her face flared red, and her gut churned. Did he sleep with Lily in this cabin? There wasn't a trace of anything feminine and she had noticed how religious the Colevilles were. Not only did they pray at breakfast, but they talked about the Bible and their Savior. They had beautiful works of art in the living room and office of the Savior. What did that mean to Miles, though? Not every child followed the path of their parents.

"Why did you build a cabin here if you're rarely home?" she asked him as they finished the tour and stood out on the porch, savoring the view of mountains covered with pine and aspen trees to the east. Had he built it for Lily?

"Rhett built it, not me. He had a designer come up with the plans for Easton, Walker, and several other cabins. He insisted it was easy to build another cookie-cutter for me." Miles shrugged. "I couldn't tell him no. The cabin gets used for protection details, and I usually stay here when I visit."

Eva liked the layout and openness of each of these cabins. It didn't feel cookie-cutter. Her house on the beach was built similar to several along the same stretch. It probably did save the builder money and time.

He ‘usually stayed here' and Mama had said something about Lily in regard to Miles's cabin. Eva might be sick.

"Are you never gonna move back home?" Walker asked, his hat clenched in his hands as the men always removed their hats inside, just like her dad and uncles would. Being around the Colevilles made her miss her family.

"Not in the foreseeable future." Miles held his brother's gaze. "I love you all and miss you, but being a SEAL is my calling in life."

They studied each other. The tension grew, and Eva couldn't help but wonder if this was about Miles not coming back to his family or not coming back for Lily. What if some of his brothers wanted Lily to be their sister-in-law or maybe to be free so they could pursue her?

"Mama's texting that lunch is ready," Easton interrupted.

Eva regarded Miles as they walked off the porch and back toward the main house for lunch. Was his ‘girl back home' just an excuse he gave to keep all the women off of him? No, there was a Lily. His brothers had all mentioned her. Did Lily not care that Miles wasn't moving back home anytime soon? Why didn't they marry? Why hadn't she moved near his home base? Her mind spun with questions, and she refused to voice any of them.

Lily felt like the elephant in the room between them. Still, Eva had to keep reminding herself about the woman. Miles seemed completely invested in Eva. Maybe she was reading it wrong again. He was focused on her as a bodyguard and she kept believing he was staring at her, giving her longing looks, laughing at things she said more than his brothers and family did.

Before she ate, Eva hurried upstairs and changed into a pretty pale blue sundress, ran a brush through her hair, and put on some lip gloss and lotion. Makeup seemed overdone in this fresh air location, and when Miles gave her the most appreciative glance as she walked out of her bedroom door, she didn't think he cared about makeup.

Lunch was delicious—taco salad—and loud with Easton and Walker telling her stories about their rodeo successes and showing her videos. They were good guys, and funny, but she was partial to Miles even though she shouldn't be.

After lunch, Millie insisted she and Miles lay down for a spell. Miles protested he hadn't taken a nap since kindergarten, but Millie shooed them up the stairs. "You told me as a SEAL you have to get sleep when you can. You're safe here, you can't do anything to track down the bad people after our darling Eva, and you both look dead on your feet."

She walked them up to their rooms, so Eva didn't get the chance to speak with Miles alone. That was for the best.

She fell asleep quickly but woke to voices and movement in the hallway. Similar to this morning, she heard the low rumble of their voices but couldn't discern the words. Straightening her sundress and smoothing her hair, she hurried to the door and swung it open.

Miles and Clint were both in the hallway, no hats, but they were very similar looking in their T-shirts, jeans, and cowboy boots. The blue eyes all the Coleville boys had inherited from Jared were appealing.

She'd thought Clint looked like a cowboy poster last night. Miles looked even better in the gear.

"Morning, sunshine," Clint drawled.

She patted her hair again. "How long did I sleep?"

"Probably not long enough," Miles said. "Last night was traumatic, and you didn't sleep in much this morning. You've been impressively brave and resilient."

"Thank you." Eva felt the sincerity of his compliment all the way through, backed up by a meaningful look in his blue gaze.

"How are you feeling?" Miles asked.

"Good." She looked between them, sensing that tension she'd felt last night. "What's on the agenda now?"

"I'm going to thump a Navy SEAL in the barn." Clint pumped his eyebrows.

Miles chuckled. "Actually, I'm going to thump the almighty sheriff and not even get a felony for assault and battery."

"You'll try, little bro."

"And I'll win." Miles folded his muscled arms across his chest and gave her a searching look.

Eva had the oddest reaction to this fight, that look in his blue eyes, the obvious strength in his arms. Her stomach hopped happily at the thought of Miles fighting for her. Was that what they were fighting about, or was it for Lily? She had the feeling that at least one of the brothers was interested in Lily. Eva wanted to see the woman, not keep her faceless. At the same time, she never wanted to meet Lily with no last name and no face. If she liked the girl, she'd feel even more guilty. If she didn't like her, she'd wonder why Miles would be committed to her.

"Can I come watch?" she asked.

"I think you'd better, so you know who to turn to in an emergency." Clint offered his arm. "The future champion will escort you."

Miles guffawed. "You haven't beat me in years."

" Future champion. I've got skills you've never seen before," Clint flung back.

Eva barked out a laugh. "You two are like a couple of roosters strutting about."

Miles grinned at that. "I am the alpha rooster. The king of the flock, you might say."

Eva laughed again.

"We'll see, little brother. We'll see."

"Let me grab my shoes." Eva hurried back into the room, used the bathroom to freshen up quick, and tied her shoes before rushing back out. "Sorry to make you wait."

"Not a problem, little lady," Clint drawled, offering his elbow again.

Eva slid her arm through the crook, her hand brushing his bicep. It was a nice muscle. He smelled nice, looked nice, seemed like a great guy. But her heart did not skip a beat at his nearness, and no tingly warmth filled her body at one brush of his fingers or longing look from his blue eyes.

Clint was a humble hero similar to Miles, but she'd seen Miles fight to protect her. He'd rescued her from death or worse. He was a Navy SEAL Lieutenant yet still humble in his speech and actions. She was mesmerized by him, no matter how she tried to tamp the feelings down.

Miles didn't say much as he followed them down the stairs. Both men plunked their cowboy hats on and Eva remembered to put her baseball hat and sunglasses back on. They walked out the side door and through Millie's pretty backyard, complete with a trellis, vegetable garden, and flower garden.

The men pecked at each other with verbal jabs as they walked. Eva called them a couple of hens and they both grinned.

Surprisingly, Easton and Walker weren't in the barn. She thought they'd be here as an audience.

"You're my only fan," Clint told her.

Miles growled low in his throat.

"What?" Clint asked, arching an eyebrow. "You should've invited Lily."

Eva's insides froze.

"You know I couldn't do that and risk word spreading about Eva being here." Miles said the line reasonably, but honestly, he looked like he was steaming and ready to flatten his brother. "Let's do this."

The men got ready, removing their shirts, boots, and socks, wrapping their hands, putting on headgear. They both had jeans on, and that struck her as funny. How could they move well in jeans?

As soon as the fight started, she realized the jeans flowed with the men nicely. She'd never seen a fight like this. She remembered seeing fights as a teenager in high school, and she'd seen lots of staged fights for filming. She'd attended boxing and MMA events.

But this? This was a cross between a street fight and a professional boxing match. Miles and Clint were obviously both experts at boxing and MMA style fighting, but there was something more raw about this fight, as if they were trying to prove themselves. She still wasn't certain if it was about Lily, or possibly about herself. Clint hardly knew her, so she doubted it was about her, but then a lot of men didn't know her at all and thought they were her ‘future'. The fight could be about brothers who had a past grievance to air, or possibly just brothers slugging it out as she'd heard men liked to do. She and her sisters didn't fight like this.

Easton and Walker wandered into the barn during the battle.

"How long they been at it?" Easton asked.

She lifted her hands, hating to tear her gaze away from the beauty and fluidity of movement Miles had, even as her neck tightened every time Clint got in a vicious hit. "Maybe ten minutes?"

"Just getting started then," Walker said. "Should I go make popcorn?"

Miles and Clint ignored their brothers. They didn't even taunt each other. Miles glanced her direction and got clocked in the head. She cried out and had to clap her hand over her mouth. He stumbled but righted himself quickly.

"He's all right," Walker said. "It would take a lot more than that to down one of my brothers."

Walker was right about that. The two men fought and fought and fought. No hit or kick, no matter how hard, seemed enough to take either of them down.

Walker forced them to take a break and drink the water bottles he had for them, but then he left to help one of the ranch hands fix a fence.

Easton stayed by Eva's side. He gave her play-by-play on the action, sounding like a sports broadcaster but adding in some Walker humor and making her laugh.

"And Clint gets in a solid jab, but Miles rebuttals him with a roundhouse. If either of our contenders possessed my devastatingly handsome looks, they'd worry about their faces being rearranged."

Eva laughed at him, but quietly, not her normal loud bark that used to embarrass her. She owned her laugh now and Miles had said he loved it.

The tension between the two seemed to increase by the minute. Clint bloodied Miles's nose, and Eva cried out. Miles split Clint's lip, and she gasped. The two didn't stop for more water, a rest, or a peace treaty. Even though Easton offered them a peace treaty signing where he would ‘mediate while they aired their grievances'.

Jared finally came into the barn and heaved a sigh. "Walker ratted you two out. Millie says you better get your feuding selves cleaned up before dinner. Come on. It's gone on too long. You aren't solving whatever issue you think is between ya tonight."

The brothers backed away from each other, glaring.

"Come on, Eva." Walker tilted his head. "Papa and I will walk you in. I'm sure Mama would love to see you."

"We should help with dinner too," Eva said. She didn't want to walk away from Miles. She hurt from watching them thump each other for so long.

As she walked away, she heard Clint say, "You think Lily is just going to keep waiting around her entire life?"

Her spine straightened, and she strained to hear Miles's answer.

As far as she could tell, he didn't respond .

The fight was about Lily, then. Did Clint like the lady too?

Eva had no answers. Should she just ask?

Glancing back, she saw Miles standing in the ring, watching her go. His headgear was off, his hands half unwrapped. His hair was tousled and his face battered. He looked like the image of a perfect hero in her mind. She couldn't be imagining the yearning in his eyes.

No matter how drawn she was to Miles, she felt worse for Lily with every passing moment. The lady had waited faithfully for Miles, the most incredible military hero, to come home. She had probably prayed for his safety, knowing he was loyal to her but had to serve his country because of the faithful type of man he was.

Until the famous actress got attacked and the military hero almost kissed her and looked longingly at her.

Eva had stolen Miles's attention from Lily. She wanted no part of that.

Why, then, couldn't she glance away from Miles's blue gaze?