Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

Miles was relieved to say goodbye to Autumn at Aiden's private hangar and climb aboard a quiet Cessna Citation with Paul and Eva. Autumn was hilarious, but she was a bit much to take. He did appreciate her pushing Eva at him though. His charming and overconfident younger brother Easton would definitely meet his match if they ever met in person.

Paul made certain they were settled in and then went up front to do preflight checks. The door to the plane beeped and automatically swung out and down.

Miles leaped in front of Eva's seat, whipping his Sig out. Eva's breathing increased.

"I'm here," he murmured. "Don't worry."

Paul flung open the cockpit door, his pistol out as well. He would've received notification the door had opened. Only someone with the right remote could open it. It was most likely Autumn, but a criminal could have overpowered her, no matter how tough she talked or how tough she was .

"Don't get trigger-happy on me," Autumn called out, sashaying up the steps with a small carry-on in her hand. "I forgot the clothes and goodies for my new best friend."

Miles and Paul both lowered their sidearms. Eva stood and eased around next to Miles. His pulse took off as her arm brushed against his. It was an accidental touch, but every touch with her was unique and enticing. He passed his free hand over his face.

"Autumn." Paul pushed out a heavy breath. "Somebody is going to shoot you one of these days, always trying to shock and tease us all."

"Nah. My boys are too exceptionally trained and love me far too much."

"We do love you," Paul admitted. "Like the annoying little sister who never grew up."

Autumn blew him a kiss.

"Thank you," Eva said, taking the suitcase from her.

"You got it, girlie. Now you go enjoy and don't worry about a thing. Miles will take good care of his beautiful actress, that's for sure."

"I'm not his," Eva murmured, not looking at him.

Miles feared he'd never get the chance to make her his.

"You think sparks like yours happen every day?" Autumn tsked. "Not in my lifetime."

"Please." Eva lowered her voice and leaned into Autumn's ear. "He has a girl," she said quietly, but it still carried to Miles.

Autumn's eyes widened and her gaze flew to Miles. Her dark eyes were full of challenge and annoyance. "That's no never mind of yours. You're Eva Chevron. No girl can compete with you."

Miles looked away. He couldn't handle the censure in Autumn's eyes at having never heard about a girlfriend or the fact that he was hurting Eva. Even worse was the defeated posture he'd never seen Eva Chevron display.

"That is hardly the point," Eva said, straightening her shoulders, her voice as cool as it had been since he'd met her. "Thank you, Autumn. Stay safe. I hope to see you again."

"You as well. We'd be the best of girlie friends. Ta-ta."

Autumn and Eva shared a quick embrace and then Autumn glared at him. "Miles. Figure your junk out." She marched off the plane. The door shut behind her.

Eva walked over and settled into a recliner. Miles sat next to her. He wished he had any idea what to say. Autumn kept making things more awkward for him. Then he realized … he was taking Eva to the ranch. Easton and Walker would be worse than teenage boys around her, either hoping to get her attention for themselves or trying to push her to Miles. Never mind that the ‘billboard of manly cowboy heroism' Sheriff Clint Coleville would be around as well. Lily had dropped that line on him. Twice. He'd told her to go after Clint once. She said she'd never dare. Miles knew he was handsome, tough, and brave, but nobody could compete with Clint.

The plane taxied out of the massive hangar door. He loved his brothers and would never try to compete with them for women. Not that he'd ever gone after anyone but Lily. He knew nothing about the dating game. And he thought he could have a chance with the most incredible woman created? What a joke. Instead of laughing, he blew out a heavy breath.

Eva glanced sharply at him.

"Sorry," he said.

"For?" She lifted a delicate eyebrow.

"Autumn. She's a lot to take sometimes. "

"I liked her . I liked her a lot."

What was with the emphasis? "Only her?" Miles challenged when he should be brainstorming how to counteract the ‘girl back home' comment he never should've made. He could've flown home, flirted with and grown closer to Eva the entire time, found a break to go visit Lily, and then made his play for Eva.

No, he couldn't. Not if he wanted to sleep at night.

"You don't meet a lot of genuinely honest people who are true to their character like Autumn and seem to really enjoy themselves. Not in Hollywood, at least."

"Hmm." Was there something underlying there, and why was he suddenly reading something into her words? He was a man. He didn't stress over every word spoken. "Well, luckily you're headed to Coleville, Montana, ma'am. The cowboys there are as genuine as the day is long."

That was a stupid line. Was he trying to push her on his brothers?

She studied him, as if reading something into his words. The plane stopped momentarily, and he knew Paul would be getting clearance to take off.

"I like genuine," she said.

Did she think he hadn't been genuine with her? If he'd wanted to lie, he sure wouldn't have told her about Lily. Not that he'd shared much. He felt like he'd shared just enough to incriminate himself. What explanation could he attempt to give her that wouldn't make it worse? He was in a lose-lose situation—finding the woman of his dreams while still halfway committed to the woman who'd waited years for him.

"How many brothers do you have?" she asked.

"Five brothers, six counting me. "

"Oh my. Your poor mother."

He laughed. "She loves it. Her boys are the highlight of her life. Of course she nags us all about getting married and making beautiful grandbabies."

Her eyes widened. "Tell me about your brothers, please. Start at the top."

When Miles agreed to protect her and take her home, he'd been focused on keeping Eva safe and, in the back of his mind, finding a chance to talk to Lily and be free to pursue Eva. He hadn't stopped to think about his lineup of handsome, tough, and impressive brothers surrounding her. And none of them had a ‘girl' currently. Shoot.

"Clint's the oldest," he began. "The sheriff of our county."

"Impressive."

"He is," he admitted.

The plane picked up speed, racing along the runway.

"How old is Clint?"

"Thirty-two."

"Married?"

"No, ma'am. A lady broke his heart six months ago, two weeks before their wedding day."

"That's awful."

"It was." He despised Sheryl Dracon. An angelic face and a dragon's heart. Sheryl had two-timed Clint and their friend and neighbor Cade Miller. Cade was happily married to the infamous Jacqueline Oliver now. The two of them were in hiding from her at-large criminal of a father.

"I'm next in line."

She only nodded. No follow-up questions.

The plane got up to speed and lifted off, soaring quickly up into the night air. The wheels thumped back into the undercarriage.

"Then the twins, Easton and Walker. They're twenty-eight. Easton is a bull rider as you saw, and Walker is the roper. He prefers steer roping, but it's only recognized in ten states, so he mostly does tie-down roping."

"It's recognized in Wyoming," she said.

"It is."

"You forget I'm from a ranch too."

"I couldn't forget anything about you, Eva," he said softly.

She didn't roll her eyes, but he sensed she wanted to. He knew more about her than she wanted him to. He'd really messed things up not kissing her earlier, but what could he do to rectify such a mistake? Nothing until he spoke with Lily.

"That's four. Who's next?"

"Rhett. He's twenty-six, owns his own construction company and builds custom vacation homes and cabins near Kalispell."

"Nice."

"Houston's the baby. Twenty-four, he's the brilliant one among us. Undergrad done in two years instead of four. Now he's in the middle of his residency in family practice in Omaha. Mama originally prayed for him to be a brain surgeon, but now she's grateful he chose family practice and praying he'll move home and take over Doc's practice. Doc is a good-old boy and retirement is definitely on his radar."

"And your parents own the ranch where I'll supposedly be safe?"

"You'll be safe. We take our safety seriously, and my brothers and the ranch hands are almost as tough as I am." He gave her what he hoped was a confident smile. He never bragged about himself, and it felt awkward .

"I look forward to meeting them."

That stirred something uncomfortable in his gut. His brothers were handsome, devastatingly so. Or so he'd heard. Easton was a flirt to the tenth degree. Walker had the slow cowboy grin and kind heart women went nuts over. Clint was the tough, reserved Sheriff, and women vied to break through his shell. Rhett was the successful contractor, and everybody knew about women and tool belts. Houston … the doctor thing was too appealing to even think about competing with.

He highly doubted they'd see Houston or Rhett. Still, Miles was in trouble when the rest of them met Eva Chevron. A lot of trouble.

"I'm going to try to rest," Eva said. "Tonight has felt longer than the preacher's sermon on patience."

He smiled. "I'm sure it has."

She pushed the button that reclined the chair and closed her eyes. Miles found the remote that dimmed the lights in the cabin.

"Thank you," she murmured, not opening her eyes.

"Sure." Miles should try to rest too. He'd be on duty round the clock when they got to the ranch.

Instead, he schemed how he could keep her away from his brothers. Her safety had to come first, and his brothers were impressive and well-trained, but so were the ranch hands. He'd meet with his dad as soon as they got there, see which ranch hands were married and could help him out. Then he'd keep Eva in his cabin, keep her all to himself. They couldn't risk her beautiful and famous face being recognized if someone happened to visit the ranch.

He slumped in his seat, knowing his dad would blow holes in these arguments. Eva was safest in the main house, and nobody came through their gates without the front gate guard letting them in and the guard monitoring the security cameras and sensors knowing they had a guest and relaying everything about the guest. They could easily hide Eva if someone came to visit. This definitely wasn't their first rodeo of security details. Jacey Oliver's year of hiding at their ranch was bragging rights they'd never tell anyone about.

If only he could officially break up with Lily and make his own play for Eva. He had the connection with her, had rescued her, knew how brave and kind she was. If he could tell her all the reasons they were perfect together, maybe his brothers wouldn't stand a chance.

Then again, they might beat him out even if he was playing with a full deck. Being a Coleville brother was both a blessing and a curse.