River Road (River's End Series, #4) (15 page)

“Your meanderings? I guess you go anywhere and everywhere you want. Shane mentioned seeing you to me. He was wondering what your deal was with the bikini.”

She smiled, her eyebrows wagging. “You, cowboy. That was entirely about my effort to get your attention.”

“You only needed a brown paper bag over your head and you had it.”

“Well, you were obtuse about it. Why? Shane didn’t wonder if I wanted him, did he? I talk to him quite a bit. He’s a chatty guy. But it wasn’t him I was interested in.”

“No. I’ve heard more than once and from different sources that the guest Kate is overly curious. I try to pretend that it’s only about me, but sometimes, I’m not so sure it is.”

Her smile didn’t reveal anything. “Anyway, back to my question, why does he hang around you so much?”

AJ leaned his head back on the rim of the truck bed. “He fancies himself going into bull riding someday. Jack would never allow it. Charlie tries to pick my brain about it. He wants to find out how I trained for it and what I did. He’s hungry for any story I tell him about those days. I always try to shoo him away because I know where Jack stands on the matter.”

“Jack again! He sure likes being the boss and telling everyone what to do and think.”

“It’s his son. I wouldn’t want Charlie to consider it seriously either. It isn’t exactly golf.”

She flipped over and slid up onto her knees before walking forward on her knees. “I’ve never done it in the bed of a pick-up before.”

Arms crossed over his chest, AJ shook his head, although a small smile showed on his lips. He opened his arms, reaching over and sweeping his hand through the cap of hair on her head. “You’re impossible.”

“Just trying to forget my pain. Help me to do it. That’s what this trip is about for me. Think of it like charity… Isn’t that your Christian duty?”

He let her crawl closer until she was near enough to draw her arms around his neck. She dropped her lips onto his. As their mouths touched, he said, “I don’t think this is exactly what they meant.”

She lifted her face barely off his, her wide eyes brightly staring into his. “It actually does help me, AJ. I wasn’t being all that funny.”

He closed his eyes at the startling beauty of her keen, intelligent eyes. He honestly could not believe she even looked at him twice, let alone seemed so attracted to him. He let her kiss him as he fell back on the bed of the pick-up. This time, he got all the little bits of gravel, dirt, wood chips, and branches scratching up his back. Sex in a pick-up was highly overrated in his estimation, but not this time. Not with Kate. It was worth every single prick and scrape he endured.

KATE WAS NO CLOSER to why she came to River’s End in the first place. It certainly wasn’t to start a strange, newfangled relationship with a farm hand. Despite all she learned about the Rydells, she still didn’t know Jack. And still hadn’t found the smoking gun to prove why her mother would so completely have turned her back on her only son. Her firstborn. Her child. Kate’s
brother.

What did it mean? The same words often traveled through her brain. Listening to AJ, so alone with no family in the world to his name, was like déjà vu when she realized she was almost as alone as him. She had no parents now either. She was an orphan.

But she did have a brother.

The days became a bit of a routine for her. She woke at AJ’s and slept at AJ’s. Then she unhurriedly wandered to her cabin to get cleaned up, put in a few hours of work, only handling the most urgent and timely correspondences as well as the current campaigns that were in progress. Sometimes, late in the afternoons, she strolled over to the ranch. She figured out where Jack and Erin lived; and spoke almost daily with Shane every time she passed his shop. He was often in there, working away on a seriously evil-looking, uncomfortable chopper. She also spent some time in the afternoons with Erin, who was happy to see her when Kate began watching her from the fence as she worked out the horses one at a time. She answered Kate’s questions, which usually started out with an inquiry about whatever Erin was doing. From there, Kate’s questions grew more personal, and included the Rydells. Eventually, Kate navigated the conversation to glean something about Jack. But usually, Erin seemed to sense Kate’s insatiable hunger for information about her husband. She, consequently, turned tight-lipped about him. Kate gathered that Erin wasn’t sure what to think of her; while Erin was wary of Kate and didn’t trust her. However, since there was nothing specific to accuse Kate of, Erin held her tongue. No doubt she was trying to patiently bide the two weeks until Kate was scheduled to leave. Other than crossing the guest boundaries, Kate didn’t really violate any rules. She just had an unquenchable interest in the man who owned it.

Erin prepared to put the little horse away. Kate wasn’t sure if she should call it a foal or a mare or a mustang. She had no idea what it was properly called. Having so many names for a horse easily confused her. To Kate’s surprise, Erin mentioned she was thirsty and wanted to get a drink; did Kate want to join her?

Kate did. Progress. Any hospitality from Erin was encouraging. They settled on the stairs of the porch after Erin brought out two glasses of lemonade with ice and sprigs of mint. “We don’t live here anymore, but we always try to keep lunch stuff and other refreshments around so we don’t have to go all the way home on our breaks.”

“When did you move?”

Erin sipped her drink. “Oh, almost a year ago now.”

“Why? This house is so incredible.”

“It belongs to Jack’s family. Ergo, the four brothers were always coming and going. And who ended up with it? Us. Why not Shane or Joey? I wish I knew. We didn’t know how to divvy it up fairly, not that anyone would have contested it. But to be honest? Jack lived here with his parents, who died, and then his first wife…”

“Who died too. I get it. Bad mojo.”

“Yeah, sometimes. And most of all for me. Jack moved from here so I could have my own house, you know, one that wasn’t theirs or Lily’s; she was Jack’s first wife.”

Kate put a mental tally point in the plus column for Jack. Not too many there yet, but her opinion was open for any positive input. “What made you turn the ranch into a resort?”

“It was Ian’s idea, originally, but he was right. It was kind of like us dividing up the house. I mean, how could we allocate the ranch into four parts? Not to mention Ben and Charlie. Come to think of it, they’re really could be six or ten or more kids, depending on what Ian, Shane and Joey do. It seemed like the right time to branch out, while trying to be more diverse and fair to everyone. Until that time, it was only Jack running the ranch and raising the boys. Occasionally, he enlisted Shane and Ian’s help. Now? There’re less kids to raise and more brothers to share it all.”

“Oh, so you two didn’t necessarily want the cabins? I don’t get the feeling Jack likes them at all.”

“No, if it were just us, probably not. I don’t mind them. But Jack does…”

“So you must too,” Kate mumbled under her breath so Erin didn’t hear her. “Speaking of the resort, which I assume you all agreed on eventually, I wanted to throw in a few ideas. You can refuse me with no hard feelings if you’re not interested. I won’t take any offense. Kinda like you seeing a horse being trained the wrong way and it makes you want to jump in and help? Well, I know how to market ideas successfully, and honestly? You all aren’t doing much of anything. You have a ton of possibilities here, a potential gold mine, if you market it right. I actually put some ideas together, and I wanted you to look at them first, before I even mentioned it to Jack or any of the other brothers. I feel like you have a far better pulse on reality. You’re not as ‘crazy protective’ over its authenticity and simplicity, and you’re nicer too. You should be the face of the Rydell River Resort, not Jack or Shane. I don’t know the other two brothers yet, but since they aren’t around, I assume they probably aren’t that interested.”

From the messenger bag over her shoulder, Kate withdrew the stapled proposal she had compiled on a whim, during the last few days, when she had some spare time. Her real work was finished and she tried to ignore the urge, knowing Jack would bristle at the suggestion, which was all she’d managed to garner about Jack. He resisted change, and resented the resort. The ranch was all he cared about. To the extent of crazy. But after seeing how they ran the resort, it was nearly killing Kate to keep her constructive suggestions to herself. She saw how easily she could streamline the business.  All they needed were a few fairly cheap attractions, like a swimming pool, and more aggressive advertising. There was almost none being done. Kate was nearly salivating at the prospect of digging into it. She regarded Erin as the most receptive of the Rydells and her best chance for a positive outcome. The Rydell brothers seemed as rigid as a tree trunk when it came to any changes. Kate held the tidy packet of typewritten pages on her knees before handing them out to Erin.

“I run a consulting firm,” she explained to Erin. “We offer recommendations on how to streamline and/or improve businesses, thereby securing their market niche. I’m sorry, but you guys could use a lot of recommendations. This place is brilliant. Ian was right; this makes a great resort. But there are a few things you should add. A pool, for one. I know there’s the river, but during seasons like now, when it’s hot every day, the river is too dangerous and dirty to swim in, so it isn’t part of the package. A pool is the first bit of advice right off. And… well, I have some more listed as well. Would you browse through them briefly and just see if it’s something Jack or Shane would even consider? I don’t want to waste anyone's time, especially my own.”

Erin’s gaze was riveted on the papers Kate held out to her and she didn’t move. Then she almost stopped breathing. Her chest rose and fell suddenly as her eyes shot up to Kate. “Oh, I—I don’t know. I mean, you should discuss any of that with Jack. He handles that side of our business. I wouldn’t know. He—my opinion is irrelevant.” She hastily shoved the paperwork away from her, almost panicking as if Kate were releasing a live tarantula in her hand. Then, Erin jumped to her feet. Kate stared down at the unexamined papers in her hands, disappointed, to say the least. When she looked up again, Erin’s face was completely pale and her eyes grew huge. Was she afraid of the innocuous suggestions? Kate slowly rose to her feet. Dear God, was her brother so much of a tyrant that he wouldn’t even allow Erin to review potential improvements to the operation?

Kate swallowed the knot of anger lodged in her throat, and her reply to Erin, which was,
Run girl, run!
Away from this place, this town and mostly, that horrible man. Instead, she said gently, “I just wanted your opinion, Erin, before I showed it to Jack. I wouldn’t tell him that you saw them first. Please?”

Erin shook her head more vigorously, leaning back into the railing of the stairs as if Kate were threatening her with a knife. “I—I really just can’t, Kate. Please don’t ask me to do that again. Jack wouldn’t like it.”

“Erin, why do you care so much if Jack would like it or not?” The concern on Kate’s face was evident. “Are you afraid of him? I mean…”

“No. I’m not afraid of Jack. God! Just drop it. Please. It’s none of your damn business.” Erin shoved her way past Kate and stomped across the yard. A stunned Kate followed her.

“Erin. Wait. Please! You shouldn’t be afraid of your own husband. What is it? Why are you so scared of him? And his opinion? Can I help you?” Real fear for Erin clutched Kate’s heart. The ever-controlling Jack, the old-school “man” of the ranch and Erin was the “little woman”;or at least, that seemed to be their dynamic. Seeing Erin’s strong resistance, all Kate could imagine was that Jack had to be much worse in his private life with Erin. There had to be more to it.

Erin stopped dead, whipping around so fast, Kate stumbled and almost ran in to her. “I’m not afraid of my own husband. I don’t know what your damn obsession or problem is with him, but I want you to leave our house, our land, and our fucking resort!”

Erin kicked the dust and a plume of it swirled around Kate’s shin. All Kate could see, however, was Erin’s extreme defensiveness. She was trying to get Kate away from learning something she shouldn’t, but was way too hot on the trail of to stop now. Apparently, it was something that Erin wanted to conceal at all costs.

“What does he do to you? Why can’t you even read a simple advice proposal, Erin? I think you need to—”

“Kate. Enough.”

His deep voice snarled behind her.
AJ.
Although where he came from, and how he managed to sneak up without alerting them, baffled Kate.

She glanced over her shoulder at AJ, knowing he’d protect Jack, the employer he so revered. AJ didn’t see the telltale signs she witnessed or a woman so desperate for Kate to leave. And so strangely upset about a pretty casual topic. It only further hinted at the pervasive control wielded by Jack Rydell. Her brother. The brother her mother chose to forsake. Kate again clung to “there had to be a valid reason why my mother did that.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” she answered AJ, leaving her gaze locked on Erin. Color now infused her skin in anger, flooding the previous pallor.

Erin rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. “Oh, for God’s sake! What?! Do you think Jack beats me or something? Just leave, Kate. Now. I’m sick of your prancing around, and breaking all our rules with your inappropriate questions. What is your obsession with him? Do you fancy yourself with him or something? I thought that’s what it was, to be honest. I decided to grind my teeth and bear it because you paid us a shitload of money to come here. So for two weeks, I figured I could deal with you. But—”

Kate shuddered. “I don’t want Jack! Ick! No.” Her gaze skittered up to find Jack standing in the opening of the barn. He had been drawn outside by their screaming. Taking only about a second to observe them, he started running towards them, his eyes blazing. He came up behind Erin, touching her lower back and letting her know he was there. Sweet. Maybe it would have been if Kate hadn’t known Erin was hiding something from Jack, namely Kate’s suggestions for profitable improvement.

She wondered if Jack was close enough to hear the disgust in her voice.

He glared at her. “That’s a relief, because you aren’t wanted here. Get off my land.”

“I still think you want Jack,” Erin persisted.

Kate rolled her eyes. “I’ve been sleeping with AJ for two weeks, no offense, and I have no reason to want anyone else.” Especially Jack! The blustering, overbearing ass. Kate stood taller, bracing her stance. “And I won’t leave here until you tell me why she’s so afraid of some stupid ideas I had for your resort. Mostly in regards to how you market it. Why is she so afraid to tell you about them, Jack?” She flung out his name,
Jack,
as disgustedly as possible.

“What the hell do you want from us? Erin isn’t afraid of me. And besides, it’s none of your damn business.”

AJ came up closer. All eyes shifted to him. His low-brimmed hat kept his eyes hidden but his jaw was clenched. Kate had a feeling she’d worn out her welcome anyway, both with the Rydells as well as AJ. She didn’t mean to be so critical, but when she got mad, harsh words sometimes escaped her.

“Oh? Let’s talk about business. What about you not ‘allowing’ your employees to associate with your guests? It’s like a punishable offense around here. Who does that? Who controls their employees’ personal lives? What is this? Jonestown? All I see is that you decide what everyone should or should not do. Including whether or not your wife can judge something for herself. But rest assured, I don’t want anything from
you.
”

AJ leaned closer and pushed his hat back. His eyes were blazing as he said, “Enough. You need to stop now, Kate.”

“I don’t need to do anything because he said so. Believe me, this is my last day here.”

“Good. Because I can’t figure out what you were doing here to begin with,” Jack said, glaring at Kate darkly with his fists clenched.

“Then let me enlighten you. I came here because, by some miracle of biology, we are fucking related, Jack Rydell. I came because I wanted to see if my mother was an awful worm of humanity for abandoning you, or if she were simply saving me from you. At last, I can see it was the latter.”