“We’re here!”
Mere seconds pass after I shoulder open the front door before a bundle of dark hair throws herself at us, one arm wrapping around my neck while the other hooks around Luna’s.
“You’re here!” Eliza squeals, the smile on her face is nothing short of ecstatic. “And you’re together.”
“Eliza,” I warn but I’m unable to keep my lips from tipping upwards. I knew she’d be happy to see Luna. I’m glad she’s happy to see Luna. Fuck, I’m happy to see Luna on the ranch again, and because of some family emergency, and she looks happy to be here. “Where are the others?”
“Lux is coming downstairs now,” Eliza tells me, releasing me but showing no signs of letting Luna go. “So she’ll be here in, like, thirty minutes.”
“I heard that, brat,” Lux huffs as she waddles into the kitchen. If I thought Luna looked happy before, it’s nothing compared to how her face brightens when she catches sight of Lux, mimicking one of Eliza’s excited shrieks as she rushes to her side. Hands reaching out in front of her, she waits until Lux nods her permission before setting them on her rounded stomach. “Look at you,” she coos, smoothing her hands over the bump affectionately.
“I know,” Lux grunts. “I’m huge.”
Luna flicks her gently. “You’re glowing.”
“You’re full of shit,” Lux retorts, nudging Lu’s hands away and pulling her in for a side hug. Ruffling Eliza’s hair before detaching her from me, I move to kiss the eldest of my sisters on her cheek, studying her carefully.
Relief floods my body, relaxing permanently tense muscles. She looks good. Tired and more than a little uncomfortable if the way she keeps rubbing her back and scrunching her face is anything to go by, but good. Healthy. Looks can be deceiving though so I ask anyway, “You doing okay?”
“Yes,” she replies a little too quickly. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”
Huh.
Believable.
Grace ambles into the room just in time to catch the end of that sentence, and she comes to an abrupt halt. She narrows her eyes at Lux, and Lux narrows hers right back. Some kind of silent conversation transpires between them, one that ends with Lux huffing in annoyance as Grace turns to me. “Her blood pressure is shit. Doc said she needs to take it easy but she’s not listening.”
“You are such a tattle-tale,” Lux hisses. Glancing at me, she holds up her hands innocently. “I’m fine. I promise, I’m fine.”
“A medical professional seems to disagree.”
“I’m taking it easy!”
Grace snorts.
“My blood pressure is fine.” Lux insists shrilly. “I was just having a bad day.”
Unconvinced, I shoot her a look, pulling out one of the chairs tucked under the kitchen table and staring at it pointedly. An almighty huff leaves my sister as she reluctantly plops herself in it, muttering what I’m sure are all kinds of threats against my life.
I rest my hand on her shoulder, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “It’s not just yourself you gotta take care of anymore, Lux.”
She scowls but it’s half-hearted. Two protective hands settle on top of her belly. “I know.”
“Then stop being a dumbass and listen to the damn doctor. Okay?”
She grumbles something that I’m pretty sure is an agreement, swatting me away when I kiss her cheek. “Yeah, well, I learned how to be a dumbass from you.”
Rolling my eyes at my sister, I plop down on the chair beside her. “So who’s this guy we’re meeting?”
I don’t like him.
He’s only been in the house for a half hour and I already don’t like him.
Maybe it’s the fact he’s yet to crack his smile. And his version of a greeting was grunting his name with a firm nod. And every question I ask, his answer is annoyingly monosyllabic—I didn’t clock his southern accent until at least the ten minute mark.
Or maybe it’s that despite said lilting accent and the fucking cowboy boots on his big ass feet, he’s still intimidating as hell.
Or it has something to do with him shaking my hand and crushing my fingers with what I’m pretty sure was maybe a quarter of his grip strength.
Or it’s the fact that Lux’s mouth has been watering since the enormous man interviewing to be our newest ranch hand plodded through the door.
I didn’t know that brawny and big enough to wrestle a fucking hippo was her type but Lux has stars in her eyes. And a weird high pitch to her voice as she lays out what his duties would be, this odd nervous energy to her that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in my life.
Whatever the reason, I am positive that I don’t like him.
But my sister clearly does, and as she so likes to remind me, she’s got final say.
I have a feeling that no matter how much I protest, Hunter Whitlock is about to become a permanent fixture on my ranch.
“I like him,” Lux murmurs the moment Hunter’s out of earshot. He wanted to check out the barn and the horses, and Lux, obviously, told him to knock himself out. As he jogs towards the paddock where Clyde and the Scooby Gang are hanging out, the earth practically shakes beneath his thunderous strides. “I really like him.”
“I don’t.”
Lux’s head whips towards me, a completely bewildered expression on her face, like she can’t possibly comprehend what I’m saying. “Why not?”
“He seems like a dick.”
“Maybe he’s shy,” Lux vehemently defends the man she met less than an hour ago. When I scoff, she rolls her eyes. “Come on, Oscar. You said I needed help. He can help. Look at him.” She gestures towards the mountain of a man. “He could probably bench press Clyde. One of him is, like, four of anyone else you might hire.”
Her eyes drift back over to where Hunter has climbed up the paddock fence and settled astride the thick logs, his gaze trained on the horses eyeing him warily. “Besides, if I’m gonna be a useless human incubator confined to the porch swing for the next few months, I deserve a little eye candy.”
“Gross, Lux.”
“He’s got experience. He can clearly carry his weight around here. Clyde likes him and he’s an excellent judge of character. He’s perfect, Oscar.”
I side-eye Lux, a sigh escaping me as the only acceptable answer becomes clear. It’s not like I really had a choice, anyway. She was always going to hire him, whether I agreed or not. But I appreciate her effort at pretending like I’m included in the decision. “Fine.”
My twenty-one-year-old sister squeals like an overexcited child.
Looping her arm around mine, she tugs me towards Hunter, leaning on me as I help her down the porch steps.
She was right, he’s got Clyde eating out of the palm of his hand. Literally; the guy must’ve snatched a bunch of apples from the stash in the barn. Shit, Clyde isn’t even this comfortable around me or Lux. Luna’s the only person he nuzzles the way he’s nuzzling one of Hunter’s big ass thighs.
Damn it.
“Hunter!” Lux calls out when we get close enough. He swivels to face us, the same impassive expression on his bearded face that he’s been wearing since he got here. “When can you start?”
He doesn’t move from his positions atop the paddock fence. “Whenever you want, ma’am.”
Ma’am.
Jesus Christ.
Lux’s smile is colossal. She elbows me, shooting me a brief look as if to say ‘see? Look how polite he is.’ “Great. Does Monday work? The cabin you’ll be staying in is ready now but I assume you’ve gotta go get your stuff.”
Hunter swings his leg over and hops off the wall, way too gracefully for a man of his bulk. Once on solid ground, he nods his head towards the battered piece of metal he calls a truck and utters the longest sentence I’ve heard from him yet. “I’ve got my stuff with me. I can start right now, if you want.”
“Oh.” I didn’t think it was possible but Lu’s smile grows. I get another look, this one saying ‘see? Fate.’ “Even better. Eliza!” She yells the last bit over her shoulder.
Comically quickly, Eliza’s head pops out the kitchen window, where she’s been lurking and oh-so-discreetly creeping on the new addition to the ranch. Grace is somewhere in there too, for some reason doing her college work at the kitchen table instead of at the perfectly good desk in her room. Even Lottie stopped being a brat long enough to gawk. I’m grateful Luna was on the phone with Pen when Hunter arrived, because otherwise she’d probably be gaping too and I’d like him even less.
“Can you show Hunter to his cabin?”
God, if my sisters keep smiling like that, their faces are going to split in two.
“Of course I can!” Eliza disappears, reappearing less than a second later as she barrels out the front door, almost breaking her neck in her quest to get to us as quickly as possible.
With a smile like butter wouldn’t melt, Eliza grips Hunter by one huge bicep and drags him away, already babbling a mile a minute. I think, for the first time, I see an emotion cross the cowboy’s face; surprise. I’m convinced I even see a hint of a smile but it smoothes out too soon for me to confirm my suspicions.
My youngest sister is helping Hunter get his meagre amount of belongings from his truck when a horn honks, dusk kicked up by the wheels of a car rolling down our driveway.
Before she even gets out of her car, Caroline’s blush is visible, her wide eyes clearly latched onto Hunter.
I groan. God, this guy’s gonna be a fucking hazard.
Smoothing down her sundress, she pastes on that signature Caroline smile before approaching the newest addition to the ranch.
I can’t hear what they’re saying but I hazard a guess that she’s introducing herself when she holds out a hand for him to shake. Even from a distance, I can see Caroline’s face drop when Hunter shakes her hand—probably begrudgingly because I think that’s his default setting—but does absolutely nothing else, not the least bit interested in participating in the conversation she’s trying to start.
She dithers unsurely for the briefest moment before she shakes her head and heads towards Lux and I. “Sheesh,” she mutters when she gets within earshot. “I thought cowboys were supposed to be nice.”
Lux snickers. “Don’t need to be nice when you look like that.”
A soft sigh escapes Caroline as she glances over shoulder, dramatically wistful. “I’m so jealous you get to stare at that all day. You think that shirt’s gonna come off when the summer heat hits?”
Lux copies her sigh. “A girl can only hope.”
“What’re we hoping for?” A hand slips into my back pocket as a lithe, warm body presses against my side.
Lux simply nods toward Hunter as if that’s explanation enough. And apparently, it is. The guy is fucking miles away yet my girlfriend’s eyes go wide, lips pursed as she whistles quietly. “Who’s the hot cowboy?”
When I clear my throat pointedly, blue eyes roll. “Baby, I love you,” Luna croons, rising on her tiptoes to peck my cheek, “but I have eyes.”
“Close ’em,” I grumble back, slipping a hand around her waist and yanking her closer.
Luna doesn’t immediately melt into me as she usually does. Instead, she leaves a sliver of space between us as she smiles softly, almost apologetically, at Caroline. “Hi, Caroline.”
To her credit, Caroline doesn’t look the least bit phased. “Hey, Luna.” They share a weird moment of intense eye contact before Caroline breaks it, her attention shifting to Lux as she hip bumps her gently. “Ready?”
Lux nods, jerking a thumb towards the house. “Just needa get my bag.”
“Where are you going?”
“Line’s gotta go to the flower market before it closes and I said I’d help.” I open my mouth, but Lux cuts me off before I can even begin to form a protest, narrowing her eyes and giving me a warning look. “And before you start, yes, my swollen ankles will be able to support my weight for a few hours.”
Luna laughs quietly and Caroline’s gaze flicks back to her. “You wanna come?”
Lu glances between her and I, seeming to ask both of us, “Do you mind?” When we both shake our heads, Lu breaks out in a smile. “I’d love to.”
Caroline and Lux head towards the former’s car but Lu lingers beside me, wrapping her arms around my waist and propping her chin on my chest. “You sure you don’t mind if I disappear for a while?”
“Nah, go for it.” I lean down to brush my lips against hers. “Keep an eye on Lux for me?”
She hums against my mouth. “If you’re lucky, I’ll bring you back a present.”
My hands drop to palm her ass, squeezing gently. “I like roses.”
A few hours later, the biggest bouquet of roses I’ve ever seen lands on my desk, closely followed by the ass of my smirking girlfriend as she perches on the edge. I lean back in my seat, glancing between her and the flowers with a smile. “For me?”
“No, for Hunter. I just wanted to get your opinion first.”
Scoffing, I tug her onto my lap, kissing the smirk off her face. She relaxes into me easily, a content noise leaving her when I wind my hands through her hair. “Have a good day?”
Lu hums happily. “It was fun. Line and I made Lux sit down every twenty minutes. She put up a fight but we’re very persuasive.“
Jesus, again with the Line. “I can’t believe my sister and Caroline voluntarily spent several hours together without pulling each other’s hair out.”
“They’re friends.” Luna shrugs. “I think Line’s been helping her a lot lately.”
I must not hide my skepticism very well because a bony elbow jabs me in the stomach. “Come on, it must be pretty lonely here, everyone gone all the time. You should be glad she has a friend.”
“I am.” But I just kind of wish my ex-girlfriend wasn’t that friend. “You don’t think it’s weird? Her being around a lot?”
“You mean am I jealous?“ Lu smirks, hands creeping up my chest to curve around my neck, leaning forward to rest her forehead against mine. “No. You love me. I know that.” Her head dips to catch my lips for a moment. “Besides, believe it or not, you’re not hot enough for Line to risk the wrath of me and Lux by trying something on you.”
“If you’re trying to sweet talk me, it’s working.”
That laugh I love tickles my cheek, as does her hair when she shifts a little, turning to glance at my desk at the beginning of a sketch starting to take shape. “What’re you working on?”
One hand clamps down on her hip to stop her from leaning forward, the other hastily covering the work-in-progress. “Nothing good.”
Nothing I want her to see yet.
I draw her attention back to me by tapping her thigh. “You wanna take Clyde out for a while? He’s missed you.”
She’s up and out of my lap so fast I almost get whiplash. “God, I thought you’d never offer.”
