Page 7 of Rough Ride

“Both.”

He nodded and glanced over to where her other uncle sat. He was old, and the years of hard living had taken their toll on his body. It was sad that Joe had lived through his life as a Navy SEAL and worked on the ranch, but he didn’t look as old as his much older brother. Of course, Sam did nothing. He hired people to work his land while he sat around.

It was a damn shame Joe was the one who’d died of cancer.

“Stop scowling.”

The order took him by surprise and he glanced at Crysta. She was looking out over the crowd of people, a smile playing over her lips.

“Excuse me?”

“Stop scowling.”

“And I should listen to you, why?”

She leaned so close he could feel her breath on his ear. “Because everyone is watching you and gauging your reaction. And the Kaheaku family would like nothing more than to upset you. One thing I learned from Texas beauty queens during my time there was never let them see you sweat. If you let them know how much they pissed you off, they won.”

She offered him a triumphant smile when she pulled away. The fact that she was advising him was amusing at best, but there was one thing she didn’t understand.

“I guess that would matter if I cared what they thought. But the truth is, I’m like Joe. I don’t give a bloody damn if they’re amused or irritated. Their behavior or reactions have nothing to do with me. And—if you are the sub you just claimed to be—you would understand that any self-respecting Dom would say the same thing.”

She said nothing for a while. They stood side by side as if they didn’t know each other. Then, she leaned closer again and said, “Just so you know, it isn’t about caring what they think. It’s about fucking with their heads. And I would think any self-respecting Dom would know that.”

She walked away without a backward glance. Eli was sure she knew he was watching her.

And damned if that didn’t make her more attractive. He continued to watch her until she disappeared into the house. It was only then that Eli let himself smile. There was no doubt about it, she was a chip off Joe’s old block.

He heard someone clear his throat and found Joe’s lawyer standing beside him. Okay, that wasn’t good. Someone who was former Special Forces shouldn’t let a little old Hawaiian man sneak up on him—especially because of a woman.

“I think we should get this over with, Eli,” Mr. O’Keefe said.

He nodded. “I agree. Let’s gather everyone up.”

And then he could see what Joe had planned for him. He knew it wasn’t going to be the typical will.

Eli glanced around the room. He knew one thing for sure. Someone was going to be very happy and someone was going to be very angry. Either way, there would be a ruckus.

He took one last sip of beer trying to fight a smile. Joe never did anything as expected.

three

Silence filled the library. Crysta was sure that everyone could hear her heartbeat as it pounded in her chest. Her uncle had picked up her life and shook it like a snow globe. She glanced at her mother’s family. Hot waves of anger emanated from her Uncle Sam, his son, and the rest of their group. Sam Sr. was a big man, in height and girth. He had done nothing more than stare at her as if she were the antichrist. She swallowed, trying to contain the panic that had her pulse escalating. She’d never felt such hatred before in her life, and that was saying a lot since she’d taught high school.

She turned back to Mr. O’Keefe, who smiled at her encouragingly.

“I don’t understand,” Crysta said, her brain still trying to work out the situation. “I…”

She let her voice trail off. She had no idea what the hell to say.

“It’s very easy, Ms. Miller,” Mr. O’Keefe said. “Your uncle left you half of the ranch. You must stay here for six months, then you have the option to sell to Mr. St. John or to someone else. If you don’t, it will be handed over to charity, who will sell it to the highest bidder.”

She glanced at Eli, who wasn’t looking at her. Instead, his gaze rested on O’Keefe. From the stony expression on his face, she knew he wasn’t happy with the situation. Hell, that was an understatement. He was furious. But he said nothing.

She nodded to O’Keefe as he seemed to need her to say something.

After another beat of silence, the rest of the family only waited a few more seconds before they erupted with anger.

“What the hell was Joe thinking? She’s not one of us, not a real Kaheaku,” her uncle bellowed.

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