Page 28 of Toxic

“That’s good,” she said with a small awkward laugh. “My mom is too, I think. She took off when I was a kid.”

“So you were raised by two men on a ranch?” I asked with a grin.

She laughed. “And now you can see why I am the way I am,” she joked.

Tilting my head, I studied her. “I haven’t known you very long, but I haven’t seen anything bad yet.”

She gave me a droll look. “Just wait. I’ve been told I’m…unique.”

“I like unique. Who the fuck wants to be like everyone else?” I asked.

She went quiet, staring at me, then her eyes darted back to her food. “This is so good.”

I let her change the subject. I got the distinct feeling she wasn’t used to being complimented. Or appreciated by men. Maybe her father and grandfather, but anyone else? It didn’t seem like it. “Thanks.”

She sighed and set her fork down. “If Gramps is able to come home soon, you’ll be off the hook.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’d still love to have the women and kids come out.”

“Billie, you’re still going to need help for a while,” I pointed out. “You’re going to be busy taking care of your grandfather.”

“Oh, well, of course, but you wouldn’t need to keep coming out.”

“I’m not leaving you here to handle both your grandfather and the farm,” I told her in a no nonsense tone. “Not to mention there’s still Fission Solutions to deal with.”

“Oh yeah.” She shook her head. “I swear I’m not normally so absent minded.”

“You have a lot going on,” I told her. “And until things calm down, I’m not going anywhere.”

There was that look again. It made me want to drag her into my lap and kiss her. I’d taken the seat right next to her, instead of across the table, so she was within reach. Maybe she’d bereceptive to it, maybe not, but I didn’t want to push her too fast, so I kept my damn hands to myself, even though it killed me to do it.

“I don’t even know how I’m going to repay you for all of this.” She sounded so small and lost. Just a woman alone in the world, unused to people surrounding her with help and love.

I wanted to teach her what it meant to have a family. One like mine. Who would do whatever was fucking necessary to help any of those who belonged to us. I knew she would reject the idea outright if I tried anything like that now. My plan was to introduce her to my family slowly. Draw her in. Make her feel loved and secure. Then make her mine.

When you had a mare that spooked easily, you had to approach her slowly. To earn her trust. I knew Billie was going to be exactly the same. One day at a time, I was luring her further into my trap. Only I wasn’t going to do anything devious once I had her there. Unless you counted what I planned to do to her in bed. That was pretty fucking depraved.

But I didn’t want to send the girl running and screaming from me yet. So I’d keep myself locked down and under control until she trusted me.

“You don’t need to repay me for anything,” I told her. Reaching over, I picked up her fork and put it back into her hand. “You need to eat more. I don’t want you getting sick again.”

She placed a bite of food in her mouth and chewed. Once she’d swallowed she looked over at me again. “I at least need to pay you back for the food and the paint. Can you please make me a list of any supplies you’ve bought, and prices? And how many hours you’re working? At the end, I’ll cut you a check.” She hesitated. “Unless you need the money sooner. I can pay you now if you want.”

“No, at the end is fine,” I told her, nudging her hand so she resumed eating. This was why her body had shut down on her. She had so many responsibilities weighing down on her, she didn’t even think about her own health or needs.

I had zero intention of making a list. Or taking any money from her. That wasn’t why I was doing all this. But I wasn’t going to bring that up now. It would just start an argument. And arguing was the last thing I wanted to do with her.

“My VP Riptide is looking into Fission Solutions,” I said, changing the subject before she decided she needed to pay me now.

“VP?”

“The vice president of my club,” I explained with a grin. “He gave me an update earlier today. It’s a company that deals in nuclear energy.”

She frowned. “Why would they be interested in a cattle ranch if they’re involved with nuclear energy?”

I shrugged my shoulders, taking a drink of the cold beer in front of me. Priest had picked me up a couple of cases. A man couldn’t go from drinking most hours of the day to stopping cold turkey without some serious repercussions. Though, I never drank much while doing ranch work. I was having just enough that I wasn’t a useless waste of space who was dealing with withdrawals.

“That’s what he’s looking into. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”

She nodded and continued eating. “It’s amazing,” she told me. “But I know you guys will figure it out.” Her laugh was full of disbelief.

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