Page 3 of Burned

I grunt. I’m not an asshole; I’m just not one for small talk. I’m here to work, get my people to work, and go home at night to be with my kids. I’m done trying to make friends. And I don’t need some little girl moving out here thinking it’s gonna be a mountain vacation.

“I’m serious, Rhett. Be nice to that girl. Hardly anyone applied, and no one applied with the type of background we need. She’s it.” He makes a cut-off motion with his hand and then gives me a look. His eyebrow raises up toward his hairline.

“It’s not gonna be my job to be nice to her,” I tell him. “It’s Wells’.”

Pops sighs but lets me have it because I’m right. Wells is in charge of all those animals, and I’m in charge of the working ranch. The ranch that makes us the money that allows us to keep Addie’s dream alive. The ranch that will pay the city girl’s paycheck.

“Wells better not dip his wick.”

I laugh.

“Christ, Pops. What’s her name?” Rinsing my mug, I set it on the top rack of the dishwasher.

“Poppy Sharpe.”

“Age?” I ask, seeming uninterested but actually curious about how young this girl is. Moving by yourself to the middle of nowhere isn’t for the faint of heart. I wonder if she has a family that she’s leaving behind.

“Twenty-six.”

Christ. A decade younger than me. She’s practically a toddler.

“I gotta get,” I say with a sigh. “Animals aren’t gonna feed themselves. When’s she coming?”

“Today. This morning, actually,” he says, an ornery smile appearing on his mouth as he goes back to his paper.

“Nice,” I deadpan. “Had to tell me at the last minute?”

“Didn’t want you trying to stop the good things I set in motion for this business.”

“Mybusiness, I’ll have you know,” I toss over my shoulder.

“Whatever.” He brushes me off. “I ran it before you, and your granddaddy did before me. I won’t let you run it into the ground!” he calls out after me.

I can’t help but slam the door as I stomp on my way out like a petulant child. He hates everything about what I’m doing to the family ranch. He hates that we take in rescues, rehabilitating them or giving them a good place to roam and sleep until they pass. Hell, it’s not my idea of fun. I didn’t do it because I think it’s a blast.

I did it for Addie.

I love Pops, and he loves me. We get along most days. He might not agree with everything I’m doing, but he does agree that it’s mine. The rescue is just a touchy subject — for all of us. When something is so strongly connected to someone you loved, it tends to leak into everything around it.

Shoving my hat back on as I step out into the rising sun, I breathe in the fresh air. Nothing like the smell of cow shit in the morning to wake you up. The view from this house is nothing but valley until it hits the mountains at the edge of our property. We have over one hundred thousand acres, with all of our houses spread out on the ranch but still within walking distance.

This one is the hub of activity just because it sits closest to the main barns — and has Momma’s cooking. Once my kids get up, she’ll bring them over and start working on breakfast for everyone. But I’ll be a couple of hours into work by then, sweating my ass off, I’m sure.

It’s supposed to be scorching today, even with the cool mountain wind whipping through the valley. As I walk off to the first job of the day, I can’t help but dread meeting the girl from California. I already have an idea of what she’s gonna be like, and I don’t like it.

City girls think it’s all hot cowboys and cute animals, but this shit is hard work. And the men are pigs. I groan. I’m gonna have to tell these men she’s off-limits. No fucking around between the staff. But with her being the only girl on the ranch, it’s gonna be like throwing her to the damn wolves.

“I’m already tired.” I groan and stalk off to find my brothers.

Sayinggoodbye to those kids was far harder than I thought it was going to be. They’re young, so they don’t fully comprehend what’s happening, but they know enough to feel how sad I was when I pulled them in for hugs. My throat constricted painfully as I tried to hold back the tears when their little hands gripped onto my shirt.

“You’ll visit,” Jessie said matter-of-factly, like she had already made the decision and she wasn’t going to let me get away with never seeing them again.

“Of course I will.” I glanced up at their parents, looking for confirmation that yes, I would be allowed to come back and see them.

“Anytime, Poppy. Seriously. Our home is always open to you.” Amber smiled down at me.

I finally managed to wrangle my way out the front door. But when I was halfway down to my taxi, Jessie came screaming after me, her face red with tears and her voice frantic.

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