Page 29 of Belong With Me

Chapter Ten

Ryder

Oz ran back toward me, ball in his mouth as I scratched Milo’s tummy. A thankfully cooler breeze blew lazily past me, bringing with it thoughts of the approaching spring. It was Sunday and I was having a bit of downtime, just to relax. It was the day of rest after all. Oz dropped the ball at my feet, and I tossed it again for him. He ran after it, barking excitedly.

My cell rang loudly from inside the cab of my truck, breaking the serenity of the moment. I was on top of the hill closest to town, so it was one of the few spots on the ranch that actually got service. Standing from my squat next to Milo, I reached the truck just as it stopped ringing. Seeing that it was Logan, I called him right back.

“Hey, man.” He answered after the first ring.

“What’s up?” I tapped my hand on the open door frame to a beat that was playing in my head.

“I heard back about the bug.”

“Good news or bad?” His answer would decide what happened with the vehicle.

“It’s a complete wreck, dude. It’s only good for scrap. Your girl did a good job of it, that’s for sure.”

“She’s not my girl.” Silently, I tacked on the word yet.

“Whatever, dude.” He laughed, and it echoed in my ear. “Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, I offered the rental yard a couple hundred for the scrap. They told me it wasn’t worth shipping it to them, so they took the offer.”

“You bought the bug?” I laughed at him. I couldn’t picture him driving anything other than his Dodge Ram. But hey, he might just rebuild and sell it for a project to one of the families in town whose daughters were getting ready to head off to college.

“I bought it for your woman. She seemed pretty attached to it. Figured I’d fix it and she can pay me back with sexual favors.” I knew he was kidding—I would have known, even without him chuckling—but it still rubbed me the wrong way just thinking about it.

“Don’t, man, just don’t.”

“Hey.” He was instantly serious. “You need to shoot something? I’m free at the moment if you want. I can be there in around twenty in the usual place?”

“You don’t have work you could be doing?”

“Sure, but it’s my business. I can close up whenever I want to. If you need me then I’m there. You know that, brother.”

Thinking over the idea, I nodded, then realized he couldn’t see me. “Sure.”

His response was quick, “Right. I’ll be there soon then.”

After ending the call, I threw my cell back onto the passenger seat and watched it bounce once on the worn leather. Oz was once again at my feet, drool falling to the ground from holding onto the ball. When I offered my hand, palm up, underneath his jaw, he dropped it. “Ready, boy?” I asked.

He barked his response, and Milo decided to be involved in this one too. Coming closer, his eyes focused on the ball, he waited. “You want the ball, Milo?” I asked him. His response was a clipped bark. Striding to the back end of the truck, I then planted my legs, pulled my arm back, and threw the ball as far as I could. “Go get it,” I told my boys as they raced off in chase.

Using my arms, I heaved myself up onto the tray, and sat, leaving my legs hanging over the edge as I scanned the horizon. The thought of Logan and Sienna together set my blood to boil. Sure, I always presumed he would end up with my sister. If and when they both decided to pull their fingers out that is. But even if they didn’t, I sure as hell didn’t want him hanging around my girl.

Because realistically, that was how I was starting to see her. I don’t know how it happened so quickly, but I’d be lying to myself if I denied it. It was just so easy to spend time with each other. There was no tension or uneasiness; everything just flowed. The conversation came easy, and there was never this need to fill a silence with chatter. It hadn’t escaped my notice that was something she had a tendency to do, especially when she was nervous.

Perhaps, with her it was nothing at all. No reason behind the things she did. It could just be a habit. After all, she was here for work purposes and she was going to visit some of the other ranches in town. For what reason exactly, I hadn’t gathered. I could ask her, but I didn’t really need to know, since it wasn’t any of my business.

It was possible Sienna was just as friendly with everyone else as she was with me. Colton and Wyatt sure thought she was friendly enough. Though, after Logan’s comment on the phone, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one who was interested in getting to know her better. That was something I had to put a stop to as soon as humanly possible. I would be chatting to my best friend when he arrived.

The boys returned, Oz once again carrying the ball, Milo following closely, his eyes tracking his brother’s footsteps. It didn’t matter that they were two completely different breeds; they were as close as I was to my brothers. These two even slept side by side most nights. “It’s okay, boy. This time you will get it.”

Loosening the ball from Oz’s mouth once more, I launched it in a different direction and watched them bound happily after it. The sounds of their barking echoed around me.

Perhaps I would pay for the restoration of the bug. Surely that would be something she would appreciate and most certainly not expect. I saw how she seemed a little unsure of herself when she drove Savannah’s Prado around. I would have to chat to Logan about the price of the repairs. I didn’t have a whole heap of spare cash hanging around, but I didn’t need to make a decision on those repairs today. I was most certainly not going to let him ask for or accept sexual favors in any capacity from Sin.

Sin, that’s exactly what she was. Sent to me to elicit the most sinful thoughts imaginable. I still couldn’t get the sight of her standing there in her pale pink bra out of my mind. When we sat at the dining table and she smiled at me, it caused a stirring inside me that I hadn’t experienced in years. The resurgence of these feelings didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would.

Sienna was nothing like Anna-Beth, and even though I had seen the way the guys looked at her, I hadn’t seen her return the sentiment with any of them. But when she smiled at me, I felt something. Whenever I caught her checking me out when I wasn’t wearing a shirt. Or when I was in the barn, moving the hay bales around. I felt the connection between us. I wanted to investigate it. To see if it really was there or if I was just imagining it.

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