Hard Ridin' (3 page)

He hunched his shoulders and pushed the ATV faster. The headlights cut through the dimness and a low-lying fog. Frost glistened on the ground—perhaps the last frost they needed before the planting began.

Had Jens secured all the seed for the planting? Corn, alfalfa and soybean—like they discussed?

Holden crested the hill leading to the old Ransom place, grinding his molars against the need to roar his rage. Did he care what happened on the farm now? He could walk away with money in his pocket, go back to fishing in Alaska and demand Jens give him half the profits at the end of the season.

But dammit, this land had pulled at his soul for months. He’d stared at endless waves and longed to see green fields.

He’d yearned to see a sweet little woman with dark, silky hair, warm brown eyes and plush pink lips too.

“Dammit.” His breath came faster and tears smarted in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Instead, he ran through the gears again, tearing across the top of the field toward the original homestead on this piece of property. The place was in need of some work. The front porch sagged and the windows needed replacing. The kitchen and bathroom were majorly outdated and still sported the original fixtures, but those were minor improvements. Maybe he should think about moving into the Ransom place and out of the main house he and Jens shared.

Rushing over the field, he realized the earth had been turned. Fresh loam covered an acre.

He geared down. Why would Jens bother to till up an acre? When they dropped seeds into the ground, they covered a lot of territory. An acre’s yield was piddly in comparison to what this farm produced.

Ahead, the Ransom house stood like a lone deer near the edge of the woods. The gray clapboard siding needed a good painting and the roof had some questionable spots, but Holden could make it work for him.

He leaned to the side and spun the ATV around, heading back for the main house. Some hard truths needed to be spoken between him and Jens, and Holden wasn’t about to let the situation fester.

It was time to let Jens know that Holden wouldn’t interfere with his and Laurel’s relationship, but would walk away.

Even as he thought this, his heart clenched hard. Last night, Laurel had felt so right in his arms. God, what they’d once had…

Holden lightly bit the interior of his cheek, producing a pain that eased the one in his chest a little. The world was lightening, and he had to make a choice. Walk away or fight for Laurel?

Fuck, what am I gonna do?

Chapter Three

Laurel snaked a hand out from under her covers and bashed the blaring alarm clock. The pulsating noise splintered any last promise of a good mood.

It all came rushing back to her—she’d fucked up her entire universe. Images flashed behind her closed eyes. The hurt in Jens’s blue eyes. Holden’s broad form folded in half.

What was she thinking? One couldn’t get friendly with two men and not expect problems to arise. Some silly part of her had hoped Holden would come home and give her and Jens his blessing—the final thing she needed to move on and accept Jens fully into her life. Rather than conveying goodwill, a hurtful exchange of blows and words had taken place. Jens had avoided using his fists, and she appreciated that about him.

His manner calmed her. She and Jens ran together on an even keel, whereas she and Holden had been all passion and tumultuous seas.

Now she’d locked herself into an agreement to live a mere mile from them. When she’d asked Jens to rent her the Ransom property, she’d only thought of her money situation. He wouldn’t charge much for a house that needed work. And she was agreeing to improve the land with her organic farm.

Moving now wasn’t an option. Her resources were tapped. The small amount of money she had saved had already been depleted after purchasing her seed and minerals to improve the soil. She couldn’t afford to back out.

But the mile between her, a wounded boyfriend and a furious ex was not distance enough.

With a sigh, she flipped the covers off her face and glared at the window. The yellow fingers of the sun were just spreading through the sky. She couldn’t help but wish for a cold, overcast day, which would have brought a frost. That final frost of the year was her jumping off point—the moment she’d been waiting for. The organic, old-fashioned fruit and vegetable varieties she planned to grow couldn’t tolerate any frost and needed to be sown when warm weather promised.

If she couldn’t start work for another week—ten days, fifteen days—what would she do? Go nuts.

She swung her feet to the messy floor and padded across the frigid floorboards to the window. The sun cast its glow over the field she and Jens had recently tilled, illuminating the frost and turning each droplet of ice into a diamond.

A frost. Could it be the last? Gasping, she rushed to get dressed. There was one person who would know—if he would speak to her.

After throwing on a pair of jeans, two shirts, a hoodie and boots, she proceeded to the bathroom to perform some cursory ministrations to her appearance. Then she made her way downstairs and outside. She kept a four-wheeler parked around the back of the house along with her car. The ATV had been one of her first purchases, having realized it helped with the hauling.

The gleaming new helmet dangled from one handlebar. She put it on and latched it beneath her chin then started the four-wheeler and drove off. Jens was always up this early. In the weeks since living here, he often rolled in at this time for a cup of coffee and stolen kisses. And Holden would be awake too. Her body recalled their morning lovemaking, how he’d awaken her with kisses and knowing fingers, driving her body to the brink of ecstasy before the sun had fully risen.

There was no use ignoring her neighbors. Facing the problem and talking it out was the only way to get through it.

But deep down, her nerves pinged and her stomach fluttered. Would Jens turn her away? Or would the men get into another fistfight?

She slowed the four-wheeler. Turning around might be the best idea right now.

Then again, she needed advice about her farm. There was only so much to be learned in a book about agriculture. The rest was hands-on, and Jens had guided her thus far.

Steeling her resolve, she rode on toward the main house and the two rugged men she’d wronged. Her heart was in her mouth, but she intended to spit it out and allow Jens and Holden to stomp on it if it meant making things right.

At the noise of the screen door banging shut, Jens tossed a look over his shoulder in time to see Holden stomping down the porch steps and into the yard. He glanced up, sensing Jens’s gaze on him. They locked stares.

Jens read a hundred things in that look. Anger, hurt, bitterness. Jealousy.

Thing was, Jens didn’t feel that pang of jealousy at the moment. Lost and confused, though? Abso-fucking-lutely.

If Laurel had told him about dating Holden, would Jens have walked away? He gulped at the thought. For weeks he’d admitted to himself that Laurel had come to mean so much to him. Giving her up now would carve out a part of his heart he’d never be able to retrieve. Last night, after he’d found her and dropped her off at home, it had taken all of his self-control not to drop to his knees and beg her to stay with him.

“What’s with your itty bitty garden patch? You farming for fairies now?” Holden’s voice held a tinge of the old friend Jens knew.

Jens let out the breath he held prisoner and continued to crank the trailer hitch down onto the back of his pickup. “That’s our new tenant’s organic plot.”

“At the old Ransom place? Who’d you rent that rundown dump to?”

The hum of an ATV echoed across the field. Jens’s blood started pumping and his cock immediately twitched to life.

Abandoning his work, he stood up and gazed at the space between barn and house where Laurel would appear. When she came into sight, Jens’s heart leapt. Her round thighs wrapped around the vehicle so perfectly, inviting visions of her straddling him, long hair trickling over his hands as she ground her pussy against his erection.

Shuddering, he threw a look at Holden. “That’s who rented the Ransom place. Meet our new tenant.”

A mottled blush climbed Holden’s face and a vein flickered in his throat. “Tell me you’re fucking kidding.”

Laurel drew the four-wheeler to a stop and reached to unstrap her helmet. The action brought her full breasts into sharp relief. Jens held back a groan, but Holden wasn’t as successful.

Pulling off the helmet, Laurel flushed a deep red. “Uh…morning, boys.”

Jens tapped the brim of his cowboy hat. “Laurel.”

Holden took a hasty step toward her and then drew up short. Reaching for his hat to pull it lower, he stopped as his hand hit air. He wasn’t wearing his usual cowboy hat, but a knit cap.

Laurel slipped off the ATV and cradled her helmet, looking uncertainly between Jens and Holden. Silence stretched between them. A horse nickered in the barn. One of the cats streaked by, a blur of black and white.

Finally, Jens drew a hitching breath. Did he imagine Laurel’s sweet scent? Her face looked freshly scrubbed and glowed without a hint of makeup. The tip of her nose was a bit red from the cold.

She scuffed a cowboy boot on the frosty turf. “Last frost?” The hopeful glint in her eyes chased away all thought of walking away from her. Jens was hooked—had been from the beginning. Unfortunately, that meant his friendship with Holden was over.

Jens crouched and plucked a blade of grass. Straightening, he stuck the cold end in his mouth and ground it between his teeth. “Tastes like. Then again… I might taste a second frost coming.”

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline, that gullible innocence spelled out on her face. “You can taste that?”

Jens couldn’t stop his smile from spreading all over his face. He felt a weight lift from the air around the three of them.

“What do you mean, it tastes like the last frost, you ass?” Holden drawled.

Jens laughed and kicked up a divot of earth. “I was teasin’.”

Laurel drifted forward and leaned against the front of her four-wheeler. “You caught me out again—I’m not a farmer. A nutritionist knows little about weather and crops, but I plan to learn. So what do we do?”

“We wait. Another week should do it, and then we can get your seeds into the ground.”

Holden wandered closer without removing his gaze from Laurel. She fiddled with the strap on her helmet.

“What are you planting?” Holden’s voice was almost normal, though a war was taking place in his broad form. He seemed to twitch, foot tapping, fingers clenching and unclenching. His chest rose and fell as if he was holding back a roar.

“All types of fruits and vegetables.”

“Fruits?”

“Melons. I just received a shipment of strawberry plants too. Eventually I’d like to put in an orchard and grow apples, peaches, pears and cherries without pesticides as well.”

“All right. I’ve gotta ask, Laurel. What the hell’s a nutritionist from the hospital doing renting the old Ransom place with the intention of farming?”

“For years, I’ve instructed people what to put into their bodies, but those foods aren’t good for a lot of the population. Allergies and illnesses can stem from the foods we eat. Anyway, I’ve spent a couple years saving up for this dream.”

“You never told me about it,” Holden said.

“I wasn’t entirely sure I could pull it off. I’ve been reading about organic farming and searching the Internet. Then I realized I needed to talk to a farmer.” She cast Jens a sidelong look that threatened to set him on fire. Oh yes, their business was not finished.

She went on. “So I asked to rent the Ransom homestead, and Jens agreed to guide me with the farming.”

“Don’t you think you need more than an acre to turn a profit?”

Jens shrugged. “This is a different kind of operation, Holden. Her crops will fetch higher prices.”

“And I can’t afford much more. I’m maxed out.”

Jens stretched his lips over his teeth in thought. He had a little egg of cash stowed away. He’d been raised to wait for a rainy day. Was this day wet enough? He glanced from Holden to Laurel. Emotions were so high, a single word could end the tenuous hold Jens had on her. She might swing to either man or turn away altogether.

He’d wanted to suggest the plan he hoped to reveal before now, but always felt as if Laurel wouldn’t be open to the idea. With her being torn in two, he didn’t want her to worry about finances and whether or not her organic farm would fail before it had even gotten started. He had to say something—quick.

“I’ve been thinking about this, and I’d like to invest in your business venture, Laurel.”

Her head snapped up. “You can’t be serious.”

Jens held her gaze, lost in her warm eyes and the things he saw there—intelligence, drive, passion. “Sure am. I see a solid plan. Besides, I’ve got the money. I’d like to help you.”

Their gazes locked and the connection throbbed between him and Laurel. She sank her teeth into her lower lip and Jens’s cock lengthened. Many times, he’d kissed that nervous gesture right off her plump little lips.

“I’d like to help too.” Holden’s low tone broke into their moment.