Love All Out - Part 1 (A Stepbrother Romance) (5 page)

BOOK: Love All Out - Part 1 (A Stepbrother Romance)
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“What’s going on? Where are you going?” I asked.

“That was Marshall. The back fence is down and we’ve got cattle moving in to the park. Huck is out sick today and the rest of the guys need some help.”

“But James is here to ride out the trails,” I told him. “But maybe that’s a good thing. He brought his horse and we know he’s good with a rope. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you.”

Daddy shook his head. “I talked to him yesterday. He was having second thoughts about accepting the job because he didn’t want to get stuck doing this kind of grunt work. I promised I’d never need him for anything but the trail rides. And I’ve put the cart before the horse. We have an overnight group scheduled for this Saturday.”

I sighed. “I wish you hadn’t done that. We have a ton of work to do before we’re ready for guests.”

“I know… I hate to ask this Willow, but…”

“I’ll go,” I told him, knowing it was the right thing to do. “Let me throw some stuff in a bag and then I’ll go tell everyone what’s going on. Matt and Renee can handle the horses today and tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I’ve got to get to the pasture. Stay safe, pack your pistol, and take the satellite phone. Your cell won’t get reception on the mountain.”

“Okay, Daddy. Don’t worry about me. Just take care of the cattle.”

He gave me a hug, kissed the top of my head, and raced out of the house. I went to my bedroom, changed into well-worn jeans and a flannel button up, and pulled on my riding boots. I packed a duffle bag, grabbed the satellite phone from Daddy’s study, and filled a soft sided cooler with food, water, and ice packs. When I was sure I had everything we needed, I returned to the thoroughbred barn. James had unloaded Seven at the stables and rejoined Renee and Matt.

“Is your dad on his way?” James asked. “I’d like to get started.”

“He’s not coming,” I told him. “We’ve got a fence down and he has to go help the guys before we lose any cattle.”

James clenched his jaw and I could tell that he was irritated.

“Don’t worry, we’re still going. Matt, Renee, I need you to handle things for the rest of the day… tomorrow too, probably.”


You’re
coming with me?” James asked. I couldn’t tell if he was more shocked or annoyed.

“I grew up on this mountain and I’m the one who mapped the trails,” I explained, keeping my temper in check.

If he’s going to have this attitude the whole time, I’m in for a long, miserable day.

“Fine,” James replied, his jaw tight. “Let’s get started then.”

“I think this is great!” Renee told us. “Willow knows the land better than anyone, and this will give the two of you a chance to get to know each other better.”

James shot her a look that said he had no interest in getting to know me. I pretended not to notice.

“I have the satellite phone if you need anything,” I told Matt.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” he assured me.

“I know you can handle it,” I said as I tossed him the coffee canister. “I’m going to saddle Mayhem and then we can get on the trail.”

I left the barn and took the ATV to the stables without offering James a ride.

If he’s going to act like that, he can walk.

I walked to Mayhem’s stall and saw that he was already saddled. I made a mental note to thank Dallas and led my horse out of the barn.

“That’s a nice animal,” James said. I looked up and saw that he was ten yards away. “I saddled Seven and stuck him in an empty stall. I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine,” I told him as I filled my saddle bags. “Do you have room for some gear, or should I get a pack horse? I don’t have much, but it’s more than I can carry on my own.” I filled one saddle bag with the contents of the duffle bag as I spoke.

“I’ve got plenty of room,” he told me. “Aside from a bottle of whiskey and a few extra pairs of socks, my bags are empty.”

“Perfect, follow me.”

I led him to the supply barn and we grabbed a tent, two sleeping bags, an axe, and a large pair of hedge trimmers. “Once we’ve decided on the exact trail, we can load chainsaws in the ATV and clear a proper path,” I explained. “But we may have to cut our way through a few areas today.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed as we walked back to the stables.

James led Seven out of the stables. We packed our horses and set off for the mouth of the trail.

“I don’t know if Daddy told you, but he has riders scheduled for Saturday.”

“I know.”

“Since we don’t have much time to get things ready, I think we should follow one of the existing trails and break off from there,” I continued. “I have a couple of ideas of where we can branch off.”

“Whatever… you’re the boss.”

We reached the trail and Mayhem took the lead. Seven didn’t seem to mind being the follow horse, but James was obviously irritated that I was in front.

Fuck him. I know the land better than he does. Let him sit back there and sulk. I may have to work with him, but I don’t have to talk to him. What the fuck is his problem?

James’s attitude made it much easier to ignore his sexiness. We rode in silence for a couple of hours until we reached the spot where I wanted to break away from the trail
.
I pulled gently on Mayhem’s reins and turned around in my saddle. Seven slowed to a stop and James shot me a questioning look.

“There’s a nice level spot about eight miles up the mountain from here,” I told him. “I think it will make a good campsite. Do you want to break for lunch while we’re still on the main trail?”

“I’m not hungry.”

I reached down and retrieved an apple and a bottle of water from the cooler that hung around my saddle horn. “Fine, I can eat while we ride. Why don’t you go in front of me? I can call out directions as we move up the mountain.”

James perked up at the suggestion and I let him move past me. “There are a few ledges, but this is mostly all uphill,” I told him. “We may have to zigzag a little around the steeper areas. Keep the path as straight as possible, and when we reach the old logging road, we’ll turn right.”

“Got it,” he called back to me as Seven started climbing the mountain. James showed no interest in small talk and I tried to pretend that I was out for a solo, relaxing ride. Mayhem knew the mountain as well as I did and maneuvered the rocky terrain without any guidance from me. James paused several times to cut thorny vines and thin branches out of our way. I marked the larger obstacles with red tape so we’d know what to clear with the chain saw.

We rode for another four hours, all of them silent. I was starving and wanted to get down and stretch my legs, but I didn’t want James to think that I couldn’t keep up with him. Finally, the path widened and we reached the old logging road. I gave Mayhem a gentle nudge with my heels and he moved up beside Seven. To my surprise, James looked over at me and smiled.

“Hey… it was getting kind of lonely up here. Are we close to the area you’re thinking about?”

I nodded. “We’ll follow the logging road for about a quarter of a mile, and then we’ll veer North. The spot I have in mind has a beautiful sandstone bluff behind it. I thought that would be good for the fire, help…”

“Keep the wind from killing it or spreading it,” James finished for me. He cocked and eyebrow and gave me an amused grin.

I widened my eyes in curiosity. “What?”

James shook his head. “Nothing.”

We rode for another ten minutes in oddly comfortable silence and then arrived at the clearing.

We were on three acres of level land that backed up to a fifty foot sandstone bluff. James looked up at it and whistled.

“I’d hate to fall from up there. Look at all of those jagged outcrops.”

“I know… but the view from up there is incredible,” I said with a sigh.

“I’d love to see it.”

I shook my head. “Maybe some other time, we have too much to do today. What do you think we should do first, start a fire or pitch the tent?” I asked.

“I can do both, if you need a rest.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. We’ll get it done faster if we work together.”

“Okay,” he said with that same amused grin. “Then let’s pitch the tent first. We have a few more hours of daylight left. We should have time to gather some rocks and build a proper pit before we start the fire.”

“Sounds good.”

We got the tent up quickly and then James gathered rocks while I searched for kindling and larger firewood. I used the ax to cut large, fallen branches into manageable pieces and then carried them near the tent. I caught James staring at me a couple of times, which sent my heart racing.

Am I imagining things? Or is James Parker really checking me out?

We worked fast and James lit the fire just as the sky started to turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange, pink, and purple. We hadn’t had room to pack camping chairs, so I rolled my sleeping bag out next to the fire pit and settled in for a long, quiet night. I half expected James to retreat to the tent, but he rolled his sleeping bag out next to mine.

“I didn’t pack a ton of food, but you’re welcome to share what I have,” I offered. I unzipped the cooler again and pulled out jerky, string cheese, and another apple. James silently walked back to Seven and retrieved a liter of Jack Daniels from his saddle bag.

“I brought this to share with your dad… you’re welcome to as much as you want, if you can handle whiskey,” he told me as he returned to the fire. He studied me as I unscrewed the lid and took a long drink straight from the bottle. The whiskey burned as it went down, but I refused to follow it with a chaser. I was certain that James was testing me and I was determined to show that I could hold my own. I passed the bottle to James. He raised an eyebrow and gave me another amused look.

“What
is
it?” I asked again.

“Nothing… I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“Surprised?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

James tossed back the bottle and chased it with a Coke from the cooler. He cleared his throat and passed the bottle back to me. “I was under the impression that you’re a spoiled little daddy’s girl. I expected you to act like a delicate princess. I see now that I was wrong.”

You couldn’t have been more wrong… but I think I’m spot on about you.

He rifled through the cooler and pulled out a piece of string cheese and a cold chicken breast. I took a second swig of whiskey that went down much smoother than the first. I was offended by his impression of me and I didn’t know how to handle it. I stared at the sunset for a few minutes before replying.

“I don’t know why the hell you thought that,” I told him. My words were harsh but my voice was calm. “You don’t even know me.”

James swallowed a mouthful of chicken and washed it down with his Coke. “I remember you from high school. You always had the best clothes, the nicest car. You seemed so sheltered, so naive. And you still live at home, so I thought…”

The conversation was giving me knots in my stomach. James wasn’t the first person to assume that I was spoiled and I hated that people had that impression of me. I tossed my uneaten food back in the cooler and turned to him. “I had the best clothes and the nicest car because I’ve been working since I was twelve years old. Did my dad spoil me a little? Of course he did. But he didn’t just hand everything to me. And for the record, I left home for four years and went to college. I moved back after I graduated because it would have cost a small fortune to set up my breeding program somewhere else. And I like working in the same barn my mom worked in. It makes me feel closer to her.” I was desperate for James to understand me, though I didn’t understand why.

“Like I said, I misjudged you,” James replied. He held my gaze for a moment before looking back at the fire. “I’ve watched you today. You obviously know your way around a horse, you chopped firewood like a man, and you seem perfectly capable of surviving on your own in the middle of the wilderness. I’m surprised… in a good way.”

“Well, would you like to know my impression of you?” I asked with a nervous laugh.

James raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Probably not… but go ahead and give it to me.”

I took another drink of whiskey to steel my nerves.

I can’t believe that I’m sitting here laughing with James Parker.

“Go easy with that, or I’ll think I make you uncomfortable,” James teased.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay… my first impression. You obviously know you’re attractive. And you seem to think that means you don’t have to be nice. You’re an adrenaline junky, and I doubt you’ve ever had a real girlfriend. You seem more like the type to have an endless string of one night stands. And for the record, I’m not the only one here who still lives at home.”

I was afraid I’d offended him, but James shrugged and smiled. “Guilty on all accounts… you’ve got me pegged pretty well. But I own who I am, you have to give me that.”

“You acknowledged that you misjudged me. I owe you the same,” I told him. “I think I was right about a lot of it. But I also think there’s a lot more to you than your attitude.”

BOOK: Love All Out - Part 1 (A Stepbrother Romance)
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