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Except for when she was talking about the fucking horse.
Ezra pulled out a chair and sat, too. He had dark blond hair like me, though he was thicker, built like a fucking bulldozer.
All three of our mothers had been sisters. Blonde, willowy, and blue-eyed.
We had to assume Ryder had gotten his dark features from his father, even though he had walked when Ryder was super young.
Ezra scrubbed a meaty palm over his face, blowing out a sigh. “Trauma is gonna do that. You just have to be there for her. She’ll open up when she’s ready.”
He knew from experience.
My guts fisted in worry.
“Have no fuckin’ clue what I’m doing,” I admitted, rubbing my thumb and forefinger into my eyes.
Ryder leaned forward and patted my knee. “You’re doing everything you can. That’s why you’re here.”
I barely forced out a nod.
“And it’s cool that Paisley is there.” He shrugged as he sat back. “She showed this morning, right?”
Irritation blazed beneath the surface of my skin. “Yeah.”
Only I hadn’t talked to her. I had stayed in my office where I belonged.
Last thing I needed was to get caught in her chaos again and say something I would regret.
“I don’t love Evelyn around the horse.”
Ezra chuckled. “There are going to be plenty of things you don’t like, my friend. Pick your battles.”
He had three kids, four-year-old twin boys and a six-year-old daughter. His wife had been killed a year ago during a robbery gone bad here at a bank when she was cashing her paycheck.
Fucking sucked.
Hated it for him.
Hated that he knew what it felt like to have your heart cut out of your chest.
A feeling I knew all too well.
“Not if it’s dangerous,” I told him.
Ezra’s chuckle turned more ominous. “Everything’s dangerous, man. Key is to do it as safe as you can.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“You’ll figure this out, Caleb,” Ryder said. “Know it feels impossible right now. But you made the right choice, coming here.”
My head shook, not sure I could agree.
“What, you’re too good to hang out with your hick cousins?” Ryder tossed out the jab.
“Two of you are nothing but shit on my shoe.” I grinned.
Ezra threw a punch at my shoulder that kind of fucking hurt. “Screw you, city boy.”
“Are you going to arrest me?” I taunted.
He quirked a brow. “Don’t give me a reason to.”
If he only knew.
I blew out a sigh. “All right, I need to get back and check on Evelyn.”
She was with the nanny I was really questioning hiring. She looked good on paper, but every time she scowled at her, I wanted to toss her ass to the curb.
“Just wanted to stop by since I was in town,” I added as I pushed to standing.
Ryder stood as I did. “Don’t forget Friday night is this asshole’s birthday.” He jutted a chin at Ezra. “We’re celebrating. I’ll send you the details.”
“Not sure I’m up for that.”
“Don’t even try to get out of it. It’s time to get your ass out of your hidey hole. This is your home now, and you need to get used to it.”
SEVEN
CALEB
In my office on the third floor of the house, I nudged the drape to the side where I stood at the window.
Bright rays of light lit the ranch in a blaze of warmth and poured into the room. It did nothing to warm the chill that possessed my soul.
My jaw flexed as I looked down at Evelyn leading her horse by the reins. Paisley had ahold of the bridle, walking right behind her, ensuring the horse wouldn’t trample the child. Still, my entire being vibrated in disquiet.
I’d promised to keep her safe.
To give her the best life that I could.
And I felt like I’d placed her directly in the path of a tornado.
That riot of a woman laughed hard, at what, I had no idea, but the force of it bent her in half.
Somehow, Evelyn giggled, too.
Everything clutched.
My heart and my stomach and my mind, fisting in this ridiculous interest incited by her presence, the woman a train wreck I couldn’t look away from.
Just because she loved to drive me to insanity, today she’d decided to put on a tight pink tank and even tighter jeans, flared at the bottom to accommodate her boots, and a bright pink cowgirl hat with a ribbon of sequins that made her glitter in the sun like a beacon. A shock of white hair rolled down her back, locks playing like tendrils of temptation around her bare shoulders every time she moved.
The sight of her made me want to fume and did stupid things to my dick.
Talking to her would surely send me over the edge.
But Evelyn’s lesson was nearly over, and today was Friday, so I moved to my desk, snagged the envelope that held a check for what seemed an exorbitant amount, and bounded down the two sets of stairs to the bottom floor. Paying Ms. Dae was a task I’d somehow not relegated to my accountant the way I did with the rest of the employees and contractors, but something I’d felt I needed to oversee myself.
