Tommy snorted. “Hell no.” He shook his head and then caught sight of my face. His expression morphed into surprise. “Oh, no. Not like…Ellie is having a sleepover. There’s like ten twelve-year-olds at my house. My sister and her friends can get pretty damn screechy. I’m hoping to work as long as I can today.”
Oh. Well that made sense. I grinned. “Feel free then. I’m sure Wy won’t mind.”
Tommy grinned. “She already said I could. And Hawk said I could come up to the training barn and help there too.”
I hid the smile at the way Tommy said my brother’s name. It wasn’t quite as full of hero worship as it used to be, probably because my brother was now stupidly in love with Carter. I felt for the kid. I’d had my share of crushes on unavailable men in my teens. Usually it was because they were straight though. At least Tommy chose a crush who at least swung the right way.
I watched for a moment as he led the horses into the barn, then turned to Ville, threaded my fingers through his, and smiled up at him. “Come on, let’s go check on Mom.”
He breathed out and I swore I saw a little relief around his eyes. He might have said he was no longer scared, but the man was a protector to his soul, and I knew he felt better when he could see that his people were good. Right now, that particularly included Mom. He nodded and gave my arm a gentle tug. Together, we walked toward the house, neither of us rushing but not lollygagging either.
Just as we rounded the curve and the house came into view, Juanpablo started up his call. I shook my head, a rueful smile on my face. It’s not like we were strangers, and still, he had to bray his alarm. But a second later, the loud sound of an engine caught my attention and Ville and I both turned toward the drive.
I didn’t know anything about motorcycles, but the one that drove into sight was definitely one made for long haul driving. Or whatever. It had a low seat, the handlebars were at a comfortable level, and compartments attached to the side. The driver pulled as close to the house as they could before they shut off the bike, kicked down the stand, and got off. I stared as they removed their helmet.
The man was tall and lanky, his sandy blond hair pulled back in a bun at the crown of his head. His goatee was the same color, with a little brown thrown into the mix, and even fromthis distance, I could tell his eyes were green. He set the helmet on the seat, pulled off his gloves, and only then did he turn his attention on us.
Ville stepped in front of me and I allowed myself two seconds to smirk at his back. Always in protector mode. Whoever this guy was, he’d been let in by someone because the gate had been fully operational for a day now. He couldn’t have just driven up out of nowhere.
“Hello,” I called, stepping around Ville. The big Finn grunted and changed his stance, as though he was gearing up for a fight. “Can we help you?”
“Nick Wilder,” the guy said with an air about him as though that should have answered my question.
It didn’t.
“I’m Emery Harrington. This is Ville.” I leveled the newcomer with a look and repeated, “Can we help you?”
Just then, the front door opened and Carter jogged across the porch and down the steps. He walked toward us at a fast clip.
“Mr. Wilder, thank you for coming on such short notice.” Carter held out a hand which Wilder shook. “Right this way. I’ll introduce you to everyone and show you the kitchen.”
I glanced up at Ville, who was frowning as he watched the two men walk into the house.
“Must be the cook?” I guessed.
“Carter was supposed to give me his name so I could do a background check.” And oh, Ville was grumpy about that. The scowl was kind of epic, actually. I patted his elbow, then threaded my arm through his.
“Carter wouldn’t have let him onto the ranch if he wasn’t cleared,” I assured Ville softly as we followed into the house. “His PA is very thorough.”
“Still.”
Yeah, that did absolutely nothing to assuage Ville’s ire at not being included. It made sense. Security was his purview, even though the ranch technically hadn’t hired him for that. He still took it seriously and I was pretty sure Carter was going to get an earful later.
We walked in to Carter finishing the introductions. Wilder was smiling, but not like he was used to it. It looked stiff on his face.
“Nice to meet you all. Not gonna lie, though. There’s a whole lot of you. I ain’t gonna retain all those names. I’ll get it eventually though.” He waved a hand like it was no big deal. “I’ll get started.”
He didn’t wait for anyone to acknowledge that, just headed for the kitchen. My gaze shot to Mom’s and she looked sort of ragey. I braced myself.
“As I told Carter, your services aren’t necessary.” That was her ice voice, the one she used when she was steaming mad and wouldn’t show it. She made a point never to yell, unless someone was in danger, but this tone was just as scary.
Wilder shrugged. “Too bad. I’m here. Think of it as a vacation.”
Mom blew out a breath and her next words were delivered through clenched teeth. “I don’t need a vacation.”
Wilder had been about to start opening cupboards like he owned the place, but he froze for just a second. Then he turned and leveled Mom with a look. She stared right back. Neither of them moved, barely breathed, just stared each other down.
Ville was tense under my touch, and Bodhi actually took a step closer to Mom. Whether that was to protect her or keep her from hurting Wilder was anyone’s guess. The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. And really, until that second, I’d never truly understood what that expression meant.
