Page 10 of Hearts at War

“I’ll say it is. No wonder she looked tired. I bet she just made the drive today.”

“Why’s she back then?” I recalled her dejected resignation when she said she’d look for another place to stay tomorrow morning.

Gavin rubbed his hair, sending the light blond strands standing straight up. “I’m not sure. Eric didn’t mention it to me. Not that he would have.”

He wouldn’t have. Eric was a quiet man at work and didn’t seem to talk to anyone.

“Why would Eric know if she was coming back to Burton?”

“He’s her cousin. I think he’s all the family she’s got left. All the family he’s got left, too.”

“Ah.” As the nighttime scenery flew by out the window, I did the math. “Wait. She’s how old then?”

Tired or not, she was a gorgeous woman. I’d have to be blind to miss her beauty. Above the attitude, unmasked by her sass, Heather James was a hell of a sexy woman. Long black hair with enough wave to it that she almost seemed exotic somehow. Wild and untamed. Those vibrant eyes, commanding me not to look away. Hourglass figure and huge tits—what more could a man like me want to look for?

Despite how tired she seemed, there was no way to hide how attractive she was.

On the outside, of course.

“I thought you said you weren’t interested,” Gavin joked as he pulled onto the Grand River road.

“I’m not.” I scowled. “I’m just saying she looks young.”

“Uhhh, I’d guess that she’s gotta be twenty-four? Wendy was a grade above her, so... Yeah. Probably twenty-four.”

In other words—young.

“Too young for you?” he teased.

I left my watch on the scenery to smirk at him. “I’m just asking questions. I’m not interested.”

He shrugged, too much of a friend not to push it. “I mean, hell. Age is just a number, anyway. Right?”

I guessed it was. “Maybe, maybe not.” Veronica was a year older than me, but she hated the jokes that she was a “cougar” to pursue me.

Heather was twelve younger than me though, and that was a big bridge to gap. By the sounds of it, she’d just graduated. Moved to the big city and couldn’t eke a living there. And now she was coming home with her proverbial tail between her legs.

“Anyway. I’m not interested.” I’d be stupid to be interested in a woman with a chip on her shoulder. It amused me that her opinion of Jerry mirrored mine, that she also deemed him to have weasel-like characteristics, but she definitely had an issue with everyone.

“I’ve had a lifetime of drama with my ex and I’m not in any rush to try to have a retake on what a committed relationship is supposed to look like.”

“Hey, never say never,” he said as he slowed onto another road that would angle back toward my cabin.

“I think I will,” I joked back. “Heather James will not be on my radar, man.” No woman would be.

When Gavin first mentioned one of the ranch cabins as an option for Heather, I almost groaned. I rented one of them, and having a hoity-toity city girl nearby didn’t sound like an ideal situation. Out here, near the woods that border this boundary of the ranch, I didn’t have to deal with many people. Other guys had moved out of cabins for a better place downtown. Some, like Eric, bought houses to flip and call their own. Others yet, like Gavin, moved into family-friendly homes.

I liked the peace and quiet out here, and I supposed I could be possessive about not being bothered. But having a woman in this man’s world on the ranch felt extra wrong.

“I hope Todd doesn’t think about giving her one of the cabins near mine,” I mumbled.

“Nah. I doubt he would. Her car isn’t made for driving on this road too far.”

That was true. I hoped it was. Her little sedan’s suspension would pay the price sooner than later if she were to drive close to my area often.

While cabins were located out here for ranch hands to rent, they were all spread out with a relatively decent amount of space. Privacy—total privacy—wasn’t possible, but some mature trees went a long way in blocking view of the small structures.

Gavin yawned again, and within a few seconds, just as my cabin came into view, I caught the contagion and yawned as well.