AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s not her fault,” Jolene says, stepping out to take her dad’s hand. “Don’t yell at her. Promise.”
“Promise, baby girl. Go to your uncle, okay? I’ll meet you back at the house.”
My stomach is doing somersaults and churning. I feel like I might throw up. Not only is Rhett incredibly hot when he’s all surly and angry, but I’m also a little afraid of him.
Is he going to fire me?
Shit.
I’m fuming.I can feel the heat radiating off my body. We finished the fencing early and came home to an empty house and quiet yard. Pops had tried calling Momma, but she didn’t answer and didn’t reply to any of our texts.Turns out she forgot her damn phone. Pops found it layin’ on the bench next to the front door.
The panic seized my chest. I’ve never not been able to find those kids. My brothers and Pops kept me calm, telling me they had to be around the ranch somewhere. Which I knew. I knew that. My brothers and I disappeared for hours on end as kids. So I knew there was no way they were actuallygone. But that doesn’t stop the feeling of terror sweeping through you.
And when I saw all of them lying in the field with Wendy, the fear went away and was swiftly replaced with anger. Anger because it was Poppy who had taken them from where I knew they would be. Anger because those kids knew they weren’t allowed out in this field with these animals without an adult. And while Poppy is legally an adult, she’s not got a clue how to protect those kids from animals like this.
I hear Hayes and the kids start a race back to the house, and once I can’t hear their footsteps anymore, I know they’re far enough away from me to break my promise.
“What thefuckwere you thinkin’?” I crowd into her space, but she doesn’t relent. If anything, she leans into it.
“I wasthinkin’that your kids wanted to come see a cow. I wasthinkin’that I’m an adult, and I know how to take care of kids. I was a nanny before this, and I grew up with a gaggle of kids around. I’m not an idiot, Rhett. Don’t treat me like one.”
Her hands go to her hips, and she stands there defiantly. Her face is tipped up to meet mine, and the setting sun makes her eyes look more green than brown. And that peachy hair is falling out of her braids and into her face. Her eyes narrow like she’s just waiting for me to fight back, to tell her she’s wrong and that she is actually a child. She’s looking at me like shewantsthe fight. My cock stirs.
“Poppy, you don’t know the first thing about taking care of kids around farm animals. Dogs? Sure. I’ll allow it. But when you’re taking my kids into the middle of nowhere, without letting anyone know where you are, around animals that can kill you if they get the mind to—”
“It’s a fuckingcow!” she shouts. “God!” Her hands jut out and shove me hard on the chest. I take a step back, more so from the shock that she just shoved me than the force of it. Although, damn, she’s pretty strong. “Why do you have to be such a dick?”
“Did you just shove me?”
She shoves me again.
“Yes!”
I can’t help it… I laugh.
She groans. “You are seriously so infuriating.”
“Look, I’m sorry for getting so angry,” I say, trying to quell my laughter. “But you can’t do that shit until you know your way around the ranch and the animals better.”
“I do not accept your apology.” Her arms cross in front of her chest, drawing my attention down from her face before I can stop myself.
God, that body. She has curves for days, and I just know she’s soft in all the right places underneath those clothes.
“See something you like?” Her voice drips with venom. She doesnotlike me. Not that I blame her. I’ve not been nice to her a single time since she arrived. What would there be for her to like?
I grin and make a show of looking her over. Should I be more professional and bring my eyes straight back up to her face? Most definitely. But there’s something about her attitude that’s addicting. I like pushing her buttons. So I take my time and let my eyes linger in all the places they’ve wanted to for the past week. And then when I finally meet her eyes, they’re heated.
She’s pissed. My dick is throbbing, and I try my hardest to quell it.
I grunt and raise a shoulder, trying to look unaffected.
“Fuck. You. Rhett Black. Fuck you.” She starts to walk away but turns around to deliver another blow. “You are welcome, by the way, for watching your kids.”
“Hey,” I say, grabbing her by the arm. She swings around and tugs her arm free. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say here?”
She gives me a look like I’ve grown another head.
“Yeah. That grunt was loud and clear.”
