But all the conversations in the world with Bart couldn’t have prepared me for Ripley’s arrival. I heard the rumble of a large engine come up the drive. “Sounds like he’s here,” I called out to Margo.
“Well, give the boy a minute,” she called back. “He grew up here, and he’s been gone a long time; plus his father’s gone. I’m sure it’s overwhelming for him.”
I took a deep breath and did as she said, giving him a minute. But after a bit, when he still didn’t come in, I peeked out the window to see… holy shit. Seriously? A hot pink Jeep. No, not just hot pink, metallic hot pink. I stepped out on the porch thinking it had to be someone else. There was no way Randall Ellis’ son drove a hot pink Jeep. The driver was sitting there talking on the phone. Maybe they were asking for directions because they were at the wrong house.
The door opened and a pair of black boots hit the ground. I watched as the person stepped back and slammed the door, turning to look at me. My breath literally caught in my throat, and the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen rolled his eyes at me and marched around the front of the Jeep to the passenger’s side. He had light brown hair that fell to his shoulders, skin tight skinny jeans that were tucked into the black boots, and a white shirt that reminded me of something a pirate would wear. Now that I thought of it, the boots reminded me of pirate’s boots as well. He reached into the Jeep and after a second, set a small white dog with peach-colored splotches on the ground.
“Okay, Jinji, take care of your business so we can go inside.” He still hadn’t spoken to me and I was just standing there on the porch like an idiot. I turned on my heels and stormed into the house straight to the kitchen where Margo was getting food ready.
“Did you know?” I asked furiously.
“Did I know what, precious?” she asked.
“Did you know that Randall’s son was gay?”
She shrugged and kept cutting up the tomato she was slicing. “I’d heard rumors.”
“And you didn’t think that was something I should know?”
“Why? Are you in the market for someone?”
“God dammit,” I growled.
“Language, young man. I raised you better than to take the Lord’s name in vain.”
“Margo.” I let out an exasperated breath. “You should have told me.”
“What difference does it make?”
“It doesn’t make any difference at all, it just… it complicates things is all.”
“Reed, sweetie, you complicate things. Now go help the young man with his bags before he decides you have no manners at all.”
I went back out the front door and down the steps to the Jeep this time. I got there just as he bent over to scoop up the little dog and damn, that ass. Seriously, the next year was going to be hell, pure and simple. He turned toward me with the dog in his arms and glared at me. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“Um, yeah, I mean no, I came to help you. With your bags and things. You must be Ra… Ripley,” I said, catching myself just in time. If he noticed the slip, he didn’t mention it.
“I am, and you are?” he asked looking me up and down and making a face like he just ate something sour. Damn, he was a haughty little bitch.
“I’m Reed Warner. The ranch foreman.”
“Ah, you’re mister-must-approve-any-big-changes guy. How nice for you.”
“Yeah, that would be me,” I said, trying not to let him get to me. “Let me grab your bag and I’ll show you around.”
“Show me around,” he said with a sarcastic little chuckle. “You’re kidding, right? You do realize I grew up in this house. I’m pretty sure I can find my own way around my ranch without your assistance.”
I studied him for a minute wondering how such a beautiful face could mask such an ugly person. He wasn’t even trying to pretend to be nice. “Well then, sugar, I’ll just leave you to it. I have work to do,” I said, turning and walking to the barn. I made myself walk slowly, like I didn’t have a care in the world, when what I wanted to do was throw the little shit over my lap and give that pert little ass I saw a few minutes ago the spanking it deserved. Lord knows someone needed to teach him some manners.
I hadn’t lied. I did have work to do, but my plan for the afternoon had involved the horses, and I never worked with the horses when I was angry. Not only could they sense it, but I didn’t have the patience I needed to work with them when I felt like this. I’d planned to have Landon clean out the tack room, but that seemed like a great job for today. I spent the next twenty minutes or so pulling a bunch of stuff out just so I could put it back in a more organized fashion, and that much physical effort relieved some of the stress in my muscles. I’d always believed the best cure for most of what ails you was hard work.
“Hey, boss, should I go help that guy with those boxes?” Landon asked from the doorway.
I walked over and looked and sure enough, he was carrying a box that looked like it was as big as he was. “Nah, he said he didn’t need help, so let him do it himself.”
“That wasn’t very bright.”
I took in his very expensive clothes, his stupid pink Jeep, and the annoying little thing he called a dog that was running after him. “Landon, nobody ever said you had to be smart to be born rich.”
He laughed and said, “Boy, ain’t that the truth.”
5
Ripley
I watched as the unbelievably hot Reed Warner went off to the barn to do whatever it was he did. I probably shouldn’t have been so bitchy, but seriously, I’d spent most of my life with men like Reed looking down on me for being me. I saw the way he looked at Cindi Lou. I mean yeah, she was pink, but she was four-wheel drive. I wasn’t an idiot; I would be here over the winter. She was a perfectly practical vehicle on the inside but a bit flamboyant on the outside. Kind of like me. And if that asshole ranch foreman didn’t take the time to realize there was more to me than meets the eye that was his loss.
“Come on, Jinji, let’s go see if the house is anything like I remember.” She trotted along behind me and I admit I got a little rush of satisfaction knowing she would be living in the house with me. I’d wanted a dog that would be mine and sleep in my room as long as I could remember. My father had insisted dogs didn’t belong in the house, and the only dogs allowed on the ranch had been cattle dogs. I was sure he would’ve hated my cute little Maltipoo.
I stepped inside the door and it was like a time warp. Everything was exactly the same as it was the day I walked out six years ago. The same couch sat in the same place, the same rug covered the floor, and the same old collection of ships in a bottle sat on the built-in bookcase behind my father's old brown recliner. The television was new, but aside from making the upgrade to a flat screen, nothing had changed at all. For a moment I stood frozen, waiting for my father to come into the room furious because I dared to bring my pansy-ass self back after he'd made it clear I wasn’t welcome here, that this was no longer my home.
I heard noises coming from the kitchen that sounded like someone preparing a meal. They sang while they worked, and the voice was decidedly female. That brought me out of my stupor, and I went to the kitchen to see who it was. A middle-aged woman in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt stood at the counter cutting up potatoes, and whatever she was cooking, smelled divine.