A Little Harmless Ride (7 page)

“
What are you talking about?”

“
I had a flat tire. Just from looking at it, it looks like nothing, but I’ll take a closer look.”

“
What the hell are you waiting for?”

“
Jesus, Dillon, I’ve been busy. Had to get Crysta settled, then that bastard uncle of hers showed up.”

There was a beat of silence. “He’s the one Joe was worried about?”

“
Yeah, but I can’t see him doing that.”

“
He wants the ranch.”

Eli thought about it. “Yeah, there’s that. But he doesn’t have the money. Also, he couldn’t run around doing this kind of stuff. He’s not physically capable.”

“
So, if you lose the ranch because Crysta runs off scared, he will be able to buy it very cheap, correct?”

“
Yeah, but if that’s what he expected of her, he learned today that it won’t happen.”

“
He threatened her?” Dillon asked irritation threading his voice. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that first?”

Eli sighed. “First, I thought you would want to know the security breach first. And no, he didn’t outright threaten her, but it was close enough. But he damned near called her something that would have had me ripping him apart.”

“
I understand.”

Of course Dillon did. His wife was the heir to a large fortune, but the family wanted nothing to do with her, because her father had been black.

“
She stood her ground though, so if that was his plan, I don’t think it will work. Maybe he learned that today and will back off.”

“
Or get more dangerous.”

That was what worried Eli. They had avoided Joe, even after he became ill. Maybe in their minds, they would be able to get some of the land. Why they thought he would give them some of the land in the will was beyond idiotic.

“
True. The security is running now, but I think we need to change the code early this week. Make sure whoever had the code can’t get in again.”

Papers rustled over the phone. “Sounds good. Do you want me over there?”

“
No. I can handle her.”

There was a beat of silence. “What?”

Shit
. “I mean…I can handle it.”

He was slipping up on the phone with Dillon after the first day with Crysta.

“
I’ll let you know if anything happens over here. It might all be coincidence.”

“
You do that. And, Eli?”

“
Yeah?” Eli asked.

“
Make sure to keep your head screwed on straight.”

Then the line went dead. Dillon was irritating but he was right. There might not be anything going on, but it would be best for all of them if he kept his senses clear. He needed to get over to Oahu and blow off some steam but he didn’t see that happening any time soon. So he just needed to suck it up.

* * * *

Crysta was nervous. It was like she was a student teacher in front of the class for the first time. Only, teenagers were scarier than this lot. The thought had her lips curving.

“
What are you smiling about?” Eli said, leaning close enough that she felt his breath on her ear. It took all her power not to shiver and lean closer. She turned and then had to take a moment to compose herself. This close she could see the deepest blue of his eyes and they made her lose most of her thoughts. She didn’t have a doubt now that he was a Dom and seeing him this close, feeling his body heat, was enough to make her yearn.

Oh, god
.

“
I was just remembering my first day at teaching.”

He smiled, slowly, sexy, and her heart turned over. The man could tempt a nun to sin. Over and over and over.

“
I bet you were fantastic.”

She laughed remembering the first day of teaching hell.

“
I wasn’t at all but I loved it.”

“
But you don’t do it anymore.”

“
Not right now. I might return, but I was too far away from Dad when he got sick. I couldn’t leave him on his own, and I also needed a break.”

He opened his mouth but was interrupted by the foreman.

Jerry Mitchell was an older Hawaiian with a weathered face and nice eyes. Oh, he knew how to scare the crap out of his workers, but she knew he was kind from the way he looked at her. He reminded her a bit of her father.

“
Okay, shut the hell up.” The room quieted down. “Now a lot of you got to meet Crysta at the memorial for Joe, but now she’s your head boss, just like Eli.”

She snorted and got a mean stare from Jerry. Okay, maybe he could scare her too. She sat up straighter and tried not to look at Eli. She knew he was probably laughing at her.

They went through a few things, talking about the upcoming ranch party they have every year. Her mind started to wander. It had been a long trip from the mainland and now, a meeting…Crysta wasn’t a woman who liked to deal with that. She’d been a teacher, but she used all her extra time to play outside.

“
So, if anyone has any questions, let me know. Ms. Miller, did you want to say anything?”

Almost every person looked at her. “Uh, okay. She stood and the room swayed a little. She needed sleep.

“
I want to thank everyone for the welcome. I know that most of you understand the terms of the will, but I wanted to make sure everyone realizes that everything stays the same. Eli is going to teach me a bit about the ranch and I’m going to be out there working, but just so you know, I don’t expect special treatment. Thank you all for being so welcoming.”

She sat back down next to Eli. Mike got back up and started talking. She couldn’t believe that her heart was beating so hard. She hoped they didn’t notice.

As if reading her thoughts, Eli leaned closer and said, “You did good, Crysta.”

A few minutes later, the meeting was over and they were walking toward the house.

“
Wanna ride tomorrow?” Eli asked.

She glanced at him. For a second, she had thought he meant…

“
If you don’t want to, we can--”

“
No, that will be great. I’ve wanted to see it all since Joe told me about it.”

“
It’s a date,” Eli said with a smile.

They walked into the house without another word. The day of travel was starting to hit her. She suddenly felt so tired that the thought of undressing seemed to be too much.

“
Hey, you go on up. I have some work to do,” Eli said.

“
Night, Eli.”

He stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched her. When she reached the top and glanced down, he was gone.

She needed a good night’s sleep and she would stop daydreaming about her partner. Well, okay, maybe not stop, but at least control it.

Because falling for her last Dom had left her emotionally scarred and she wasn’t ready for that again.

No man was worth it.

Chapter Six

Crysta beat Eli to the kitchen the next morning. It was about thirty minutes before dawn and she was sitting in the kitchen talking on her phone and drinking coffee. He was hard pressed to remember when anyone, even Joe, got up earlier than he did. Eli was accustomed to spending time alone in the mornings.

“
Yes, everyone’s been great. So far. It’s been less than twenty-four hours.”

She laughed, the sound of it drifting back to him and it had his heart doing a little two-step. Damn, the woman was a delight. He had labeled her off limits, which usually worked for him, but there was something about her that broke through those barriers. He wanted to know more about her. He could try and convince himself it was because they were partners or that she had been important to Joe.

Eli just didn’t believe in lying to himself.

“
No, I don’t think it would have been a good idea to ride yesterday. I was sort of tired. I met all the hands though.”

She was quiet and he knew Ham was probably talking. Since she was preoccupied with her father, Eli leaned against the doorjamb and watched her.

Joe had told him she was a looker the first time he’d been over on the mainland to meet her. Eli had seen the pictures, but now he knew what Joe talked about. She was pretty. He didn’t think there was anyone who would argue with that. But it went beyond good genes. Even with everything she had been through the last few years, she still glowed with happiness.

“
No, nothing else has happened.”

Ah, so girlie wasn’t going to tell her father about her Uncle Sam’s appearance. He didn’t blame her, but it was good to know. If Ham called him, which he knew her father would, he wanted to make sure he knew what to reveal.

“
Ashton called? Why would he call you?”

Ashton
?

“
I have no idea why he would call after all these months. I didn’t notice any missed calls yesterday.”

Another long period of silence.

“
Well, it’s good the cheating bastard is there and not here. I think Joe has a great collection of guns for me to use.”

She laughed.

“
I promise not to shoot him. I’ve got to go. Besides, Eli’s been standing behind me eavesdropping for the last five minutes.”

She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Haven’t ya, cowboy?”

For a second—okay maybe two—his brain stuttered to a stop. Her sweet southern voice rolled over the words. He wanted to walk to her and kiss that sassy smile off her lips. Instead, he tipped his head then walked over to the coffee pot.

“
I’m not being mean to Eli. And that’s a fine how do you do that you’re worried about his feelings.”

She laughed again.

“
Sure. Talk to you later, love you.”

She hung up.

“
So, get an earful, Elias?” she asked, her tone teasing, even flirtatious.

“
Sure. Especially picked up on the whole not telling your father about Sam, too.”

She sighed. “Nothing’s changed and he’s already worried about me. If something else happens, I’ll let him know.”

Eli knew she was telling the truth. She might have hidden yesterday’s altercation with her uncle, but she would tell him eventually.

“
Do you tell your father everything? You seem really close.”

She shrugged as she poured herself some more coffee. “I guess so.”

“
Including your membership to BDSM clubs?”

He hadn’t mentioned anything about it since the other day nor had she. She leaned a hip against the counter and studied him over her coffee cup.

“
No. I’m sure he has some kind of idea of my…tastes. It’s not something a Daddy wants to discuss with his little girl.”

“
And Ashton?”

Her smile faded. “No one in particular.”

“
If you’re avoiding someone and he followed you here, I need to know.”

She gave him a strange look. “You think he would follow me here? Believe me, that’s not going to happen.”

“
I’m assuming this is the ex. Joe wanted to hunt him down and castrate him.”

She chuckled. “God, I miss Uncle Joe.”

She said nothing else. He knew he was showing his hand but he couldn’t keep from asking, “Well?”

She blinked those big blue eyes at him. “Well, what?”