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Originally from Crystal Fork, Ralph had fit right back into the town like he’d never been gone for a few decades.

“He’s met with a lot of the residents at some point,” Tanner pointed out. “Hannah and I had dinner with him a few months ago.”

“Same here,” Kaleb agreed. “I think he’s just a friendly guy who wants to connect with his town again. I never really thought it was unusual.”

I frowned. “Maybe she just wants to make sure she’s comfortable with the law enforcement here.”

Crystal Fork had never had much of a police force, but all of that had changed after Shelby was kidnapped. The person in charge at the time had very little experience with serious crimes and didn’t know a thing about the procedures involved in a kidnapping.

My cousin had nearly died because the proper procedures hadn’t been followed, and Kaleb had been like a bulldog about fixing that issue.

We all had.

We’d all been more than willing to make a big enough donation every year to pay for a decent police force.

“Now you really are being paranoid,” Tanner drawled. “Are you sure that you’re only concerned about your family’s welfare and not Reese’s safety?”

“What if some asshole is stalking her?” I questioned. “It makes sense. Maybe she moved here to get away from a former boyfriend.”

“Why don’t you just ask her if you’re worried about her,” Tanner questioned. “You ask her about everything else.”

“Too personal,” I informed him. “I’ve decided that I need her to trust me to tell me anything that personal about herself.”

“It’s going to be hard for her to trust you when you have ulterior motives for teaching her to ride,” Kaleb said drily.

“Or is all of that bullshit?” Tanner questioned suspiciously. “Why do I have a feeling you’re starting to like her and want to spend time with her?”

I didn’t.

My dick was apparently starting to adore her, which was exactly why Ishouldn’tspend time with her.

“She’s smart,” I conceded. “And we have a few things in common. Maybe I could like her if she wasn’t hiding things.”

“She’s also a beautiful woman,” Kaleb said.

“She’s a decade younger than I am, and she’s not my type,” I assured him.

The last thing I needed was my brothers to start playing matchmaker.

I wasn’t a guy who had a match out there somewhere like they did.

They knew that I didn’t do committed relationships.

Hell, my brothers had never tried to fix me up with anyone before.

I hoped that wasn’t going to change now that they were happily married and possibly thought I should be, too.

“Does ten years really mean anything now that you’re older? Reese is pretty mature,” Tanner said offhandedly as he held up his palm. “Not that I’m trying to encourage any kind of relationship with Reese. You’ve never committed to a woman in your life, and if you hurt her, I’d be pissed.”

“Someday you’re going to have to tell us what happened to make you such a prick when it comes to women,” Kaleb insisted.

Oh, hell no, that was not going to happen in this lifetime. “It’s just the way I am,” I answered. “Not everyonewantsa committed relationship.”

“I didn’t want one either before I met Anna,” Kaleb shot back. “Someday, some woman is going to knock you on your ass.”

“It hasn’t happened in thirty-eight years,” I replied drily. “It’s not going to happen.”

“Just be nice to Reese tomorrow,” Tanner said firmly. “She really wants to learn to ride, and you might actually enjoy her company if you let yourself.”