Page 3 of Claiming Bennett (Montgomery Dreams #3)

BENNETT

“How’s Carlos holding up?” I ask, glancing at the bluetooth display when the phone line crackles a bit.

I’m getting close to where service might be an issue.

The paved roads finally make way for the half-swept dirt paths I’m much more accustomed to, and I sigh in relief.

Twenty-two hours is a hell of a drive, and I’m ready for it to be over.

If Pa wasn’t so hell bent on his attempts at being friends with the Montgomery family, I’d have refused to make the trip on principle.

“He’s a twitchy little fucker,” Pa says with a laugh, his voice echoing oddly over the phone. “He and Ana are holed up in a hotel by the hospital even though she’s still a week out from her due date.”

“Yeah, well, it’s his first. I’m sure it’s nerve wracking.”

Pa laughs, loud and throaty. “You’ve got no clue, kid.”

Nor do I want to. The only brush I had with possibly getting someone pregnant… well, it didn’t turn out well. Let’s just say that.

“I’m glad he hasn’t exploded yet,” I say with a sly grin. “I’m about to, though, this drive has been hell.”

“Yeah, you getting close?”

I hum affirmatively, checking my GPS. “Ten minutes or so.”

“I’m grateful you did this for us, mijo ,” Pa says. “Wouldn’t trust anyone else with it. Just remember?—”

“Keep a low profile and don’t mention my last name unless David recognizes me, I know.

” I think it’s ridiculous that David Montgomery still holds a grudge over a stupid misunderstanding from over a decade ago.

It’s even more ridiculous that my dad is dead set on remaining the guy’s friend enough to bother sending me up to Montana all the way from Texas just to oversee a damn cattle drive.

“I won’t mess things up, Pa. Don’t even worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

I know he’ll worry anyway, but someone has to have confidence in me.

“You’ll do fine, mijo ,” Pa says, surprising me with the certainty in his voice. Maybe I misread his reticence to send me out here. “The ranch is rough with both you and Carlos gone. Don’t stay gone too long.”

My lips twitch at the affection in his voice. God forbid he tell me he misses me, but Ma’s always been better with words than either of us.

“I won’t let you down,” I promise, my eyes catching on the start of a farm. The GPS confirms it’s the right place. “I’m pulling up to the ranch now. I’ll talk to you later.”

He lets me go with a warning to be careful and a fond goodbye.

I roll my eyes while pulling into the long driveway that leads into the heart of the Montgomery ranch.

He’s making this whole thing seem like some stealth mission instead of what it is—all I’m here to do is keep an eye on what David picks up from the cattle drive in order to make sure what we buy off him for the slaughterhouse is up to par.

Pa sends Carlos up every year, even though I’ve never heard him complain about the quality of what we get from the Montgomery ranch. Does he ask Carlos to be this secretive, too?

It seems exhausting.

I roll my truck to a stop halfway up the driveway, sprawling pastures to one side and a hulking red barn to the other. A guy who looks a little younger than me saunters up to my truck as I roll the window down, and I shoot him my most winning smile. He nods easily in return.

“Can I help you, boss?” he asks, stopping a few feet from my door.

Jesus, are they not even expecting a new hire? Pa told me he had all this handled.

“This the Montgomery ranch?” I ask uneasily, worried I have the wrong address even though the GPS pretty much confirmed I don’t. “I’m supposed to be coming on as a temp ranch hand for the drive.”

“Sure is,” the guy says. “We were expecting you tomorrow. I’m Bo.”

I reach out and shake the hand he offers me, two firm pumps before he takes his hand back.

“Ben—” I cut myself off before I can finish introducing myself.

I doubt David would recognize me just based on my first name, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Ben it is instead of Bennet while I’m here.

I bite back my instinctive distaste for the nickname and barrel on, hoping Bo doesn’t catch my stumble. “I’m Ben. Got an early start.”

Bo nods and wipes the sweat from his brow. “Hang tight, I’ll go grab my dad and he’ll get you all sorted.”

His dad, huh? So Bo is the son of the infamous David, then. I expected him to be more of a stuck up asshole, like all the stories I’ve heard of his old man. I’m not here to make friends, but Bo seems like the kind of guy I could get along with.

That’ll make my time here a little more bearable.

I throw my truck in park before shoving the fast food wrappers currently littering my passenger seat onto the floorboard.

Sure, working on ranches is a pretty relaxed gig in the sense of professionalism, but I’d like my temporary boss not to think I’m a huge slob.

I take in the ranch's layout while I wait for Bo to return.

It’s a big place, but tidy. The barn is in good shape, and the cattle near enough to see are all wandering about happily.

Chickens chatter from somewhere just out of sight, and the sound makes me smile softly.

There’s still a chicken coop behind our house back in Lubbock because I begged for one until I was red in the face when I was a kid. They’re some of my favorite animals.

It doesn’t take long for Bo to come back out of the house, making his way down the warmly decorated wrap-around porch with an older man in tow.

That must be David.

He looks just as grouchy as I pictured him, barrel-chested and broad in the shoulders, a bushy mustache bristling on his upper lip. His face is red, and it looks like Bo is trying to calm him down about something.

When he gets close enough to meet my eyes, I’m surprised to find myself a little intimidated.

I’ve got both height and muscle on the man, but he’s got a commanding presence.

I hop out of my truck in order to meet him halfway, never dropping my eyes from his.

When he reaches me, he holds out his hand without a word, looking me over like I’m cattle.

I guess we’ll find out if he’s got a discerning eye or not.

“David,” he says as I take his hand.

He grips just shy of too hard, but I match it easily. The calluses on his hands match the ones on mine, and his estimation of me seems to raise a notch when I don’t flinch at the strength in his grip.

“Ben,” I say. “Good to meet you, sir.”

David hums like he hasn’t made up his mind whether it’s nice to meet me or not. He glances behind me at my truck and the little bullet trailer hitched to it.

“Usually get Carlos helping out around this time of year,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me. “He retire or something?”

I chuckle, shaking my head. Carlos isn’t anywhere near retiring age, and he’s much more likely to work right until the day he dies.

“No, sir, his wife’s having their baby any day now.

I’m a family friend of his, offered to take over his usual traveling gigs so he could stay home and take paternity leave. ”

David’s glare softens a fraction at that, and he nods in acceptance before turning his full attention back to looking me over. I idly wonder if he inspects his cattle this thoroughly.

“You worked on a ranch before, boy?” he asks.

I bite my instinctual response about growing up on one. “Yes, sir. Back home in Texas. Helped out with more cattle drives than I can count down there.”

“Got family up here?”

“No, sir,” I say easily, refusing to show any discomfort at his questioning. “Just looking to get away from the heat for a bit. Figured I’ve never seen Montana, thought it might be a nice change of scenery. And I didn’t want Carlos to worry about leaving anyone shorthanded.”

The heat is less sweltering this far north, but that’s never bothered me.

I agreed to this for two reasons. One, my dad asked me, and I won’t say no to family.

The second reason is far more selfish—my ex moved back home after flunking out of college, and I really don’t want to run into her right now.

Pa’s suggestion of helping out with this was a godsend, even if the drive was horrible.

“Dad, you’re being kind of intense,” Bo says teasingly, nudging his dad’s arm with his elbow.

David blinks, all the posturing draining away as he laughs at himself.

“Sorry, kid,” he says. “Good to have you on board. I’ll have Bo here get you set up with your trailer, and then I’ll show you around.”

A female voice cuts across the distance, and all three of us turn to look back at the porch. A well-built blonde woman is on the top step, beckoning David back into the house to sign some paperwork.

“I guess Bo will show you around,” David says with a chuckle. “Have to come when the missus calls. Let me or Bo know if you’ve got any questions. Glad to have you, Ben.”

Huh. Maybe David can be something other than a jerk. Pa would probably be shocked.

He waves his goodbyes to Bo and me, but my attention is drawn back to the porch when the woman heads back inside. Leaning against the railing just behind where David’s wife was is a slim little blonde in nothing but skimpy pajamas and fluffy slippers.

I damn near do a double take in surprise, wondering how the hell I failed to notice her until now.

She’s all long, toned legs and unmarked skin and glossy lips. She looks so clean, sweet and untouched, and the first thought in my mind is how badly I want to get her filthy . I shake my head to clear it of that idea, but before I manage it, we lock eyes.

I can’t quite make out the color from this far away, but something in her gaze reminds me of honey, syrupy and sweet enough to cling to your teeth.

Oh, this isn’t going to go well. Those glossy lips that were set into a pout just moments ago tick up into a smile that’s far too inviting for my mental health, and she lifts one hand to wiggle her fingers flirtatiously at me just seconds after David walks past her into the house.

I can only assume she’s his daughter, and the realization has both worry and want building in my gut.

We haven’t even met, and she’s already playing with fire.

She looks like pure trouble wrapped up with a bow, and I want to rip all that pretty packaging off.

She turns to follow her dad into the house, hips swaying beneath the skimpy little shorts, and I have to tear my eyes away from the sight before Bo realizes I’m checking out his sister.

It would be an awful idea to get kicked off the ranch for flirting with David’s daughter, especially if he finds out who I am. I’m here for work, and Pa will kill me if I get involved with anything but work .

“You cool with setting up behind the barn?” Bo asks, yanking me away from my lascivious thoughts. “It’s out of the way and quiet, and there’s plenty of room.”

“Lead the way,” I say.

This job might be a little rockier than I was expecting it to be, if I have to keep my eyes—and my hands—off that little vixen. I can only hope she stays away from me because I know I’ll get myself in trouble if she doesn’t.