Page 13

Chapter Twelve

CAMILA

“Oh God, harder.”

“You’re sure her flight was canceled?”

“Yes, please, deeper.”

“Come home with me. Once this deal is over, I’ll break it off with her. It’s you I love, not her.”

“Are you sure she doesn’t know about us? She could ruin you.”

“No, my love. She loves the job, not me.”

“I love you too.”

“This time next year, she’ll be gone, and we’ll be married.”

I am listening to the voicemail for the fifth time.

I’m a fucking fool.

Ryan has been stringing me along all this time.

For years! I should be angry. But I’m not.

I sat in this empty airport for hours, thinking over my life.

How everything I thought was true was fake.

My entire life is built on a mountain of lies.

The man I figured I’d spend the rest of my life with has used me to climb to the top so that he could push me off the ledge at the first chance he got.

Well, FUCK THAT.

I opened my laptop and logged into the company server in Ryan’s name. I flipped through his files and found the merger agreement between our company and the Danders. I downloaded as much as I could and then opened our company email.

I typed out the email and uploaded the voicemail as an attachment.

I hit send and then scrolled through my phone applications, finding the ride-share one and booking a car.

I groaned when not one but two drivers canceled on me.

I was growing impatient when a big SUV finally showed up forty-five minutes later.

“Hope you’re not going far, ma’am. The roads are a mess.” The driver put my suitcase in the trunk and then opened my door for me.

“Can you get me to the Justice Ranch?” His eyes widened, but he nodded.

“If ya ain’t in a rush, sure.” I nodded my thanks as I climbed in.

It turns out that not being in a rush meant arriving at the huge farmhouse two hours later. I tipped him for his trouble and hesitated at the foot of the porch steps.

The house was huge, just like Red.

A low whistle startled me, and I turned to see a younger man in a long-sleeved t-shirt walking up to me from the barn. His grin makes me blush as he looks me up and down.

“Aren’t you sweeter than my grandma’s tea on a hot summer day?” Wow, his smooth delivery of that line made me tilt my head in amusement.

What the hell is in the water on this ranch?

“You’re comparing me to a glass of diabetes?” I cross my arms to guard from his advancements as much as from the chill in the air.

“You ain’t from around here, are ya, Sugar?” I shake my head with a laugh as I glance at the suitcase by my legs.

“Christ, no,” I snort.

“Too much nature for you?” He assesses me closely now.

“Too much dirt.” I frowned as I looked around us and couldn’t find the offense that made me choke the first day I was here.

“Ah, well, you got to get a little dirty in life, or it ain’t no fun.” I smile despite myself.

“I’m not looking for fun.” I’m looking for trouble.

The Red kind.

“Now that’s a damn shame, Sugar. I was fixing to give you the ride of your life. You have a good night now.” He passes by me and up the porch stairs when I call out to stop him.

“Which one are you?” I’m confident this man is related to Red.

“Pardon?” He rubs his arms, and I feel the cold just like he does.

“You’re a Justice, right? Which one of his brothers are you?” His eyebrow arches as he thinks about answering me.

“Christopher Justice, but everyone calls me Kit. You are?” I offer him my hand, and he shakes it before I answer him.

“Camila Victoria Greystone. Most people call me Cami.” My name makes him drop my hand and rush down to grab my bag.

“Oh shit. Mind keeping this between us?” His request confuses the shit out of me.

“Not a chance in hell, Kit.” I tease as he curses under his breath.

“Fuck, Red’s gonna kill me.” He touches the small of my back as he rushes me inside the house.

His touch feels off somehow. Not unfriendly but more like, I don’t know, like family? I shake off the weird thought as the front door opens, and the most incredible smell hits my nose.

“Kit, you finally come…Hello,” An older version of Kit smiles at us.

I step away from both brothers, but their eyes track my movement.

“Skittish,” the new man says as the room starts to fill with more faces.

“Well, let the woman in and stop crowding her. I swear it’s like I taught none of ya manners. Hello, Darlin’.” My eyes widen at the man walking confidently in my direction.

It’s Red, but twenty-odd years in the future. Fuck if this is how he’s going to age, my ovaries are fucked. No wonder there are so many Justice children.

He chuckles at me as if he can read my mind.

“Like I cloned him, right?” His grin is so proud at that statement that I can’t help laughing.

“A few times, by the look of it. So, who’s the redhead in your family?” I point at a few fair-haired siblings of Red, and a woman’s voice answers my question.

“That’d be me,” I turn to see who could only be Red’s mother, and one single question pops into my mind.

How did this tiny woman birth all these humongous men?

My stomach lets out an embarrassing growl, and I cringe. It seems to bring everyone back to themselves, and that southern hospitality I’ve not witnessed since arriving in Serenity finally shows its face.

“Kit, take that bag upstairs. BJ and Ram, y’all make sure the spare room is ready. Any of you fools introduce yourselfs?’” Mama Justice takes her apron off and hangs it on a hook while approaching me.

“Was just about to do that, Bunny.” Mr. Justice throws an arm around his wife and kisses her like no one is watching.

All their kids make some kind of weird noise and leave to either follow her orders or find somewhere else to be. The older couple breaks apart breathlessly, but it’s Justice senior who chuckles before looking back at me.

“Works every time. Nothing clears the room like your parents making out.” He winks at his wife as she slaps his chest with a kitchen towel that is still hanging from her shoulder.

“Fredrick Allen Justice, Jr. This is my wife, Elizabeth Ann. Pleased to meet you.” I shake his hand, and then his wife grabs me quickly as she whispers in my ear.

“I’m a hugger. You must be Red’s girl. Well, let me look at you.” She pushes me away even quicker, and I struggle to keep my footing.

My stomach gurgles again, and she clicks her tongue.

“Come to the kitchen. Ya missed supper, but I’m sure I can fix ya a plate.” I follow her as my nose lifts in the air.

“I’ll just have a salad if it’s not too much of a bother. Please,” I tack the last part on when she turns a frown on me.

“Well, you’re as thick as a 2x4, Sugar.” I scrunched up my face, trying to figure out what she meant.

“Is that bad?” I need to pick up a Texas Slang for Dummies if I’m going to be around this family more.

Am I, though? He’s not even here, which makes me think of where he could be. I grit my teeth and tune back into the conversation happening around me.

“Have you seen my boys? If you don’t want to end up in the hospital, you’ll need some meat on those bones.” Well, that was forward, and I opened my mouth to tell her where to go, but her eyebrow arched in a challenge, so I shut my mouth in my best fish impersonation.

“You lack the cushion for the pushin’, Darlin.” Kit appears out of nowhere, winning a glare from his mother.

“You watch your mouth, Kit!” He goes over to a pot and ladles out a thick, creamy soup, and I realize that’s the smell.

My mouth fills with saliva, and I want a taste so badly.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He places the bowl and a spoon in front of me with a wink.

“Wow, can you teach me how to do that?” I look at his mother.

“What, bring my boys to heel?” I take a spoonful of the stew and moan.

I nod after a few more spoonfuls.

“I’d settle for him just to listen,” I say once I come up for air.

A large chunk of bread and a butter dish are placed next to the bowl, along with a tall glass of iced tea. I nod a thank you so I don’t have to stop eating. Elizabeth watches me closely, probably trying to figure out when the last time I ate was, and I honestly can’t say.

“Oh honey, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Red’s never listened. Best learn how to hang on and enjoy the ride.” The spoon falls from my hand, and I clear my throat.

“That sounds like something he’d say.” She laughs at me as she nods.

“Probably ‘cause he grew up hearing his daddy say it to me. I can promise you one thing from one city girl to another.” She leans in close to me with a mischievous grin.

“What’s that?” I move closer as well when she drops her voice.

“It’ll be the best ride of your life.” My eyes widen, and I catch her husband’s smirk.

It’s time for a topic change.

“So, you don’t miss New York at all?” After the company reads my email, I won’t have much to return to.

“I visit when I want, but Texas, this ranch, and that man there will forever be my home.” The smile they share holds a lifetime of memories and secrets.

I want that for me.

“You’re a fortunate woman.” I finish off all the food I was given with a content sigh.

“You could be too if you let yourself.” I’m just about to ask her what she means when the front door bangs open.

I turn to see Red hanging up his hat and a look of disappointment on his handsome face. I instantly want to wipe it away. When he looks up and sees me, I get my wish.

He’s across the room in three strides and has me up off the kitchen stool and in his arms two seconds later.

“You’re here!” Before I can answer him, his lips find mine, and suddenly, everything I need to tell him doesn’t seem so pressing.

His mother’s words float through my brain as his tongue tangles with mine. I could have this, too.

If I let myself.