Page 5 of Stirring Up Trouble (Saddle Up #1)

Four

Blaze

Ms. Connie really outdid herself for these visitors. I could tell the minute I stepped into the house after a long, brutal day of work that this meal was going to heal something in me.

But first, I had to shower. I might be the boss to everyone else, but Ms. Connie ran the show inside. If I came to her table smelling like the shit I had to deal with all day, she’d be all over my ass about it. I didn’t need that kind of animosity when all I wanted was a good meal and some sleep.

While I hadn’t forgotten about our company arriving, I could admit I hadn’t given it much thought for the rest of the day after talking with Leslie. Between her and Ms. Connie, things were handled. The load wasn’t on me anymore, which meant I could focus on other business.

Reality swept back in the moment I settled down at the table. There were three unfamiliar faces staring back at me. Since I’d be spending the next two weeks with them, I figured it best to at least start on a good note.

“Welcome to Anders Ranch. I’m Blaze Anders.” I addressed them as a group.

The man to my left nodded. “Nice to meet you, Blaze. I’m Bobby Allen. This is my partner, Elton.”

Elton waved at me. “Hi!”

A genuine smile came over my face at his exuberance. I could tell he was shy, yet he was brave enough to meet me like this. It definitely had something to do with the supportive hand Bobby Allen had on his back.

Watching the two of them made me long for things I couldn’t have. They reminded me of a life I wanted. A life where I had a someone of my own to take care of.

Before all this shit went down, I’d been hopeful I’d find a woman who accepted me as her Daddy for a long-term romantic dynamic. The search hadn’t been great, then my stepfather’s shitstorm began, and I gave up entirely.

The reminder of it all made my chest ache. I wanted to rub at the spot to ease the discomfort, though it might have looked strange had I done so.

Pulling myself back to the moment, I turned to face the other man at the table. Time instantly shifted. The planets tilted in opposite directions. And then, my entire body detonated.

This man… shit. He was fascinating.

Short brown wavy hair sat atop his head. The shape of his face was masculine, yet it held a softness to it as well that tempted me in ways I hadn’t felt for years. Rosy lips, a delicate nose, and piercing gray eyes contrasting against pale skin rounded out the look.

I didn’t even make it to the rest of him. There was so much to take in up top, I found myself unable to move on.

It was only when the others started shouted that I realized something was wrong. He’d gone still, almost as if he’d seen a ghost or was spooked by my arrival. While I wasn’t a big man, I could be intimidating to people.

At least, I hoped it was the reason for his pause.

The only other thing I could think of would be my race.

Some people couldn’t stand to see a Black man owning the things I did.

I’d faced my fair share of racism, especially when we went far from home.

It was yet another reason getting the ranch back in order had been a huge undertaking.

My stepfather had been a middle-aged white man full of privilege and a belief he was invincible. Fixing his mistakes while also battling systems meant to keep me from succeeding was a bitch to navigate.

Part of me believed the bastard married my mama just to tear apart what the Anders family had built.

I could even remember them arguing one time about him wanting to change the name.

My mother had told him no because it was our legacy.

Even after she died, he tried to put the papers through but couldn’t since I was the rightful owner.

Thank fuck for my mama thinking ahead.

The shocked man beside me cleared his throat, which seemed to be enough to get us both unstuck. “I’m Robin.”

Nodding, I replied, “Blaze. Though you probably just heard that part.”

Robin smiled and nodded. “I did. Thank you for letting us stay with you while we’re here.”

“He’s right. I should have said that before too.” Bobby Allen’s voice cut into the conversation.

I wanted to yell at him to be quiet. How could he not see that there was something more going on here? That Robin and I needed a moment to process everything before trying to act like civilized people?

His frozen state still bothered me too. I wanted to believe he was shy like Elton, yet I didn’t get that vibe from him. The look on his face was more panic than judgement.

“Y’all better dig in before it gets cold,” Ms. Connie called from the other side of the table.

Leslie snorted. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

With that bit of humor, the spell from before drifted away. The room filled with the sounds of silverware scraping across plates as we all went about devouring the feast Connie made us.

Now, I won’t say she ever slacked in the kitchen. It wasn’t her way. But something about this meal had me ready to get up and dance. The greens were perfectly seasoned, and the cornbread soaked up every bit of the juices from the gravy she’d poured over the chicken.

I damn near licked the plate at the end. Sure would have too had we not been entertaining guests.

“That was delicious. Thank you, Ms. Connie,” Robin said as soon as he was done. “You definitely give Harlan a run for his money.”

“Harlan?” I heard the rumble in my voice at the mention of the name.

Who was this to him? And how could I get rid of him?

I didn’t want Robin to be fascinated with anyone else. Deep down, I knew I was being a bit of a caveman about all of this. I would have to evaluate it all later when my head was clear.

At the moment, there were more pressing issues. Like who THE FUCK was Harlan?

Bobby Allen chuckled at my question. “It’s always a trip to find out people don’t know who he is. I’ll have to tell him as much when we get back home. The man’s ego has only grown with his notoriety from our market days.”

My face must have shown my confusion because Elton, who had remained quiet the entire meal, spoke up. “Harlan is the cook for the Coleman Ranch.”

“And he’s also dating my business partner,” Robin added. “He and Griffin have been together for a while now, which means the perks of sharing a vet clinic with him includes getting his extras from his homemade lunches.”

I learned quite a bit in those few sentences.

The first being that I didn’t need to track down this Harlan person and convince him to give up Robin.

They weren’t together. Then there was the fact that Robin was the vet Leslie had mentioned.

Not only was he attractive in a way that clearly made me stupid, but he was also smart too.

And to top it all off, he had an appreciation for food.

Wait … attractive to me? Since when did I find men attractive?

My dating history was purely of the female variety. While I could say when a man was objectively good looking, I didn’t feel a pull for anything more.

Or rather, I hadn’t.

Robin intrigued me for some reason. His soft features and contemplative gaze made me want to sit with him asking questions for hours on end. I needed to know all his favorites so I could provide him with everything he ever wanted.

What. The. Hell.

My cook had never drugged me, yet I was wondering if the food was filled with some kind of potion to fuck my head up. It made no sense for me to be going through all these emotions about ten seconds after meeting the man.

I rejoined the conversation to escape my own wayward thoughts. “It’s always good to have someone who knows their way around the kitchen. I’m blessed with Ms. Connie on my team. She’s a lifesaver.”

“Oh, you hush now, Blaze. I’m merely doing what I love. No need to get all sappy on me.” She waved her napkin at me.

Leslie chuckled. “He doesn’t do sappy. You’re just his favorite, and he knows not to piss you off.”

“Girl, I done told you about that filthy mouth of yours. How are you ever gonna get you a nice, sweet girl to settle down with?”

“The sweet girls like my filthy mouth too, Ms. Connie,” Leslie replied with a sweet tone. She batted her lashes a ridiculous amount to show she was teasing, which of course sent us all into a laughing fit.

I could admit having a full table was nice. Most of the men on the ranch didn’t do dinner up here with me and Ms. Connie. They had families of their own to get home to. And Leslie was hit or miss on whether she’d come by.

“Girl, you need to hush. None of that with me at the table.” Ms. Connie blushed, which made Leslie laugh hysterically. She loved riling the other woman up. It was basically one of her daily goals at this point.

Ignoring them, I thought about how to best to avoid Robin moving forward.

Getting into anything with him would be a disaster.

Not only because I didn’t know what the fuck it was like to be with another man, but also because my focus needed to be on keeping Anders Ranch and the upcoming rodeo a success.

How would I be able to do any of that if I were having an identity crisis? Or even more so if I were involved with someone romantically?

There was a reason I hadn’t dated in years. I’d been celibate even before my stepfather left. It was too much work trying to build a relationship and manage everything around here. In the time since the blow up, I didn’t even give companionship a thought.

Fix the ranch.

Save the rodeo.

Anything else was a distraction.

With that in mind, I changed tactics. Being nice wouldn’t work. I couldn’t risk my friendly nature for being an open invitation for anything. My irrational brain didn’t even stop to think if Robin were open to dating men. I just knew I had to go on defense.

Dropping my brows and letting a scowl come over my face, I looked around the table. “I’ve got to head on up to bed. Big day tomorrow. I suggest you do the same if you know what’s smart.”