Page 29 of The Rogue (Four Corners Ranch #11)

Rue had spent the next three days making cookies. It was overkill and she knew it. She also knitted four cow leg warmers just

for Bix. She figured if anybody could find a way to get them on the animals it would be her, and she knew that it would make

Bix’s whole month.

She felt like she was trying to atone. For everything that had been done for her, and for her own somewhat vile behavior that

night at the bar. Even though Justice was acting like everything was normal, there was an unbearable tension in her stomach.

And at the worst possible moments it was his monologue that played in her mind, over and over again.

First I’d touch you...

She squeezed her knees together. This was outrageous. He had been mad at her. Furious, honestly. He’d been pushing her the

way that she’d been pushing him.

And yes, for her, dirty talk like that felt like a revelatory experience, but it didn’t mean anything to him . It was probably a script. He probably said that to all the women all the time.

Do you really think so little of him?

No. She thought so little of herself. He couldn’t have actually meant that. She was Rue. She didn’t inspire that kind of raw

animal magnetism in him.

She was... cute if anything. And also, they were Rue and Justice. Their friendship was the most defining relationship in her life. And...

She looked across the counter in his kitchen, at all the cookies there. Was that an appropriate apology? I’m sorry that I made things weird and was dismissive and insulting to you, have a bunch of cookies.

It made her frown deeply, even to herself.

She had been such a brat. She reflected, for a moment, on the way he had picked her up. Picked her up and carried her to the

truck, then picked her up differently to carry her into the house. He had definitely pitied her by the time she had gotten around to vomiting on his shoes.

He was so strong. The way he’d held her had made her feel like she didn’t weigh anything. She realized that was how she felt

about their dynamic usually. The way he carried her, even if it wasn’t physical, actually made her feel like she wasn’t a

burden at all.

It was why he mattered so much.

He really did matter so much.

Her stomach was a tangle of feelings, and she found it best to just focus on the cookies.

She carefully packed all the cookies away for easy transport, then went into her temporary bedroom to try to find an outfit.

She opted for some thick tights, a pair of boots and a sweater dress she had knitted a couple of years ago.

It had taken forever. She could remember feeling lost in the endless repeats of color work, and she thought of it every time she put it on.

Knitting was a great way to spend a ridiculous amount of time on something you could’ve bought for half the money.

But it was a hobby that her grandmother had taught her to love.

One that had shaped her life. She had imagined sitting in that house where she had once knitted beside her grandmother on the couch, watching old movies, sitting with Asher and. ..

Except when she imagined it now it wasn’t Asher she saw. It was Justice, with 13 Going on 30 playing.

She shook her head. Violently.

She emerged from the bedroom right when Justice arrived.

“You’re bringing all these?” he asked, gesturing to the trays of covered cookies.

“Yes. It’s been my sole focus the last couple of days.”

“You’re definitely making me look good.”

“I try.”

They had worked so hard to pretend that everything was normal. They almost managed it sometimes. But it felt different, and

she was angry with herself about that. She didn’t want to acknowledge that.

She didn’t want to let them know that she still felt wrong.

“Well, let’s get it all packed up. Denver is going to be asking for more funds today, so that should be fun. But he’s also

got some more business opportunities up his sleeve. A couple more buildings he wants to renovate.”

“Why are there so many buildings on King’s Crest?”

“Oh, because our great-great-grandfather was involved in illegal gambling. Among other things. So I believe some of them were brothels, and rooms where people could go get busy. There was a lot of gold rush activity out here in the day, so there were temporary swells of people that would come out to mine. He was good at taking advantage.”

“No way. So you guys are outlaws from way back.”

“Yep. Kind of cool, though. I mean, the facilities, not the rest of it. Though, I think giving minors a good time is maybe

different still than being a loan shark.”

“Yeah. Definitely. Is your dad just off doing the same things now that he used to do here?”

“I don’t know. We’re all totally no contact with him. There’s no point trying with him, because he sucks you in if you aren’t

careful. If he was cruel, outright and obviously cruel, it would be easier. But he’s charming. He can be, anyway.”

“Is that why you never really let me come around your family?”

A fierce light entered his eyes. “Yeah. I never wanted you to be anywhere near him.”

She let that settle between them. That little thing she hadn’t known mingled with their shared history. She was beginning

to realize there were pieces of himself that Justice didn’t share with her. But there was also such a breadth of shared experiences

there. She wondered if it mattered.

If they needed to know every little thing about each other.

She wanted to. She just didn’t think she needed to.

“Well, thanks for including me.”

“Of course,” he said. And she felt that carefulness again.

Like they were dancing around what had happened the other day.

Trying to pretend that it didn’t matter.

That it had been written off as something silly she’d said when she was drunk.

But the fact of the matter was she had introduced the idea of sex between the two of them.

You couldn’t unhammer a nail. That was the thing. She had decisively hammered that thing.

Which was a little bit of an unfortunate metaphor when she thought too hard about it.

Lord.

They started heading toward Sullivan’s Point, to the big barn where they had their town hall meetings.

“Do you think you’ll start having the meetings at King’s Crest now that you have the big event space done?”

He shrugged. “It would be an interesting thing to float, and now that our families are linked by marriage, we may not get

the resistance from the Sullivans we might have otherwise. But I have a feeling the McClouds and the Garretts won’t necessarily

want to have meetings on enemy territory.”

“You’re not enemies. You’re all part of the same collective.”

“Sure. But you know we’re different. We always have been. Just more separate. But you know, that’s part of the whole thing

with my dad too. He could only maintain his facade to a certain point, so a little bit of distance was a necessity. Anyway,

it’s not like the other heads of household were much better back then. I guess we’ll figure out how to rally around each other,

but never really how to integrate with everybody else.”

“Landry is pretty firmly integrated at this point.”

He chuckled. “True.”

“Anyway. You guys took care of me. You took care of your own, really.”

“I guess that was all we could manage,” he said.

He was so weird about compliments. He was, in general, a cocky guy who seemed eternally confident in himself but he didn’t

like anything too deep or serious. And he never wanted anyone talking about him being good, heaven forfend. She didn’t get

it.

“It’s more than most people. I mean, family, sure. But you took responsibility for Penny, and for me. When Bix showed up on

the property, Daughtry immediately took care of her. I guess my point is you’ve all done better than your dad.”

“Thanks.”

“And I really shouldn’t have said what I did to you the other day.”

“Yeah, we don’t need to bring that up.”

“It’s sitting there between us. Whether I say something or not.”

He looked at her and lifted a brow. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“You’re a liar.”

“Well, I like that. You tell me I’m better than my dad and then you call me a liar.”

“You’re being a liar about this .”

If he wasn’t lying then she felt really stupid.

“Maybe so. But what’s the point in telling the truth?”

Right at that moment they pulled up to the barn.

Her jaw went slack. She had been to many town hall meetings at Four Corners Ranch, the big gathering where all of the ranch hands and the four families got together to discuss the moves they were making, the state of the collective and where things might need to improve and where things were going well.

They hadn’t had meetings like that back when she’d been a kid because the collective hadn’t functioned the way that it did

now.

But still, over the past few years she had gone to quite a few, and she had never seen the place decked out like this. There

were lights strung everywhere, the trees out front, including a glorious weeping willow, all lit up like they had been at

Christmas. The bonfire was already going, and the tables were laden with food, and candles.

There was hot cider, and everyone was milling around, talking and laughing.

The meeting commenced quickly, with Denver putting forward his pitch, to be voted on at the March meeting. After that, they

dispensed with any business, and decided to move on with celebrating.

For a minute, she forgot about her problems. For a minute, she just felt happy. Because here she was, in the middle of her

found family, at this place that felt like home, with hot cider and cookies, and it really did feel like everything was going

to be all right. Nobody treated her like she was sad or a pariah. Granted, a lot of people at the ranch may not know what

happened, but it helped soothe a lot of her fears. And it was different than going out that night at the bar, because she

wasn’t trying to prove anything. She was just herself.