Page 16 of The Triple Threat

“Wasn’t Miss Gruber the one who wore hearing aids? Or hey,” I said as I held my aching side. “Was that after she’d heard you sing?”

Ellie actually growled and put an extra swing into the turn she took as she pulled off the main road to the track leading up to the ranch.

“Some people are so damn rude,” she muttered under her breath as she reached to turn off the radio. “Next time you can wait for your dad to pick you up.”

“No problem,” I replied. “He at least can hold a tune.”

That was it for Ellie, I’d evidently said too much. She slammed her foot down on the brake which jerked me forward so far in my seat, I almost hit my head on the dash.

“For fuck’s sake, Ellie,” I groaned. “My ribs.”

“Oh no,” she mocked, with a flutter of her eyelashes and a hand against her heart. “Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry.”

The pain stung like a red-hot poker in my side and I really wanted to punch something. Ellie’s dash was looking favorite.

“I could report you for dereliction of duty.” I blew out a couple of quick breaths. “That and cruelty to the world with that fucking awful singing voice.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my singing.”

“You think?” I asked, laughing disbelievingly.

I’d never really seen Ellie mad before, but she was now. She actually snarled and slammed her hand against the steering wheel as we jolted to a stop.

“Get out,” she growled and leaned across me to grab the handle and open the door. “You can walk the rest of the way.”

“What!”

“You heard me,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “Get out and walk”

With my eyes as wide as dinner plates, I looked out of the window up the long track that led to the house. It was another mile and a half and while normally that wouldn’t bother me, today I had been kicked by a bull calf with a grudge and was in a lot of pain.

“Aww, come on, Ellie. Don’t be so stupid.”

And that was totally the wrong thing to say. It wasn’t enough that she’d already opened my door, she actually unbuckled her belt, got out of the car and stormed around the hood, pulled the door wide open, and invited me to leave her shit-colored vehicle.

“Enjoy your walk,” she hissed as she leaned in closer to me. “And don’t forget to take your painkillers.”

“Seriously?”

Ellie jutted her tiny chin out and tapped a foot. “Yep, seriously, Hunter.”

“I was joking, come on, Ellie.”

“Goodbye, Hunter,” she ground out.

By the way she was breathing heavily through her nostrils I knew she wasn’t going to change her mind, so I snatched open the belt and dropped my feet to the dry, dirt ground. The track was bumpy, the sun beating down, and what would normally be a little stroll for me was going to be murder on my aching ribs.

“Well thanks for the help, Ellie,” I said as I leaned into her space. “Really appreciate it.”

She gave me a smirk of satisfaction and I had a sudden urge to throw her over my knee and smack her ass—I’m pretty sure I would have if I hadn’t been in so much pain.

“Sometimes you can be a real bitch, you know that.”

She nodded. “I know and sometimes you can be a real dick. I reckon that makes us equal.”

As I walked away, I looked over my shoulder wondering whether she might change her mind, but she was already walking back to the driver’s side of the car. A couple of things stuck in my head as I watched her, and both made me feel uneasy. First off, her ass looked fucking amazing with the extra swing of anger in it and second, well shit, my dick seemed to agree with my head.

I had been wracking my brain for a couple of days on how I could bring Carter and Bronte together, but nothing was forthcoming and the reason – they damn well hated each other. As for Hunter he’d been about as much use as chocolate coffee pot. He’d actually dropped my call twice after I’d called the house and got his cell number from Janice-Ann. I’d told her it was about his pain medication for his ribs, and she seemed to believe me because she spent the next twenty-minutes telling me all about the yellow bruising that was creeping up his side.