Page 5 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

mitch

Being on the road on and off again for two months was something I was used to. It was easy. There were no thoughts, no one bugging me, just work and riding.

It was a feeling I missed. Seeing other landscapes, having ample amounts of time to think about life, and not having anyone around to nag me.

I didn’t ride alone. Cheat, another member of the club, came with me, but that was fine because the guy kept to himself. Definitely chattier than I was, but knew me well enough to know he wasn’t going to get a full conversation out of me.

Heading into the clubhouse, we walk right into the war room, ready for church. It is a Saturday, but it is an emergency meeting that got called last night.

Good thing we were already pretty close to home.

I was happy to be on the road, but there was also a pull that had me wanting to come home a few times.

“Good. You’re back,” Mick says, welcoming us home. We get some cheers and pats on the back. A job done and done well, with no one coming home with injuries or tragedies, is a good day.

“Now that you are, let’s get into it.” Mick nods at his VP, Loki, and Loki launches into the newest issue at hand.

I lean against the wall and listen intently.

“We’ve got a company coming in and trying to buy some houses out from under people.

A couple of families have already lost their homes due to the company buying the tax liens on the properties.

Something they couldn’t afford.” Loki’s fist clenches.

“They’re heartless, man. They have no concern for what they’re doing to our community.

Only interested in the land underneath the homes. ”

“So what do we do?” someone asks, and I don’t bother looking up, listening without engaging, as I do on most occasions.

“We find who’s here doing the dirty work. They have boots on the ground, and I think I know who it is, but I haven’t confirmed it yet.”

“Need help with that?” I glance up and see Cheat offering his services.

Mick nods seriously and says, “Good idea. Let’s get some proof.”

“Then what?” Dragon, our treasurer asks. “We just take him out?”

“Nah, that won’t do much. We’ll need to find our angle, subtly let them know that this isn’t a community to be fucked with.”

“We’re going to need to watch this on several levels,” Mick says, looking absently at the table. “This isn’t something we can blow up and move on in.”

“Who’s this guy anyway?” Cheat asks, probably itching to go grab his laptop.

“My suspicions? This guy who’s been hanging around Acton. He’s always on the phone, stays at The Lodge, doesn’t seem to work much, but still seems like he’s doing fine. Hell, he’s dating a local girl,” Loki says, anger burning behind his words.

I stiffen as realization hits me.

“His name is David Nelson, and his days are numbered.”

Bottle Grounds is busier than just the normal Saturday night crowd, all thanks to some tourists who are in town for some work retreat. I don’t care about that much. Clocking in and nodding at one of the waitresses, I take up my post beside the front door, watching for any kind of threats.

This job to me is easy. I can stand here all night and make sure everyone is okay. I don’t have to talk to anyone or make polite smiles that are forced. I just protect.

A flash of brown hair catches my attention, and Juniper emerges from the kitchen, flawlessly carrying a large tray with several orders on it.

I watch as her expression morphs from serious and focused to her customer service smile. Even that makes her gorgeous, though I know it’s forced.

She’s got her hair up in a bun that I know she’ll be ripping out before she heads home tonight. Just like she does every night before she clocks out, she’ll reach up and pull the elastic out, letting her long brown hair fall nearly to her waist.

And I, like the very observant person I am, will watch the entire thing.

Thinking back to church, I contemplate how this is going to go. I highly doubt Juniper has any idea what David’s been doing. If I know anything about her, I know that she wouldn’t be with someone who is displacing families.

So why doesn’t she know? Doesn’t she want to know what he does for a living, or why he’s still here, living in a hotel?

Maybe he’s mostly staying with her, anyway.

The thought of that makes my teeth clench. If that’s the case, which it could be, then I am going to have to talk with her about safety. If he is really into bulldozing a neighborhood that’s been here for probably nearing forty years, then he is probably not the man that she thinks he is.

I imagine telling her that and almost smile at the look of anger I am sure would cross her face. I know she would be pissed, but more than likely because I was the one telling her.

She hates me now, and that’s okay. I don’t need or want her to like me.

Liar.

I brush that thought aside and focus on my job, wondering if David will show up tonight. I know Cheat is already doing his thing, tracking the guy down and seeing who he is working for.

Hours pass, and I help load chairs onto tables so the staff can mop floors. It isn’t technically my job, but the faster it is done, the faster I can get everyone safely home.

I walk a few of the girls to their cars before heading back in for Juniper. She is the only sister left, Thea having left when my brother showed up to retrieve her, and Annmarie and Shelly leaving an hour before closing.

I know that was Juniper’s doing. She is selfless and knows that if she could get them home, they could still have some time to be together tonight.

Which meant David must be busy. Why else would he not show up to take her home?

“You don’t need to wait on me, Mitch. I’m fine,” she calls from behind the register where she is doing her final sales count and closeout.

I don’t reply, because she already knows I’m not leaving her behind. I hear her sigh and duck my head to smirk.

It’s not that I don’t like Juniper. The opposite is true, but she is too good for me.

I’d been burned in the past, had someone shit all over my feelings and hang me out to dry, and no matter that I didn’t think Juniper possessed an evil bone in her body, I wasn’t in the market to try that out again. Ever.

Not to mention, I’ve done some questionable things in my life, things that made me not a good guy, and especially not a good guy for her.

The age difference is just another factor in why we wouldn’t work. I am thirty-two years old, and Juniper just turned twenty-six two weeks ago. Eight years is a huge gap when you consider how much life I’ve been through.

By the time I was rodeoing and traveling the world, Juniper was in fifth grade.

I shut down my thoughts as she comes back from storing the money in their vault in the office. She’s got her hair down—yeah, I watched her do it—and a bag thrown over her shoulder. She looks at me briefly and offers a kind smile I don’t deserve.

“I’m ready.”

I hold the door for her, trying not to breathe in the scent of her perfume and failing. She always smells good, even after hours of working.

She walks through, and I shut the door, waiting for her to lock it. When that’s done, we walk around the building, heading toward the back of it where my bike sits. Conveniently, right next to her car.

Just as it always is.

I walk her to her car and wait for her to get in. I don’t intend to stay and have a chat, but she turns to me, her eyes meeting mine, and my chest locks up in anticipation of her questions.

“How was your trip? Felt like a long time.” Her question seems innocent, but the statement attached tells me more than I think she realizes.

“Fun. Nice to get away for a while.” It’s more than I’d give anyone else, and judging by the small smirk on her lips, I’m guessing she knows that.

“Sounds fun. No weather issues?” She glances at my bike and lifts a brow in question.

“Nothing I wasn’t prepared for.” We got one bout of snow up here while I was away, and now we are firmly heading into spring.

“Good.” She nods. “I imagine it’s kind of freeing to just take off and leave everything behind.”

Her words do something to me. They almost sound like a question, but she isn’t coming right out and saying it.

I don’t reply.

I want to tell her that I came back, that despite my better judgment, I am always going to come back, no matter what happens. But I don’t.

Juniper sighs, her eyes searching mine, and she opens her mouth, but quickly shuts it.

I glance around the empty parking lot. “Where’s the boyfriend tonight?”

Her eyes hit mine, surprise lining them, and she furrows her brow. “Um, I guess at The Lodge. He had work to handle.”

“What’s he do again?”

Juniper tilts her head, her expression showing her bewilderment. I get it. I never ask any questions, never initiate conversation. But now I have a reason to do it, and I can’t just let her leave knowing that this guy she is dating is potentially a real prick.

Knowing that she may end up in the middle of something she doesn’t deserve to be.

“Why do you care?” Juniper’s sharp question brings my eyes back to hers, and I realize I had let them wander to the bird tattoo that rests just below her collarbone.

“I don’t,” I answer, half truthfully.

“Then why are you suddenly asking?”

I bite my tongue and take a step away, even though every bit of my body urges me to close the distance between us. I want to tell her what I know. That her boyfriend, the man who’s kept her attention and affection for the last five months, isn’t who he says.

Because if he is, would Juniper willingly be with him? I can’t imagine the answer to that is yes.

She lets out a deep sigh, her gaze trailing over my arms. It is warm enough that I am in a T-shirt, and my arms show the ink that I’ve gotten over the last fifteen years. Juniper’s sharp gaze hits me again, and I try to think of anything to say that won’t seem out of place.

But the truth is, I avoid Juniper.

Everything about her has me wanting to go back on my word to myself to never get mixed up with another woman, to never let anyone see beneath the surface.

My walls are built by forge and steel, and I am determined to never let anyone in.

Even the one person who makes my heart feel like pumping again.