When You're Back Read online

  “He loves us. He loves you. He’s proud of you. I heard him telling Emily . . . my mom . . . about you the other day. Apparently, my mother loved you, too. He was telling her what a fine young man you’ve turned into and how proud she’d be of the little boy she had adored. He doesn’t show emotion well, but Emily is his heart. She’s his only link to happiness. I want her here with him.”

  I’d never had Kiro tell me he was proud of me. I swallowed the emotion that tightened my throat and nodded. “OK. Then come outside with me. Enjoy your daughter’s party. Let’s celebrate life. Yours and hers.”

  Harlow grinned and walked over to wrap her arms around my waist. “You’re another reason I love Dad. He gave me the best brother in the world.”

  My eyes didn’t sting with unshed tears.

  Well, maybe just a little.

  Reese

  Blaire got us each a Mai Tai from under the cabana and led me over to a couple of lounge chairs. She pointed at the rock waterfall. “You don’t want to miss this.”

  I turned my attention to the waterfall as I took a sip of my drink. Nate Finlay was on top of the rock again, but this time, he was holding the hand of an older man. Even without the slender, muscular body covered in tattoos and the gold bracelets on his arms, I knew that man.

  “Dean Finlay,” I said. I had known he would be here, but seeing him like this was not something I expected.

  “Yep,” Blaire replied in an amused tone.

  Nate yelled “Go!” and both of them dove into the water.

  “He’s been trying to get Dean to flip with him, but Dean won’t do it. Said he’d break something important if he tried.”

  I laughed, thinking of how funny it would be to see Dean flipping off a rock waterfall.

  “You took my chair,” a deep male voice said behind me. I recognized it instantly.

  I wasn’t sure if I should look up and meet his gaze or what. I still couldn’t figure out why he was even here. I kept waiting for Mase to notice him and say something, but he never did.

  “Be nice, Captain. If you want to join us, you can have that seat.” She pointed to one on the other side of me.

  Captain? But I thought his name was River Kipling. Neither of those names sounded like Captain.

  “Reese, this is my brother, Captain. He’s a smart-ass one hundred percent of the time,” Blaire said.

  Her brother? What?

  “Not a smart-ass, Sis. Told you I just say what I’m thinking. I don’t beat around the bush. No point in wasting breath.”

  Blaire let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes. “He’s actually a nice guy once you get to know him.”

  I had met him before, and I disagreed about him being a nice guy. But the guy I met had lied about his name.

  “I, uh . . .” Should I tell Blaire I had met him before?

  “What she’s trying to say is she’s met me already. We were at the same party my newest business partner was throwing. However, I introduced myself as River Kipling.” He turned to me. “That’s my given name. Captain is a nickname.”

  Blaire’s eyes widened as she sat up straighter. “Really?”

  I nodded. I wanted to add that he was an ass then, too, but I didn’t. I liked Blaire. I didn’t want to insult her brother.

  “Your boyfriend been dancing any more with his cousin?” Captain, River, whatever his name was, asked.

  I really didn’t like this guy. I managed a tight smile and shook my head no. Although they had gone horseback riding and to a cattle auction together. I had told Mase to do both in hopes that I could win Aida over as the laid-back girlfriend, but it didn’t do any good. She still glared at me or shot me triumphant little grins whenever she left the house alone with Mase, like she had won some sort of competition. It was incredibly weird.

  “I’d watch that,” he said. “I asked Hawkins about them, and he said Aida wasn’t really Mase’s cousin. She’s his stepfather’s niece, and she’s also adopted. Girl looks like she has her eyes on your man.”

  “Captain, that’s enough. Mase is very taken with Reese. She’s moved to Dallas to live with him. And the way he watches over her is the same way Rush watches over me. Don’t go giving her things to worry about.”

  I appreciated Blaire’s words, but if what Captain said was true, then . . . was it possible Aida felt more for Mase than just a family bond? Did she want more? I cringed at the thought. That would be so messed-up if it were true.

  “You ain’t seen his cousin,” Captain said in response to Blaire’s remarks. “Long blond hair, all legs and curves. She’s something to look at.”

  What the heck? Was he trying to scare me? And why did this man dislike me so much? I hadn’t done anything to him. From the moment I met him, he’d been rude.

  “So, Reese, what do you do out there on a ranch all day?” Blaire asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

  Other than have sex with Mase, walk around, and clean, I did nothing, really. I needed to do something. I didn’t like living off Mase. I wanted to make my own money, and I wanted to get my GED. It was something I planned on talking to Mase about when we got back. I needed a plan for life.

  “I visited my family in Chicago for a month, but ever since I got back, I’ve just been spending time with Mase and hanging around the ranch. I need to get a job first thing we’re back. I haven’t started looking yet, but I’m thinking maybe cleaning work. And I’d like to go back to school.” I didn’t mention that school meant classes to get my GED, followed by an online college program, if I could save enough.

  “Do you enjoy cleaning houses?” Blaire asked.

  Not really, but for so long, it was all I could do. Now that I could read better, I had other options. I was just worried about whether I could focus on reading and writing in a pinch if I got stressed out on the job. “It isn’t my dream job, but I’m good at it. If something better came along, I’d take it. I want to move on from cleaning houses.”

  Blaire smiled. “Yeah, I wanted to move on from being a cart girl when I worked at the golf course, so I completely understand.”

  “Reese.” Mase’s voice was a relief, and I looked up to see him standing in front of me. His gaze shifted from me to Captain.

  “Kipling, was it?” he said, looking confused and a little angry.

  “Colt, was it? I hear it’s actually Manning,” Captain replied, and he looked up at Mase with a bored expression.

  “Mase, this is my brother, Captain, but his real name is River Kipling,” Blaire explained.

  “Brother?” Mase asked, shooting her a curious glance.

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  “Small world and all that shit,” Captain said.

  “Yeah,” Mase agreed, then held out a hand to me. “Thank you, Blaire, for watching over my girl and giving her some company. Harlow’s good and coming out to enjoy her daughter’s party now.”

  Blaire looked relieved. “Good.”

  I slipped my hand into Mase’s and stood up. “I enjoyed talking with you,” I said to Blaire, while avoiding eye contact with Captain.

  I thought I heard a low chuckle at my obvious slight of him, but I ignored it.

  “I’ll be by the ranch next week with Hawkins to see the cattle operation,” Captain said to Mase.

  Mase nodded his head. “See you then.”

  I could tell I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Captain River Kipling.

  We walked across the yard, and Mase got me another drink. As he turned to hand it to me, his eyes focused on something, or someone, behind me.

  “Kiro,” he said simply.

  Kiro. As in Kiro Manning. I’d watched Dean Finlay jump off a rock with his grandson into the water, and now Kiro Manning was standing behind me.

  “Glad you made it. Harlow wanted you here,” a deep voice replied.

  Mase glared at him. “I’ve never let my sister down.”

  The man behind me made a hmph sound, and Mase’s back went rigid. I reached over and ran a hand up his arm to
try to calm him.

  “You going to introduce me to your friend?” Kiro asked. I still hadn’t turned to look back at him.

  Mase gazed down at me, and I moved to face Kiro. He was just like all the photos I’d seen of him and moved the same way he did in the music videos. But he’d also abandoned his son for years. I couldn’t forgive him for that.

  “Kiro, this is my girlfriend, Reese. Reese, this is my father, Kiro Manning.”

  Kiro grinned at me and shook his head. “This boy doesn’t introduce any girls as his girlfriend. You must be something else.”

  “Uh, it’s, um . . . nice to meet you.” Kiro smirked. It looked so much like Mase’s smirk that I stared for a moment in fascination.

  “I got to go find my granddaughter and see if I can’t get her from Grant long enough to take her inside to see Emmy,” he said, then walked off.

  Mase didn’t seem surprised by his father’s abrupt departure at all. Instead, he touched my lower back and led me away. “Let’s find something to eat.”

  Mase

  Spending time with my sister and niece was nice, and I had missed them, but I was more than ready to get back to Texas with Reese. Having sex hadn’t been easy in my sister’s house, and I wanted Reese all to myself; Harlow kept taking her away from me. I knew Reese needed girlfriends—she had never really had any, and I wanted that for her—but I missed having her close.

  Once we got back to our own house, I breathed a sigh of relief. I grabbed the bag out of Reese’s hand and set it down before pulling her hard against me. I’d been tempted to do this on the plane, but I figured she’d be embarrassed that the attendant could hear us in the back, so I’d let her curl up on me and go to sleep.

  But we were in the privacy of our home now, and I wanted her naked.

  “Strip,” I said, and I jerked my shirt over my head.

  Reese laughed as she stood there and watched me unbuckle my jeans.

  “Not kidding, baby. I need in you now.”

  She didn’t laugh this time. Instead, she pulled off the shirt she was wearing and slipped out of her skirt. Just what I needed.

  “I’m not letting you out of that bedroom until tomorrow at the earliest,” I warned.

  She bit her bottom lip and finished slipping out of her panties. That sight never got old. “Prove it,” she taunted me.

  I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. I slapped her bare ass, making her squeal. Once we were in the bedroom, I put her in the middle of the bed. “We fuck first, then I’ll play,” I promised her.

  Reese flashed me a teasing grin and rolled over, sticking her bottom in the air as she got onto her hands and knees. I ran both hands over her plump bottom and down the backs of her thighs. “You wanted to fuck. So fuck me,” she said, glancing back at me.

  She was being brave. Making the first move. My sweet girl was being naughty. I fucking loved it. I bent over her and kissed her shoulder. “How do you want to be fucked, baby? Easy?”

  Reese shook her head. “No. I want you to fuck me the way you want to.”

  That was a loaded answer. But the first thing I did was kiss my freckle. Reese giggled as I paid that spot extra attention before moving a hand up between the silkiness of her inner thighs.

  “OK to fuck first? You sure?” I asked her as I ran my lips up where my hands had just been.

  “Yes, Mase. Fuck first,” she said, with a soft moan.

  Her wish was my command.

  I came up behind her, grabbing her hips and easing in, slowly at first, until she had taken all of me. Then I took what she wanted me to, but it wasn’t until I heard her scream my name over and over as her body trembled that I let out my own shout of pleasure.

  Arthur Stout was meeting me at the barn today. He had called yesterday, saying he wanted to talk to me about purchasing one of my older, well-broken quarters for his wife to use for the riding school she ran on their ranch. Normally, I only dealt with cattle when it came to the Stouts, but every once in a while, his wife needed a dependable horse for her classes. Arthur always came to me, and I had two for him to look at that I thought would fit Mrs. Stout’s needs.

  I had kissed Reese good-bye and left her in bed before the sun came up. It bothered me to know she would be there most of the day unless she came down to see me. She didn’t need that seclusion. Aida had gone to visit Grandma Colt for a few days with my mother, and it had been a relief to know I wouldn’t have to deal with her drama while I figured out how to make life fuller for Reese.

  Arthur’s F-450 pulled up, and I dusted the dirt off my hands and walked out to meet him. I’d bathed and brushed Buttercup and Rose for him to inspect. Both of them would be fourteen years old this year. They were the perfect age for new learners.

  “Morning, Mase,” Arthur called out as he walked down the hill to meet me.

  “Morning,” I replied, tilting my hat back so I could see him better.

  “It’s ’bout afternoon for a rancher, though, isn’t it, boy?” He chuckled.

  It was only nine in the morning, but he was right. We got up early enough for nine to be more like twelve for most folks. When he got to the hill, he looked out over my training ring and nodded. “Looks good. Things must be going well for you. Glad to see that.”

  “Yes, sir. Business is growing.”

  “Good, good,” he said, then took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “I’m here to see those horses like I called about, but I got another proposition for you, too. My wife’s business is growing, and she’s needing more help in the office part of things. Taking phone calls and making phone calls. Reading e-mails and answering them. Even just cleaning the tack and whatnot.” He paused and put his hat back on his head. “I heard your girlfriend was looking for a job. I liked the girl, and I think she’d work well with Piper.”

  Where had he heard Reese was looking for a job? She hadn’t said anything about it. I wasn’t sure I wanted her on the Stouts’ property, either. Not with Hawkins around.

  “I’m not real sure she’s looking for a job. She’s not mentioned it. Don’t know where you got that information, but she’s going to look into going back to school. I appreciate the offer, though.”

  Arthur looked disappointed, but he nodded. “Understood. Just thought I’d check. Piper has interviewed a few women, and they’ve been . . . older and treated her like, er, well, let’s just say it didn’t work out. She needs someone more her age.”

  I nodded that I understood, but I wasn’t entertaining this idea. “You ready to see the girls?” I said, and I headed toward the stalls without waiting for him to follow.

  Reese wasn’t looking for a job. If she was, she’d have told me. Wouldn’t she?

  Reese

  I fluffed the pillows on the sofa one more time before I continued pacing the living room. All day, I’d cleaned and thought about how I was going to tell Mase that I wanted a job. I also wanted to get my GED and take online college courses, but in order to do all that, I needed a steady income.

  Staying here all day was not going to be enough. Even with Mase’s two-hour lunch break, I needed something to do with the rest of my day. Telling Mase I wanted to have my own money and pay my own way wasn’t going to go well. I could just feel it. He would go all caveman and insist he could take care of me. I needed to go another route. I needed to emphasize that I wanted a purpose. I wanted to get out into the world and do something.

  He was a reasonable man. He would see what I was saying and understand.

  Before I could get more nervous, the door opened, and in walked Mase, looking dirty, sweaty, and very sexy. He was my own personal cowboy, and I loved that. Seeing the smile on his face was all I needed, wasn’t it? That smile made everything else seem less important. Did I want to upset him? Did I want to argue tonight? Or just curl up in his arms and talk about other things? Things that made him happy.

  Yes . . . no . . . ugh! I had to talk to him. I had to face this. It was my life. Our life. I had to
find my direction in it.

  “I want to get a job,” I blurted out, for fear that I wouldn’t say it if I waited. “I want to get a job and a GED and take college courses online.”

  There. I had said it.

  Mase stopped and studied me. He didn’t say anything for a moment, and I worried that I’d sounded ungrateful or unhappy. I wasn’t unhappy. I loved him. I loved being with him. I just needed more than being here all the time.

  “You want a job?” he asked. “Who have you mentioned that to?”

  I shook my head. “Just you,” I replied. I didn’t think I’d said it to anyone else, but maybe I had told Blaire, or was it Harlow? I couldn’t remember.

  “Why do you want a job?”

  “I want to make money. I don’t want you paying for my school and”—I held my hands out—“everything. I want to contribute. Staying here all day is . . . it’s not doing anything, really. I need to work. I need to get my GED.”

  Mase let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips as he studied his boots a moment. He was upset. I had upset him. This was what I didn’t want to do. I had opened my mouth to apologize when he looked back up at me. “OK. I understand. How do you feel about answering phone calls and e-mails and cleaning horse stalls?”

  What? Was he trying to give me a job? That wasn’t what I meant. He didn’t need me. He was making up a job for me. I had to feel more independent than this. I needed that security. “No, Mase. You can’t make up a job for me. You don’t need help. I have to get a job out in the world and bring money home.”

  A small grin tugged on his lips. “It wouldn’t be for me.”

  “Huh?”

  He reached down and pulled off his muddy boots and set them near the door, then walked toward me. “Arthur Stout’s wife, Piper, gives horse-riding lessons at their stables. She needs an assistant. Arthur offered you the job today.”

  He reached for my hand and held it in his like he was examining a priceless treasure in his palm. “You’d have to answer phones and take notes. Write them down. You’d have to read e-mails and reply to them. I didn’t tell Arthur about your dyslexia. That’s something for you to tell Piper if you want this job. I believe you can do it. I believe you can be the best damn assistant in the world. But I need to know if you believe it.”