Chapter Four

Sunday was a day of rest for almost everyone at At-Ease. Not for Stone. Sunday was paperwork day. Since none of the other yahoos stepped up to tackle that pain-in-the-ass chore, it fell on him to record and file receipts, as well as make sure the material for each job the upcoming week was either in the storage barn at the ranch or set to deliver on-site. It was also the day he worked on estimates.

Provided he could find the damn specs.

He shuffled through the papers on his desk—for the second time that morning—then bent to inspect the piles on the floor. Where the hell was it? He was supposed to call the McGregors with a total tonight. Foxtrot Construction needed this job.

The McGregors owned the feed store in Joyful, and two more in neighboring towns. Stone had met with them on Friday to walk the property and discuss their store expansion, and was excited to discover they also wanted their supply shed torn down and a bigger one built in its place. If Foxtrot landed this job and nailed the construction, there was a good chance they’d get the contracts for the other two stores, too. Which meant they could catch up on their bills, and best of all…hire more vets.

But not without that damn paper.

Muttering a curse, Stone dropped to his knees, hoping his notes had fallen onto the pile in front of his desk. He should’ve worked on the damn estimate last night, instead of sitting at the Beer and Steer, draining a pitcher and thinking about his sexy new tenant.

“What the hell are you doing on the floor? Lose a contact?”

He eye-rolled his brother. “More like a contract if I don’t find the McGregor paper.”

“Sure you’re not in here hiding from a certain hot tenant due to arrive any minute?”

No. All right…yeah, that too. He’d sported two hard-ons because of her yesterday, and one of them lasted long into the night. Damn woman woke his body up. Not something his big-mouth brother needed to know.

Stone sat back and glared at the idiot grinning at him from the doorway. “Instead of razzing my ass, do something useful and help me look.”

“So, you’re saying you’re not in here hiding from Jovy?”

He shook his head. “No. Of course not.” Not exactly a lie. He needed to find the damn paper. And he wasn’t at all surprised Brick completely ignored his plea for help. His brother hated paperwork even more than Stone. “I’m look—”

“Good.” His brother nodded toward the window overlooking the driveway. “Because she just pulled up.”

Stone stilled. Damn pulse kicked up, too. Christ. The woman wasn’t even in the house and she affected his body.

A knock sounded on the door.

“You might want to get up off the floor, bro, unless you’re deliberately flaunting your ass at her.” Brick grinned. “It is your good side.”

“Fuck you,” Stone growled, rising to his feet.

His brother’s chuckle faded into the hall as he answered the front door. “Jovy! So great to see you. Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

“Not at all,” she replied, smile evident in her tone. “It was a nice ride. Great scenery.”

A warmth spread through Stone’s body. He blamed the heat on the exertion of getting off the floor, not her pleasant voice. Nope. It had absolutely nothing to do with their visitor.

“Is Stone around? I met with the courier and want to give him the money I owe.”

At the sweet sound of his name on her lips, shivers ricocheted down his spine. No way could he blame that reaction on rising to his feet. Nor could Stone ignore the fact that he liked it. A lot. Too much.

Dammit.

“Yeah, he’s right in here, trying to find a needle in a paper stack,” Brick replied.

Stone had barely regained control of his pulse when the beauty breezed into the office and promptly sucked the air right out of the room. Looking cool, yet hot as hell with her hair in another ponytail, she wore a strapless peach sundress that hugged her delectable chest while showing off the soft, supple skin he was trying his best to forget.

Once again, Jovy stirred life into his body. She didn’t say anything. Didn’t touch him. Just walked into the damn room and stole his breath…along with a few brain cells. All he could do was stand there and stare, wondering if she wore a bra.

Not exactly his finest moment, especially with his idiot brother smirking at him from behind the woman’s back.

Bastard.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice Stone’s condition. She was too busy gazing around the office with her own slack-jawed expression.

“Oh. Wow.” She blinked and scanned the room again. “What happened in here?” Her hand rose to her throat. “Were you ransacked? Did you call the police?”

The concern, deepening the brown in her hazel eyes, caught him off guard.

Stone shook his head. “No—”

“This is how the office always looks,” Brick cut him off.

“Oh.” She cleared her throat—the one she still gripped. “I see.”

Was her eye twitching?

His brother leaned against the doorframe. “Jovy wants to make her payment. Then it’s time to eat.”

Distaste tightened her features. Stone didn’t know if the look was the result of having to sit down to a table with meat entrées, or if the state of the office was to blame. Probably the latter.

“Yes. Here.” She released her throat to dig in her purse and came out with a handful of cash.

Hallelujah.

Relief eased through his chest. When he added her payment to the ones in the safe, he had enough for the loan and could pay earlier than the end of the grace period for a change. A smile tugged his lips.

That felt good. Damn good.

Almost as good as the brush of her fingers against his palm. Or the smell of that damn flowery perfume of hers. Or was that her hair? The urge to lean closer and sniff was strong.

“I’m sorry it’s late, but I swear I didn’t know.” Her gaze was open and honest, and widened a fraction as awareness buzzed between them. She released the money and drew her hand away. “Th-thank you for giving me a few days’ grace. I promise not to be late on the others.”

Stone nodded, then turned his back on her to tuck the money in the safe…and keep his hands to himself. The woman was full of surprises and too irresistible for his control.

It was going to be a long four weeks.

…

How was she ever going to get through the next month?

Jovy walked next to Stone toward a dozen men seated at the longest table she’d ever seen, flanked by two equally long benches. Several guys had shoulder-length hair, two were bald, some wore beards, and the rest sported a buzz cut. Not a man-bun in sight. One thing they all had in common, though, was a hungry expression. She could relate. Her stomach rumbled in appreciation of the delicious-smelling breakfast and lunch entrées that covered the sixteen-foot table centered in the open living room/dining room.

“Here they come now.” Brick rose to his feet, and she tried to keep the surprise from her face when all the men at the table followed suit, showing manners she hadn’t seen often. “Everyone, this is Jovy, one of our tenants from town. Jovy, these men are the heart and soul of Foxtrot Construction.”

She smiled and nodded a greeting as realization dawned. The men standing before her with rigid postures and more of that quiet discipline were all military. “Foxtrot. You’re the group I heard about in town.” Admiration warmed her chest. The Mitchum brothers weren’t just landlords, they were part owners of a construction company that employed veterans.

Brick smiled. “It was Stone’s idea.”

Supplying jobs to those in need and teaching them a trade in the process was more than admirable. She met Stone’s gaze. “It was a good one.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, like she’d caught him by surprise, before he nodded and helped her sit. As Jovy settled on the bench between the two brothers, she acknowledged that the sparks between them were stronger than the day before. So strong, it was a wonder his office hadn’t caught fire when she’d first walked in. Especially with all the paper tossed about.

What she wouldn’t give to have free rein in that room.

Her eye twitched.

The business side of her had nearly gone into convulsions at the sight of the chaos. It had taken all her willpower to keep her hands off the man’s paperwork—and his body. She glanced at Stone from under her lashes, and a fluttering whispered through her stomach. Damn, he was hot.

“Vince is making something special for you in the kitchen.” His low tone sent goose bumps skittering down her side. “But I hope you don’t mind passing the platters around. That’s usually how we do brunch.” He reached for a dish of bacon and knocked a mound onto his plate before passing it to the man on his left.

“Sure,” she replied, forcing back disappointment at missing out on the mouthwatering crispiness.

On the drive in, she had given herself a hearty pep talk to prepare to eat a meatless meal. But the smell of all the meat being passed around proved to be too much. Her stomach growled. Loud.

Apparently it didn’t get the memo.

Stone took a plate of sausage links from her and smiled. “I’m sure your food will be right out.”

Great. She could hardly wait for her tasteless dish. Although, if the aroma from these entrées was anything to go by, Vince could probably make cardboard taste delicious.

She returned Stone’s smile and refused to let her gaze linger on the ham Brick passed to her. This was her punishment for lying about her meatless preference. If she hadn’t opened her big mouth yesterday, she could be experiencing food nirvana right now. Idiot. At the time, it had made sense. Good business sense. And business was the reason she was in Texas. Not to pig out.

Jovy straightened her shoulders. She was a Larson. She’d persevere. It was doable. She could handle it. Although…damn…she’d much rather handle the platter of biscuits and sausage gravy—right into her stomach.

Come on. Seriously? Sausage gravy? She didn’t get food like this back home.

“So, Jovy,” Stone said as he loaded a helping onto his plate. “What made you want to open a meatless café in Texas?” He turned to study her. “Is it some sort of trial run to prove to your grandfather you can handle a business?”

Damn. Her heart rocked in her chest. The man was shrewd. And thorough. He must’ve researched her online. Which made sense. She was renting off him. Duh. She nodded, passing him a plate of scrambled eggs. Her stomach cried out for those eggs.

“Why only lease for a month?” he asked, those incredible gray eyes of his still boring deep.

Her mind scrambled to come up with a truthful answer. Something told her the man didn’t suffer liars. Shoot. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. A stone and a hard place. Despite having no plans to act on their attraction, she felt compelled to be as honest as possible with him, and yet, even though her grandfather hadn’t forbidden her to talk about the contest, it had sort of been implied.

“Is there a chance you’ll stay longer?” Brick asked before she replied, forcing her to drop Stone’s gaze and turn the other way.

“Possibly.” If she didn’t win. There was no way she could work at Larson Industries, day in and day out, knowing she’d failed her father.

That scenario had never crossed her mind. Until now. She immediately shook it off. She intended to win. There was no other option.

“A woman with the name Jovy belongs in a town called Joyful,” Brick stated. “Isn’t that right, Leo?” He addressed the quiet man seated across from them next to Cord.

Her heart squeezed at the shadows she saw in Leo’s eyes as he nodded. If anyone needed to be at the At-Ease Ranch, it was this man.

Brick handed her another platter and winked. “You improve the scenery.”

Stone stiffened next to her as a few of the other men smiled in agreement.

Heat rose up to her cheeks. It’d been a long time since she was paid a compliment. Maybe the next four weeks weren’t going to be so bad. A pleasant thought she repeated in her head as she passed a plate of fried chicken to Stone followed by garlic mashed potatoes. Maybe her meal would taste as delicious as this food smelled. It was possible. She needed to remain strong. Perse—

Brick set a plate of sizzling steaks in her hands.

Ah, come the frig on!

That was mean. Her stomach growled for the hundredth time, and for a split second, the room grew faint as the succulent aroma tested her resolve…and her ability to hold the plate still.

“Here, let me help you.” Stone grabbed the dish as if he thought it was too heavy for her.

Bless him. It wasn’t the weight of the T-bones, it was the weight of not being able to eat the damn steak. Heck, she was so hungry, she’d even eat the bone.

Swallowing back her drool, she forced her fingers to release the plate to Stone, and grumbled a thank-you while her stomach mourned the loss.

“Okay, Jovy.” Vince entered the room with pancakes, fruit, and some kind of delicious-smelling zucchini that sizzled on the plate he set in front of her. “I cooked everything on a separate stove, so you don’t have to worry about the cross-contamination of gluten.”

Her heart squeezed and meat envy dissipated at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, Vince. My stomach appreciates it. Trust me.” Too many nights she’d spent in the bathroom paying the price for other people’s negligence.

Pride lit his face. “The pancakes were made with almond flour, flax seed, and almond milk, so enjoy.”

“Thanks, I will.”

She spent the next ten minutes listening to the men talk about construction while she fed the beast in her stomach. The Jersey boy was unquestionably an aficionado in the kitchen. Her food was so delicious she almost forgot about the steak. Almost. Her gaze lingered on the last two T-bones Vince slapped on two plates he took out the back door.

Stone followed her gaze, then turned to face her, keeping his voice low. “There are a few guys who have trouble dealing with crowds. Vince always takes their meals to their quarters in the stable we converted.”

Jovy wanted to ask more, but wasn’t sure if her question would upset the other men. She nodded and focused on her food again, but her appetite waned.

Her problems, her plight, seemed foolish compared to what the men on the ranch had gone through. Seen. Were still dealing with.

She set her fork down and pushed her plate away, happy to have at least made a good dent in her specially prepared food.

“You okay?” Stone asked.

“Yes. Just full.” The concern in his gaze made it hard to breathe. She searched for something to say. Anything that would cut through the weird haze his concern put in her head.

“Jovy,” Brick said, capturing her attention. “Would you like a tour of the ranch?”

Despite having over a hundred things left to do before V-Spot officially opened on Wednesday, she was in no hurry to leave. Weird. She smiled. “Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”

“Good. I’m sure Stone won’t mind showing you around.” Brick rose from the table with his empty plate and slapped his stunned brother on the back.

Great. She couldn’t very well back out now. And heaven help her, she didn’t want to.