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THE SLAMMING DOOR SIGNALED that Stryker had left the office in a huff again. It was week three of Avery’s job, and it had been a tumultuous time. Renee kept watching Stryker and Avery’s interactions, Seamus had dropped by to check on them periodically, and Declan sat in the office a little longer than normal. Callen, who in some ways reminded Avery of Ben except, of course, that he worked his family property, had stayed away as much as possible. And Avery was feeling at odds with the world.
Whenever she and Stryker worked on anything, the tension was almost crippling. Her attraction was interfering in every pocket of her life. She dreamed of him, both day and night. She was hypervigilant when he entered or exited a room, finding it hard to concentrate on anything but him. When she drove to or from work, she anticipated his next moves or rehashed those things he had already done.
When Renee walked into the front room, Avery was sitting at her desk typing. She dreaded what Renee would say because Stryker’s state of mind had to be concerning to her.
“Hey, can I get you some coffee?”
“Thanks, but I’d rather have Lady Grey if you don’t mind.”
“Sure.” Renee flipped the electric kettle on. “So, what was the problem this time?”
Avery shrugged. “I’m not positive. Is he always so moody? I mean, at first, I thought he just had to get used to me being here, then when I moved things in the office so I could work better, he must not have been happy about that. But now, today is a complete conundrum.”
“Honestly? No, he isn’t usually out of control. I think one of the things bothering him is change, which is what you represent right now. See, Tauna has worked with us for three years, and in that time, she’s figured out our peculiarities.” Renee set a cup of Lady Gray in front of Avery before sitting across from her.
“How am I to compete with that?” Avery asked as she dunked her tea bag several times.
“No one expects you to know those oddities, but when Stryker is working on a project, he gets into these tunnel-vision zones, and you can’t shake him out of them easily. Tauna learned what his needs were without him saying too much, and that’s how he’s been able to continue in several cave-man behaviors.”
“It isn’t the best scenario, but it kept the peace. Because, if you haven’t noticed, my brother is serious about business. I mean, they all are. Seamus is serious about the ranch, Declan about teaching, Callen about having fun, but he takes care of the guests, too.”
“And what are you serious about, Renee?”
“Freedom. It’s what my name means, freedom.”
Avery cocked her head to the side. “Renee?”
“No, Saoirse. I go by my middle name.”
“Seersha? That’s a lovely name. But if it bothers you so much to be here, then why don’t you leave?”
“Oh, not from the ranch but from my over-protective, nosey brothers.”
“Ah. And how is that going to ever end? I have two brothers, so I know they can be annoying sometimes, but I’m stuck with them.”
“Well, it will get so much better after they get their own woman to protect.”
“But, if what you say is true, except for Callen, who may get caught out of recklessness, it will be a while.”
Renee sighed in frustration. “I’m afraid so. I want my brothers to find their one and only, but Stryker’s version of the mating dance is driving me crazy.”
“What? Does he have a girlfriend?”
“Not yet.” Renee stared at Avery.
“Oh, now wait. I admit he is a little intense and has gotten under my skin at times, but that’s it. Like you said, it’s all-new, and he hates that.”
“Has he started taking over yet? Because he will. Just wait,” smiled Renee knowingly. “And I hope it happens quickly, so the tension will lessen, and we can actually get some work done.”
The women were quiet for a moment. Avery considered that Stryker might like her in the way she was attracted to him. Then she thought of the problems that would create in her life. She needed to figure out where she stood at home before it went too far here, and she was hopelessly wrapped up in Stryker.
Hoping to change the subject, Avery asked, “Hey, can I ask why you all, or most of you have Irish names with your Native American last name?”
Renee smiled. “Easy, mom is Irish. She was born and raised in Ireland, which is why they are spending a year there.”
“But the name Stryker isn’t Irish, is it?”
“No, but my dad got to name the first son, and he wanted Stryker, but his middle name is Lachlan.”
Avery nodded and blew on her tea before taking a sip. “Ah, that makes sense.” She took another sip. “How long did it take for Stryker and Tauna to figure things out between them?”
“Three years.”
“But you said...”
“Right, she was here three years. So now you know that this isn’t anything you’re going to be able to remedy as a temp.”
“I guess, but she isn’t coming back for a while yet. How do I proceed?” Avery was preparing herself for weeks of Stryker being moody.
Renee leaned forward and sat her cup on Avery’s desk. “Monday’s upset was you moved the furniture around. I like it, but Stryker likes familiarity. It’s more efficient, so he couldn’t complain. He was outbid on a piece of equipment he wanted for the ranch, so he slammed out to say he doesn’t like change or not getting his way. Infantile, I know, but there it is.”
Avery nodded. “And I didn’t know his routine. Yesterday was about his meeting that he had worked hard to set up. It fell through because several participants were arguing over something.”
“He hates arguing. He is a rule follower and expects others to be as well. Canceling a meeting that took weeks to coordinate is a no-go in his book. He needed to clear his head.”
“Okay, so what about today? There has been nothing moved, nothing changed.”
“Well, today’s tipping point was Tauna called and said she and Peter discussed things, and since he now makes enough, she is going to stay home with the baby.”
“I would want to do that too.”
“And if he were honest, he’d want that for his family as well. Probably not a big deal because his family would be living on the ranch anyway. I’m not sure I would want to stay home, but I do understand her thoughts. So, you have nothing to do with it today. Except I may have told him to get his head out of his ass and offer you the full-time permanent position.”
“What?” Avery sat her cup down solidly on the desk.
Renee gave Avery a puzzled look. “Yep. Don’t you want it?”
“Oh, well, sure, I guess,” she shrugged. “I never considered it might be permanent.”
Renee looked over the top of her raised coffee cup at Avery. “The true problem with offering you the full-time positions is he’s sexually frustrated because he’s interested in you but can’t reconcile that either. And if you were here every day... well, you can see the dilemma.”
Did that mean he would treat her differently, now? Did it mean that dreaming about his muscular arms around her was all she would ever get?
Renee leaned back and shrugged. “Maybe I did drop you in the soup by doing that, but we need an assistant, and you need a job. If you want to know the rest of the truth-telling today, the man is irritated because it has likely dawned on him that he not only is a creature of habit, but he has also become too dependent on another person. In this case, Tauna, because she was familiar and interpreted his needs before he vocalized them.”
Avery squinted her eyes, trying to understand. “So that makes him more vulnerable? That isn’t always a bad thing.”
Renee took a sip of her tea and made a face. “And if you learn nothing about my brothers, they do not like to be dependent on anyone. They do like to be obeyed, however. It’s a character flaw they all have.”
“Yes, I guess most men are like that.”
“Are they? If I got out more, I might have known that.” Renee laughed mischievously. “Anyway, Declan will be back in today to do more work. He doesn’t have a class on Wednesday afternoon. I guess you’ve figured that Dec doesn’t hang out here much during working hours because half of his classes are daytime classes.
“You should also know that if anything happens and you need help, you can honestly call on the guys, including the ranch hands. We take care of each other, and with so many testosterone-infused men, especially the cowboy wannabe’s coming in and out weekly, you never know, another one might step over the line. The guys will put a stop to it immediately.”
“Thanks, but I can handle things myself. I’ve done it for quite a while now.”
“I figured, but if things do out of hand and you haven’t mentioned anything to Stryker, you can forget him slamming out. You will be in front of the firing squad.” Renee smiled. “Honestly, it’s just easier if one of the guys deals with any real problem. We have to log in every incident, so it would help if we knew about them.”
“Oh, right. Okay, should I ever get into any trouble, I’ll let someone know.”
“One more thing, Avery. I wasn’t just talking when I said my brother is into you. He really is.”
Avery didn’t want to risk looking into Renee’s eyes and giving too much away. “You could have fooled me on most days.”
“I know, but men are stupid, remember? I promise he really does. In fact,” Renee stopped talking and shook her head. She stood. “Well, we better get back to work before everyone comes in for their checks.”
Avery’s head spun with the sudden change of conversation. Avery got her thoughts together. “Why don’t you do direct deposit?”
“We do for some, but half the guys don’t even have accounts anywhere. They cash out at the Cattleman’s Bar.”
“I haven’t been there in a while. You want to go tonight after work?” asked Avery.
“Hell yeah. But don’t tell Stryker. He might find a reason for me to stay home. He is such a worrier.”
“Stryker? Really? He seems to be in control of the whole world sometimes. I wouldn’t think he’d worry about anything. He’d just manipulate it to his liking.”
“Over his family, you bet he worries. You’ll see. When you accept the full-time position, things will change for you too. You’ll be hiding your night-time activities like me.”
Avery laughed. “Cohorts in crime. Sounds like fun.”
“Unless you get caught,” said Renee cryptically.
Avery fell into a nervous laugh to cover her unease over the implication of Renee’s words. They returned to their respective work ending the awkwardness after such a statement and Avery’s opportunity to ask what Renee meant.
Avery sat at her desk, wondering what Ben would say when she announced she was staying at the ranch. Because if Stryker asked her to stay, she would. She was misreading too many things lately. Ben and Stryker, to name a few. When Stryker referred to himself as daddy, she had over-reacted. Guys liked to refer to themselves as daddy, right? She was sure she’d read that in a magazine somewhere. At least that’s what she told herself, even if she couldn’t think why.
Avery had rolled her eyes when Stryker strode out of the office for the third time, but he was a good boss. He was irritated, and instead of taking it out on others, he went for a walk or a ride and cleared his head. That gave him brownie points in her estimation.
Ben would not handle things so well when she told him later this afternoon that she was staying permanently. Avery was done looking for an out for her brother’s interpretation of farm trouble. She had stopped after that first week, but she’d been a chicken to tell Ben. She was now convinced that it was him and not the family in dire straits.
It was a good thing she never had to disclose what she was trying to do that first week to the Red Eagles. Stryker would really blow his top, and she felt sure he would not be leaving the office to cool off after that nugget of news. She would be doing the exiting. Avery did intend to have a conversation with her father, though. She had put it off for too long.
***
DAMN, IF HE DIDN’T know what had gotten into him. He could control his emotions better than he had these last weeks. Stryker finally admitted to himself as he rode the fence line to clear his head that it was Avery. It wasn’t really her, but because of her, that he was on a short fuse. There was no more denying that he wanted to go further with Avery, see if she was as interested as he was about getting together. Stryker had tried to distract himself and finally had to be honest. He didn’t want Avery to take the position because he had wanted to date her.
Dating employees was not a good idea. Not that he had any experience, but it seemed like a good business rule. And he did follow the rules when he could; however, sometimes, rules and happiness didn’t always mesh. That’s when you broke them.
He wanted to make his dreams, both day and night, come alive. No other woman had affected him this way. He’d hoped that after a few weeks, her charms and attraction would become normal, and his libido would settle down, but if anything, they had risen. Avery would unconsciously lean into him if he touched her arm or shoulder as he worked with her.
The pulse in her neck pounded when she watched him work. When he steered Avery from a room with his hand on her back, she shivered. Her scent blew him away as it lingered to haunt him after she left his office. And she used sir when she thought she had overstepped her authority or wanted her way. He smiled at the total package that was Avery Emerson.
He hailed Seamus and Carter down. “How’s it going with this round of visitors?”
“Except the banker who swears this isn’t how you run cattle; the rest are a decent lot.” Seamus cocked his head. “Why are you out here again today?”
“Tauna quit,” Stryker blurted without preamble.
“I expected it.” Seamus kicked the dirt, creating a small dust cloud.
“Yeah, that’s what Renee said, but I really was holding out hope that she’d decide to come back.” Stryker’s hand combed through his short hair.
Carter looked out across the pasture. “So, you could date Avery.”
“What? No. Yes. Am I that obvious?”
Carter grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “Yes, to those who know you.”
“Well, I need to offer her the job, so I’d better get back.”
“And ask her out?” asked Seamus.
“Not right now. One thing at a time.” Stryker looked out over the lush land before them. “It’s never been this difficult before. It’s almost like I’m too invested in her answer.”
“Listen, I’ve seen a few hands sniffing around her, so I wouldn’t take too long,” said Seamus.
“What? Right. If you see them again, you had better put a stop to it.”
Carter laughed. “You got it bad. I’ve seen you with women before, but you never seemed this interested. Well, except for—”
“Enough. Avery is different. I feel different. Anyway, watch my back and steer the hounds away, will you?”
“Roger that,” said Seamus.
Stryker introduced himself to the guest cowboys while thinking of Avery and which ones she would take a liking to if they showed her attention. He wondered how she would take the offer of a permanent job. Surprisingly, she hadn’t mentioned or shown any sign of ever realizing her reaction to his “daddy” lapse over the snake incident. It would help him to know, whether he progressed in his wanting to start something with her or not.
Yesterday, she hadn’t flinched when he had given her a hard look, and his eyes directed her to sit down when the intoxicated Duder had stumbled into the office by mistake. She did sit, but she wasn’t scared or intimidated. Tough woman.
Avery had tried to help the inebriated man back out of the office, but he was unruly. That drew Stryker out of his office. She’d stood her ground, and Stryker admired her for that toughness, but she hadn’t called him. He wanted to spank her ass for it, too. She needed to understand that trying to handle the situation without assistance, putting herself in danger needlessly, was unacceptable. If she stayed, that shit would have to stop.
He would have a talk with her about the position that Tauna had just left. Stryker didn’t blame his assistant for her decision, he’d want his wife to stay home too, but it put them all in a little bit of a bind. He had some thinking to do, and so did Avery. Stryker wanted her to have all the information she needed to make a good choice.
It also meant he would have to wait for a while before taking her out. He’d have to work on her slowly so that there was no pressure on her to accept. Patience had never been his strong suit. That was Seamus’ gig. Stryker never wanted to give up once he set his eye on the prize.
Oh well. His mother always said, “Patience doesn’t mean not ever, just not now.” He wanted Avery; of that, he was sure. His pants remained tight most of the day, but he and his cock could wait a while longer. How compatible they would be was anyone’s guess, but she liked his daddy persona. He was positive that he liked her submission.
For now, he would work on the next plan for the ranch, family holiday packages specific to life on the ranch and the winter sports in town. Renee and Avery had come up with the idea, and he was researching the options. The proposition looked promising. So did Avery.
***
BY THE TIME AVERY WAS done with work for the day, Stryker hadn’t returned. But it seemed Renee was unconcerned. She came out of her office and headed for the door.
“Go home and get ready. I’m a stickler for having dinner between five and six, so you’d better leave now. I’ll meet you there right at five. Deal?”
“Stryker won’t mind?” Somehow, Avery had a feeling he would.
“I’ll tell him I sent you home.”
“But... won’t he get upset, given the mood he was in earlier? And he’ll probably ask questions.”
“He’s walked it off by now. And I know how to throw him off the trail. Besides, I don’t mind telling him where we were after the fact. It’s just before we go that he can imagine all sorts of trouble. Go home. I can already taste those ribs. See you at Cattleman’s in a little more than an hour.”
“Right.”
Twenty minutes later, Avery drove onto the farm. Ben waved her down as she climbed out of her car. “What, Ben? I have plans tonight.”
“What did you find? I’m out of time.”
Avery squinted her eyes and gave her brother a hard stare. “You’re out of time?”
“We’re out of time. Now tell me what you found.” Ben seemed jumpier and more agitated than he usually was with her.
“I’m going to ask Dad,” Avery said as she shut the car door and pushed past her brother.
“No, he went to Rapid City. To the bank. Yes, to the bank. He won’t be back until later.”
Something wasn’t right because Ben was lying through his teeth. She could play along until she got to her father. It was the best way.
Avery played along. “Probably to work with the bank to fix the issue. I’ll talk to him when I get home later.”
“Yes, you do that, but I have to have something to use. Or maybe you could get the loan yourself.”
Not likely since her dad had excellent credit and the local bank trusted him. “How much? I have savings.”
“Twenty grand.”
Avery almost lost her footing. “Twenty thousand dollars?” Avery shook her head and pushed past her brother again. “I don’t have that kind of money, but dad can put some land up for collateral.”
Ben moved in front of her again. “That won’t work.”
“Yes, it will. You’re acting really odd, and I’m getting a funny feeling you aren’t truthful. I’m going out tonight, so I don’t have time for this crap.” She shoved past him and climbed the steps to the house. He didn’t follow her.
Half an hour later, Avery walked out and climbed back into her car. Ben showed up out of nowhere to lean over her driver’s side window.
“Back up, Ben.” Avery put her car into reverse.
“Please, Avery. Just give me whatever you’ve found.”
“Nothing, I have found absolutely nothing because there’s nothing to find. The Red Eagles are nice people running legitimate businesses.”
Ben looked stricken, almost frightened, but Avery was done with his games. She’d fallen for his ruse the first time but not again.
“I hope you figure something out,” said Avery, “Like get a job yourself.” She looked hard at Ben, and he backed up. “You need to know that I’m not going to keep looking. Something is fishy, and I intend to get to the bottom of things.”
Her brother looked wild-eyed. “No, you aren’t. It could get dangerous. I’ve told you all of the important parts.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, these are nice people, and they wouldn’t do anything underhanded. Everything is as it seems, unlike this situation with you.”
Avery pulled out of the drive and didn’t look back. Calling her best friend Janna to join them, Avery pushed her brother's issues out of her mind and was determined to enjoy her evening.