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Her day had just gotten exponentially worse. Jude knew the instant Martin, her accidental rescuer, followed his brother outside that Michael was going to hear everything. Learn every detail of what had happened to her.
Of course, the one Tyler she had never wanted to see again had been there in the place she’d been promised she’d be utterly safe. Damn her luck. That was the way it would go for her.
She must have royally angered the Fates in a previous life.
She couldn't stand the thought. She couldn't stay there, she just couldn't. Every bit of progress she’d ever made where men were concerned would be eroded in just one day.
She had convinced herself she’d handled the incident with Michael in a healthy, logical, normal manner. He had only been playing the game for one night. Trying to get a little action from the poor woman with car trouble, like a piece of man scum or something. She had walked right into his grasp.
She’d been angry at herself for weeks after that. Had vowed not to be so stupidly trusting again.
He hadn’t been interested in anything real.
He’d proven that when he’d taken her card and run.
And she’d known. He hadn’t wanted her at all. He’d just wanted a piece of...ass.
Well, she wasn’t ever about to let herself be used like that. Not by any man.
Even if his kiss had been the gentlest kiss she’d ever had.
It was just a matter of time before everyone she knew was talking about what had happened. Looking at her with pity.
It was going to be made so much worse because of Michael.
Without her car, she was stuck. At least for the night. In the morning, she'd call Linsey, have her friend come for her.
All she had to do was make it through one night.
One night with Michael. And his brothers.
Alone. On a ranch forty miles from town. With at least three men that she didn't truly know. The one man she did know even a little hadn’t exactly impressed her with his sense of...honor, if she could call it that.
Jude fought the panic. She had learned long ago how to get through tough situations without losing control of herself. She would again.
She wasn’t helpless. She could get through this just fine.
Only the fact that the sheriff had assured her she'd be safe had brought her there.
She considered that for a moment. Joel was a good man. He wouldn’t put her in situation like this with men he didn’t trust.
There weren’t many people in Masterson County she honestly trusted. Joel Masterson’s mother topped that list. Joel was on the list by mere association.
Jude hadn’t forgotten that.
"Sorry about Michael, he can be a bit abrupt," Chandler said, showing her into the home. He gave her what could only be described as a coaxing smile. “He...gets a bit antsy sometimes.”
He was looking at her like she was a terrified kitten or something. She dutifully followed him into the kitchen minutes after Joel had left.
"And he hates social workers," Jude said before she thought it out.
"Get that a lot?"
Her cheeks heated. “I met him before. He's told me then.” After giving her the hottest kiss of her entire life. Taking her card, turning it over, seeing what she did for a living—and walking away.
He hadn’t even bothered to give the card back to her.
Rather hard to forget that.
Chandler's face showed his surprise. "You know him?"
"I...didn't know he would be here. I met him before..." Her gaze strayed toward the door. Toward the barn she could see through the window. Where Michael was. Taller than his brothers, shoulders broad and strong. “He doesn't want me here. It’s...I can’t make him uncomfortable by being here. I can call my colleague. She can take me to the inn. I’ll just get a room there and stay hidden. I should have gone there to begin with. It made the most sense."
He was already shaking his head. “No. You're more than welcome here. Michael is just the crankiest of us at times. Usually because there's a lot going on around this place that he has to keep going. The ranch is all of ours, but Michael runs it and takes the largest share of the profits. We all pitch in when we're needed, but the ranch is Michael’s heart place, and we all know that. As for the social workers thing—he has good reason. But that’s a story for later.”
Jude looked around the kitchen. It was a bit dated, but...homey. Like all who came in were welcome. There wasn't a single feminine touch anywhere in the room, except for the floral potholders on hooks next to the stove. There was a bag of flour sitting on the counter. It was the only thing that was out of place.
The brothers apparently liked things neat. It could be comfortable here, for the ones who lived here. They were lucky to have this place, to have each other.
"I...he doesn't like me. He made that very clear the last time I spoke with him. I just..."
"Listen, at least stay the night. That’s all. A safe bed for the night. I promise. Hell, I’ll sleep out in the hallway with my rifle to protect you, if you want. You can take Maggie's room; it’s not like she needs it, shacking up with Gunderson and all." He shot her a very handsome grin. He had her bag in his strong hands. And she had a feeling she wasn't about to get it back. "Let us feed you dinner. You'll be safe here. Maybe Joel will have the answers by tomorrow. In the meantime, I've got this new recipe I've been dying to try out with chicken, cream of mushroom and kale. My idiot brothers don't care what I feed them as long as it's not charred. They eat no better than animals at times. I learned how to cook in self-defense, I swear.”
So this brother cooked, too. There was genuine niceness in his blue eyes. Every Tyler she'd met had those same blue eyes. She felt some of the tension running through her lessen. A little. It was getting late. She was almost an hour away from town now. That would be a long drive for Linsey.
Jude didn't want to have to inconvenience anyone any more than she already had, just to come get her. She didn’t want to put that kind of strain on anyone. Not if she didn’t have to.
She’d promised the sheriff she’d stay right here. Where he could find her if he had any questions. Her working relationship with the sheriff was one she didn’t want to screw up. She found herself nodding. "But only if you let me do something to help."
Jude had learned to earn her keep very early on in life. She was comfortable with that. She couldn’t just stay here and do nothing to show her appreciation.
"Great. I'm pretty picky about who I let at my stove, but...you can set the table. First, I'll carry your bag to Maggie's room. She left some stuff in the attached bath. Everything you could possibly need, I think, including jeans and t-shirts. But if there is something else you need, let me know. I will get it for you.”
Jude smiled at him, her first real smile since...the nightmare had begun two nights ago. To her shock, tears filled her eyes. Because of his kindness. "I...I'm sorry. I'm just a bit overwhelmed, and I didn’t sleep well—after.”
"Hey, none of the waterworks, kid." He handed her a tissue from the box on the counter. Jude wiped her eyes quickly, fighting the horrible embarrassment with everything she had. "You've been through a rough time; you're allowed to cry. Nothing I haven't seen before, anyway. My sister Maggie was a bit of a crier as a teen. I dried her tears plenty of times. Usually after she had to deal with Martin or Michael.”
"She was lucky to have all of you."
"I know. Not so sure she does, though." He gave her a crooked grin. One that he shared with his brother Michael. That had her breath catching again. "It's the curse of being one of the younger brothers. Martin and Michael always got to be the heroes around here, being the eldest. They got to have the best adventures, too. By the time the rest of us could, Martin and Michael had already done them—and gotten in trouble for them. They were hellions."
Michael.
She so didn't think she could face him. "How many brothers are there?"
"There are five of us, and one Maggie. She was enough trouble when we were kids to be ten girls, though. Martin is the eldest, then Michael is a year younger. Then poor little me—I’m in the middle of us brothers. The twins Kaece and Reese come after me fourteen months later. Then our parents took a break from babies for four years. Rumor has it the twins may have been extreme handfuls. Maggie was born five years after the twins. We're all house trained; I promise. Even Michael." He turned serious. One hand cupped her elbow gently. Jude was proud of herself for not jerking away at the unfamiliar touch. Four years ago, the casual touch would have sent her running. Literally. Male hands—meant pain. She’d learned that lesson a long time ago. Bryan had made sure of it. “You're safe here. I promise that. You have my word. The man doing this to you—he won't get you here."
"But why would you do this for me? I'm a stranger. You know nothing about me." In her experience, strangers didn’t often help random strangers. Not unless the state was paying them to.
Now that was a system she was intimately familiar with. From both sides of the equation.
“My sister was forced to run for her own safety, too. Ended up all the way down in Texas. Strangers took her in, protected her and took care of her. We will never be able to repay those people in Texas for that. But we can pay it forward by helping another woman in trouble. So you can keep on helping those that you help every single day.”
That was all it took.
The kindness of a stranger destroyed her.
Jude lost her hold on the control that had kept her going minute by minute since someone had tried to get into her home to attack her. She completely broke down, only vaguely aware of the strong male arms around her.
It had been so long since someone had ever even wanted to help her. For anything.
Jude didn’t know what to do—so all she could do was cry. And wonder whatever it was she had done to deserve this.
Why was this happening to her now?