Sophie Oak - Three to Ride

“I do,” Rye said. “If it helps, I don’t think it was you she was mad at, not entirely.”

“It sure felt like it when she wailing on me.” She’d been ready to shove his flowers where the sun didn’t shine.

“She said she was tired of men thinking they owned her. If I had to guess, I would say she’s had a bad boyfriend or two in her time. Maybe she’s been abused. You’re going to have to prove you’re not just like them.”

“Well, I can’t go in after her.” The whole situation was making Max miserable. All he wanted to do was walk into that diner, throw her over his shoulder, and whisk her away to someplace private. That plan probably wouldn’t make Rachel think he was civilized. It would just cement his reputation as a caveman. “She told me not to. If I barge in, I’ll be a bullying asshole. If I wait out here for her, I’m a stalker. If I don’t wait, she could drive off, and I might never see her again. I need to get her alone and talk to her.”

Rye looked back toward the rear lot where Rachel parked her car. “Well, she can’t drive off if she doesn’t have a car. It would be a damn shame if her car got stolen and taken out to our place. I’d have to wait here to give her a ride over to retrieve her car.”

Max thought it was a brilliant idea. His brother was really the devious one. “She didn’t say anything about stealing her car.”

“Of course, if she decides to press charges, I’ll have to arrest you, bro.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Max flexed his fingers. He had some work to do. He only hoped Marie had some more flowers left.

By six o’clock, Rachel was dead on her feet. She should have been off two hours before, but she’d let Jen leave early because she could use the cash. She would have worked a complete double if Stella needed the help. She would have done just about anything to avoid the time when she had to drive around and find a place to hole up for the night. Even as she walked through the diner’s double doors, tears were threatening to fall.

Why had Max turned out to be a jerk? It was better this way, she told herself. She’d gotten what she wanted out of it. She’d had great sex with a man who knew what he was doing. It was just the sex that she would miss. Max Harper had given her more pleasure than she’d ever had before. She wasn’t in love with him, and she didn’t want to have anything at all to do with his cop brother.

So why was her heart aching at the thought of not touching him again? She shook her head and sighed. There was nothing to do about it. She wouldn’t be involved with a man who treated her like that. He would take and take and give nothing back. She would just put him out of her mind and focus on the problems ahead. She needed a place to sleep. If she found a spot quickly enough, maybe she could read for a while before it got too dark. Then she’d gaze up at the stars and hope to get some sleep.

Rachel stared at the space where her car should be. A horrible panic spread over her body. The spot where she knew she’d parked was empty. Someone had taken her car. It was all she had in the world. All the money she had was in that car, carefully hidden in the floorboard along with her fake IDs and other important papers. She couldn’t lose her car.

“Rachel?”

She whirled around, and Rye Harper stood there in his khaki uniform. He looked strangely comforting. “Someone stole my car,” she said as she felt tears roll down her cheeks.

Rye shook his head and reached out for her. She was so numb with terror that she allowed him to hold her hands in his. “Rachel, sweetheart, your car is out at the ranch. It’s fine.”

His words sank in, and her terror turned to anger. Max had done this to her? “He stole my car?”

“Max’s youth was…very interesting.”

If Max had done the crime, then Rye had to have been in on it. “You let him steal my car?”

Rye’s face was open with the faintest hint of a grin on his generous lips. “Well, darlin’, I was unfortunately looking the other way at the time. He told me there was a bear coming, and by the time I realized his terrible deception, he was driving off in your Jeep. I think there was some maniacal laughter in there somewhere. Super villains. What are you going to do?”

Rachel didn’t appreciate the comedy. She was angrier than she’d been in a long time. She had felt numb for so long, but now the Harper brothers were bringing all her emotions to the surface. “I want him arrested and thrown in jail.”

Rye sobered, and then he nodded slowly. “If that’s what you want. I’ll take you out to our place, and then I’ll take him in.”

Rachel studied him. “Are you serious?”

He squeezed her hands. She hadn’t realized she was still holding his. “Yes, I’m serious. If you want to press charges, then he can spend the night in jail. I told him I would do it when he decided to steal your car.”

She sighed, completely confused. He seemed sincere. “Then why would he do it?”

Rye’s deep blue eyes held hers. He was so beautiful. Though he looked exactly like his brother, there was a different energy to Rye Harper. He was so much more serene than Max. Max was exciting and wild and made her feel that way, too. Rye made her feel protected.

“Rachel, my brother is crazy about you. He screwed up, and he’ll do anything to make it right. Please, just come out to our house and talk to him. If you want me to toss his ass in jail after, then that’s what I’ll do. I promise.”

Damn, but he knew exactly what to say to her. Maybe she was an idiot, but she was inclined to believe what he said. She had to get her car. She supposed she could wait until Stella closed for the night. She could get someone from the diner to drive her out to Max’s place, but she found herself walking behind Rye, climbing into the SUV emblazoned with Bliss County Sheriff on the side. She sat beside him with her hands firmly in her lap because she had enjoyed the way his big hand engulfed her small one far too much. She watched the town go by as Rye drove toward his home. She loved the mountains. The small town of Bliss was nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and everything about it was magical to Rachel. It seemed so far from Dallas that it could have been on another planet. She could almost believe that she’d run so far no one could ever find her.

“Rachel, why are you living out of your car?”

That brought her right back to reality. She’d hoped they hadn’t figured that out. “Is it illegal?”

His sigh told her he was frustrated. “No, I’ll drop it.”

She looked at the line of his jaw and the weariness of his face. Something softened in her. “I don’t have the money to afford a motel,” she said quietly, unable to stay silent on the subject.

“It’s not safe, sweetheart. Anything could happen to you out here.”

He sounded like he really cared. It made her open up a bit. “I know. I don’t get much sleep. It’s better here in Bliss than some of the places I’ve been. I feel safer sleeping in the woods than I do in a city.”

“I don’t suppose you want to tell me what you’re running from,” Rye continued in a gentle, coaxing voice.

She wasn’t willing to go there, certainly not with him. When he found out the man she was running from was a cop, he would take Tommy’s side. They all did. She straightened her spine. “Just take me to my car, please.”

“All right, Rachel.”

They drove the next ten minutes in silence, with Rachel feeling his disappointment sitting between them. There wasn’t anything she could do about it. She had her paycheck in her purse and cash stashed in her car. It looked like it was time to leave Bliss. She would get in her car and go to Denver. She’d meant what she’d said to Rye. She felt safer out here, but the city had its advantages. It was easier to get lost in a city. No one noticed new people in big cities.