Sophie Oak: Three to Ride

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as Jen finished ringing up Max Harper. He tipped his hat toward her, and then he and his brother walked out the door. Jen immediately turned and joined her at the counter. Stella was hot on Jen’s heels.

“That man is crazy about you.” Stella slapped her well-manicured hand on the counter.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s just a customer.” Rachel felt the slightest bit cornered.

“Just a customer?” Jen asked. “He’s practically become a tenant. He’s eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner here every day for two weeks.”

“He didn’t do that before?”

“Not at all. He changed his habits the day I hired you.” Stella had a knowing smile on her face. “You could do worse, you know. Max and I have a love-hate relationship, you see.”

“She loves to hate him,” Jen supplied with a grin. She was all of twenty-two, with bright eyes and a positive outlook on everything. She was an artist, a painter trying to get her work in some of the local galleries.

“Now,” Stella began, patting her helmet of bright blonde hair, “you know that’s just because our sexual chemistry is hard to resist. If I were ten years younger, I would tame that man. He would be a little puppy coming to my hand after I got through with him.”

Jen snorted. “Max Harper was never a puppy.”

Rachel watched the two women. They seemed to have the scoop on everyone and everything that went on in Bliss. “He seems really sweet to me.”

“He is sweet,” Jen replied. “He just has a real crusty exterior. He’s one of those men who yells a lot, but that’s because he’s trying to cover up for the fact that he’s just a big softy underneath it.”

Stella nodded sagely. “It’s true. When I called him the bear of the county, I probably should have added ‘teddy’ to the ‘bear’ part. Max complains when things aren’t perfect. He’s a picky man. But when the chips are down, you can count on him. Even when he was feuding with Hank Farley over his storage units encroaching on Max’s land, Max was the first one to help out when he had a stroke and couldn’t afford his hospital bills. Rye might be the charmer, but Max is the sweet one.”

Jen poured herself a cup of coffee and took a long drink. Rachel saw her pretend not to notice when Stefan Talbot walked in. Rachel could tell Jen had a crush on the handsome painter. She always asked to switch with Rachel when he sat in her section.

“Rye isn’t exactly sour. He spent a weekend worth of his free time fixing my car because I couldn’t afford the shop.” Jen sighed. “I’ll tell you, Rach, if I thought I could handle it, I would give those brothers a try myself.”

“So, they just openly share women?” Rachel asked, a little surprised. It was kind of taboo in her mind. It was totally sexy and hot, but she would think people would look down on it.

Stella waved off the statement. “We don’t judge people here in Bliss, hon. Too many of us came here to get away from prying eyes, if you know what I mean. We tend to accept people the way they are. We’re kind of a community of free spirits. Tolerance is our catchphrase. How else would we get along with all those nudists?”

“You know you love them,” Jen teased.

“I do. I just wish they would shave more often than they do. I swear some of those men are responsible for the numerous sightings of Bigfoot we get around here.”

Rachel laughed and got back to work. The whole rest of her shift she was assaulted with numerous facts about the Harper twins. Now she knew way more about the hot brothers than she probably wanted to. They were infamous in southern Colorado for being wild in their youth. All of that had changed when their mother died of a sudden heart attack and their father walked away, unable to deal with it. They ended up raising their younger sister. Rye had taken a job, and Max set about saving his family’s stables. Twelve years later, Brooke Harper was about to graduate from college, and the men were thriving professionally. It wasn’t as great on the personal front.

At least something is working for them , Rachel thought as she prepared to leave the diner. She grabbed her purse and waved goodbye to Stella and Jen. She walked out to her car and felt weary at the thought of the long hours ahead. She was tired of running. She was tired of being afraid every minute of the day. She wanted something for herself, even if it was temporary.

Twenty minutes later, Rachel pulled her car into a small clearing surrounded by a cluster of trees. She put the battered Jeep in park and got out. She was happy to see the little pond was completely empty. She made one careful sweep of the area and then got the soap and shampoo out of the back. Living out of her car had its disadvantages. It had been weeks since she’d been able to afford a motel room for the night, so she had to make do. One of the lovely things about Bliss was the numerous little ponds and lakes that dotted the county. This particular pond was her favorite. It was tiny, isolated, and crystal clear. The sun warmed the water, but in the middle, it was still chilly.

Rachel quickly got out of her jeans and T-shirt as she thought about the events of the day. Meeting Ryan Harper had thrown her for a loop. Max was one thing. He trained horses. A sheriff was a completely different animal. Rachel walked into the cool water with absolutely no thought to her nudity. This place was a little piece of paradise. There was something about Bliss that made her lose her inhibitions. It felt right to be naked in the sunlight here. She sighed and went under the water. When her hair was wet and she’d gotten used to the temperature, she surfaced. She let herself float, looking into the clear blue sky. It was never that clear back in Dallas. There was always too much smog. Rachel had never considered herself anything but a city girl. Being in Bliss was changing her mind.

Bliss was a wonderful place. She’d been in a lot of cities and towns over the last year, but none of them made her want to stay the way Bliss did. She loved the mountains. She loved the quirky streets with their art galleries and boutiques and even an old-fashioned trading post. The little town got a lot of tourist attention for being an art mecca. Artists from all over southern Colorado showed their work in Bliss’s galleries. There was even a real, true repertory theater. Rachel didn’t have the money to go see a show, but she wished she did. She felt like this was a place where she could fit in. She even loved the weird citizens. Mel was a hoot when he wasn’t worried about aliens taking over the government. Nell and Henry were friendly even as they fought with Stella. They were trying to get her carnivorous boss to give them vegan choices on the menu. Jen was very sweet and loved to paint. Yes, she liked the locals just fine.

The sudden thought of Max and Rye was almost too much to handle. It had been a long time since she had wanted a real, live man, much less two. There was a time when that had been her biggest fantasy, two gorgeous men pleasuring her. Then Tommy had happened, and her biggest fantasy had become surviving the day with all her body parts still attached. Rachel shook her head. She wasn’t going to think about him. This was her time, and if she wanted to fantasize about her sweet cowboy, she would. She would think about Max. Rye was far too dangerous. She wouldn’t get near another cop.

But Max was a different story.

A small noise pulled Rachel out of her thoughts and sent her scrambling. She forced her feet to the bottom of the pond and covered herself to her neck in the water. Her eyes darted around, looking for the threat. Adrenaline started pumping through her body. Had Tommy found her?