Deb Kastner - Redeeming the Rancher

“She can be pretty persuasive,” Alexis agreed with a warm chuckle, but a moment later her brow furrowed and she compressed her full lips. “Sometimes a little too much so. Once she gets an idea into her head, she won’t let it go. I apologize on her behalf. She has the distressing tendency to get on a person’s last nerve.”

Griff raised his eyebrows at her stark admission. “I didn’t say that. Your sister is really sweet. A little deceptive, maybe, but I’m sure she was just trying to be helpful.”

Or maybe not so much. What had been her plan, sending him out here to the house where her sister lived? She probably had her reasons, but he had no clue what they might be. He was beyond being able to tell, where women were concerned. Whatever. He was here, and that was the point of the matter.

Alexis’s lips quirked. “Oh, I’m sure she was trying to help you. The problem is that her idea of ‘helping’ is focused on what she thinks is in the other person’s best interest, whether or not the person she’s supposedly helping would agree. And she usually pushes the option that helps her the most in the end. I’m sure you’ve noticed that she can be a little…” She paused and brushed a strand of her long, straight blond hair back behind her ear. “Self-absorbed.”

“Really?” Griff struggled not to laugh. In his opinion, all women were self-absorbed. Men, too, for that matter. Always looking out for old number one. And who could blame them? He was no different. “You think she had an ulterior motive for sending me here?”

Had he been played? It kind of felt that way, although he couldn’t figure out any legitimate reason for Vivian to have acted deceptively. His mind scoured over the details of his visit. What reason could Vivian possibly have for sending him here, if not primarily to help him find the home he so desired? Viv’s boyfriend, Derrick, was the closest thing to a friend Griff had ever had, and they’d both been enthused by the idea.

“You have to admit the circumstances are rather telling,” Alexis said, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her index finger. “I don’t think it’s an accident that Vivian led you to believe I was a guy. She would have had to have been awfully careful not to slip up and refer to me as her sister.”

“She used the word twin, not sister. And she called you Alex.”

“Well, there you have it, then. She’s never called me Alex a day in her life. And then there’s the fact that she knew perfectly well I was still living here at the ranch, yet she gave you the impression the house was vacant.”

“I’ll admit that part sounds a little fishy.” And he was beginning to look—and feel—more and more like a sap.

Alexis scoffed. “A little fishy? This whole thing has Vivian’s interfering signature all over it.”

“Yes, but what could she possibly stand to gain by misleading me?”

“I have no idea.” Alexis twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger.

Griff was stumped. And humiliated, to boot. Who knew the internal workings of a woman’s mind? He certainly didn’t. But the latent anger that was never far from the surface was starting to billow in his chest.

He was so over being manipulated. By anybody.

“You think we should ask her?”

“Oh, I’m going to ask her,” she assured him with a robust nod. She sounded as though she wasn’t too thrilled with Vivian’s actions, either. “Just as soon as I’ve got you settled in at the bunkhouse. And we should probably see about getting a new breakfast fixed up here. I think I’ve got some more bacon in the freezer. It shouldn’t take too long to defrost it.”

Griff forced a chuckle. “Yeah. My attempt at cooking turned out to be a bit of a disaster, didn’t it?”

“I’m sure the dogs appreciated it.”

He twisted his lips into a semblance of a smile. “No doubt.”

Alexis glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “Oh, dear. I didn’t realize how late it was. It’s already a quarter past eight and here I am still in my—” She glanced down at her fluffy purplish-pink robe and her face turned the same color as the material. She was bundled from neck to ankle, but that didn’t stop her from gathering the sides of the robe under her chin—the same chin that tipped upward a moment later, set with determination and maybe just a little bit of pride. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to cook us a full breakfast. Will a muffin do? I think I’ve got chocolate chip and blueberry in the breadbox.”

Still clutching her bathrobe with quivering fingers, she jerked to her feet and bobbed toward the counter.

“Blueberry will be fine. Are you going somewhere?” He couldn’t help but be amused by her stuttering movements. She appeared to be embarrassed about something, and for some reason that put Griff more at ease. Perhaps because it put them on a more equal footing. He knew what it was like to feel uncomfortable. He’d been feeling that way since the moment Alexis had confronted him with her curling iron.

“It’s Sunday,” Alexis explained. “I have to teach Sunday school to a bunch of middle-schoolers in an hour, and the worship service is right after. Oh!” She turned to face him, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask you. Would you like to join me? You are welcome to come visit our community chapel, especially since you’re planning to move into town. It’s probably nothing like the church services you’re used to in Houston, but most of the town attends, so you’ll have a chance to meet your new neighbors. We’re small, but faithful.” Her words poured over each other like a waterfall.

Griff barely suppressed the chill that impaled him. Ice entered his lungs, making them burn with the effort of drawing a breath.

He didn’t know what was worse—the thought of being surrounded by a town full of people—or the idea that they were all worshipping God. While these folks would be strangers who wouldn’t know his painful and humiliating history, he was convinced they’d be quick to draw unsolicited conclusions about him, and Griff had long ago given up on believing any kind of deity existed. Not in his black hole of a world.

“No.” He barked the word out more sharply than he should have.

Alexis’s jaw dropped and her startled gaze pierced him.

Griff shrugged, backpedaling. “I mean, no thank you. I drove most of the night to get here. If you don’t mind, I’d rather just find my bunk and get some shut-eye.”

Surprise turned to compassion. “Of course. You must be exhausted. Let me get you a muffin and some orange juice and then I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. You can visit the chapel another time.”

That wasn’t going to happen—ever—but for now, Griff allowed Alexis to fuss over him and get him settled in. There was enough time later for him to set her straight on what he was—and wasn’t—planning to do during his stay at Redemption Ranch.

Chapter Two

“Are you completely insane? You sent Griff here to do what?” Alexis gripped her cell phone close to her ear, glad she was near a chair, because her legs suddenly felt too wobbly to hold her on her feet. She slumped onto the plush burgundy fabric of the recliner and tucked her knees underneath her, coaching herself to slow her rapid, shallow breathing. She was hyperventilating and the room was spinning.

Where was a paper bag when a woman needed one?

“Now, Alexis, calm down.” Viv’s saccharine voice on the other end of the line sounded as patronizing as it was amused.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down?” Alexis was squawking like a parrot and she knew it, but how else was she supposed to react? “You lied to a man who you claim is your friend to send him here, then gave me no warning before waking up to find a strange man in my kitchen while he found a crazy woman in what he was under the impression was a vacant house, and you want me to calm down?”