Catherine Mann - Safe In The Rancher's Arms - Stranded with the Rancher / Sheltered by the Millionaire / Pregnant by the Texan

But in the same instant, she thought of Drew. And of her friends and neighbors in Royal who faced a long road ahead. This corner of Texas was all Beth had ever known. Though her memories of growing up weren’t entirely positive, Royal was home. Audie would always be her brother, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself they were nothing alike. They shared DNA and a difficult past.

Audie had made different choices in life than Beth had. Poor choices in many instances. She felt no real compunction about letting him bear the consequences of his actions. But she couldn’t turn her back on an innocent child and a waiflike woman with no common sense at all.

“Fine,” she said. “Have it your way. You can stay. But you’ll have to bring in some kind of camp stove and a mini fridge.”

“Why didn’t you take care of that?” he asked.

“I’m not staying here,” she said evenly. “Drew Farrell has invited me to Willowbrook Farms for as long as it takes me to get the repairs done.”

Audie frowned. Apparently he had assumed Beth would be responsible for everything. “Well, that’s convenient. Seems like you always have men hanging around to look after you.”

The implication in his voice and in his words made her furious, but she wouldn’t let him see that he could get to her. Keeping her expression bland, she lifted an eyebrow. “Audie...”

“Yeah?”

“For once in your life, try to think of someone other than yourself. If this turns out to be too uncomfortable for Angie and Anton, please be a man and find a solution.”

“Easy for you to say.”

She refused to let him make her feel guilty. “I’m leaving now.” She headed toward the green Pinto to greet her nephew and sister-in-law. But before she got there, a familiar dark truck turned off the highway and approached the house. Well, this day just keeps getting better and better. Grim-faced, she watched Drew Farrell park and get out of his vehicle.

He lifted a hand as he approached. “Has Allen already come and gone?”

She nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t pass him. It hasn’t been that long.”

Drew stopped short, seeing Audie and the car. He held out a hand. “I’m Drew Farrell. Don’t believe I know you.”

Audie wiped his palm on his jeans before returning the gesture and shaking Drew’s hand. “I’m Audie Andrews, Beth’s brother.”

Beth knew Drew well enough by now to see that he was surprised. But he hid it well. “I suppose you’re checking up on your sister.”

Audie seemed nonplussed, possibly because the notion of worrying about anyone other than himself was foreign to him. “Um...yeah.”

“Did she tell you what happened?”

“You mean the tornado?”

Drew smothered a smile, exchanging a quick look with Beth. “Not just that. Obviously the farm took a direct hit. But we were trapped in the storm cellar overnight. The car pinned us inside.” The vehicle in question still sat in a forlorn heap. Beth wondered if it was worth anything as scrap metal.

Audie’s eyes shifted from Drew to Beth. “You two must be kinda close.”

“We’re neighbors.” Drew’s wry smile dared Beth to disagree. “I had come over to discuss a few things with Beth when the sirens went off.”

“And now she’s staying at your house.”

It was hard to miss the insinuation. Beth’s cheeks burned with humiliation. There were about a thousand places she would rather be right now than in the midst of this awkward confrontation.

Drew ignored the provocative statement and returned his attention to Beth. “What did Allen have to say?”

“He hopes to have his report to me by tomorrow morning. The foundation is sound. He says the other stuff won’t be as bad as it looks to repair.”

“That’s great.”

“It is.”

Surely Drew was confused about her lack of enthusiasm, but she was barely holding it together. Her nerves were shot. Dealing with Audie always had that effect on her. She grimaced as she faced her brother. “I have to go now. Make yourself at home.”

Drew gaped. “They’re staying here?”

Audie cocked his head toward the car. “I’m between jobs at the moment. Our place in town was trashed by the storm. But we were only rentin’ anyway, and it’s the end of the month. Beth is going to let us bunk down out in the shed. It’s in pretty good shape. We’ll be fine.”

Beth noticed he didn’t bother to mention that he’d been fired from his last two places of employment for showing up drunk.

Drew seemed baffled. This unfortunate intersection of the haves and the have-nots illustrated more than anything else the gulf between Beth’s world and the Farrell empire.

She interceded, hoping to end the regrettable interlude. “I have to go, Audie. Drew and I are volunteering in town this afternoon.”

Excusing herself, she went to say hello to Angie and Anton and then returned quickly to Drew’s side. “Shall I follow you?” she asked.

Drew’s gaze went from Beth to Audie and back again. “We can change our plan,” he said, his expression troubled.

“It’s not necessary. I want to go into town and do something useful.”

A long silence stretched to thirty seconds. Maybe more. For once, Audie kept his mouth shut. Finally, Drew’s shoulders lifted and fell. “Okay, then. We’ll stop by the ranch to grab a bite to eat and drop off the clunker. Then we’ll go.”

Perhaps it escaped Drew’s notice that his version of a clunker was several notches above Audie’s car.

Beth wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, wishing she had thought to bring water. “Goodbye, Audie.”

He nodded. “Thanks for letting us stay.”

Beth took Drew’s arm. “Let’s go.”

When they were out of earshot, he opened her door and muttered beneath his breath. “Are you sure we don’t need to do something for them? They’re your family.”

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, settling her hands on the steering wheel. “Audie always lands on his feet. He’s the perfect example of give him an inch and he’ll take a mile . Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. I swear.”

Turning the key in the ignition, she made her wishes clear. “It’s getting late.”

To her dismay, Drew stood at her window for several long seconds. He must think she was a heartless bitch. But for the life of her, she didn’t have the energy to explain why Audie was a barnacle on the ship that was her life.

The truth was, he was worse than a barnacle. Barnacles didn’t actually do any damage. But Audie wreaked havoc in his wake. Even sober, he was an opportunist and a liar.

Without another word, she raised her window, turned on the air conditioning and spun gravel as she shot down the drive and onto the road. Her eyes burned with tears. She swallowed hard, blinking them away. She refused to let Drew see how much her brother upset her.

Drew couldn’t possibly understand what it was like to crawl out of a dismal past and reach for something cleaner, something better. Was that a crime?

The thought of Audie staying at Green Acres outraged her, despite the fact that the house was ripped apart and vulnerable. She knew there was a good chance that before she managed to eventually evict him, he would steal anything worth pawning. It had happened before...far too often.

Angie would never know. She was so clueless, it never occurred to her to ask where Audie got the money he spent so recklessly. And Beth wouldn’t say a word. Because she had been Anton once upon a time. A helpless child at the mercy of a parent too selfish and irresponsible to make sure she was safe.

The only way to cope at the moment was to compartmentalize. This afternoon, she and Drew were going to offer assistance where they could. In the midst of tragedy they would extend a helping hand. If Drew wanted to talk about Audie, Beth would deflect the conversation.