“I’m Leora, but most of my friends call me Leo.” My hand was left extended between the two of us for an uncomfortable amount of time until I let it fall as he continued to stare at me. I felt Emrys shift next to me and I became acutely aware that this little standoff was no longer happening between just him and me. His brothers were also standing a few feet away, watching our tense interaction with curious expressions. I’d promised my best friend that I would go into this with an open mind. I assured her that I would embrace the change of scenery and do my best to enjoy myself. Lately, I’d been a super-shitty friend, so I owed it to Emrys to keep my promise, even if this man, who was not quite a cowboy, seemed determined to prove me right in my thinking that coming here was nothing but a mistake.
“Sutton and Lane will keep you alive because that’s their job. They’ll also make sure your trip is worth every single penny you spent because our reputation is everything in this competitive market, and, lucky for you, they actually enjoy what they do. Their qualifications are outlined in all of our literature and clearly displayed on our website. Just because they may or may not look like your version of qualified wilderness guides doesn’t make them any less skilled or competent.” Boom! He took blunt and in-your-face to a whole other level. Part of me respected that, as much as it made my hackles rise and spine snap straight in irritation. I wondered if this was what it felt like to be on the other side of my brutal honesty when I forget to pull my punches and play nice.
I took a step back and opened my mouth to retort that he, not either of his admittedly attractive siblings, was the one I thought appeared to look under-qualified to guide us into the woods and through the mountains. Emrys put her hand on my forearm and intervened before my inherent Irish temperament really flared to life. I was ready to go toe to toe with this big, unpleasant man. In about a second flat, I was going to demand my money back and berate him for his rudeness and tactlessness. As always, when I was fired up and ready to go off halfcocked, Em waded in and threw water on the fire that was getting ready to ignite.
“Forgive my friend, Mr. Warner. She’s a born and raised city girl and I think she’s just feeling a tad bit intimidated by all the fresh air and peace and quiet. I assure you that we are both extremely grateful for your time and we’re so excited to be here. We’re both looking forward to seeing what your wonderful state has to offer.” Her elbow dug into my side and I turned my head to give her a dirty look. “Isn’t that right, Leo?”
I rolled my eyes at my mostly flawless best friend and wondered how she could look so refreshed and unrumpled after a day full of traveling. Where I was pretty average all around, Emrys Santos was anything but. She was tall, standing close to six feet without the aid of high heels. Her shiny, sable-colored hair hung flat and perfect along her back, like it had never heard of humidity or static electricity. Her dark eyes, which were currently pleading with me to behave, had a slight slant to them that only added to her overall exotic, undeniable beauty. She was almost perfect, except for the fact that she was interfering, determined to get her own way, and could guilt trip like no one’s business.
She knew I was having a hard time with my most recent breakup. On top of that, I was having issues at work, the one thing in my life that had always been stable and in control. But she pushed, prodded, and pleaded until I had agreed to spend this week with her in the great outdoors, even though roughing it was absolutely not my thing. Part of me wanted to tell her she had to deal with the fact I was here but less than thrilled about it, but a bigger part of me knew she was just trying to help, and doing her best to wrestle me back on track. So I corralled my rebellious temper and bit my tongue, giving her a stiff nod of agreement. Cy’s iridescent eyes sparked with humor and I swore he knew I was fighting to behave.
I bit out through my teeth and through a smile that was so fake it actually hurt my face, “Like I said, I think we just got off on the wrong foot.”
The only response I got was a grunt as his attention turned to the other two men, who were purposely ignoring the heated interaction between me and their older brother. In fact, they both had moved a few steps away like they knew their older sibling’s anger was hot enough to burn anything that got close enough for it to touch. Gruffly, he barked out, “Go ahead and get them situated, I’ll head up to the house and make sure Brynn knows everyone is here.”
Just like that, we were dismissed as he turned on the heel of his very much not a cowboy boot and stalked off in the direction of a huge, sprawling home made entirely out of logs. The main house was more of a rustic mountain mansion but I figured pointing that out wouldn’t win me favors, and I was already in the red around these parts, even though I’d been on the ranch for less than an hour.
Lane, the brother who had no trouble flashing his teeth in a charming smile, hefted my bag up and gave me that adorable grin that I was starting to associate with him. “Don’t worry too much about Cy. His bark is way worse than his bite and you won’t see much of him after tonight. He doesn’t come on the trail unless he has to.”
For some reason, the idea of Cy’s bite had a full body shiver quaking through me. I followed behind Lane, his brother, and Emrys as they started toward a row of what looked like cabins that were a few hundred yards away from the gigantic main house.
“I can’t imagine you have much repeat business if he speaks to all of your guests that way when they first get here.”