Ruthless (Wolf Ranch 6)

“What?” I squirmed a little in Rand’s arms, which made a deep rumble come from his chest. I felt it against my arm as much as heard it.

He still hadn’t put me down.

“Um, are you going to let me go?”

“No.”

Just no?

Nash shook his head and disappeared, and a few beats later, the light in the basement stairwell went out indicating he’d gone back to the fuse box and turned off the main power.

“Um. We can’t stay like this.” No matter how much I liked being in his hold, it was a little weird.

Rand sighed then made a show of checking the floor before he gently tipped my feet to the ground. Even when I was safely standing, his hand settled on my low back, like I might fall through the floorboards at any moment.

Which, given the state of the house, was always a possibility.

“So, this B&B idea?”

My heart still galloped like a wild mustang from his casually heroic rescue, and I hoped he didn’t notice how his touch, his nearness made me react. I was flushed and not from the warm summer morning. I was jittery, and I hadn’t had that hit of caffeine that had been denied.

I shrugged again, trying for laid back. “Like I said, not many jobs around here for what I’m skilled at. I’m not sure if I’m enough of a people-person for having out of town guests, but I’ll do what I need to to get by.”

“I remember you and your uncle sitting together fiddling,” he said, surprising me.

I smiled at the memory. “Wow, um. Yeah. Haven’t done that since I was here, either.”

He frowned. “I thought you said you were a concert violinist.”

“Yes, I am. I’ve played the violin but haven’t fiddled.”

He was watchful but said nothing.

My uncle had bought me a violin when I was six and taught me to play. My parents couldn’t afford music lessons and thought it was a real waste of time. Especially later when I decided to go to college to study music. They’d thought I should stay home and help support them, working at the drug store where my mom worked, and when I chose to leave, they pretty much stopped speaking to me.

Only Uncle Adam had been supportive, if from far away. I hadn’t seen him in years because after that last summer when I was ten, I’d had to stay home and watch my little brothers during the summers and after school. Then when I was fifteen, I got a job.

“Why are you here, then?” he asked.

I arched a brow. “I just moved in. Getting rid of me already?” I wasn’t going to tell him I didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“Not a chance.” He smiled, and yup, my panties were ruined. He reached out, stroked a tendril of hair back behind my ear. Again. As if the gesture was something he had to do. “The house is free and clear, right?”

I nodded, my breath caught in my chest. There wasn’t a mortgage on the property. The house and the land were all mine. “I know, all I’ve got to pay is annual taxes, heat, lights, but as anyone who’s not blind can see, there’s more to be done around here than just the electric.” I could get a mortgage to pay for the remodeling that needed to be done, but I wanted to avoid any kind of debt if possible.

His eyes roved over my face as if he were trying to memorize it. “Willow patched the roof last summer.”

I knew the woman because she’d impersonated me the year before as part of a case with the DEA to investigate a drug ring on the ranch next door. That had been interesting.

“Hey! Are the lights back on?” Nash yelled from the basement.

I blinked, having forgotten he was even here and went to the kitchen, flipped the switch on the wall. I heard the hum of the fridge and the overhead light worked.

“Yes!” I called. I turned again, and while I didn’t bump into Rand, he was right there, as if he couldn’t stay away.

“Um… while the fuse has been replaced, that doesn’t really solve the problem I called about.”

He nodded, his dark hair falling over his forehead. “I saw enough. You need a new fuse box, one that’s up to code. I can pick up the supplies and be back to replace it this afternoon.”

“Okay. I can probably swing that as long as you take payment in small bills.” When he frowned, I continued. “Tip money from Cody’s.”

He ran a hand over his face as if he wasn’t thrilled about that or something else. “Based on what was running through the basement, it’s all knob and tube wiring,” he added. I was expecting him to comment on my job, but he stuck to his. “The whole house needs to be redone.”