Reece (Stud Ranch)

“Will both of you just stop?” It sounded like Reece’s voice.

I paused at the bottom of the stairs, listening.

“You’ve got it all wrong, Ruth. She’s not— She’s not what you called her. She helped me deliver the calf last night. She was good with the heifer. Maybe if you’d give her a chance, you’d see she was—”

“Oh, so you think you can just come in here and have little cowboy bunnies hanging around the place to service you whenever you get tired of bailing hay, is that it? This is exactly what I was afraid of, a bunch of men coming in and taking over the place. Disgusting, absolutely disgusting—”

“Number one,” came another masculine voice, I couldn’t tell if it was Reece or his brother, they sounded so much alike, “there’s no need to be so puritanical. We’re not likely to be abstinent while we’re working here. We’re not monks, and just because you’re leasing the place to us doesn’t mean you get to dictate our sex lives.”

“You’re twisting my words. I don’t give a shit about your sex lives! You can go fuck the whole county if you want and get every STD known to man. Just keep it the hell out of my room, and preferably out my sight.”

“Look, could we all just take it down a few notches? If you’d just give me a second to explain—” Okay, that was definitely Reece, but Ruth was not having it.

“Take it down a few notches? Oh, I’m sorry, big fella, is my voice too shrill for you? Do you have a problem with assertive women?”

“Jesus, Ruth, you need to back down. You are seriously barking up the wrong tree. Maybe get a chance to know my brother before you make such snap decisions about him.”

Ruth scoffed. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve seen all I need to.”

I’d had enough of this woman. I marched straight into the kitchen, since I had to go through to get to the mudroom anyway.

Reece’s eyes shot my way, and he looked immediately concerned. Was he worried I’d overheard? Too late, buddy. That train had left the station.

“Thanks for the hospitality, Reece,” I said kindly. I wanted him to know I didn’t blame him for Ruth’s rudeness.

“It was very kind of you to put me up for the night when I didn’t have anywhere else to stay after that sleazy trucker kicked me out on the side of the road.” I looked at him, really hoping he could see the sincerity in my eyes. After it slipped out of my mouth, I realized I’d just admitted the truth, especially when I saw Reece’s eyes widen. Well shit, there went my attempt at a secret. But you know what? It felt liberating to just tell it like it was.

“I really don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t offered me a warm place to stay last night.”

Then I looked at Ruth. “And I get it that you didn’t know I was borrowing your bed, but thanks for it all the same.”

I lifted the balled-up sheets in my arms. “I’ll make sure and get these in the washer before I go.”

Ruth’s mouth was dropped open.

I just walked across the now silent kitchen and pushed into the mud room. “Thanks again,” I called out to the room at large.

When I got to the laundry machines, I found my own clothes folded neatly on top of the dryer. Reece must have done it.

I tugged the pocket door shut behind me, then tugged on my jeans and socks. Last, I slipped my feet into my trusty Converse. Reece had even gone to the trouble of clearing the mud from them and as clean as they were, he’d likely thrown them in the wash with the rest of the clothes. One of my own favorite tricks for keeping tennis shoes and the like clean. It made my heart squeeze in an unfamiliar way.

No one ever did nice things for me. Ever. It was ridiculous that such little things could have me all but tearing up. I swiped at my face as I slid Reece’s shirt off and pulled my own worn flannel back on.

A knock on the door came a couple minutes later, right as I was finishing lacing up my shoes.

“Can I come in?” Reece called. “You decent?”

I smiled, then reached out and slid the door open.

He stood there, all six foot four of him, waiting with an anxious look on his face. “Look, I’m really sorry for her.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “We’re new here and she doesn’t really know us very well. She’s a little jumpy about having anyone on her family ranch, much less a couple of strange men.”

My insides softened even more. It was a compassionate and honest assessment of the situation. If it had been Jeff, he would have just called Ruth a bitch.