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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

REINE

Friday afternoon, the sun slants through the office blinds, casting stripes across the paperwork we've been hunched over for hours. Cole's phone buzzes against the desk, rattling his coffee mug. He leans back in his chair, the leather creaking as he swipes to answer. "Hello." His jaw tightens immediately. A tinny voice barks from the speaker, too fast and too loud. Cole's fingers drum against his thigh. "I didn't answer your text because I've been busy all day." He looks at me across the desk and rolls his eyes so dramatically that I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Working." The wink he shoots me contradicts his serious tone. His free hand scrubs down his face. A deep sigh escapes him. "The highlight of my day is ignoring you, Hudson."

I hear a low rumble from his brother on the other end, but Cole just laughs and leans back in his chair with his feet up on the edge of my desk. “You don’t need to come to Montana.” There’s another pause as he listens to his brother. “Then why bother calling if you’re already in town?” He listens to whatever Hudson is saying. “Whatever. We’ll be here.”

My heart pounds away in my chest when I realize Hudson Carrington is here in Montana. Cole ends the call with a heavy sigh and tosses his phone down on my old desk. “Your brother is here?”

Cole's calloused fingers wrap around mine, warm and insistent as he tugs me to my feet. His eyes flash with mischief. "He'll be here in less than an hour," he says.

"Why?" I ask, smoothing my flannel shirt nervously, already dreading meeting the older Carrington.

Cole's thumb traces a small circle on my palm, soothing me. "He said he wants to check out Thunderbolt for himself." He shrugs like it’s no big deal that his brother is coming to The Rolling R Ranch. Cole wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. “Don’t worry, Montana.” I guess he read my mind and my body language. “Hudson coming here doesn’t change anything between us.”

“How can you be sure?” I’m still not ready to accept that my happiness isn’t going to be pulled right out from under me.

“Because I’m not going to let anything come between us. Ever.” The way he stares down at me soothes the apprehension coursing through me. He leans in, so close his breath ruffles the hair near my temple, and his palm cups the side of my neck. “Because nothing on this planet scares me except the thought of losing you, Montana.”

Oh, God. Why do I love that answer so much?

Cole’s lips brush my forehead, then he holds me there, tight against his chest like he could shield me from anything life throws our way. “You trust me?” His voice is low and rough, pure Texas and pure trouble.

“I do,” I whisper, and it’s not a lie. Not even a little bit. My chest squeezes tight, and my stomach flips several times.

His eyes are molten, full of promise. “Then let me handle my brother.”

The next hour passes in a blur of chores and nervous energy. I run through all the ways this could go wrong until I’m dizzy, but Cole is calm as ever. He moves through the chores like it’s just another day in paradise, pausing every so often to flash me that ridiculous smile that does bad things to my insides. I try to keep my brain from spiraling, but it’s not working. By the time the black SUV crunches up the gravel drive, my palms are sweating, and I can barely remember my own name.

Cole just winks at me and takes my hand into his. “Showtime.”

Oh, God. I’m not ready for this.

The SUV door swings open, and the breath stalls in my throat. Hudson Carrington unfolds from the leather interior in a tailored charcoal suit with a blood-red tie, the fabric shifting across his broad shoulders. His Italian leather boots crunch on our gravel, not a speck of dust daring to settle on them.

Two ranch hands loading hay nearby stop mid-lift, frozen, as Hudson's eyes sweep across our property before locking onto Cole and me. My hand instinctively tightens around Cole's fingers as Hudson's jaw clenches just once, a muscle flickering beneath his clean-shaven cheek.

I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. Hudson’s eyes cut right through me. I’m pretty sure he could melt steel just by glaring at it. Holy shit. Talk about intimidating. This guy has it down to a science.

Cole’s voice is all lazy confidence as he waves his free hand at the yard. “Welcome to The Rolling R Ranch, Huddie Poo.” He smirks as Hudson’s eyes narrow.

Hudson’s gaze moves to me as a huge smile breaks out across his face. “You must be Reine. Why in the world would you give my ugly ass brother the time of day?”

Did he really just say that? I try to play it cool until Hudson wraps me in a bear hug. Holy shit. This man is built like a brick wall. For a second, I can’t breathe, but before I even have a chance to panic, Cole shoves between us, practically snarling. His hand clamps down on Hudson’s shoulder, and he growls, “If you don’t let go of my woman right now, Huddie Poo, I’m going to break both your goddamn arms.”

Hudson steps back and laughs. “Jesus, Cole. You’re such a selfish asshole.” He levels a glare at his brother, ignoring the fact that my heart is still thumping like a stampede. “I was just welcoming her to the family.”

Cole stands his ground, chest puffed, pure alpha energy radiating off him. “You can do that without fucking touching her,” he grits out, voice like thunder. “Keep your paws to yourself.”

Hudson throws his head back and actually laughs. It’s a real, honest-to-God laugh. He’s not nearly as scary when he’s smiling, but his being here in Montana still makes my knees knock together.

Before I have a chance to recover, Grams barrels out onto the porch and squints up at Hudson, not intimidated even a little, and plants both hands on her hips. “You must be one of Cole’s brothers.” She holds out her hand to him. “Louise Rockwell. But everyone calls me Grams.” Her voice is pure no-nonsense. Hudson takes her hand and gives it a gentle shake.

“Hudson Carrington. It’s a pleasure, ma’am.” He’s got that old-money politeness mixed with bad boy swagger down to an art.

Grams grins wide, then waves him toward the house. “C’mon in. I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee, or I have some whiskey if you prefer.”

“Coffee will be fine, Grams.” And just like that, the Texas billionaire becomes just a regular cowboy sitting in my grandmother’s living room.