But Stanton keeps his cool and continues to talk like nothing’s wrong. Meanwhile, all I hear is the blood rushing in my ears. My face must be bright red and I’m fairly convinced that every girl in the room must have noticed my reaction.
But to my relief, the other girls are enraptured with Stanton and Shane and not one is looking at me. Thank goodness. Yet, I can’t help but stare at the two men, my body immediately aroused, my heart pounding, and my mind racing.
Holy shit, is all I can think to myself. Is this for real?
4
Shane
I look around the room at our new wards. Quite a few of the girls are beautiful, but I’ve seen a lot of beautiful women in my day. It’s part and parcel of running a women’s reform school. Our girls are still young, and many of them are ripe and fresh, ready for the clean air and hard labor that the Lazy R offers.
Then, the air in my chest evaporates as I lock eyes with the last person I’d ever expect to see at the Lazy R Ranch: Juniper.
The girl from the other night, my addled mind realizes.
I glance sidelong at Stanton to see if he’s noticed. My twin continues talking like everything’s completely normal, but I can see his nostrils flare as a dark flush descends on his cheekbones. He knows she’s here, and he’s just as aware of her as I am.
Holy cow. What are the chances? After all, Juniper’s not exactly a common name, although surely, there’s more than one Juniper in Wyoming. Still, it seems Fate has played a chance in our meeting again.
“We’ll want to talk to each of you individually at some point this first week,” my brother drawls without batting an eye. “It’s important for us to know what you hope to get out of your time at the Lazy R, and for us to get to know you beyond your files. This is an opportunity for change, and we hope you take advantage of everything the Lazy R has to offer.”
I glance down at my own notes, realizing that it’s my turn to speak.
“We’ll start some of the one-on-ones tonight after dinner, although it’s getting a bit late,” I add smoothly. “You’ll find that Stanton and I are generally available. Our home is across the lawn, but our office is just down the hall, here,” I gesture around the corner of the dining room in the direction of the hallway. “And yes, we are identical twins.”
The girls titter at that, quite a few already casting us hungry glances. Oh yes, ladies love the idea of being with brothers, especially when they look like Stanton and me, but what they don’t realize is that there’s no way in hell that it’s happening. We’re here to teach discipline, not to help these girls lose their way even more.
But then, impulse strikes and before I know it, the words are out.
“Tonight, we’ll start our individual getting-to-know-you’s with Juniper Rossi,” I say professionally, looking down at my clipboard as if this is business as usual. I watch the girl as her face turns slightly red. “Ms. Rossi, come find us once you’re done with your meal.” The curvy girl swallows hard and inclines her head ever so slightly. It’s all I can do not to grin like a maniac, but I restrain myself. I’m very aware of how nosy and gossip-ridden our wards can be.
“Great,” I return to addressing the group. “Enjoy the rest of your meal and welcome to the Lazy R.”
Stanton and I nod our heads at the clutch of women and retreat from the dining room. The second we’re out of eyesight, the group erupts into a cacophony of whispers and giggles. Meanwhile, I shake my head at my brother who rolls his eyes in return. I get it. Stanton and I are good-looking men, and while we don’t like to use our looks when it comes to the girls in our program, it has, on occasion, helped us control their behavior. We want the girls to feel awe when they look at us because it’s the fastest way to getting them on the right track. The incessant giggling is simply par for the course.
We make our way towards the back office.
“Well, well, well,” Stanton muses beneath his breath. “Lookie who showed up.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Did you realize?” my brother asks, one eyebrow quirked.
I shake my head. “Not in the slightest,” I assure him.
Once in the office, we shut the door and sit down to our own dinner. Normally we’d opt to dine with our new charges, but we always like to give them the first night to get to know one another without any outside influences. I take a large bite out of my turkey melt before bringing up the subject of Juniper again.