1
They looked like the gates to hell.
Charlie pulled her car up in front of the tall, wrought iron gates and sat there with the engine idling. She didn’t dare turn off the ancient Chevy for fear it wouldn’t start again.
And she’d be stuck here. Staring at the gates to hell.
“You’re letting your imagination get the best of you, Charlie,” she muttered to herself. “Toughen up and get out of this car.”
The pep talk did absolutely nothing to get her moving. She wished she could cuddle Inky, but she’d spotted a camera attached to the gate post. Last thing she needed was to be caught on camera hugging a soft toy.
Stop being such a baby. You’re a grown adult, act like it for fuck’s sake.
She cringed at the memory of Brian snarling those words at her, his face red with irritation, body tight with anger. He was right. The way he’d spoken to her was wrong, but she was naïve. She did act like a child. She shouldn’t and couldn’t expect anyone else to take care of her. She only had herself to rely on. And Inky, her toy octopus, but besides giving the best cuddles he wasn’t much help in the real world.
There is only the real world. That make-believe place she spent so much time living in wasn’t going to feed her or put fuel in the car or a proper roof over her head.
She had a chance at earning some money for a few weeks. Even better, the job came with room and board. She could be safe for a while, save her money and have a small nest egg when she left.
If she could just get through the gates.
Time to stop being a wimp. She couldn’t unwind the car window so she had to open the door and reach up to press the speaker button. Now she just had to wait for the devil to answer.
* * *
Clinton Jensen dismounted from his horse and one of his ranch hands led it away. Without wasting any time, he made his way with long strides towards the main house. His stomach grumbled. Breakfast this morning had been a pretty pitiful affair. Since the ranch cook, Neil had taken a fall and broken his leg, his assistant had been doing most of the cooking. Allan was getting on in years, though and he couldn’t keep up this workload. So, to give him a break, Bear’s woman had cooked for them this morning. Ellie was lovely. Sweet. Kind. Generous.
But she couldn’t cook for shit.
The eggs had been rubbery, the toast burnt, and what he thought was supposed to be ham was about as appealing as eating an old boot. Bear had given them all a hard look warning them against saying anything. Not that they would. Everyone loved Ellie, and no one wanted to hurt her feelings.
Thankfully, he’d just gotten word that the cook the agency was sending had arrived. If the men had to suffer too many of Ellie’s meals, then he and his brother would likely have a mutiny on their hands.
Unfortunately, they had no one else to take over. Neil and his wife were staying with their daughter in the city so he could be close to the hospital for appointments. None of the men could really cook, neither could his sister, Eden. Graciela had offered but she only knew one way to cook. With a very liberal dose of chili.
“Boss man!” Zeke strode towards him, a frown on his face. That was nothing unusual, Clint wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the other man smile.
“Hey, Zeke, you let the cook through?” he asked.
Technically, Zeke worked for his brother. Kent ran Jensen Security International. JSI’s headquarters were located up the hill, away from the main ranch. You couldn’t see the building from down here. Which is how Kent liked it. Paranoid bastard. Which is also why Sanctuary Ranch had the best security of probably any ranch in the United States.
“Yep, should be here any second.”
Clint frowned as he stared down the long driveway. “Must be driving slow. They probably sent me some damn big city cook who likes to cook with lentils and quinoa.” Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though, and at the moment he was pretty damn desperate.
He pulled off his hat with a sigh as he spotted a small, green car. Damn it. Definitely from the city. Nobody around here drove anything but a truck. He didn’t even think he could get his legs in the sardine-sized contraption.
“Boss man, there’s something I’ve got to tell you about the new cook.”
“Can it wait? He’s nearly here.” And Clint wanted to get him situated as quickly as possible so he could get back to work.
“That’s just it, boss. The cook ain’t a he.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, if he’s not a he, then …” Zeke’s voice trailed off.
“Fuck, they sent a woman, didn’t they?” Well, it looked like he didn’t have to worry about some city dweller on the ranch since she was going straight back to where she came from.
/> * * *
Okay, she took it back. This wasn’t hell. It was heaven. She drove slowly up the gravel driveway, not wanting to miss anything. She’d had to drive up a rather steep slope, but once she got to the top, oh, it was worth it. Settled in the valley was a huge house built of wood and stone. She could see other buildings nestled back further, some dotted among the trees that surrounded the area. The house was set between two tree-covered hills and in the distance beyond a snow-covered mountain dominated the skyline.
Beautiful.
Knowing, she couldn’t afford to keep her new employer waiting, Charlie drove down into the valley. How amazing would it be to live here? She headed towards the large house as she’d been directed to by the raspy, grumpy voice on the other end of the speaker. She hoped that wasn’t her new employer. Nerves danced around in her stomach as she stopped her car and turned it off. Here she was. Maybe her luck was turning around. Maybe this would be a fresh new start.
Suddenly the car door was wrenched open and a huge man loomed over her. She gasped, fear making her cringe back.
“Out. Now,” a deep voice growled.
Fear filled her. It took every ounce of courage she could muster to force her shaking body out of the car. The big man stepped back as she moved. She slid to the side, leaning back against the car in the hope that she wouldn’t collapse at his feet.
She forced herself to look up. And up. Into the coldest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen in her life. They glared down at her, studied her before he grunted. It was a noise that revealed his disgust and disappointment.
In her.
She cringed, unable to speak as this terrifying man loomed over her. His dark hair, with just a hint of gray at the temples, was overdue for a cut, his face was covered in a five o’clock shadow. He had a hard face. Not exactly handsome, but mesmerizing all the same. Or maybe it was just that she was too scared to look away.
“Name’s Clinton Jenson and you are?” he demanded. Had he been waiting for her to introduce herself? Of course, he was, idiot. Her cheeks grew red. She often forgot her manners, missed social cues. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was her upbringing. Or that she often lived in her own little world and didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on around her.
That wasn’t the problem right now, though. No, she was definitely in the here and now.
“Ch-Charlie Paulsen, sir.”