Seeking Love in Salvation (2 page)

“It will be fine,” Sparrow mumbled and then continued to work. It had been difficult for all of them to retire from the service, leaving their lives as Green Berets behind them. Having family out here in Texas had helped, and especially living in a place like Salvation. There were plenty of other men and women in the military still serving or retired, plus a lot of first responders. It was a great place to live and to settle down and, hopefully, to find some peace.

Sparrow thought about his cousins, Laverty, Ford, Ghost, and Evan, who also worked on the farm and lived a little ways past their ranch, five minutes from here. They were all close, always had been, and they’d made their parents crazy with worry when they all entered the service one by one. They were lucky enough to come back in one piece, except for Trevor.

Sparrow swallowed hard.

“Sparrow,” his other brother Ridge called out to them. He was walking over, carrying the truck keys.

“What’s up?” Sparrow asked, wiping his brow.

“Got to go head back to the house. Got some woman interested in renting the cottage.”

Sparrow and Beck both responded, “Really?”

Ridge nodded his head and then adjusted his brown cowboy hat. “Yup, and from the tone of her voice, she sounds like she’s from the northeast, New York or someplace.”

“Okay, you want to take Beck along?” Sparrow asked.

“No, I can handle this. Once you guys finish up we can call it a day and head out to Casper’s or something. Gunny and the guys are going to be there.”

“Great. Good luck,” Beck said, and then Sparrow watched Ridge walk toward the truck. He wondered who the renters might be and hoped they weren’t nosey or annoying. The cottage was a good distance from the main house, but he could still see the back porch and yard from where their wraparound porch was.

“I wonder who it is and if they’ll like the place?” Beck said aloud, carrying the last two bags of feed.

“What’s not to like?” Sparrow barked. “We renovated the whole thing, and everything is new in it. Plus, the price is cheap.”

“We could have charged more. Plenty of guys are coming back this way and looking to settle down.”

“Well, it’s a good twenty minutes form the main town. Not everyone likes that, and the only two ranches are ours and our cousins’ place.”

“I guess you’re right. We’ll just have to wait and see what Ridge has to say when he gets back,” Beck said to him, and they went about finishing up their work.

* * * *

“I don’t know about this. It’s, like, far from town. Are you sure your friend is trustworthy?” Lois asked Valentina as they waited in the long driveway to the small, nice-looking cottage. It was out in the middle of nowhere, with trees and gorgeous greenery. Not far to the left was a large, picturesque ranch with livestock and it looked impressive. To the right was another house, just as big but designed differently. They were both stunning and both had the letter B in script on their front gate entrances.

Valentina swallowed hard. She knew Helena back in the police academy in New York. They even worked together for a few years, but then Helena’s mom got sick and she wanted to be closer to her back in Dallas. She got the transfer to the Dallas PD and then went into the special operations unit for the police department. She was tough and always gave Valentina a run for her money when they sparred in the gym together. Helena was already making plans for Valentina to train at some cool dojo, but not until Valentina was fully recovered.

She stretched her arm and felt the ache in her side and her chest. Multiple operations and months of physical therapy and she was feeling almost herself again. Except for the anxiety and occasional nightmares.

“Helena wouldn’t steer us wrong. Look, there’s even a fenced-in yard, which will be perfect for Kenny,” Valentina said and glanced into the back seat to see him sleeping. She swallowed hard. The poor kid and his mother had post-traumatic stress disorder. They were going to meetings with the school this week to see about homeschooling him for a year or two.

“Here comes a big pickup truck. Probably some redneck hillbilly with his teeth missing,” Lois stated, looking wary but trying to act tough.

“I doubt it. Weren’t you paying attention during that drive through town? Seems like something good is in the water. I’ve never seen so many good-looking people in one place,” Valentina said to her and then got out of the car. She glanced at her sister.

“I’ll stay here with Kenny.”

“Don’t you want to walk through and see it? We’ll be living here together and we need to make these decisions together.”

“I trust you,” she whispered.

Valentina’s heart tightened at those words. Lois did trust her, with her life and with Kenny’s.

She closed the door and prepared herself for whatever was about to take place. She didn’t know if this guy would be friendly or have an attitude. She got her police guard up and then stopped short as he got out of his truck.

Goddamn, was this guy hot. Totally cowboy from head to toe, hat and boots included. The added bonuses were his tight blue jeans and that firm, fierce expression as he took in the sight of her and seemed shocked.

“Valentina?”

She gave him a nod and reached her hand out. He towered over her by at least a few inches. She was average height, about five feet four. He was big, thick all over with muscles, and had a nice tan, to boot. His dark brown eyes bore into hers, and then she felt him gave her body a quick sweep with his eyes. Man, did he pack a punch.

“I appreciate you meeting us out here like this. I thought we would have arrived late tonight, but I made good time.”

He glanced at the car and saw Lois.

“Are just the two of you interested in the place?” he asked and then looked her over again.

“Yes.”

He nodded and then looked at her strangely as he pulled out a key.

“Does she want to come check it out, too?” he asked.

“No, she’s leaving it up to me,” she told him. He raised one of his eyebrows at her funny-like and she didn’t know why. Then he gave her a nod and started showing her the place. It was absolutely stunning outside, and as he unlocked the door, she was shocked at how beautiful it was inside.

“There are three bedrooms, but I guess you’ll only need one. There’s a laundry room off the kitchen and plenty of wood outside for the fireplace, but once that is depleted you’ll need to get your own delivered if you like the place.” He rambled on so quickly about everything her head was spinning. He was not a patient man, and his abruptness put Valentina on edge.

“So, it’s eight hundred a month and that includes utilities?” she asked him.

“Gas and electric only,” he said and looked her over like he was analyzing her body. She walked away from him to look at the size of the rooms, and when she turned around, he was standing in the doorway watching her.

* * * *

Ridge couldn’t believe it. Two women, maybe lovers, were going to be renting their cottage right next door. The woman was super hot, too, and didn’t look like the masculine type, but her comment about the other woman letting her decide on the cottage had to mean something.

He stared at her ass. It was incredibly perfect and stuck out just so in a sexy way. She made those blue jeans look painted on, made to follow the curves of her body. She wore a slim-fitting hoodie with a rounded collar shirt, both in black, but it was her gorgeous blonde hair, with streaks of light highlights against those blue eyes, that made him stare. And now, get caught doing so. He heard a door open and then little feet, like a kid running.

“Aunt Val, Aunt Val!” a voice called out, and she stepped past Ridge as a little blond kid with tears streaming down his cheeks ran toward them. At the sight of Ridge, the kid stopped short and then covered his face with his hands and fell to his knees. He didn’t know why the kid looked so scared. Valentina squeezed by him and got to the little boy quickly. She lifted him up into her arms and held him close. “I got you, honey. You’re fine. I didn’t go far, and I’m not in any danger,” she said to the kid. It struck him as totally strange, but then he focused on the one thought—the kid called her aunt.

Valentina turned around, holding the boy, and she smiled. So did Ridge as he looked her over again. He had it all wrong.

He felt his chest tighten and his cock instantly harden.

“Sorry about that. It’s been a long haul out here, and we’re all a little high-strung. So, when is the place available for us to move in?” she asked.

He heard the door creak open and there stood a woman who looked almost identical to Valentina, but her hair was a darker blonde. She looked a little pale and kind of sickly. His chest tightened again. God, he hoped the woman wasn’t dying or something. The poor kid. Shit, what the fuck was he thinking?

“It’s move-in ready. We just need to call the cable and utility companies.”

“Great. Are you our landlord? So if anything comes up it’s you I call or contact?” she asked him.

“It’s me and my three brothers. We live right next door on the ranch.” She swallowed hard and looked him over.

“The ranch on this side or that side?” she asked.

“We live on this one to the right of the front door, but our cousins—there are four of them—they live there.”

“Oh,” she said and then glanced at the other woman he assumed was her sister. Her sister shook her head no and stared at him like he was some sort of criminal. It was disconcerting, but every ounce of his instincts kicked in. These women were on guard for a reason.

“Can you give us a minute to look around and discuss it, please?” Valentina asked him.

“Sure thing,” he said and gave her a nod as he passed the other woman. The woman lowered her eyes and looked away and then took a few steps clearly out of his path. He waited outside on the porch.

Strange. Really strange.

* * * *

“We can’t take this place. There are too many men all around us. We don’t t know them or what they’re capable of.”

“Helena wouldn’t place us in danger. This cottage was her recommendation and she said it was beautiful and safe. I believe her. I like this cottage. It’s perfect, and we can have our own rooms.”

“Kenny stays with me, anyway.”

“For now, but eventually he’ll need to sleep in his own bed. We talked about this with the therapists.”

“I know. I don’t want to be alone out here without you, though.”

“You won’t be, too often. I need to work, and that consulting job with the Texas Rangers is perfect. It’s only part-time and three days a week I’ll be home by three o’clock. Come on, Lois. Kenny needs a stable home. This is our new beginning. We can put the past behind us and live a happy life here. I just know it.”

“It’s far from town.”

“It’s twenty minutes to town and fifteen to that gorgeous farm we heard about. It will be really nice to live out here. It will be peaceful. We need some peacefulness, Lois.”

“I like it,” Kenny said and hugged Valentina tighter. She chuckled.

“Okay, if you say so,” Lois said and then crossed her arms and looked around.

“Why don’t you go with Mommy and see which bedroom will be yours?”

“Okay,” he said and reached for his mother. Lois took him into her arms. She was still weak, very depressed, and frightened. Valentina had to make sure her sister ate and stayed positive. Being attacked, sexually assaulted, and seeing Valentina get shot and her son get hurt had been traumatic for Lois. Valentina, on the other hand, put all her own anxieties and fears aside and focused on Lois and Kenny and getting them through this. All they had was one another.

She walked toward the door and the porch as her sister and Kenny walked around the place.

The sight of the big cowboy made her feel kind of funny inside, and she didn’t know why. He turned around to look at her as he leaned against the front porch.

“We’re going to take it. When would you like the first month’s rent, Mr. Brazos?” she asked him.

He held her gaze with a peculiar expression, almost as if he were trying to read her mind or something.

“The name is Ridge, Valentina. How about when you move in I’ll stop by and take a deposit of half, then in a week if you, your sister, and nephew are comfortable and set on staying, I’ll take the rest?”

She stuck out her hand. “Deal,” she stated, and when he shook her hand, he held it a moment longer than necessary and their eyes locked on one another. He released her hand and she turned around to see her sister in the doorway, holding Kenny.

“Ready, kiddo?” she asked Kenny.

He made a sad face. “We not staying here?”

She reached out and caressed his cheek.

“Not tonight, but first thing tomorrow morning we’ll be back and we’ll get the house all cleaned up and ready for us.”

“Yeah!” He cheered and fist-pumped. They all chuckled, even Ridge.

“Cute kid,” he said and then locked up the door as they headed down toward the car. Lois was getting Kenny into the car seat.

“Thank you again,” Valentina said, and he just nodded. He seemed to be a quiet guy, but nice. Hopefully everything worked out just fine around here.