Chapter One
“Fuck!” Rob yelled and jumped to his left as a limb came crashing toward him. He needed to get his head out of his ass and back on his job. It wasn’t like he was some paper-pushing pansy. He couldn’t afford to be distracted.
But the truth was he’d been nothing but distracted since Krista twitched her rear back into his brother’s life a couple of days ago. Since then, Toby had been M.I.A., leaving all the work to Rob and his brothers. Not that Rob could fault him. Hell, he’d stay in bed for weeks if he had a mate too. But that really wasn’t what had been distracting him. It was the fact that Krista had brought the knowledge, had brought hope back with her. She’d said her sister might have some answers that’d get them out of the prison of this land, and it was that hope that had his brain twisted tighter than rope. He really did love it here, but he often wondered if that was just because this was all he really knew. Well, he loved the serenity, not the isolation. Not the limitations. If he were free of the struggles of his beast, Rob felt as if he’d be able to fully embrace his life—all of his life—for the first time. Because he’d once and for all be able to find a mate to live out his years with. Hope. He was almost too scared to embrace it. Although his brothers had achieved the dream without any medical or chemical intervention, Rob wasn’t stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Mini-Krista could come up with some voodoo magic that’d turn his deepest desires into a reality, then he was all for it.
“You okay, bro?” Jack yelled from atop the ridge. Rob just waved his arm, signaling his response, then dropped both hands to his knees as he sucked in a lungful of air.
Exhaling, he straightened and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Lunch time yet?” he called out to Jack.
“’Bout that time. Toby just texted me that Krista’s sister is on her way. Should be here within thirty.”
That’d give them just enough time to get up to the main house and eat before meeting the chick with the answers. God, he hoped she could do something for them. Rob grabbed his gear so he wouldn’t have to make the trip back to this section after lunch. He’d be working on the other side of the ridge with Josh this afternoon, assuming he’d even be able to do a better job of concentrating then.
With a new female on the property, he highly doubted that, because if she looked anything like her sister, Rob knew getting help with his beast wasn’t going to be the only thing dominating his mind.
* * * *
“They’re here,” Jack muttered as he looked out the window. Could he sound any more brutish? Lord, Rob had no idea what any woman could see in his brother. Sure he had the same physical traits as the rest of them, tall, dark hair, light eyes—though Jack’s were blue—but his brother could be…well, a dick, actually. Where Rob was the jokester around here, Jack was the polar opposite. He was hard as nails when it came to work or anything else. He tried taking charge as if he were the oldest and ordering Rob and his brothers around whenever he got the chance. Jack wasn’t the boss. He was a jerk. “She’s not as lush as Krista, but she’ll do.”
“She’ll do?” Rob hissed. “What the fuck, Jack?”
“Jackson! That’s no way to act toward our guest. She’s here to help. And she’s a married woman. You will respect the bond she has with her husband.” Their father, Thomas, was never one to tolerate bad behavior and Rob breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he and Mikaela entered hand-in-hand. “Krista and Toby are on their way up with her sister. I could hear you in the hall. Now’s not the time to be bickering.”
“Jack is being a dick,” Rob said, throwing an evil glance in his jackass of a brother’s direction.
“Fuck off, Rob. Don’t even pretend you don’t want a piece of her ass. You’re just being quiet and noble in hopes it’ll pay off. At least I’m man enough to admit what I want.”
“Enough!” At Thomas’ tone, the room quieted and it was a good thing because Rob could hear footsteps outside and rumblings of muted voices.
The door swung open and Rob had to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. Mini-Krista was a vision. Beautiful. As she walked in, he took stock of her, drinking in every detail. Her lovely hair, big eyes, tiny nose. But as he cataloged everything from her hair to her baggy clothes, he realized the little nickname he’d given her in passing actually fit. Krista wasn’t fat. Not at all, but her sister was thin. Almost too thin. Did she not ever eat? She didn’t look sickly, but Rob had to tamp down this almost sudden, overwhelming concern for her that consumed him out of nowhere. What the fuck? She was a married woman. He looked away, needing to take his eyes off her to set his thoughts straight. It was probably Jack’s behavior earlier that made him have that reaction. As he glanced around the room, his eyes lit on his father before landing on Jack. Rob had to stifle a growl. Jack had the look of a predator tracking its next meal and readying himself to strike at the first moment of weakness.