Chapter 4


    Jake


    Once the fucking clouds break open, it appears they have no intention to stop tormenting us. The rain continues to pour for two days straight, making our work outside a lot harder. We’ve been repairing fences all day and I''m soaked up to my underwear.


    ‘Fucking hell, it’s cold in this fucking rain,’ Gary complains for the sixth time since we started on this fence.


    ‘Try actually working, that might keep you warm,’ Zane mutters under his breath, but not loud enough for Gary to hear.


    I don’t even attempt to hold in my laughter. Yeah, this kid is going to do great here! He’s not wrong, though. Gary may be our foreman, but he can be a lazy fuck sometimes, always assigning himself the easier tasks. Today, he’s tasked himself with handing us the nails, while Zane, Eli, and I have been hammering and lifting heavy wood beams all morning.


    ‘Come on, it’s almost lunch time. I bet Marjorie will have made us something hot to get warm,’ I try to console my workmates. We usually bring our own lunches, but Marjorie often whips up something warm for us to eat as well on cold, rainy days like this.


    ‘Isn’t she at the library all the time now?’ Eli asks.


    ‘I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,’ I shrug.


    ‘Let’s head back to the barn, before we’re drowning out here,’ Gary calls it, as he checks his watch.


    The four of us climb inside Gary’s pickup and drive back to the ranch home. Even though we’re already soaking wet, Gary parks as closely as possible next to the barn. When we’re not too far out on the terrain, we usually eat our lunches there together. However, before we can enter the barn, some of the guys already come running out.


    ‘There’s a leak in the roof,’ Kenneth yells at us. ‘We’re gonna need to fix it this afternoon, but the boss says we can all eat lunch in the kitchen today. The stable is still packed with the food deliveries that haven’t been put away yet.’


    ‘So you lazy fuckers haven’t been doing shit again this morning?’ I tease him.


    Kenneth flips me off before he runs towards the main house. I shake my head as the four of us sprint after him. We take off our wet coats and boots in the hallway, but we can’t prevent a trail of wet drops following us inside the Jenkins’ kitchen. It’s large, but not really big enough to hold all of us comfortably, which is why we usually eat outside or in the barn. But today, we prefer being warm and crowded over being cold and wet.


    I’m thrilled to see Marjorie standing by the stove, stirring a giant pan—looks like we’re definitely getting something hot to warm us up. I could kiss that woman right now! A small movement across the table catches my attention, drawing my gaze to the person I''d be even happier to kiss. The pretty nanny sits at the table''s corner, feeding Olivia from a bowl of oatmeal while simultaneously making a peanut butter sandwich for Violet. Amber''s blonde curls bounce around her shoulders as she laughs at something Violet says, though I can''t hear it over the surrounding noise.


    ‘Do you want some chicken soup, Jake?’ Marjorie calls out to me from her spot near the stove.


    ‘If I ever decline that offer coming from you, you will know something is horribly wrong with me,’ I shout back.


    I make my way towards her, squeezing past my coworkers who are resting and eating their soup at the kitchen counter. I’m still holding my wallet and keys in my hands and I quickly toss them on the counter, so I can accept the large bowl Marjorie hands me.


    ‘You’re a woman after my fucking heart, Marjorie Jenkins,’ I sigh. ‘If Ray hadn’t snatched you up already, I’d be sitting on your doorstep every day until you said yes to me.’


    ‘You’re too charming for your own good, Jake Harmon,’ Marjorie reprimands me with a playful wink. She knows not to take me seriously. She’s almost ten years my senior and she and Ray have a great marriage. Besides, I''m definitely not looking for a serious relationship.


    I turn around and find an empty spot at the kitchen table. I take a big spoon full of soup and look up, straight into Amber’s gaze. Her eyes were lingering on the shirt I''m wearing. Soaking wet, it clings to my body and I realize that she was definitely checking me out again. I chuckle, but when I give her a teasing wink Amber blushes and quickly averts her gaze. It’s kind of cute that she’s so shy, but I already know I’m not going to go anywhere near her. Ray has made it very clear to all of us where Amber stands with him. After we returned from feeding the animals yesterday, he called us all together. He sternly reminded us of the importance to treat the women on his ranch with the utmost respect.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ‘That includes Amber Scott,’ he said almost threateningly. ‘She has been a Godsend to our family. My children like her, my wife adores her, and personally I’m very fond of her as well. Since Amber started working for us, Marjorie is finally able to breathe again.’


    We all felt for him. It wasn’t a secret that Marjorie had been struggling after the birth of their youngest child. This had put a lot of pressure on Ray too. He’d been worried about her for the better part of a year, but they both seem a lot more relaxed now that Amber is around to help them out. Me and the other guys are certainly not going to mess with that.


    ‘You heard it, boys,’ Gary said teasingly. He patted Zane on his shoulder. ‘Hands off the pretty nanny. No dating her, and no funny business!’


    ‘Do you think I’m making a fucking joke, Gary?’ Ray had asked our foreman in a raised voice that he seldom used. We all knew it meant that he was serious and everyone of us had instantly turned silent. ‘Amber is an adult. She can do whatever the hell she wants, with whomever she wants to do it with. But I’m telling you that my family needs her, so I will not risk anyone making her uncomfortable and chasing her away.’ Ray had given each of us a sharp look. ‘Ranch hands are easily replaced around here. But finding a nanny who manages to get my daughter in bed on time, and gets my sons to eat their vegetables without my house becoming a nuclear war zone, is nothing short of a miracle. I try to live by the phrase “happy wife, happy life”, and having Amber around makes Marjorie happy. So you can all be damn sure whose side I’ll be on if any of you does anything that will make her want to run for the hills.’


    We all understood him perfectly. It doesn’t matter to me anyway. Not that I would’ve minded a little roll around in the hay with her–I’m definitely attracted to Amber, with her blonde curls and beaming smile. I would love to grab that voluptuous ass of hers as I shove my cock inside her, but she doesn’t seem like the type of girl who’d be interested in that sort of thing. Amber is all sweet and innocent, and definitely the kind of girl who has boyfriends instead of casual hook-ups. And I''m not really up for anything more than that.


    She’s probably better off with a guy like Zane, I think to myself as I catch him staring at her again with those puppy-dog eyes. Amber doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest in him, though. He’s probably a bit too young for her. But what do I know? Maybe she’s into the whole younger-guy thing. Suddenly, I get elbowed in the ribs by the guy sitting next to me.


    ‘Are you?’ Nick asks.


    ‘Am I what?’ I ask, confused.


    ‘We’re talking about our weekend plans,’ he says with an eye roll. ‘Are you coming with us to Pete’s or not?’


    Pete’s Pub is a local bar, strategically located in between a couple of large ranches. As a result, most of the ranch workers in the area can be found there during the weekends, as are plenty of willing girls who fancy the whole cowboy thing. It’s definitely a good place to find a hook-up, but I don’t hang out there as often as the other guys. I usually like to spend my free weekends at home with my family, and we go to lots of different places. Although some of my brothers don’t mind tagging along to Pete’s from time to time.


    ‘Don’t know yet,’ I shrug. I see my coworkers every day, so I''m going to check what my siblings have planned first, before I commit to anything. ‘Who else is going?’ I ask.


    ‘Me, Walt, Gary, David, Kenneth and Sylvester probably,’ Nick sums up. ‘Maybe a couple more. Eli and Carl are staying home with their women, of course.’ He rolls his eyes at me again, as if he can’t wrap his head around so much domestic bliss. I can’t suppress a smirk. Nick is just as much of a perpetual bachelor as I am.


    ‘What about you, Zane? Pete probably has root beer too,’ Walter smirks. Zane is not only the youngest ranch hand, but also the only one of us under the legal drinking age. The guys love to remind him of that and tease Zane about it all the time, even though we’ve all sneaked him the occasional beer after work during the hot summer days.


    ‘Forget it. I’m not going to play designated driver for you, Walt,’ Zane replies curtly. ‘I’m helping my parents this weekend. My grandmother is moving into a retiring home.’


    Some of the guys snicker, causing Zane to blush, but I see Amber looking at Zane with an appreciative glance.


    ‘I bet your grandmother is very proud to have you as her grandson. I think it''s very nice of you to help her move on your day off,’ Amber says. She sends him a warm smile and gently pats his hand, which makes Zane’s ears turn beet red. To my surprise, I feel a slight hint of jealousy.


    ‘What about you, Amber?’ Sylvester asks her politely. ‘Have you been to Pete’s yet? Or do you prefer going somewhere else?’


    ‘I just moved here, so I haven’t really been anywhere yet,’ Amber admits honestly.


    ‘We gonna go to gamma’s birthday!’ Violet suddenly declares loudly, while holding her half-eaten sandwich in the air.


    ‘Yes, we are, Violet,’ Marjorie smiles over her shoulder. ‘It’s your grandmother''s birthday tomorrow. There will be a big party and the whole family is going to be there, and we all get to sleep over as well. It will be so much fun to spend time with grandma and grandpa, won’t it?’


    I glance over at Ray, who is making a face behind his wife’s back. It’s no secret that he loves his wife dearly, but isn’t nearly as fond of her parents. Since they’re all going, I''m guessing they’re bringing Amber too. Having her pay attention to the kids probably means Ray and Marjorie actually get to enjoy the party. Isn’t that why they have a nanny in the first place? To enjoy a bit of free time?


    ‘Yes, it certainly will be,’ Ray sighs without an ounce of enthusiasm, which awards him an admonishing look from his wife.


    I chuckle and focus on eating my chicken soup before it gets cold. I decide I’m going to drive home tonight first and spend some time with my brothers and sister. If they all have plans tomorrow night, I can always drive myself to Pete’s anyway.