The circumstances were unconventional, but his buyout offer hadn’t exactly been normal either. After they’d hashed out an agreement, he’d asked her to stay on the premises as a caretaker, although she refused payment for the position. His property manager called her every other month to check in. Gavin and Rielle were friendly, but he didn’t know her. He hadn’t seen Rielle beyond her role as his personal chef, maid and property custodian. And because of that line—she’d essentially worked for him—he’d never noticed such a hot woman existed beneath the tie-dyed clothes and Marcia Brady hair.
You’re a superficial asshole.
Maybe, but it didn’t change the facts. Gavin hauled luggage to the porch, his depraved brain compiling a list of Rielle’s overlooked attributes. When he turned around Rielle and Sierra were staring at him. “What?”
“Dad. I said I’d help you like three times. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, sweetheart, I didn’t. Thinking about too many things, I guess.” R-rated things about the scantily clad and surprisingly hot Rielle that he couldn’t share with his daughter. “Let’s leave this stuff here and do a quick tour.” He faced Rielle. “Is that okay?”
She shrugged. “It’s your house.”
He detected tension in that answer and knew they needed to discuss specific living arrangements tonight.
“Besides, I’ll be in the garden until dark.”
“We’ll catch up with you later. Charlie and Vi invited us over for dinner.”
“The food oughta be good since Vi’s a great cook.” She grabbed three balls of dirt from the wheelbarrow and set them on the railing. “Take her some of these golden beets. They’re her favorite.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“Plastic bags are under the sink. See you.” Rielle lifted the wheelbarrow handles and Gavin had the urge to offer his help. But by the looks of the toned muscles in her arms, shoulders, back, ass, thighs and calves, she didn’t need help. He glanced at Sierra after Rielle disappeared around the side of the house. She wore an odd look. Shit. Had she caught him checking Rielle out? “What?”
“This will be weird, having someone else live with us.”
“I know. But we’ll figure out a way to make it work.” He set his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s check out our new digs.”
“Dad. No one says digs. You are such a dork.”
“I didn’t think anyone said dork anymore either,” he teased.
After Sierra’s initial outburst about their sudden departure from Arizona, she’d come to a grudging acceptance that something had to change. He suspected she was secretly relieved for the chance to start fresh and she had acted enthusiastic when she’d told her mother about the move. Gavin didn’t kid himself it was genuine, but rather a way for Sierra to show her mother she’d be too busy with her new adventure to miss her, but he hoped in time she would embrace this new life in Wyoming.
“This place has a lot of personality,” Sierra commented on the great room. “Is the furniture and stuff in here ours?”
“No, it’s Rielle’s.”
“Where is our furniture?”
Hell if I know. “Why?”
Sierra whirled around. “I hope it ended up lost or in the Dumpster.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why would you say that?”
“Because it was ugly and boring. Like you walked into a discount furniture store, saw a perfectly put together living room set, and said, I’ll take that crap.”
That’s exactly what he’d done. “And that’s bad…how?”
She pointed to a chair comprised of half cowhide, half distressed leather with braided piping on the front and animal hooves as the feet. “This is a seriously awesome piece. It says a lot about Rielle. She’s picked pieces that are unique, yet funky. I’ll bet she even made some of them.” Then Sierra poked him in the chest. “You could learn a lot from her.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning…we’re starting over, right? We need to shitcan that ugly furniture we’ve had forever. What bad taste demon possessed you to buy it in the first place?”
Gavin suppressed a grin. It boded well Sierra had bounced back to her annoyingly sweet and pushy self after clearing out of Arizona. “Because I spent damn near six months searching for furniture with your mother right after we got married. I hated everything she picked. So after the divorce, when I moved into the condo, I chose big, comfy pieces, without damn flowers or checks or stripes. Plus, the furniture had to be stain resistant, because you, dear daughter, have a tendency to spill ice cream, cereal and pizza.” He kissed her forehead.
Sierra twined her arms around him and sighed. “Dad. I’m not six anymore.”
“Sometimes I wish you were.”
“I know. But promise you’ll let me help when we pick out new stuff for our place, okay?”
He hugged her tightly. This was the daughter he’d missed in the last year when the teenager from hell had inhabited her body. “Okay.”
She squirmed away. “Show me the rest.”
The main floor was comprised of the enormous kitchen, the dining room and the great room. Down the hallway were a bathroom and two bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms. Gavin noticed Rielle had relocated to the biggest room in the far corner. He fought a pang of guilt for kicking her out of the master suite.
This is your house. Remember that.
A wide staircase opened onto the landing of the second floor. Another comfortable lounging area stretched out in front of the windows. Gavin turned down the left hallway and walked past the bedroom he intended to use as an office. He opened the door to the master suite and glanced up at the skylights spilling sunbeams across the plush carpet. The angle of the roof provided architectural interest. On the far side was a set of French doors that led to a private balcony. He poked his head into the bathroom, happy for the oversized shower, but ambivalent about the garden tub.
“This is a lot bigger than your bedroom in Arizona.” She hip-checked him. “You could sneak someone in here. Have wild parties and I’d never know.”
He snorted. “Like that’ll happen.”
“It should. I wouldn’t mind if you…ah, got involved with someone.”
Gavin gaped at his daughter. Since when did she care about that? And what the hell was her vague reference to someone? Then she flitted off, down the other hallway.
The last bedroom and Sierra’s room were opposite each other on the other end of the hallway. She squealed upon seeing her stuff. “I love it! This is exactly where I would’ve put everything. So can we hang my TV and set up my computer right now?”
He checked his watch. “We have to be at Charlie and Vi’s pretty quick so the TV will have to wait until I find my tools. But let’s hook up your computer.”
That task finished, they hauled everything from the car. He showed Sierra the small servants’ staircase connecting the second floor directly through the kitchen. Sierra tried the handle on another door. “Where does this go?”
“Basement.”
“There’s a whole other level?”
“Yes, but it’s unfinished and Rielle uses it for storage.”
“What are we gonna use it for?”
His immediate thought was to ask Rielle’s permission and he had to remind himself for the tenth time that he owned this place. “Maybe that’s where our old furniture is.”
“I hope there’s another wood burning stove down there, so we can just chop it up and torch it.”
Gavin laughed. “Come on. Let’s package up the beets and head to the McKays.”
Sierra didn’t speak as they started up the driveway to Charlie and Vi McKay’s place.
“Sweetheart? You all right?”
“Yeah. This might sound random, but what am I supposed to call them? I mean, they are my grandparents. When they visited us I didn’t think too much about it because I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to know them. But now? We’re living up the road from them. I bet we’ll see them all the time.”
Another issue he should address. Did he remind Charlie and Vi that he preferred they didn’t drop by unannounced? Or would he come across like a jerk?
“Is this weird for you?” Sierra prompted.
“Unbelievably. Just when I think I’ve wrapped my head around it…I realize I don’t have a clue how to deal with any of this we’re your family stuff. And then they’re all cowboys. I am so far from a cowboy…”
“So Mr. I’ve-always-got-the-right-answer-and-I-can-lecture-you-for-hours-on-it…doesn’t have the right one this time?” She snickered. “Wow. That might be a first, Dad.”
“Smart aleck. I trust you’ll be on your best behavior?”
“I polished my halo before we left.”
He smiled. “Come on. I’m starved.” He glanced at the bag of beets in the backseat. Maybe if he “remembered” them after the meal, Vi wouldn’t insist on cooking them for the meal. God. He hated beets.
“Quit stalling, Dad, here they come.”
He plastered on a smile.
Charlie and Vi met them on the porch. Vi hugged them while Charlie offered his hand.
Then they stared at each other.
But it lasted about a minute. Awkwardness vanished as Sierra jabbered enough for both of them.
Chapter Four
Rielle had just popped the top on a bottle of Moose Drool beer when Gavin wandered into the kitchen.
Speaking of drool. Man, oh, man. The last year had been very good to him. He’d always been attractive in the charming and confident manner of a businessman. But since she’d last seen him, he’d slimmed down and toned up to the point he was almost…buff.
She’d chalked up his previous physique—or lack thereof—to sitting behind a desk all day. But his appearance had undergone a serious change in the last year. He’d chopped off his wavy dark brown hair in favor of a modified buzz cut. Now his blue eyes, framed with ridiculously long black eyelashes, were his most striking feature. He sported a neatly trimmed goatee which accentuated his leaner cheeks and the strong line of his jaw, both more prominent with his overall body weight loss. The man still didn’t smile as much as he should, so her heart skipped a beat when he leveled a smile at her.