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around.” He walked over and hugged Missy. “We’ll have to have dinner.”
    She nodded. “Soon.” He smiled and then turned towards Nikki.
    “Ready?”
    She nodded. “It was nice meeting everyone.”
    Outside, Ryan opened the door to the old green truck and handed her her bag. She sat it in her lap and leaned back against the soft seat. The truck smelled like hay, and for some reason that was comforting to her.
    “You have a nice family,” she said once he started driving.
    He looked over at her and nodded. “Yeah. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed them. I didn’t even know.” He shook his head.
    She smiled. “Why did you leave?” When he glanced at her, she continued. “I noticed that everyone avoided asking, but I assume it had something to do with your father.”
    He frowned as he turned the truck towards a dusty road. “Sort of.”
    She waited and when he didn’t continue, she asked, “What does that mean?”
    He looked over at her. “It was because of him that I was in a cemetery one night when the police squad assumed that I was there to meet for a drug drop. They hauled me away to prison. My father refused to pay my bail or send money so I could catch a bus back from Houston. Actually, he told me not to bother coming back. He apparently didn’t tell my brother before he died that I had joined the police force and was alive in Houston.”
    She watched the emotions cross his face and felt anger towards a man she didn’t know.
    “After I heard that the old man had died, I hesitated to contact Reece. By the time I’d worked up enough nerve, he was gone.”
    “He traveled with the rodeo for a few years,” she said. She had learned about his brother’s past as part of her research into the family.
    “Yeah,” he nodded. “He mentioned it to me over breakfast.” He looked down at his knuckles.
    “Why do you think your father didn’t tell him about you?”
    He shrugged his shoulder. “Why did the old man do a lot of stuff? He was crazy and mean as spit.” He shook his head. “He was always slapping at us, cussing at us.” He shook his head and tried to block the memories. “Reece had it worse than I did. I was surprised to hear that he stuck around so long.”
    “Your father died shortly after you left?”
    He nodded. “I didn’t hear about it until almost a year later.” He shook his head. “By then Reece had disappeared.”
    She reached over and took his hand in her smaller, much softer one and said, “I’m sorry.”
     

Chapter Five
    N ikki rolled up tighter into a ball and tried to shut off her mind. Ryan was sleeping just outside the bedroom door on the smallest couch she’d ever seen. She thought of him out there, trying to get comfortable like her. She could hear him moving around and thought of his long body trying to tuck up on the couch.
    “If you promise to keep your hands to yourself, you can come lie on the bed,” she called out and then held still, waiting for an answer.
    Ryan opened the door and smiled at her. “Thanks. I was thinking I’d have to chew off my legs to fit on that thing.”
    She chuckled and then sobered when she saw that he’d removed his shirt and was wearing only his loose fitting jeans. She’d changed into the sweat shorts and T-shirt that had been packed in her bug-out bag.
    She watched him walk over to the bed, his eyes on hers. He was impressive. She noticed several large scars on his stomach and chest. Her mind refused to stop thinking about how impressive his chest was. It was wide and the muscles in his arms were lean and toned. He had a sexy six-pack and his pecs were bigger than any she’d seen before. They had a light layer of sexy dark hair, which she imagined would feel soft against her body.
    “Keep looking at me like that, princess, and I can’t guarantee I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He smiled down at her. She glared at him then rolled over and punched the pillow until she finally felt comfortable. She felt him