Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) Read online

  Their laughter, however, drew my attention to a new guy in the room, who closely resembled Gavin. His face was softer than Gavin's, with less rough edges, and his body was slightly lighter in build. His hair was a paler shade of blonde, poking out from underneath the cowboy hat he wore on his head. His sky blue eyes flicked over me before focusing back on Gavin. They weren't identical twins, but they carried too many similarities to not be related, making it easy to see that they were twins. However, he seemed to have a more relaxed personality than Gavin's aggressive one, polar opposites personality wise, or at least that's how it seemed.

  I had just met them both, so nothing was for certain yet.

  "Ya haven't met Wyatt yet, Honey. He breaks in a lot of the new horses for us, does a fine job of it too. You should see him at the rodeo, riding those broncs. He's won several belt buckles too,” Polly turned to Wyatt, "Wyatt, you should show her your belt buckles sometime,” Polly rattled on, handing Gavin a plate of food before shooing him into the dining room.

  Wyatt seemed to be a man of few words, only nodding to me and tipped his hat, murmuring a, "Yes ma'am" to Polly.

  Polly directed everyone to grab the food and head to the table with it, so I picked up a plate of bacon before following everyone.

  As I walked into the dining room, I froze when I noticed a new guy at the table. He must be the other guy Polly had mentioned last night at dinner, though I hadn't been paying attention enough to remember his name. I did however, feel immediately drawn to him.

  His black hair hung around his handsome face, his biceps flexing as he reached across the table to grab a couple pancakes off a platter. He was freakishly hot with a model body and breathtaking in a dark and broody way, but that wasn't what drew me to him. It was his intense steel eyes, calculating everyone's movements as if he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was obvious he was the black sheep, the odd one out, just like me.

  I finally got my legs working again and headed towards the table, this time finding a spot away from Gavin, hoping that if I wasn't right in his line of sight he wouldn't target me again. Somehow though, I knew it wouldn't make any difference where I sat.

  "Hey, Bacon Girl, pass some of your hot and scrumptious stuff over here,” Mr. Dark and Broody demanded, and I paused.

  Wait, was he talking to me? He had to be, I was, after all, still holding the plate of bacon.

  I blushed and started to pass it over to him, but a hand stopped my movement, "You better grab some of that while you can,” Landon remarked from his seat beside me.

  Was he talking about Mr. Dark and Broody? Because I wouldn't mind that one bit. "Once you pass the plate then there's no guarantee you'll get it back with anything on it."

  Ah right, he was talking about bacon, not his brother.

  I felt my cheeks burn hotter as I nodded silently and grabbed a couple pieces of the bacon before passing it over.

  Mr. Dark and Broody grabbed the plate, making sure to brush his fingers against mine as he took it, giving me a wink. "Thank you Sweetheart. I'm Jayden, but you can call me whatever you want," he said with a cocky smirk.

  "I'm Nova."

  "I know." Jayden, the previously-named Mr. Dark and Broody, said with a wink.

  I could have sworn I heard Gavin choke on his orange juice, but I couldn't really hear well over the pounding of blood rushing through my ears and into my cheeks.

  Is it hot in here or is it just all these guys?

  When everyone finished dishing out food onto their plates, Chili said Grace and again, I found my hands in the grasps of two hot guys. I was starting to like this saying Grace thing, as long as I didn't have Gavin crushing my hand in his. Everyone started eating and fell into comfortable conversation, talking about the cows or something, I wasn't really sure though. What did I know about cows other than they make milk and hamburgers?

  Absolutely nothing.

  "This morning we need to fix the fence in the North Pasture and then move the cattle there, they need the better grazing with them in calf now. The rest of you are with Nova at the barn,” Chili spoke, command clear in his voice.

  "You can take Landon and Jayden with you. I want to keep an eye on the..." Gavin paused, swallowing his next words as Polly sent him a warning look, "...on Nova."

  Chili straightened in his seat, exchanging a glance with Polly before speaking to Gavin. It was obvious they had already talked about this; either that or they had mastered talking through silent looks. "I want you on fencing with me Gavin."

  I could feel the tension in the air and everyone waiting for Gavin to argue or explode. His attitude problems must be a normal occurrence.

  "I'll go with you too, Chili,” Wyatt spoke up, stopping Gavin from saying whatever he was going to say.

  "It's settled then,” Chili nodded, his decision made.

  "May I be excused?" Gavin growled, stating it more than asking as he got up. He picked up his dishes and headed towards the kitchen, bumping my chair with his hip as he passed.

  Ooh, a hip chair bump, how evil!

  Everyone exchanged glances before going back to eating and I stayed quiet. At least I wouldn't have to be around Gavin very much today. I hoped the other guys would stay as nice as they were right now, though I'm sure once we got to working on the barn that it will be a different story.

  I didn't look forward to a barn raising one bit.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  After breakfast, everyone, with the exception of Polly, went outside and gathered on the porch. I had offered to help, but she insisted she had it covered and shooed me outside with the guys. Chili, Gavin and Wyatt headed off to work on the fencing right away, not hanging around for long. Chili drove the truck toward what I assumed was the North Pasture while Gavin and Wyatt rode behind on horseback, an extra horse for Chili trailing behind.

  I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped my lips when they were out of sight.

  "You ready to get to work sweetheart?" Jayden's voice spoke into my ear and I could feel his breath skim across my neck.

  I leaned away from him and put a finger on his chest, pressing until he leaned back, a risqué grin tugged at his lips. Instead of looking put off by getting pushed away, he seemed more intrigued and confident, liking the fact I had touched him, even if it had just been my finger.

  This guy liked a challenge.

  "I was born ready," I responded, propping a hand on my hip.

  They all seemed pretty accepting of me with the exception of Gavin, so without him here I was more confident. I felt I could speak with less chance of getting beheaded and put on a stake for opening my mouth.

  Jayden smiled, his eyes twinkling in amusement, "Let's get to work then."

  Landon and Dylan were both smiling as they followed Jayden across the driveway. Just as I started to relax, I tensed back up as my eyes traveled to the burned remnants of the barn. All the confidence I felt melted away and left behind only the truth, I had burned down their animals’ home and knew absolutely nothing about fixing my mistake.

  "We'll throw all this stuff in a pile over there, maybe we'll have a bonfire from it tonight,” Landon said, more to me than the others, as they were already gathering up burnt pieces of wood and other remnants from the barn to toss in a pile a little ways away.

  Well, at least it was something I could do.

  I nodded and worked quietly, doing what he had said. We worked in silence for a bit before Landon spoke again. He seemed pretty talkative compared to the other guys, it may just be his personality though.

  "So where are you from Nova?"

  Great, it was twenty freaking personal questions time.

  "Here and there,” I said, hedging around the subject.

  I had no interest in talking about my past or even thinking about it for that matter.

  Landon nodded as he continued working. When he spoke again, he asked a less personal question and I was grateful, "Music type?"

  "Mostly rock." Easy answer.

&nb
sp; "What kind of guys do you like?"

  I stumbled over a charred piece of... something on the ground. "Uh," I bit my lip and rubbed my neck before stopping, realizing I was probably rubbing dirt all over myself.

  "Easy, she likes broodingly handsome studs like me,” Jayden declared with a smirk.

  I blushed and threw more wood into the pile, my hands were starting to really hurt, but I ignored it. I wasn't a wuss; I could handle a little work.

  Was I really that easy for Jayden to read?

  "I'm not really sure,” I hoped to throw him off, I couldn't get involved with anyone here anyway.

  "Do you have a boyfriend?" Dylan blurted out before his face turned bright red with embarrassment and he turned away. I could practically see him mentally kicking himself.

  "I can answer that one too," Jayden said, throwing a sweaty, muscular arm over my shoulder, "It doesn't matter either way, because soon she'll be mine."

  Okay, sounds good to me!

  The scent of his cologne wrapped itself around me and I could feel my eyes rolling back just from the pleasure of breathing it in. Damn, he smelled good, regardless of how much he was sweating.

  He seemed like the kind of guy who liked a challenge, so if that's what he wanted, that's what I would give him. There was no reason I couldn't have a bit of fun.

  I rolled my eyes and slipped out from under his arm, missing his touch even before it was gone, "Right well, I don't have a boyfriend nor do I want one. I have too much going on right now."

  It was the truth; I wasn't lying. I didn't need a boyfriend right now, especially not with one of these guys; it would just complicate things further.

  "Keep thinking that sweetheart, you'll come to your senses and to me soon enough,” Jayden grinned.

  "You're so full of yourself."

  "I wish you were full of me,” Jayden chuckled darkly before both Landon and Dylan tackled him and all three of them went rolling in ash. Cursing came from them all as they rolled around on the ground before Jayden finally shoved them off of him, "Damn it, I got that shit in my eye."

  "Well, don't be such a douche," Landon remarked, dusting himself off.

  Dylan scrambled up as well, scowling at Jayden, who was walking off, rubbing his eye and cursing.

  Maybe this place was going to be more interesting than I thought, but I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

  Chapter 3

  A few hours later, we had finally moved on from picking up burned wood to using shovels and metal rakes to clear away the smaller debris.

  Jayden had come back awhile ago and went back to work. Now he paused to pull his shirt over his head, tossing it over a nearby fence. His body was gleaming with sweat and his abs flexed under his tanned skin.

  I found myself leaning against the rake I had been using with my eyes locked on his body. Hey, I was a girl. I couldn't help but notice when a hot guy took off his shirt to reveal more of his hot body.

  "Like what you see Sweetheart?" Jayden said with a devilish grin.

  "I'm sure she'd love this view a better," Landon remarked and I glanced his direction to see his defined six pack as he stood shirtless. My eyes trailed downward, following his V line until it disappeared beneath his pants.

  I blushed and looked away from the two hunks in front of me and found a safe zone with Dylan, who still had his shirt on. I walked over and propped my elbow on Dylan's shoulder, who tensed and blushed.

  "Eh, I've seen better," I claimed, shrugging Jayden's and Landon's hotness off.

  Like that was realistically possible.

  Jayden's eyes sparked and narrowed, "I doubt that Sweetheart."

  We all went back to work and I tried to keep my eyes off their bodies, which was extremely hard to do.

  My arms burned from the workout they were getting and my back ached from the constant bending and lifting. My hands felt raw and blistered under the black ash and dirt that covered them, and I paused, examining them. Dylan stopped beside me, examining my hands as I tried to brush some of the dirt off onto my shorts. He grabbed my hands, a frown causing his eyebrows to furrow.

  "Come here," he said, leading me to the water pump and turning it on, pulling my hands under the running water to wash the dirt and grime away.

  I was surprised by his sudden determined demeanor; it was so different from his usual shyness. I resisted the urge to tell him I could wash off my own hands. I didn't want to spook him out of whatever confident attitude had washed over him. Plus, the cool water and his skin on mine did feel kind of good. My poor hands weren't making it through the work very well. Blisters had formed on my palms, the rest of the skin a deep, raw red. I took a sudden intake of breath at the sight and Dylan's eyes flickered away from my hands and upward, pausing on my chest before back again.

  What was it with Dylan and always ogling my breasts? It was even covered this time!

  A blush burned his cheeks and he awkwardly let go of my hands, shuffling back a step away from me. It looked like he had snapped out of whatever trance he had been under, his confidence disappearing as he shifted back into his usual shyness.

  "You should probably go and put some ointment on them," Dylan suggested, not meeting my eyes.

  I looked at Landon and Jayden, who were both still working hard. I had caused this destruction. I would keep working until they stopped or I keeled over from dehydration and my hands fell off.

  "It's okay, I'm fine." It was true. I wouldn't die from a couple blisters. I had had a lot worse injuries than this, just not on my hands.

  "Um, you need gloves," Dylan muttered, yanking off his own gloves and shoving them into my grasp before walking away.

  Ah hey, gloves. That was probably a good idea. I glanced at the guys, and saw they were wearing work gloves. Apparently, it was a good idea the other guys already had.

  All of them had been wearing gloves all day and I hadn't even noticed.

  "Thanks," I called out to Dylan, who just hunched his shoulders a bit in a shrug and kept walking. He picked up his shovel and got back to work.

  Landon walked by and clapped him on the shoulder, but they didn't say anything.

  I slipped my hands into his gloves, which were still warm and slightly damp from his sweat, and flexed my hands. My hands still burned from the pain of the blisters, but at least I'd have some protection now. I put my gloved hands on my back and stretched, trying to get the pain in my back to ease up a bit and looked around.

  Didn't ranchers normally have tractors? Why weren't they using that to clean up the remnants of the barn?

  "Don't you all have a tractor we could be doing this with?" I asked as I grabbed my rake again, hoping I didn't sound like I was whining.

  The guys all paused and exchanged a glance, not really looking at me as they went back to work. Strange. They all seemed to be trying to avoid answering my question.

  "We don't have one,” Landon finally replied, but he still wouldn't look at me, none of them would.

  "Why not? Don't all ranchers and farmers have a tractor? It's like an unspoken law or something."

  They all exchanged another look, conversing among themselves without saying anything. Finally, Landon sighed and said, "We don't have one anymore. It was in the barn."

  Wait, I had destroyed their tractor too? Wow, was there anything I hadn't burned down that night? I can't believe how much damage I had caused by accidentally dropping a cigarette.

  How was I supposed to replace their tractor? I had no money to buy one, but that didn't mean it wasn't something that I needed to do. I felt obligated to put everything back the way it had been.

  "Oh,” I finally managed to say, watching as they just nodded and kept working.

  The air had held a comfortable work atmosphere before, but now it was tense and uncomfortable.

  The sound of a bell ringing caused me to look around in confusion. The guys set their tools aside and Landon glanced towards the house, where I saw Polly outside ringing a bell, "Lunch time."

&nb
sp; We walked to the house and as I passed Polly she smiled, "Lunch is on the table so y'all can wash up and eat."

  I nodded and managed a tiny smile, "Thank you."

  "You're welcome Honey. Ya better hurry up, those boys will eat everything in the house if ya don't get in there pretty quick."

  I wasn't sure how much I was supposed to wash up, I felt like taking a long shower but knew we'd be going back to work after lunch, so it wouldn't do any good anyway. I just washed my hands and face, threw on a new shirt and went back downstairs. I passed Polly by the door, who held out a pair of gloves, "The boys said ya needed some gloves to work in and I always buy extra pairs just in case. Ya can have these Honey. How are ya handling the work?"

  "It's hard but nothing I can't handle," I answer, hoping that was true.

  Polly smiled and shifted a basket of food on her arm, "That's good honey, I'm glad. If those boys start working you too hard then just say so. Sometimes they don't realize that not all of us can keep up with them. I'm gonna take these sandwiches out to Chili and the other boys now."

  Polly left the house. I headed to the dining room where Jayden, Landon and Dylan sat eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade. I took a seat beside Jayden, and Dylan passed me a plate with a couple chicken sandwiches on it. I took one and started eating it, glancing around the table at the guys, who were mainly focusing on inhaling their food.

  "Have you been to a rodeo before Nova?" Landon asked as he took another bite of his sandwich.

  "No, I haven't."

  "Well you can come to the rodeo with us next week, we're all going," Landon offered. "Dylan and I do team roping, Wyatt rides the broncs and Jayden and Gavin do the bull riding. Polly bakes her pie for the best tasting pie contest. It's fun, you should come."

  Going to a rodeo, packed with a ton of people that they'd probably want to introduce me to just didn't pique my interest. "I don't know."

  "Sweetheart, you haven't seen anything until you've seen me ride a bull," Jayden said.

  I couldn’t imagine that watching people get on top of raging bulls and attempting to ride it for eight seconds would be fun. I mean, there was every possibility they would be gored by the bull. I didn't want to watch that.