Twin Secrets

All the Elliott boys had grown up with a rather lavish lifestyle. They were all doing what they loved, but they’d also been handed a handsome inheritance when their grandfather passed away. Still, regardless of their last name, they worked hard and played hard.

“You aren’t the only one with goals,” he stated as he steered Lighting toward his brother’s house, settled in the back of the property. “That log home back there is Nolan’s.”

She may not care about his family, but she was going to be working for him and he took his ranch very seriously. At the end of the day, regardless of the fact he wanted her physically, she would have to do the job he hired her for.

When she remained silent, he kept going. “He’s the oldest. He’ll help occasionally, but he’s a surgeon so his time is limited.”

“He sounds nice.”

Colt agreed, even though her comment was a jab at him. “I have another brother, Hayes. He’s in the army.”

“Wow. Two brothers who give back and help others, then you who steal. We haven’t even discussed your movie star brother.”

Colt swallowed. “My twin, Beau. He rarely comes home. Ranch life was never for him.”

Beau and Colt never saw eye to eye on most things, but they had a special bond. Colt loved Beau, even though he wished he would’ve stuck around. Apparently fame was more important than family.

“Sounds like they made wiser life decisions.”

Colt had developed thick skin over the years. He couldn’t be in the ranching industry and not toughen up. But he wasn’t about to sit there and have her question his integrity or his purpose.

“My grandfather built the first house on Pebblebrook, the one Hayes lives in when he’s home. Then he passed this land down to my father who ended up building the house I live in. We all work hard, Annabelle. We do what we love, we make good money, and that’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Once again, those green eyes turned to him. “No, you have plenty of other things to be sorry for.”

Perhaps he did. Maybe he was no better than her father who’d put her in this position. Colt didn’t want to expose his reasons for paying the loan. The fact she knew he had a motive was enough for now. A wise businessman never showed his entire hand from the get-go.

Annabelle hated him, that was definitely no secret. But he wasn’t backing down. Not on the land and certainly not on the woman.

Four (#u772d19fa-6018-5aaa-bbbb-500eeadf27da)

Annabelle absolutely loathed being on this horse with Colt. Well, her body enjoyed the ride, but that physical reaction didn’t mean a thing. So what if his body fit perfectly against hers? So what if his voice tickled her ear and sent shivers through her? She could handle that. She had bigger issues to deal with than her body’s unwanted reaction.

Colt seemed like such a normal guy in some ways. When he discussed his family there was such love, such adoration. The love and adoration she had for her own family had been shattered, broken, and she was left to pick up the shards and attempt to piece them back together.

The twins were the one bright spot in all of this chaos. They were precious, innocent, and Annabelle intended to keep them protected from the worries she faced. They would have a stable family life, maybe not the traditional family she longed for, but what was traditional these days?

Circling back to her more lustful thoughts, Annabelle couldn’t ignore the tingle each time his body rocked against hers. That broad, strong chest would brush her back, his muscular forearms aligning with hers. His tanned skin to her pale. They were completely opposite in every way imaginable.

Colt Elliott was a gorgeous man, there was no denying that fact. He was also arrogant, frustrating, and the bane of her existence.

“I’m sorry to hear about your sister.” Colt’s words broke through her thoughts, and he actually sounded sincere. “I know you don’t want to hear it from me, but losing a family member is hard.”

Harder when there was betrayal involved.

She didn’t want his pity or his kind words. She couldn’t afford to accept that there may be a nice bone in his body. “I’m more concerned with my father and how he will handle the loss.”

“That’s why you came back?”

Annabelle swallowed. “One of the reasons. My fiancé and I had plans, but...”

She was so not getting into this with him. She didn’t want to talk about how her entire life had blown up in her face over the past few months. The only bright spots were Emily and Lucy, and everything Annabelle did from here on out was for those sweet angels.

“I didn’t realize you were engaged.”

Pain pierced her heart, but not necessarily because she thought he’d been the one. Looking back now she realized she wasn’t in love with him so much as the idea of being in love. She wanted to be a wife and mother, come back to Stone River and open her bed-and-breakfast.

She’d always wondered about fulfilling her mother’s dream, but over the past year, she’d decided to just go for it. Yet now she was stuck in an arrangement with Colt, who, despite massive personality flaws, had more sex appeal than should be legal. Annabelle had to get her life back on track. She couldn’t handle this lack of control and uncertainty.

“My fiancé is no longer in the picture.”

Even with the bright morning sun beating down on them, she shivered. The pain, the loss, the trust she’d once had in people she loved was all too much. This topic wasn’t bearable.

“How many acres did you say you have?”

“Just over five thousand. There are three homes, mine, Nolan’s, and Hayes’s, for when he’s stateside. We have seven ponds and eight barns.”

Pebblebrook was like a city in itself. Annabelle would be lying if she didn’t admit that she was jealous. Not that she wanted a large spread like this, she’d be so content with getting her bed-and-breakfast up and running. Still, she was envious that Colt had known exactly what he’d wanted, apparently from the time he was a kid, and had accomplished it all. Granted, the majority had been handed to him, but Colt had stepped up as part of the new generation to lead the ranch to the next level and beyond.

Anger bubbled within her. He had it all and he still wanted more. She wasn’t about to go down without a fight. The bed-and-breakfast, her childhood home, was all she had to make something of her life and to secure a stable future for Emily and Lucy. So whatever he had in his head about her land, he could think again.

“Do you plan on taking me back and forth several times a day?” she asked, glancing back at him.

She hated looking over her shoulder because each time she did, she saw that sexy scruff along his jawline and those striking blue eyes. Not to mention the movement pressed her lower half deeper into the V of his thighs. It was like this man was created to drive her out of her ever-loving mind.

And she couldn’t forget the fact she’d seen him sans shirt. Like that was an image she’d ever forget. Colt Elliott had embedded himself in her deepest fantasies...not that he would ever know.

“If I’m not around, I will have Ryan or Josh take you. They are my most trusted employees.”

“It’s a ride home, Colt.”

His bright blue eyes zeroed in on hers, then dropped to her lips for the briefest of seconds. “They’re both married.”

“Just because they’re married doesn’t mean they’re committed,” she countered, hating the bitterness in her tone. “And I can take care of myself. I’m working for you, I’m not a little sister you need to watch over.”

A corner of his mouth kicked up in a naughty grin that had her toes curling in her boots. “Considering my thoughts, it’s best we aren’t related in any way.”

Annabelle jerked back around, her heart beating double time in her chest. “You aren’t going to flirt with me, Colt. I’m here to make sure those payments are made on time and I get to keep my house. So whatever it is you’re thinking, keep it to yourself.”

“But you’d enjoy every one of my thoughts,” he whispered in her ear.

The brush of his lips along her cheek sent tremors racing through her. How could she hate him and be so turned on at the same time? This man stood in the way of her only chance at a stable future.

No, her father had stood in the way, Colt was just an extra hurdle she had to jump. She really didn’t want to be one of those bitter, scorned women, but every man in her life had let her down. Why the hell would she expect any different from her new employer?

Besides, he was just trying to throw her off her game. And, damn it, it was working. She had to be sharper from here on out...and he needed to keep his shirt on.

“Let’s just stick to business,” she suggested as they neared a massive two-story barn.