The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“My name’s Jed Friessen, and this shithole dustbowl is my place.”

Diana was positive she gasped out loud. He gave her a questioning look, so she quickly dropped her gaze, her face burning when she realized he was most likely related to Andy Friessen. That was when she really looked at the good-looking cowboy with the broad shoulders, long legs, and a butt that would draw the eye of every lady in the county. She realized there was some resemblance in the build, the same lean hips and waist. But Jed’s shoulders and chest were wider and more filled out than Andy’s. He had similar features in the harsh lines of his face, and he was big, most likely the same height. And he eyed her from head-to-toe with dark eyes, not blue ones. Maybe that was why she breathed a little easier. When he watched her now, she could tell he wasn’t a man you’d ever want to cross, so maybe, in some ways, he was exactly like Andy, and for a moment that worried her. But there were some things about him that were different from Andy—the light brown hair on his square jaw and his cheeks, as if he’d not shaved for a few days. Andy would never let himself look so rough and dangerous.

“Here’s where you’re bunking. Cot in the corner. Outhouse is around back, outdoor shower beside it. Since you have no kitchen here, you’ll have to use the one in the main house for yourself. I’ll make room in the fridge for your food. But I won’t be tiptoeing around and worrying if I’m eating your food. I’ve got a group coming in that I’ll be taking out on the trail to one of the camps I’ve got next week. I train horses, and there’s manure around. So watch where you’re stepping. If it bothers you too much, grab a rake and clean it up.”

Diana stood in the narrow doorway of one of the tiny, rundown sheds beside the house. There were three identical sheds side by side. This one had a narrow board that she supposed served as the step. With one small window and no screen, it would be hot and stuffy at night. The cot was merely a wooden platform with a thin piece of foam against the wall. The room was so small that she’d bump the other wall if she bent over. There was no dresser, just a rickety side table beside the wooden platform and a couple hooks on the wall, with no mirror. She ignored Jed’s jibes at her inadequacies, and decided there was no point in avoiding it, because she knew he couldn’t think any less of her. She’d already given him the impression that she was a mindless ditz. But she wasn’t. She had a brain in her head, and common sense, and she had learned to listen, too. She had fight, and a sense of right and wrong. This backwoods shack had been the only place her realtor could find close to town that wasn’t owned or controlled by Andy and Todd Friessen. What she couldn’t figure out was how Jed was related to them or if he too would have her packing her bags, tossing her out in the night. She hadn’t come prepared.

“I didn’t have a chance to pick up any bedding… but I will tomorrow when I get into town, and can purchase some supplies.”

“You rented a place and didn’t bring bedding?”

She felt her face heat. She had expected—no, assumed—that her realtor had found her a furnished place that included linen and dishes, and she had somehow pictured a nice, rural place with trees, green grass, and lawn furniture so she’d not have to purchase anything. But then again, in the hurried phone call she’d obviously forgotten to be explicitly clear.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t. I just brought my clothes, essentials. I just assumed that everything would be here. You do have wireless internet access, right?”

He had to; everyone did. She would need it to start her practice and to stay connected in this fast-paced electronic age. The look he gave her would have had her taking a step back, but a quick glance over her shoulder had her gripping the edge of the doorway before she landed on her butt in the dirt, a few feet down.

“I have internet inside my place for my computer. No wireless. Sorry, you’ll have to make do without all your fancy gadgets.”

He brushed past her then and hopped over the narrow step to the dirt. She watched him as he strode to the small bungalow that was a work in progress, leaped onto the wooden box that served as a front step, and disappeared inside. Diana dropped onto the thin foam and lowered her face in her hands. Well, she’d probably have walked away from herself, as well. She had to deal with ditzy women all the time. She was afraid that he was seeing a side of her that people expected to see, all because she was Faye Claremont’s daughter, or at least she used to be. She was interrupted from her pity party when Jed hopped up into the room and tossed a sleeping bag and a towel beside her on the foam mattress.

“It’s all I've got to spare,” he said.

Her heart squeezed just a little. “Thank you. I realize you probably think I’m a mindless ditz. After yesterday in town, and, well… This was all so last minute. I’m not usually like this,” she stammered.

This wasn’t going well, because he was now watching her in a way that Diana couldn’t read. She couldn’t explain more of who she really was and have him look at her the way everyone in town had, the way Andy did. But the man before her had a face as hard as steel. He controlled his emotions to a point, guarding what he was thinking better than anyone she’d met. So she just stopped.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll shut up.”

He pulled his hat off and ran his large hands through thick, wavy brown hair; hair that was so appealing that she found herself wondering what it would be like to run her own hands through it. But then he frowned, as if reading her mind, and swept his gaze over her in a way that had her blushing once again. So she cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“I’ve never ridden a horse. Always wanted to learn. If I pay you, will you teach me?”

He didn’t answer for the longest time, just watching her, maybe trying to figure her out. “I hope you packed something better than those sandals and other things to wear around here, because you won’t be stepping into the corral with that skimpy thing on, and you won’t be getting anywhere near my horse with those open-toed sandals.”

Diana clutched the skirt of her pink sundress and darted a glance at her bare toes. “I wore this for comfort while I was traveling today and because it’s so hot. Don’t worry; I did pack jeans, and I have a pair of hiking boots. Anything else I need, I’ll pick up in town when I go.”

“Well, then. Meet me by the barn in an hour, after you get settled, and I’ll introduce you to your ride.”

He left without glancing back. This time, when Diana stood and wandered to the open door, she didn’t try to hide her appreciation as she studied his butt and the way his faded jeans outlined perfection. If there were a buns contest for cowboys, she’d swear he would win, hands down… or hands-on. What pleased her more than anything was that her burning ache for Andy cleared just a little. Maybe there was hope yet that she’d get over him.