A Little Harmless Ride by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online

didn’t like your father.”
    She sighed. “Dad said her father was worse. Which is odd because Joe had no prejudice.”
    “ It isn’t common here.”
    She nodded. “I…I need a few moments alone.”
    As she started up the stairs, he said, “You know, there’s nothing unnatural about you, Crysta.”
    Crysta stopped, turned around, and walked down the last few steps. She stopped in front of him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
    “ For what?”
    “ For not being a total bastard about me having half the ranch. And…for being the son that Joe always wanted. He loved you like blood.”
    He said nothing as she turned and made her way up to her room. She needed time alone and a little rest. She had a group of men to talk to tonight and she had no idea if they held the same feelings as Sam or not.
    * * * *
    “ Did you take fingerprints?” Conner Dillon asked Eli.
    “ I’m not the bloody FBI, Dillon.”
    He made a sound that told Eli he wasn’t happy with that answer. “We see nothing here other than someone punching in the code. I’ll do some work on it and see if we can figure out just who the bastard is. Anything else?”
    He thought of the tire. “Not sure.”
    “ What are you talking about?”
    “ I had a flat tire. Just from looking at it, it looks like nothing, but I’ll take a closer look.”
    “ What the hell are you waiting for?”
    “ Jesus, Dillon, I’ve been busy. Had to get Crysta settled, then that bastard uncle of hers showed up.”
    There was a beat of silence. “He’s the one Joe was worried about?”
    “ Yeah, but I can’t see him doing that.”
    “ He wants the ranch.”
    Eli thought about it. “Yeah, there’s that. But he doesn’t have the money. Also, he couldn’t run around doing this kind of stuff. He’s not physically capable.”
    “ So, if you lose the ranch because Crysta runs off scared, he will be able to buy it very cheap, correct?”
    “ Yeah, but if that’s what he expected of her, he learned today that it won’t happen.”
    “ He threatened her?” Dillon asked irritation threading his voice. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that first?”
    Eli sighed. “First, I thought you would want to know the security breach first. And no, he didn’t outright threaten her, but it was close enough. But he damned near called her something that would have had me ripping him apart.”
    “ I understand.”
    Of course Dillon did. His wife was the heir to a large fortune, but the family wanted nothing to do with her, because her father had been black.
    “ She stood her ground though, so if that was his plan, I don’t think it will work. Maybe he learned that today and will back off.”
    “ Or get more dangerous.”
    That was what worried Eli. They had avoided Joe, even after he became ill. Maybe in their minds, they would be able to get some of the land. Why they thought he would give them some of the land in the will was beyond idiotic.
    “ True. The security is running now, but I think we need to change the code early this week. Make sure whoever had the code can’t get in again.”
    Papers rustled over the phone. “Sounds good. Do you want me over there?”
    “ No. I can handle her.”
    There was a beat of silence. “What?”
    Shit . “I mean…I can handle it.”
    He was slipping up on the phone with Dillon after the first day with Crysta.
    “ I’ll let you know if anything happens over here. It might all be coincidence.”
    “ You do that. And, Eli?”
    “ Yeah?” Eli asked.
    “ Make sure to keep your head screwed on straight.”
    Then the line went dead. Dillon was irritating but he was right. There might not be anything going on, but it would be best for all of them if he kept his senses clear. He needed to get over to Oahu and blow off some steam but he didn’t see that happening any time soon. So he just needed to suck it up.
    * * * *
    Crysta was nervous. It was like she was a student teacher in front of the class for the first time.