Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“While James was away in the Persian Gulf, Sarah’s brother became ill. Some mysterious illness that only a thousand people had ever contracted, so there was only anecdotal information and one experimental drug that might help him. Sarah’s family needed money for the medicine and Sarah was desperate to find it. Enter Justice Bear, the richest man in the county. He wasn’t a nice man, but extremely handsome, so when he heard about Sarah’s brother being ill, he saw an opportunity for revenge against Daniel James.”
“Let me guess? He swooped in and saved the day with her brother and behaved like a gentleman while doing it. When he made an offer of marriage to Sarah, she was starstruck because he’d saved her brother and agreed to marry him.”
“Partly. He knew it would take more than being charming to win her over, so he started with charming then offered her parents a million dollars if she agreed to marry him. Sarah and her brother were close. Real close. She would have done anything for him, and she did, to the bitter regret of Daniel James.”
“But it didn’t last because Skylar and her brothers exist.”
She nodded. “Funny that, some women won’t tolerate being belittled and made to feel like dirt by their own husbands. According to town gossip, she tried to take Chance with her when she left, but Justice stopped her and then kept her away from Chance for years. But Chance was raised to believe his mother left him behind to be with Daniel James, which is why he hates his siblings.”
“The courts gave him custody?”
“Sure did. My grandmother told me he lined the pockets of the local judges. Granny also said Chance never left the ranch. He had tutors and a housekeeper who took care of him. The old man did everything in his power to make sure Sarah never saw Chance again. And as far as I know, she never did. She died when he was a teenager and still under Justice’s thumb.”
“So buying their loan? I assume he did it because he’s jealous of Skylar and her brothers since he never knew his mother.”
“Jealous? Definitely. But it runs deeper than that. He hates them for no other reason than they exist. So did Justice. He used to sit on the deck and look down on their little cabin with contempt. He’d wanted to destroy Daniel James just for beating him in a poker game, but Daniel ended up having it all until Sarah died.”
Logan flashed back to the monstrous log home on the outcropping. Bear had been looking over their shoulders their whole lives, and now Chance was trying to ruin his own siblings in some misguided need for revenge. Logan’s only family had been his unit. He would have given anything to have them back, so it turned his stomach to know Skylar and her brothers were being terrorized by a man who should have been helping them. “So, he’s finishing what his father couldn’t: the destruction of the James family.”
She nodded. “That’s the word around town.”
Jordan returned with his plate of pancakes. She laid them down in front of him, then leaned against the wall next to his chair, and crossed her arms like she was settling in.
“Don’t you have a grill to clean?” Kenzie snipped.
Jordan raised her hand to stop Kenzie from talking further. “I’ll get back to work just as soon as I find out if Storm here is gonna help Skylar.”
Some would say he had no business getting involved because of his own fucked-up head, but he didn’t care. From the moment he walked up to Skylar’s truck, something had changed. The thread of his thoughts had morphed. Instead of being absorbed with pain and guilt, he was focused on someone else. On their problems instead of his own. Focused on light green eyes that made his cock strain inside his jeans in a way it never had before. He wanted Skylar, that much he knew, but he’d also been trained to serve and protect. He’d failed his unit, his brothers, that night over a year ago, maybe he could help save the James family and find some peace along the way.
“You want Storm to help?” Kenzie laughed the words out in amusement.
“Someone has to, and he’s got the shoulders to take on anything that comes his way.”
“Is that why you’re here, Storm?” Logan didn’t confirm or deny her question. The less anyone knew, the better. Kenzie’s eyes grew wide at his silence. “Don’t tell me you have a thing for little Miss James.” Her laughter quieted the room quicker than a gunshot. “Chance will crush you if you get in his way, so do yourself a favor, honey, and listen to me. Spend the day at my house then hit the road for greener pastures. Skylar doesn’t need you to protect her. Not when she’s got Ty Austen watching her back.”