Their Rustic Retreat (The Men of Evergreen Mountain #5)

5. Tristian

FIVE

tristian

I didn’t expect there to be so much of a change between working as a bouncer and working the fields.

When you’re bouncing, you’re just trying to make sure things don’t go wrong. Making sure no one starts fights, no one is harassing the other patrons too much, or doing anything too inappropriate where everyone can see.

Versus out here in the fields?

I’m sweating my ass off all day. I’m building up quite a tan. I’m pushing machines around, carrying hay, making sure everything stays moving, cows and harvesters alike.

When the day starts and when the day ends look so completely different. Progress has been made.

And I think I’m liking it here a whole lot. Way more than I thought I would when I first started.

The truck is fully filled with the hay Mr. Bell wants to send out tomorrow morning, and with that, my day is done.

My muscles are sore, I’m hot and sweaty, and yet I feel fantastic.

Especially with how I’m set to go and meet with Serena later.

I’m about to head out to my car when I see there’s already a truck there, blocking my way out.

“Oh, you. Hey, you’re Serena’s brother?” I say. “Hawk, was it?”

He nods. “And you’re Tristian.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Something up? Was your cow, like, defective or something?”

“Nothing to do with that. I’m here to talk to you about my sister.”

“Did something happen?”

He shakes his head. “She’s fine. But I need you to stay away from her.”

“What? Why?”

His glare is somewhat threatening. “My good friend knows that you got something to hide. He’s been digging for a while on my behalf, and picked up that you’re here in Evergreen Valley for more than the fresh air and sunshine.”

I freeze. I guess I couldn’t avoid my past forever; someone was going to find it eventually. “Look, man, I haven’t done anything. I’m not wanted for anything; the cops aren’t about to show up and haul me off to prison.”

I’m not telling him lies. I’m not one to lie at all unless I got a damn good reason to do so.

“I don’t know enough to believe you. All I know is I don’t want my sister wrapped up in any of your nonsense. She’s too young and na?ve to be drawn into this, and the last thing she needs is to finally find a good school and for them to have her reject her because she suddenly has a criminal record.”

“I’ve never done anything criminal, Hawk. And I would never ask Serena to do anything like that either. I don’t want to hurt her and want to see her succeed just as much as you do.”

“Then stay away from her. At least until I can be sure that you’re as clean as you claim to be.”

“And I insist your sister and I are both adults, and we can make our own decisions.”

He steps up to me. We’re about the same height, but I’m a little wider, muscle-wise. That little disadvantage of his doesn’t make him back off, though. “Well, here’s your warning. If you ever make her cry, or hurt a single hair on that pretty little head of hers, I’m going to hunt you down, and I’m going to do things to you that are probably illegal to even speak aloud.”

“Trust me, if I did any of those things, I’d let you.”

He grumbles and steps away. At the end of the day, my words are true. Serena and I are adults, and we are free to live our lives in any way we desire.

Hawk climbs into his truck and leaves me alone, and I head to my car and turn the ignition on. I wondered if I should talk to Serena about this. Maybe she already knows.

Before I can back out of Mr. Bell’s ranch, though, I damn near jump out of my seat.

“Hello, there, Tristian. Long time, no see.”

He’s sitting there. In my back seat. Staring at me via the rearview mirror.

“The fuck? How long have you been sitting back there, waiting for me, you freak?”

“I’ve only been here for an hour. Maybe ninety minutes. The back of your truck is really quite comfortable.”

“I don’t give a fuck if it’s comfortable or not; you don’t break into people’s cars and take a nap, Jessie Joe.”

“Well, I needed to find you, and I’m a respectful type of guy. It didn’t feel right to interrupt you when you were hard at work. Or talking to some redneck. I wanted to wait until it was just you and me.”

He’s a gangly, pale mess of a man. Short with balding, with wisps of blond hair, he always sort of creeped me out. I wondered if he was like this before he got into this business, or if he just let the job mold him.

“Respectful type of guy? Who breaks into other people’s cars in order to scare them? The hell kind of drugs are you on?”

“Hey, I do what I need to get the job done. The past is the past, now, though, Tristian. Now it’s about the future. Your future with the organization.”

“I have no future with the organization, Jessie Joe. And they know that.”

“We need you working for us, Tristian. We need your assured silence.”

“Was I ever really working for you? It was the club that gave me my paychecks.”

“And where did the club’s money come from? You can’t be pretending to be that stupid, Tristian.”

I grumble. I was never that dumb. But there were enough layers that I could pretend to have legitimacy in my profession.

“Come back home, Tristian. Paul is waiting for you. Paul needs to be assured that you still care.”

“I ain’t talking, Jessie Joe. That should be enough for them.”

“He’d be more convinced if you still had your ties.”

“Well, he ain’t getting those ties back. Get the fuck out of my car. The answer remains no.”

Jessie Joe grumbles. “Fine. Just know that we do know how to truly hurt you, Tristian. We know everything.”

The scumbag slides out of my car and closes the door behind him. It leaves me alone, and I grimace.

I suddenly see why Hawk is so concerned.

But I’m not cutting Serena out of my life. Seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, feeling her tremble in my arms, it fills me with something I didn’t have before.

Hopes. Dreams.

For a future that when I was a teenager, seemed quite bleak.

I’ll just have to protect her from whatever may come our way.