Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Cowboy D-Force (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Brotherhood Protectors Book 4) Read Online Free Page A
the security code and waited for the gate to open enough he could drive his pickup through.
The wide concrete drive wove through a lodge-pole pine forest and up into the foothills of the Crazy Mountains. The trees thinned, exposing lush green pastures filled with grazing horses and cattle.
The road climbed upward and emerged near the top of a hill. A massive structure of rock, cedar and glass consumed his view.
This was a home in the mountains? Holy crap.
If he wasn’t being forced to babysit the diva, this would be a plush assignment. Then again, he wasn’t on vacation, nor would he be lounging by a pool, drinking Mai Tais and eating bon bons.
A muscular man, wearing pressed jeans and an equally clean and pressed white shirt, strode around the side of the house and waved at Duke. “Hired help parks in the servants’ lot behind the barn.” He pointed to a drive leading around to the back of the house.
Since he was the hired help, Duke followed the man’s instructions and drove around to the back of the house and down a slope to a barn bigger than the high school he’d attended. It was by far the biggest barn he’d ever worked around. It could be a convention center or big-city rodeo arena.
He parked his truck next to several others bearing the Love Land Ranch logo.
Getting out, he decided to leave his duffle bag until he learned where he’d be sleeping for this gig. He assumed he’d stay in the big house with Miss Love. If his task was to keep her safe, he’d have to be close enough to do that.
“Bodyguard?” The young muscle man appeared beside Duke.
Duke nodded. “That would be me.”
The man stuck out his hand. “Brandt Lucas. Foreman.”
“Duke Morrison.”
“Miss Love is up at the pool. She asked me to send you to her as soon as you arrived.”
“Thank you.”
“If you need help with anything to do with the ranch, cattle or horses, see me or my assistant foreman, Lyle Sorenson.” He nodded toward an older man in faded jeans, an equally faded blue chambray shirt and a dusty cowboy hat.
The older guy pushed a wheelbarrow full of muck from the barn to a pile at the rear of the massive structure. He dumped the load, glanced up and nodded in Duke’s direction.
Duke almost laughed. The difference between the younger, clean, muscle-bound man and the older, wiry, dirty one was too obvious.
Miss Love had probably promoted Lucas to Foreman based on his looks, rather than his abilities.
“How many horses does Miss Love keep on the ranch?” Duke asked, just to test his theory.
Mr. Lucas shrugged. “A dozen or so. If you want exact numbers, you can consult Mr. Sorenson. He keeps the books on the animals.”
“And what do you do?” Duke asked.
He puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. “I’m the foreman. I tell the other ranch hands what to do.”
Duke swallowed back the laughter threatening to erupt. A real ranch foreman knew, to the head, the number of livestock a ranch had and kept close tabs on additions and losses. He knew how much feed it took to get them through the winter, knew which ones were sickly and which horses got along with the others. He’d never leave it to the ranch hands to manage the herds or care for their health and wellbeing.
Man candy. That was what Brandt Lucas was.
Duke didn’t have much respect for a man who didn’t earn his keep. But then, he didn’t know what Lucas had to do for Miss Love to earn his pay. It might have nothing whatsoever to do with managing the livestock or the crops.
“You can go on up to the house,” Brandt said with an easy smile. “Like I said, Miss Love is lying by the pool.”
Duke climbed the slope to the big house, admiring the combination of rustic charm and clean, modern lines. He cut through a stand of trees and shrubs that provided a barrier around the stone-paved patio and pool. A rock waterfall graced one end of the pool, and a line of deck chairs stood between the pool and the house. One of which was occupied
The wide concrete drive wove through a lodge-pole pine forest and up into the foothills of the Crazy Mountains. The trees thinned, exposing lush green pastures filled with grazing horses and cattle.
The road climbed upward and emerged near the top of a hill. A massive structure of rock, cedar and glass consumed his view.
This was a home in the mountains? Holy crap.
If he wasn’t being forced to babysit the diva, this would be a plush assignment. Then again, he wasn’t on vacation, nor would he be lounging by a pool, drinking Mai Tais and eating bon bons.
A muscular man, wearing pressed jeans and an equally clean and pressed white shirt, strode around the side of the house and waved at Duke. “Hired help parks in the servants’ lot behind the barn.” He pointed to a drive leading around to the back of the house.
Since he was the hired help, Duke followed the man’s instructions and drove around to the back of the house and down a slope to a barn bigger than the high school he’d attended. It was by far the biggest barn he’d ever worked around. It could be a convention center or big-city rodeo arena.
He parked his truck next to several others bearing the Love Land Ranch logo.
Getting out, he decided to leave his duffle bag until he learned where he’d be sleeping for this gig. He assumed he’d stay in the big house with Miss Love. If his task was to keep her safe, he’d have to be close enough to do that.
“Bodyguard?” The young muscle man appeared beside Duke.
Duke nodded. “That would be me.”
The man stuck out his hand. “Brandt Lucas. Foreman.”
“Duke Morrison.”
“Miss Love is up at the pool. She asked me to send you to her as soon as you arrived.”
“Thank you.”
“If you need help with anything to do with the ranch, cattle or horses, see me or my assistant foreman, Lyle Sorenson.” He nodded toward an older man in faded jeans, an equally faded blue chambray shirt and a dusty cowboy hat.
The older guy pushed a wheelbarrow full of muck from the barn to a pile at the rear of the massive structure. He dumped the load, glanced up and nodded in Duke’s direction.
Duke almost laughed. The difference between the younger, clean, muscle-bound man and the older, wiry, dirty one was too obvious.
Miss Love had probably promoted Lucas to Foreman based on his looks, rather than his abilities.
“How many horses does Miss Love keep on the ranch?” Duke asked, just to test his theory.
Mr. Lucas shrugged. “A dozen or so. If you want exact numbers, you can consult Mr. Sorenson. He keeps the books on the animals.”
“And what do you do?” Duke asked.
He puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. “I’m the foreman. I tell the other ranch hands what to do.”
Duke swallowed back the laughter threatening to erupt. A real ranch foreman knew, to the head, the number of livestock a ranch had and kept close tabs on additions and losses. He knew how much feed it took to get them through the winter, knew which ones were sickly and which horses got along with the others. He’d never leave it to the ranch hands to manage the herds or care for their health and wellbeing.
Man candy. That was what Brandt Lucas was.
Duke didn’t have much respect for a man who didn’t earn his keep. But then, he didn’t know what Lucas had to do for Miss Love to earn his pay. It might have nothing whatsoever to do with managing the livestock or the crops.
“You can go on up to the house,” Brandt said with an easy smile. “Like I said, Miss Love is lying by the pool.”
Duke climbed the slope to the big house, admiring the combination of rustic charm and clean, modern lines. He cut through a stand of trees and shrubs that provided a barrier around the stone-paved patio and pool. A rock waterfall graced one end of the pool, and a line of deck chairs stood between the pool and the house. One of which was occupied
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