Ben pulled into the driveway of his parents’ ranch just as the twins, Jefferson and Jackson, rode up to the fence line. He slowed as they waved him over and rolled down the passenger window. “Dad has you two running fences again, huh?”

“Well, we can’t all spend the night with pretty redheads,” Jackson teased.

Damn.

The fact that they knew he’d been at Emma’s instead of the station meant Andrew had already been shooting off his mouth. Ben didn’t even want to know how that conversation started. He rolled his eyes at the pair and turned back to the windshield.

“Are you two finished for the day? I was going to head to the station but I could saddle up and meet you somewhere if you need me.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jefferson looped one leg around the saddle horn. “We’re just about finished. But Dad’s got plans for all of us this weekend, unless you’re working. He’s got some burr up his ass about another family work day.”

“Gotta love ‘family work days,’” Jackson complained. “The last one had me up on the barn roof patching shingles in hundred-degree weather.”

“Would you rather do it in snow? Either way,” Ben said with a shrug, “I’m on shift, so you guys are on your own.”

“Of course you are. Would that be a shift at the station or at the animal sanctuary?” Jefferson exchanged a dubious look with Jackson. “You barely know what to do with cattle and horses. What do you even do there?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I can guess who—I mean what—he’s doing.” Jackson laughed at his own joke.

“Watch yourself, Jackson,” Ben warned, his jaw clenching.

“Maybe she’s taming his wild beast.”

Jefferson snorted but Ben wasn’t amused by his younger brothers. “Are you two through?”

“Maybe he’s just watching her like a hawk,” Jefferson supplied.

Jackson’s laughter died. “That’s wasn’t even funny.”

Jefferson glared at his twin and sat up straighter in the saddle. “Shut up.”

“Why don’t you both shut up?” Ben wasn’t in the mood for their jokes, especially since he wasn’t sure where he stood with Emma now. He’d managed to piss her off with his questions and, when she’d walked away, he left without saying goodbye. As much as he’d wanted to clear the air about what had happened last night between them, he had enough brains to know this wasn’t a good time. However, he also knew that waiting wasn’t going to earn him any brownie points either. He was basically stuck between a rock and hard place with nowhere to turn.

Dropping the truck into gear, he left his brothers at the fence and headed for the house, feeling only slightly guilty as dust from his tires encircled the pair on horseback.

What he needed was to talk to someone without a penis. There were two women in the house but only one he would consider taking dating advice from. He could only pray that luck was on his side and his sister, Maddie, was home from work.

“Maddie!”

Ben knocked on his sister’s bedroom door. He recognized the ridiculousness of the fact that most of them still lived with their parents. They all had lives and jobs outside of the ranch, with the exception of the twins, but they had all chosen to remain on the property—Maddie in the house and all six brothers in the bunkhouse across the driveway. Only Grant and Linc had moved away but even Grant had returned after his recent retirement from professional football. He and his fiancée, Bethany, along with her son James were already building a house near the east pasture. As unnatural as it seemed at times, Ben wasn’t sure what he’d do without his close-knit family. Especially when he really needed his baby sister’s advice.

“Come on, Maddie. Mom said you were in here.”

She yanked open the door with a sigh. “What?”

The sight that greeted Ben made him feel like he’d been transported back in time at least ten years, when she was still in high school, preparing for a date. Maddie stood in the doorway, holding a handful of her light brown hair to one side, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a thin camisole top.

“Christ, Maddie! Put clothes on before you answer your door.”

“What the hell do these look like to you?” she countered, swiping a free hand over the front of her shirt. “I am wearing clothes. Maybe if some idiot wasn’t banging on my door, I could finish getting ready for my date so that I’m not late to dinner.” She turned her back on him, leaving the door open for him to follow her inside.

Ben held a hand up to shield his eyes and entered. She waved a hand at the end of her unmade bed and headed into her small adjoined bathroom, laughing at him. “For crying out loud, Ben. It’s not like I’m in my underwear. Now you know how I feel when you guys strip down to jump in the creek when we drive the cattle.”

His sister had a point. They outnumbered her six to one, but their boxers weren’t practically see-through the way the lace along the top of her camisole was.

“Could you just please put on some clothes?”

She rolled her eyes and reached for the button-down, plaid shirt hanging in the doorway. “There. Are you happy now?” She pointed the curling iron at him. “But you’re picking off every loose hair that ends up on my back, capisce?”

Ben breathed a sigh of relief. It was worth it. He didn’t care that she was almost twenty-five. He didn’t like the fact that his baby sister, the only girl and the youngest of seven, was old enough to date at all. He and his brothers had all been in more fights than he wanted to count because some moron shot off his mouth or cat-called their sister. He certainly didn’t want to think of her showing any skin, to anyone.

“Fine, but I need your help.”

She poked her head around the doorway. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Emma Jordan, would it?”

“I’m seriously going to kick Andrew’s ass when he gets home. That guy gossips more than most women I know.”

“Hey! I take offense to that.” Her voice was slightly muffled as she turned back to her reflection in the mirror. “Besides, Mom told me and she heard it from Jackson.”

“Who heard it from Andrew,” Ben finished.

“Then you tell me. What’s the real story?”

He rose from the edge of the bed and shut the door to her room. The last thing he needed was someone else in the family overhearing this conversation. His brothers would never let him live it down.

“You know me.”

Maddie slid a curl from the hot iron as he leaned against the bathroom doorway. “That serious, huh?”

Ben shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t really know. I like her.”

“And?” She headed back to the sink, turning around to look at him over her shoulder. “I’m not seeing the problem.”

“Laura.”

Maddie lay the curling iron back on the counter and crossed her arms. “What about her?”

“What do you mean, ‘what about her?’ I think the fact that she is a part of my past at all goes to prove that when it comes to dating, I’m not exactly the best judge of character.” Ben felt suddenly tired and walked back to Maddie’s bed, slumping on the mattress and letting his hands hang between his knees. He dropped his head forward, staring at the floor. “I can’t do that again.”

“First of all, you didn’t do anything, Ben. Laura was messed up. You didn’t ask her to steal Grant’s shit or sell it, and you weren’t the one who pressed charges. She had her chance to come clean and you were willing to forgive her, although none of us understood why.”

“Because I loved her.”

Maddie’s eyes softened with sympathy. “I know you did. But she never loved you back, Ben. She was using you.”

He nodded. “And I had no clue.”

He looked up at his younger sister. He was supposed to be the one giving her advice. How had their relationship gotten so topsy-turvy? How had he ever screwed up so badly?

“And second, you don’t tend to make the same mistakes more than once.”

A bitter laugh broke through his lips. “Um, did you forget about Angie?”

“Angie was different. You guys were young and, let’s face it, you tried to fit a round friendship peg into a square relationship hole. You and Angie were never going to last. I think you knew it too.”

“There was Becca.”

“You were sixteen, Ben,” Maddie laughed. “No relationship works out at sixteen.”

“I gave her a ring.”

“And you were lucky she gave it back when she went away to college. You guys weren’t ready and she was wrong for you. They all have been.”

He shrugged, feeling defeated as they rehashed the mistakes of his past. She sat down beside him. “You’re not really afraid that Emma is like Laura or Angie, are you?”

“No.”

“You’re afraid of falling for someone and then having the relationship fall apart again.”

Ben shrugged. “I’ve spent the past three years in doomed relationships. We lived together, talked about the future and then they both walked away. I don’t want to put myself out there, build a relationship, only to find out it’s just lies again. I should just not date at all.” He ran a hand over his face and shot his sister a self-deprecating smile. “I’m kind of a disaster.”

“You are not. You’re the one macho, alpha male in this family who actually believes in love.” Maddie squatted on the balls of her feet in front of him and she lay her hands on his knees. “Ben, you don’t have to fall in love with every woman. Dating is about the journey, not the destination. You don’t have to be so serious all of the time. Just have fun. Get back on that horse and take her for a ride.”

His gaze flicked up to meet hers as guilt slid through him.

Her mouth dropped open. “You didn’t?” When he didn’t answer, Maddie shoved against his shoulder and jumped up. “You did!”

“I’m not exactly proud of myself, Mads.”

“You might not be, but I am. It’s about time.” She giggled as she headed back to the bathroom. “Welcome back to the club, Ben.”

“Ew.” He grimaced at the thought of his sister with a man. “That is not something you want burned into my mind, unless I’m kicking someone’s ass tonight.”

She pulled a strand of hair from the few still needing to be curled. “But, why her? After all this time. She’s not exactly your type.”

“Why not?” He wanted Maddie’s opinion but there was a small part afraid she’d agree with Andrew.

“Well,” she hemmed, cringing a little. “Emma seems pretty strong and self-sufficient. I mean, the woman deals with bears and eagles. That’s kickass.” He didn’t miss the awe in her voice. “You tend to pick women who need help, or are going to moon over you being their hero. In spite of the recent articles, I get the feeling she can take care of herself.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Ben acknowledged.

His sister brought up the same thing Andrew had. Did he really have a type? It might be true when it came to other women. Laura and Angie both needed him and told him so. He’d rescued them both and would have continued until they dumped him. But it wasn’t like that with Emma. She didn’t want his help and she made it clear he was a pain in her ass. But, he wanted to help her, not rescue her, but work with her to save the sanctuary because it was right. However, she wasn’t ashamed to admit she needed him, at least for one reason. His body instantly reacted, throbbing with longing at the thought.

Ben inhaled deeply, letting it out carefully. “I don’t know.” She shot him a doubtful smirk. “I really don’t. From the first time we kissed it was like an explosion went off.” He shook his head. “Nothing at all like with Laura, or anyone else for that matter. This was almost violent, but in a good way.”

“Aw, my big brother’s finally got the hots for a girl again,” she teased, wrapping a strand of hair around the curling iron.

Hot was definitely the right word for it. Blazing hot, enough to sear him, to brand him. Even now, he could remember the heat of her skin beneath his hands. He rubbed a thumb in his palm to keep from thinking about the way her breasts had filled them during their fierce lovemaking last night. Running the same hand through his hair, he couldn’t help but recall the way Emma had tugged at it as he pressed his mouth to her.

“Whoa, wait a second.” He met Maddie’s gaze in her reflection. “I know that look. Ben, please tell me you’re not getting serious about her already.”

“What look?” He didn’t even bother to deny her suspicions.

“That one,” she said, wiggling her finger in the air at his face. “The same one Grant had when he asked me about Bethany and James. I told you to take a ride, not buy the whole horse.”

“I’m not buying anything.”

She sighed at him again and slid the curling iron to the counter, fluffing her curls before facing him again. “Then what’s the issue? Why are you even in here?”

“I need advice.”

“No, you’re wanting permission. You don’t need it. You’re a grown man, with needs and wants and desires, and as long as she wants the same thing, I don’t see the problem.”

“The problem is that I don’t know how to do casual.”

She laughed. “Most men don’t want the complication of a relationship, so why do you seem to?”

“I’m not like most men.”

“Trust me, I know.” She cast him an adoring smile. “And I love you for that, but you’re making this far more complicated than it needs to be. Relax and just see where this goes. Maybe the whole thing will fizzle out after a couple dates.”

Maybe Maddie was right. Emma had basically said the same thing. They didn’t know each other well and they’d never been out on a date. They might find that without mountain lions, bobcats and dart guns, they had absolutely nothing in common.

Yeah, nothing but those sultry kisses and an untamable attraction that neither seemed to want to deny.

He stared into the kennel at the back of his rental house, watching the wolf huddle in the back corner, eyeing him warily, its lip curling slightly as it bared shimmering white teeth. No one else knew he was here and this hadn’t been the way he’d wanted it to happen but it looked like Emma wasn’t going to give him much of a choice.

Cana was the perfect animal to finish this for him. The black wolf-dog looked every bit the part of a violent wolf and when he was found with blood on him and nearby livestock dead, it wouldn’t be difficult to put together two and two and have it equal the last straw, the one that convinced local ranchers to demand Emma no longer be in charge of Sierra Tracks. The people in this town knew how much Conrad had entrusted much of the responsibilities of the facility to them since his first stroke. It only made sense that they would be suggested as replacements for the non-profit. They could finally turn Sierra Tracks into the rehab facility it was supposed to become.

He squatted down as the wolf growled low in his throat. “I’m really sorry about this but you have to play an integral part of a much bigger plan.”

Jaws snapped at him but he knew the wolf was timid enough to stay back. “You should have been put down a long time ago, but Emma stopped that too, didn’t she? She tried to make you a pet and instead, you’re a wolf that doesn’t know how to be a wolf.”

“Holy crap!” Without warning, the beast lunged forward, throwing itself against the chain link of the kennel, trying to attack the man on the other side. Cana yelped as he bounced off the metal.

He jumped backward, losing his balance and falling to the ground. Picking himself up, he laughed nervously. “I didn’t see that coming from you. That kind of unpredictability is exactly what I want you to do after she finds you, okay, boy?”

This was going to be easier than he’d expected it to be.