Alyssa was so flippin’ glad to get away from Beau. She had no idea how she had pissed him off, but she’d never, in her whole life, been treated so badly. Even the bullies at school had been less mean. If Chase hadn’t come along when he did, she was certain she would have either thrown all the grooming tools at that man’s head or burst into tears. Both reactions would have mortified her. She hoped she wouldn’t have to work with him much—she knew one of the brothers was the family vet and was going to be working with her, and she prayed it was not Beau.

Chase was talking and she’d missed some of what he’d said. He was a well put together package himself, not as sexy as his brother, but a whole lot nicer. “…high altitude so make sure you stay hydrated. Don’t walk out the door without a water bottle. I know you’ve got mountains back home, but you’re starting from sea level there, unlike here where the mountains start a mile high and go up from there. The ranch sits at 8400 feet above sea level so when we go up in the hills it goes up from there. And sunscreen—don’t forget sunscreen. We’ve got less atmosphere up here, so the sun is more intense and burns quicker. And it’s dry up this high too, it’s an alpine desert, so lotion and lip balm are now your best friends. We’ve got some new ones in the pantry if you need them. We set up a new supply every spring.”

He stopped walking, glanced at her, then looked down at his boots. “Sorry, didn’t mean to give you a lecture, but pretty girls like you make me nervous and I start spouting facts. Next time just punch me and tell me to shut the hell up.”

Alyssa laughed and punched his shoulder. “It’s okay, I appreciate the heads up, but I’ve been living in your alpine desert for three and a half years at school, so I’ve got plenty of sunscreen, lip balm, and lotion. Plus, a whole collection of water bottles. Obviously, this is a higher elevation than Fort Collins, so I’ll be extra cautious. Thanks.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, just as Beau walked out of the barn.

Beau stomped over to them. “Chase, are you going to stand around all day jawin’ or are you going to get her luggage in the house? Alyssa, I um, well, I was kind of….”

Chase elbowed her as Beau stumbled over his words. Beau frowned at his brother and then turned that frown on her and barked out, “You’re here to work, not flirt.” Then he reached into her trunk and hefted her largest suitcase in one hand and her box of textbooks in the other and stomped off toward the house. She was mortified by his words, and awed by his strength.

Chase stood there watching him walk away, then he turned to her and said, “What in the hell is wrong with him? He’s got a burr under his saddle about you.”

Alyssa shook her head. “I have no idea, he’s been acting like that since I got out of the car.”

“Just so you know, you’re welcome to flirt with me anytime you want.” Chase winked at her to let her know he was teasing. “Let’s get the rest of your stuff in before Mr. Grumpy comes back out. We’ll get your riding gear into the barn after you meet everyone else.”

“Sounds good.” Chase took her other suitcase and hooked her backpack over his shoulder leaving her to carry in her hat boxes and purse.

“Don’t I feel like the princess with just my hat boxes.” She winced as she remembered Beau calling her princess, but didn’t have time to dwell on it, because out of the house shot another man that looked so much like Chase that she had to do a double take. The only difference she could see was that Chase had on a blue shirt and the new guy had on a green one.

Chase laughed. “My twin, Cade.”

Cade’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Nice to meet you, Alyssa. Here, let me take those.” He reached out and took her hat boxes. “I’m the good-looking brother—you sure are a pretty little thing.” He smiled at her. “Welcome to the Rockin’ K. We are going to have an awesome time.” He extended his arm for her to take, so he could escort her to the door that was less than twenty feet away.

She laughed at his silliness and put her hand in his arm and pinched. Cade laughed out loud, just as Beau appeared again. He glared at them and stomped off to the barn.

Cade looked at Chase and lifted an eyebrow.

Chase shrugged and started walking.

Cade whistled and muttered something that sounded like “Interesting” under his breath.

Alyssa looked toward the barn where Beau had disappeared and wondered again what was wrong with the man. He was sure sexy, but he had such a nasty personality she didn’t want to be within fifty feet of him. But hanging out with the cute twins wouldn’t be a hardship.

* * *

Beau stomped into the barn. He had to get a grip on himself, he was still acting like a raging asshole but couldn’t seem to stop. Every time Alyssa smiled at one of his brothers he saw red. And her hand tucked into Cade’s arm had made him want to tear his brother’s head off. What in the holy hell was wrong with him? He had never felt this kind of fury in his entire life. What was it about Alyssa that made him into a monster? It was crazy and he had no control over it.

He’d gone out to see if he could apologize for acting like a dick when she’d first arrived, and she had been standing by her car smiling at his brother. Her eyes sparkled and her grin covered her whole face. Chase had been beaming back at her with a sappy half in love expression on his face and Beau had wanted to punch him right in the nose. He’d lectured himself the whole time he was carrying in her suitcase and books. But the minute he stepped out the door a second time to apologize, she’d been hanging on Cade. Enough. He was going to avoid her like the plague.

Mary’s riding lesson would keep him occupied for the next hour; she and Drake should arrive soon, so he should probably saddle up a couple of horses. The two of them could ride in the corral to get her comfortable on the animal.

He busied himself getting the horses ready. He’d already picked a gentle mare for Mary, so he selected a nice calm gelding for Drake. Drake could handle about any kind of horse, but this gelding would help the mare stay calm. Normally he wouldn’t start out with just putting a new person on a horse, but he was too rattled to start with the basics and getting to know the horses first. Beau was agitated enough, he would probably get the horses riled up and that wasn’t a good idea.

Drake and his new girlfriend, Mary, arrived. Beau walked over to the black SUV Drake drove as the town sheriff. Drake was opening the door for his girlfriend. As she stood up, Beau groaned at his stupidity but managed a smile for the two of them. “Drake, good to see you.”

His friend nodded and smiled at his forty-something girlfriend. “Beau, this is Mary. Mary, this is Beau. He’s going to give you some riding lessons.”

Beau shook hands with Mary and decided he was a lunatic to think Drake would have hit on Alyssa. Mary was a pleasant woman the same age as Drake—maybe a few years younger but still in the ballpark. Inwardly chastising himself for being a fool, he wondered how he was going to ever apologize to Alyssa for being such a dumbass. Telling her he had thought she was the play thing of a man old enough to be her father wasn’t an option. She would be insulted and probably deck him. He had to think of some way to convince her he wasn’t completely insane.

The whole time he was giving the lesson he wondered about what Alyssa and his brothers were doing. He had to get a grip on himself, this fascination was ridiculous. She’d been on the ranch an hour and he’d gone bat-shit crazy.