You Belong to Me (Stevens Book 6)

Chapter 10

On the fifth morning they loaded back up into the truck headed for Austin.

The drive through the Hill Country was as beautiful as all of the previous ones had been, and Alice quickly realized that it was a view that she would never get tired of no matter how many times she saw it. They had turned off the highway and were travelling down a rutted dirt road, and Alice watched as they passed more cows and this time a few horses.

"Where are we?"

"At my family's ranch, we're just coming up on the house now. I hope you don't mind, I've not been home in a while and I had to visit."

Then Alice saw it.  It was a two story white limestone house with a tin roof and it had a huge wrap around porch. Rainer drove to the back of the house where there were a few other smaller buildings, and as she got out of the truck she noticed that there was a sharp drop off behind the house to a beautiful valley below. It was very similar to the view they had had in Fredericksburg.

Rainer was a few steps ahead of her on the back porch and turned back towards her as she stopped to admire the view.

"It is a beautiful view, isn't it?"

Alice nodded as she pulled her eyes away and followed him up the back steps.

The kitchen was a modern work of art. All of the appliances were stainless steel, the granite counter tops were a warm honey tone, and there was a large table over to one side of the kitchen that took advantage of the breathtaking view.

"There's a restroom just around the corner if you need to freshen up." He pointed the way as he headed up the stairs two at a time.

It didn't take Alice long and by the time she had returned to the kitchen there was a man about her age sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.  When he saw her his eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Hello." She smiled.  He was a handsome man who was tall and well-built with sandy brown hair and the same blue eyes as Rainer.

"Hello, I don't mean to be rude, but who are you and why are you in our house?"

"Rainer..." She made a motion towards the stairs where he had disappeared.

"Rainer?"

"Yes, I'm guessing that he's your brother."

"You're with Rainer?" he said, looking even more surprised.

"I'm his research assistant and I am travelling with him, but I wouldn't say I was with him." Her eyes narrowed. She knew she wasn't his type, but did he have to show his surprise so readily.

He whipped out his phone and started texting. When he was done he looked back up at her. Then his phone started going crazy and his thumbs started flying.

Rainer came down after a few minutes more. "What's he doing?" He whispered in her ear, causing her to jump.  He had snuck up behind her and was watching his brother, and she could feel his warm breath in her ear.

"I think he's texting, but I can't imagine that anyone has that much to say." She refused to look up at him.  She knew if she did she would be lost. She could feel his heat at her back.

"He seemed shocked that I was with you. I mean I know I'm not your regular type but....I told him that I was not 'with you' and that I was your research assistant, but that didn't seem to matter."

She could feel Rainer grow tense behind her.

Next thing she knew the backdoor flew open and a beautiful tall slender woman with the fairest hair Alice had ever seen came flying through it. She stopped as soon as she saw Alice, her mouth rounded in an oohh expression.