Chance: A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 2)

Rory satin a chair beneath the tree and watched the men make quick work of the garden, removing most of the dead plants and piling them up a distance away so they could dry out and be burned.

There hadn’t even been any produce to salvage. Whoever had done this smashed everything—tomatoes, zucchini, melons. Even the green beans had been mostly bruised and smashed, the potatoes dug up and destroyed, and the herbs trampled to bits. Someone had driven a four-wheeler over the garden repeatedly. What they hadn’t mowed down, they tore out.

Rory hated to see the destruction, but she wasn’t focused on it right now. She was focused on the Chippendale-worthy show of four men without shirts working up a sweat.

Sure, it was like a very hot, sexy version of Farmers Only dot com—one she could read about in a reverse harem romance novel where all these amazingly sexy men were in love with her and lived to please her—but it wasn’t the sight of four gorgeous, sweaty, muscled men raking the garden that had her heart beating harder.

It was Chance Hughes. And not because he was every sex fantasy she’d ever had come to life, but because he’d stood beside the garden with her and Theo, heard the devastation in her brother’s voice, and done something about it. Theo really would have half-killed himself to fix the mess and get the garden planted again, and she’d have worried herself silly because of it.

But Chance stepped up. He called his friends and they rode in like the cavalry and started raking and cleaning as if they’d been farming their whole lives. They’d brought a cooler filled with water, and beer for after, and they’d gotten to work.

She’d showed Chance how to start Betty Ann—she was old and temperamental—and they’d hooked up the plow. The equipment wasn’t modern, but it still worked. Gramps had bought Betty Ann in 1975 and he’d kept her going even when he’d finally caved and gotten a proper tractor with a closed in cab and air-conditioning. Granny had sold all the farm equipment after Gramps died, but not Betty Ann. She was eternal.

Chance teased her about naming things, but hell, Betty Ann, Liza Jane, and Clyde were old. They’d been in the family longer than she had. They deserved names. She’d named the chickens, too. And the deer. When her grandparents still had cows and pigs, she’d named them as well. She’d been a kid then, but the habit apparently stuck.

She wondered what Chance would think about Gus the Glamorous and had to suppress a giggle. Gus had lived in her bedside drawer until she’d hidden him in the closet when Chance came to stay with her the first time. He was still there, too. Maybe she needed to get him out again, take care of this itch she felt whenever she looked at Chance’s body glistening with sweat as he worked.

It wouldn’t help this emotional attachment that insisted on growing inside her, but it’d sure fix the physical ache. Wasn’t that half the battle anyway?

When the men had the garden cleared, Chance strolled over to where she sat. Her mouth went dry as he walked toward her but she refused to look away. She tried to affect a bored look but she wasn’t sure it was successful.

At least her tongue wasn’t hanging out.

“You doin’ okay sitting here?”

She lifted her glass of iced tea. “I’m fine. Blood sugar is good, it’s cool beneath the tree, and I’m enjoying the view.”

She let her gaze drift past him to the others before landing on his face again. His expression had hardened a fraction. Oh ho, Chance didn’t like it when she admired his friends.

“It’s a very inspiring view, I might add.”

“Is it? I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s like the novel I’m reading. Five hot guys—I realize y’all are only four—are running a farm. Did I mention they’re brothers? Anyway, they find this poor woman in the woods who doesn’t know how she got there or what her name is. And they all fall for her. They all want her. And she wants them. Every one of them, maybe all of them, at once.” Rory sipped her tea. “It’s very illuminating to read all the ways in which five hot guys can pleasure one woman.”

His eyes glittered hotter than before as he stared at her. “If you need pleasure, I’ve got you covered, honey. Just let me know. I know what you like and I’m plenty capable. Don’t need five men, just need me.”

Her pulse tapped a quick beat. “I can take care of that myself. But thanks. What did you want anyway?”

“Just wanted to see how you were. You don’t have to watch us. I’m gonna fire up the tractor⁠—”

“Betty Ann.”

“Betty Ann. Gonna fire her up and plow the garden.” He closed his eyes. “Jesus, why the fuck does that sound dirty all of a sudden?”

Rory laughed. “Because you have a dirty mind, Chancey Pants.”

“Honey, I’m thinking it’s you who has the dirty mind and now you’ve got me thinking about it too.”

“Oh sure, blame me. I’ve had provocation with the Chippendale’s show going on in front of me. What would you do if four topless women were doing yard work in front of you?”

“Point taken.”

“Exactly.”

Her phone rang then. “Hey, Theo, you get those plants?”

“Yeah, I got the plants. But Rory, we have a bigger problem.”

Her stomach tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got a busted pipe at the Dawg. The kitchen is flooded and I don’t know how much damage there is yet. We might not be able to open tonight.”

Rory satin Chance’s truck as he drove them into town, her stomach churning with anger and confusion. The burst pipe couldn’t be deliberate, and yet it was one more thing in a list of shitty things that’d happened lately. It’d all started with the pregnancy test, though she didn’t count that as a shitty thing.

But right after she’d gotten her results, Ronnie Davis and his jerk-off driver came up to the house, then left deep grooves in her drive. Somebody crept onto her property late at night when she wasn’t home. Her sugar levels were unpredictable with the pregnancy and she had moments of dizziness, not to mention the tiredness. Jimmy Turton wanted her to sell in hopes his mother would, too. Somebody destroyed Theo’s garden.

And now the pipe had burst and the Dawg was flooded.

“Do you think this is related?” she asked.

Chance glanced over at her. His expression had been grim since she’d told him the news. He’d left the guys to do the plowing and insisted he was driving her to the Dawg. She didn’t argue.

“Maybe. But the Dawg is an old building. Could be a coincidence. We’ll find out more when we get there.”

Rory rubbed her temple. “The building is insured, but it’s old, like you say. Repairs cost more. If we’re closed for a day or two, we’ll still be fine. Longer than that, and the expenses start to pile up. Not to mention the food will spoil and we’ll be out for that, too. If the Dawg doesn’t open, we aren’t making money. If we aren’t making money, we’re losing money. I could see someone thinking that’d make selling the farm more appealing as a way to save the business.”

“Possible. But let’s not jump to conclusions yet, okay?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Okay.”

Chance pulled into a slot behind the Dawg and she hopped out before he shifted into park, ignoring the cursing as she did so. She jerked the door to the tavern open, stepping into the kitchen⁠—

And one hell of a mess.

“Oh my God, Theo.”

Her brother looked up, his expression one of misery. “Yeah.”

Water dripped from a light fixture, coated one wall, and stood an inch deep on the floor. Thankfully the entire first floor was made of concrete so the only wood floors they had to worry about were over their heads. The open shelves where Theo kept supplies were dripping as well. His herbs and spices, the flour and salt, all of it was wet and likely ruined if it wasn’t inside glass or plastic. She was still taking it all in when she felt Chance’s presence at her back.

“Hola, Rory.” A man peeked out from beneath the sink and waved. “Hola, Chance.”

“Hola, Diego,” Chance said.

“Hey, Diego. Whatcha got?” Rory asked.

“Water, amiga.”

“I see that. Where did it come from?”

“Theo’s apartment. Burst pipe beneath the kitchen sink. It’s probably been going for a few hours.”

“Oh, Theo. Your apartment.”

Her brother looked sick. “Yeah. I’ll have to stay in the other one until mine is cleaned. It was fine when I left this morning and now this.”

He spread his arms to encompass the kitchen.

“We’ll get it taken care of. Did you call anyone for clean up?”

“Diego has a friend who cleans up water damage. They’re on the way.”

“They’ll extract the water and assess the structure,” Diego said, getting to his feet. “Since much of this building is brick, it might not be as bad as if it were made of mostly wood and drywall. But the drywall upstairs in the kitchen will probably have to come down where it’s been soaked through. Once the water has been removed, you’re gonna have some industrial fans and dehumidifiers to dry the place out as quickly as possible. It’ll take time, but you should be open in a couple of days.”

Rory’s stomach tightened. “A couple of days. Okay, that’s not too bad. Theo?”

“I know, but I still don’t like it. I was doing pork chops tonight with an apple brandy reduction. Garlic smashed potatoes. Cauliflower charred over a flame. It was gonna be epic.”

“Dang, dude, you makin’ me hungry,” Diego said.

“You can still do that in two days,” Rory said. “Unless the refrigerators and the freezers crap out too.”

Theo’s eyes closed. “Please don’t say that, Ror. I beg you.”

“I’m just frustrated. Sorry. But it won’t happen. They’re not that old and everything will be fine.”

“It will be,” Theo said firmly.

“I’d like to see upstairs,” Chance said. “Get a look at your kitchen.”

“Sure. Rory, will you take him up? Door’s open.”

Rory led the way to the second floor and pushed Theo’s door open. The living room looked fine, but the kitchen, when they went through the door, was clearly wet. The water had spewed from the pipe, coated the floor, and leaked down through the light fixtures and walls below.

Chance went over to the sink and knelt to look at it. Rory followed, standing behind him and trying to peer at what he was doing. When he stood again, his expression was hard.

“What is it?”

“The pipe looks like it burst, but the hole is too neat.”

“Too neat?”

“Like somebody drilled through it. Does Theo leave the door unlocked often?”

A chill shuddered through her. “When he’s downstairs, yes. But he would have locked up before he left to come to the farm earlier.”

Chance stalked to the front door and tugged it open. Then he examined the lock, tracing his finger over parts of it.

“Well?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

“Looks like it’s been picked. Whoever did it was subtle, which means they have some skill. Either somebody’s targeting your brother for reasons of their own, or it’s exactly what you thought and they’re targeting your income source to make selling the land more appealing. We need to call the cops, make a report to get it on the record.”

Fear rolled through her, followed by a healthy dose of anger. “It has to be the developer. I don’t think Jimmy is capable of lock picking, and I doubt Carter Coombs did it. I don’t actually know he’s selling anyway. All I have is Jimmy’s speculation. I can ask him though. I’d like to know.”

“If you do, don’t mention any of what’s happened. Best to keep it to yourself, see if whoever’s doing this gets bolder. They might make a mistake, give us a chance to catch them at it.”

“I’m not sure I can handle any bolder, Chance. What’s next? Burning the tavern down? Or burning the farmhouse down? What they’ve done so far is small potatoes, but what happens when we don’t sell? They’ll escalate, and I hate to think how.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.”

“How can you stop them?” she cried as frustration hammered her. “You can’t be everywhere at once. You have a job, and I do too. And even when I’m home, I have to sleep sometime. I can’t watch the farm twenty-four hours a day.”

“Honey, you don’t have to. The police can patrol the area more often, at least until we solve this. I’ll get the new cameras installed, we’ll add motion sensor lights in key places, and I’ll put a couple of cameras here at the Dawg as well. The hallway, the entry and exit. We’re gonna make it harder on whoever it is to come and go without detection.”

What he was saying made sense. She knew he intended to keep her and the baby and Theo safe. But she was still scared, which wasn’t typical for her. If it was just her and Theo, maybe she wouldn’t be so worried. They could handle adversity.

But she had a baby to think about now. A small, helpless being whose life depended on her. She couldn’t charge into situations the way she once had, couldn’t bluster her way through hardship with sass and grit. She had to be smart, had to think about more than her own wants and needs.

And maybe that started with trusting Chance to do what he said he would do. To be there for her and the baby.

“Let’s call the police,” he said gently. “Get them over here to see this. Somebody might have seen something suspicious, which the cops’ll find out when they start asking questions.”

Rory pulled in a deep breath, let it out again. “Okay, yes, let’s do it.”

Because he was right, and he would protect her.

It was time she let him in, even if it terrified her.