She's Far From Hollywood

“Someone’s threatening to kill you?” Ty asked.

She shrugged. “Or worse. He says he needs to ‘cleanse me by fire’ to remove my sins and make me worthy. He broke into my beach house Saturday while I was gone and burned all of my clothes, because he thinks I dress like a whore.” She took another sip from the glass. “And he sent a threatening message to my cousin’s home in New York while I was there, even though I hadn’t publicized the trip. So now I’m on the run.”

She tried to give Ty a smile, but felt her mouth trembling, and bit down on her lower lip to steady it. Cole, who’d been still and quiet at her side, inhaled sharply. She looked over, but he turned away, staring at Ty. Once again, the brothers carried on a silent conversation. Cole shook his head abruptly, but Ty just glowered at him. Cole’s shoulders slumped and he nodded as he took a step closer to Bree. He lifted his chin toward the shelves behind the bar.

“Give me a hat” was all he said.

Ty handed him one of several Hide-Away ball caps for sale above the cash register. Cole moved behind her and put his hands on either side of her face, making her gasp. He pulled her hair back and through the opening of the cap, creating a ponytail as he pushed the hat low on her head. Before she could protest, Ty started to explain.

“If Emily recognized you, someone else might. Cole will take you out to Nell’s place in his truck. He lives out that way. That fancy car is no way to lay low in this part of the country. My guess is half the town already knows there’s a ninety-thousand-dollar Mercedes parked at The Hide-Away. Leave me the keys and I’ll pull the car around back, then take it home after dark and put it in my barn. I’ll see if my wife, Tammy, can take you shopping for something a little more...casual. We’ll tell people you’re a college friend of Caroline’s. Everyone loves Caroline Patterson...er...McCormack. She’s married now, right? She married that guy from Boston?”

Bree nodded, feeling stunned. “Yeah, they got married in Barbados. Look, why are you doing this? You don’t know me, and you don’t even like me.” She looked over her shoulder at Cole. His close proximity was making her nervous.

Cole arched an eyebrow at her. “Call it that ‘Southern charm’ you were looking for. We help people in trouble down here.” His mouth twitched again. She decided that was the closest thing to a real smile the guy had. “Even people we don’t like.”

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_e8e9e54e-e09e-5ae0-a93b-570d9afe6db1)

COLE CALDWELL STOLE a sideways glance at the redhead as he drove out of Russell. She was pressed up against the passenger door, with Maggie curled up on the seat between them. While the dog generally rode with her nose pressed snugly against Cole’s leg, today she lay facing their guest. Her head rested on Bree’s thigh, and Bree was absently scratching Maggie’s ear.

Traitor.

Despite the ridiculous layers of makeup, Brianna Mathews could easily be the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Pulling her hair up under the cap revealed her long, slender neck, fine-boned face and those deep green eyes. Her skin was like porcelain. She was tall, almost as tall as he was. And she moved with a natural grace that said she was confident and very aware of herself. The whole package was sexy as hell.

Too bad she was such a flaming, toxic viper.

The lady could peel paint off the wall with those angry eyes of hers. And her sharp tongue could probably flay a man alive. Cole shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable and surprisingly aroused by that thought. He sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with this woman or any other woman for that matter. And it seemed the feeling was mutual. He grunted to himself, earning him another one of her icy glares.

“What?” she snapped.

He shook his head in the closest he’d come to amusement in a long time. Baiting her temper was as easy as shooting very big fish in a very small barrel.

“Oh, nothin’. I’m just picturing you settling into Nell’s hundred-year-old bungalow. All by yourself. No Starbucks. No fancy parties to attend. No television cameras. Girl, you’ll die of loneliness out here.”

She turned to stare out the passenger window. Her voice was quiet.

“It’s better than dying in a pool of blood.”

Well, hell. She’d just managed to turn him into a complete jackass, hadn’t she? No, actually he didn’t need her help with that. He’d done it all on his own. After a year of feeling pretty much nothing but anger, he now felt guilty. He winced at the sharpness of it.

“Sorry.” There’s a word he hadn’t said in a while. “I wasn’t making light of your...”

“Situation? My very interesting situation?” She dropped her head back against the seat of his pickup then turned to look at him. “We don’t exactly bring out the best in each other, do we?”

He snorted. “Apparently not.”

Awkward silence filled the cab as he made a few more turns. The roads got progressively smaller and the fields got bigger. He slowed the truck as they approached a yellow farmhouse with a wide front porch. There was a wooden farmstand next to the road with a simple sign that read Nell’s Produce. He glanced over at the stand as he pulled into the gravel driveway. It looked like Nell had a good selection of tomatoes and blueberries today. He snuck another look at Bree and bit back a smile at her wide-eyed expression.

A faded red barn stood behind the house. Chicken and geese wandered the yard. The pigpen was off to the left, and he could see Nell’s big sow, Spot, sunning herself there with her piglets. Two old workhorses were standing in a small paddock to the right, head to rump, swishing their tails rhythmically to keep the flies away. In the fields behind the barn, his own beef cattle were grazing. He leased the pastures from Nell, and she kept an eye on the cows and calves for him. Nell’s huge garden stretched along the far side of the house. She grew enough vegetables to keep her stand well stocked. What she didn’t grow herself, she sold on consignment for area farmers. People drove for miles to buy from Miss Nell, because they knew she sold the best locally-grown produce. She served up her unique country wisdom, homemade sweet tea and amazing baked goods to her customers, most of whom she knew by name.

A rangy hound of indiscriminate origin trotted toward the truck, baying loudly, but his tail wagged in greeting. Cole stepped out and scratched the dog’s ears. Maggie sat up in the truck and watched alertly, staying silent.

“Hey, Shep, how are you, old boy?” He looked back at Bree, who seemed to be in some stage of shock in his truck. “Are you going to sit there all day?”

She looked down at the dog and hesitated.

“Don’t worry about Shep. He’s more welcoming committee than watchdog.”

Bree slid across the seat past Maggie and stepped down out of his side of the truck. The woman was acting as if she’d been dropped in the middle of a dangerous jungle instead of a quiet North Carolina farm. Her ironclad confidence slipped just a little, and her face paled. She was clearly out of her comfort zone here. He should have enjoyed it, but instead he was troubled to see her lose that cloak of brittle anger.

“Well, as I live and breathe!” a woman’s voice cried out from the front porch. “Colton Caldwell! What’s up, darlin’? You get thirsty for some of my sweet tea on this blistering day? I didn’t figure to see you till the end of the week. That miserable old cow of yours won’t be ready to drop her calf for a while yet.”

Nell Patterson’s face was weather-worn, and her hair was more gray than brown, but her slender body moved with the sure strength of someone who worked hard for a living and didn’t give a darn what anyone thought of her. She was wearing cotton shorts and a white blouse, with a bright yellow apron tied around her waist. It struck him as the tall, sturdy woman stepped off the porch that the way Nell carried herself was very similar to Bree’s. Two strong, but very different, women. They’d either kill each other or be friends forever. Nell spotted Bree at his side, and her brown eyes went wide with surprise.

“And you brought company! And isn’t she a pretty thing? Introduce me to your girl, Colton.”

He gave her a crooked smile and shook his head. “She ain’t my girl, Nell. She’s yours. This is your new tenant, Bree Mathews.”

He watched with grudging respect as Bree stifled whatever terror she was feeling about the farm. She painted on a bright smile and stepped forward to extend her hand to Nell. “It’s so nice to see you again, Mrs. Patterson. We didn’t have much opportunity to talk at Caroline’s wedding, but she’s told me wonderful things about you. I appreciate you letting me use your cottage under the circumstances...” Her formal words and tone were swallowed in a bear hug from Nell.

“Oh, I remember you! You planned their wedding reception, didn’t you? Caroline called me this morning and told me why you’re here. Don’t you worry, honey. We’ll keep you safe.” Nell held Bree out at arm’s length and looked sharply between her and Cole. He could see her wheels turning, and he didn’t like it one bit. What kind of scheme was she putting together in that very clever brain of hers? “But of course, this is a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Bree looked confused. “I’m sorry?”

“Oh, didn’t Caroline tell you? I need someone to help me with the farm. It gets so busy in the summer, and I just can’t handle it all on my own.” Cole frowned. Nell was the most capable farm woman he’d ever known, and she abhorred offers of assistance.

Bree started to protest. “Oh, Mrs. Patterson, I’d love to help, but I’m afraid I know nothing about farming. I’m a city girl through and through. I know how to cook vegetables, but I know nothing about growing them. As far as I’m concerned, they magically appear at Whole Foods Market. And animals...well, animals and I don’t get along all that well...”

“First, call me Nell or Miss Nell. And second, don’t be silly. You can learn to grow and pick veggies, and you’ll get along just fine with all the animals. Why look, Shep likes you already.” They all looked down to where Shep was lying close by Bree’s feet. Damned if the dog wasn’t looking up at Bree like she was an angel or something. Maggie sat in his truck with the same adoring expression. What the...?

Nell continued. “The cottage is just one hay field away, so you go get yourself settled, and we’ll talk more tomorrow about what you can do to help around here.”

Cole coughed back a snort, and Bree spun to slice him with her angry eyes. He raised his hands in surrender.

“I’m sorry! I can’t help being amused at the thought of you sloppin’ hogs and picking tomatoes and feeding those one-ton horses over there.” He nodded toward Pete and Ruby, Nell’s elderly and famously gentle horses. Bree’s back stiffened, and he knew he’d struck home with his not-so-subtle suggestion that she couldn’t possibly be a farmer. But just look at her, for heaven’s sake.

“Are you saying you don’t think I can do it?”

“Isn’t that what you just said?”

She put her hands on her hips. “I said I didn’t know anything about farming. I didn’t say I couldn’t do it if I wanted to.” She turned to Nell, and he couldn’t miss the stubborn set of her chin. The woman didn’t seem capable of turning down a challenge. “Nell, I look forward to learning more about your farm.”

Oh, this was going to be fun.

“Cole, honey.” Nell dropped something in his hand. “Be a dear and drive Bree over to the cottage, will you? Here’s the key. You know your way around the place and can show her where everything is.” Before he could object, Nell turned back to Bree. “I stocked the fridge with plenty of food, and there’s a dish of my beef stew there for you to heat up for dinner tonight. There are clean linens on the bed. You must be exhausted. And don’t worry about not having a car, honey. I’m sure Cole will give you a ride anywhere you need to go.”

Bree started to say something, then closed her mouth. She’d just been bulldozed by Miss Nell, and Cole knew exactly how she felt.

* * *