He wasn’t going to talk about it, and he certainly wasn’t going to worry about it. He meant to go on as he always had, and that meant, at this moment, getting the haying done before the rain hit.
He was grateful when the rest of his family showed up. It meant extra hands to load the hay wagon, drive it to the barn and off-load it. It also meant everyone was too busy working to pester him about his private life.
A man was entitled to a private life.
He cooled down considerably when it looked as if the job would be done before the storm hit. And when he could see children playing in the yard, dogs racing around and women going in and out of the house. Then there was the soothing quality of the steady vibration of the tractor under him, the voices of his brothers, that sweet, strong scent of hay. The clouds rolling in from the west shadowed the mountain, and the winter wheat he’d planted would welcome the rain.
In the kitchen, someone would be cooking, he mused, glancing over his shoulder to check the progress of the hay wagon. It wouldn’t be Rebecca. She’d be playing with one of the babies. And when he walked in, covered with hay dust, she’d look over and smile.
She had the prettiest smile.
By the time they were hauling bales from wagon to barn, Shane had convinced himself that Devin was not only out of line, he was off base.
“So.” Rafe took a break, gulping down some of the ice water from the cooler just inside the barn. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Rebecca. How’s the ghostbusting?”
“She’s into it.” Sharp prickles of dry hay poked through his work gloves as Shane heaved a bale. “She gets pretty intense about something that’s just a hobby.”
“Hey, some people play golf,” Jared commented, loading the hay lift.
“At least there’s a purpose to that. Get the little ball in the hole, win the game.”
“It’s a puzzle to her,” Jared added. “She strikes me as a woman who likes to solve puzzles, find answers.”
“Maybe I’ll buy her a jigsaw puzzle,” Shane muttered.
“Bothers you, huh?” Amused, Rafe put his back into the work again. “Hear any chains rattling lately? Any disembodied moans?”
/> “Kiss my butt.”
“How’s it going otherwise?” Jared asked, with a vague thought to defusing an argument. Rain was beginning to patter on the ground, and they still had work to do. “Hasn’t been a woman living in the house since Mom died. Cramping your style?”
A smile curved Shane’s lips. “Nope.”
“Well, hell.” Catching Shane’s look, Rafe set down the bale he’d just lifted. “You’re sleeping with her.”
“What am I, wearing a sign?”
“Can’t you keep it in your pants for once?” In disgust, Rafe sliced his baling hook down. “Regan feels responsible for her.”
Guilt and fear only inflamed a ready temper. “Why the hell should anybody feel responsible? She’s a grown woman.”
“You going to get that last load up here?” Devin called from the loft.
“Shut up.” Shane spared him a glance before he turned on Rafe. “It’s none of his business, it’s none of your business.”
“Anything connected to Regan’s my business. And Rebecca’s connected. What do you know about her? Do you know how she was brought up? How she spent all her time in classrooms, with tutors, in boarding schools?”
“What difference does it make?” Irritated because he didn’t know, knew far from enough, Shane ignored the rain, the work, and let out the frustration on his brother. “She’s got a brain, she uses it.”
“That’s all she was ever allowed to use. She wouldn’t stand a chance if you aimed for her.”
“What’s the problem here?” Devin stepped out into the rain. “Are we going to get this load in before it’s soaked, or just leave it?”
“Back off,” Shane snarled at Rafe. “And stay out of my personal life.”
Jared sighed. “Looks like we’re going to leave it.”
“This about Rebecca?” Interested now, Devin plucked out a spear of hay and gnawed on it. “We should’ve figured he’d hit on her.”