A Safe Surrender: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Donnelley Brothers Book 2) by Alannah Carbonneau Page A

you ask?”
    “You’ve got a lot of food.”
    “Yeah, I’m planning on staying for a while.” I smiled to myself. “I’ve actually just been hired on at the Ranch. I’m excited to start.”
    “Huh,” the man glanced at me again. “What were you hired for?”
    “I’m actually going to be working with Kyle Donnelley. I’m not sure if you know him, I haven’t met him yet, myself, but I hear he’s quite nice. He leads the mountain climbing tours and I’m very excited to learn from him. Apparently he’s very skilled.”
    The man’s attention was on the road and I had a chance to really study him. His build was large and muscular - I could tell even through the layer of black leather he wore. He carried himself confidently, but he didn’t seem like the boasting type. If anything, I would consider him a little more shy than the average guy. He had dark hair that peaked out from beneath a black suede cowboy hat and dark eyes to match. He was tall and his jaw was hard and square. His lips were full and for reasons unknown to me, I wanted to see them curl into a smile.
    His voice was deep when he spoke. The sound rumbled through the cab of the truck before rumbling through my body, warming my toes. “I’ve heard of him.”
    “Have you met him?” I asked eagerly. I wanted to know a little more about the man I would be working with.
    “You could say that.” He grinned. His lips curled upward at the corners in a slightly lopsided smile that was even better than I’d thought it would be. This man was really something else. He was strong, handsome, and actually a little adorable - in a manly way. There was just something about him that I liked. Actually, I couldn’t help but like him more and more with every minute that passed.
    “Is he nice?” I wiggled in my seat before wincing. “Ouch,”
    His eyes swung to me once again, and this time worry clouded their dark depths. “Are you alright?”
    “Yeah,” I settled back into the seat. “Wow, my chest really hurts.”
    “Your chest?”
    I nodded. “I think it’s from the seatbelt.” As I spoke, I tucked the seatbelt I was currently wearing behind my body. “When the car stopped, it was kind of abrupt, and my seatbelt stopped me from hitting the dash. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a bit of a bruise.”
    “Sounds like it’s a little more than a bit of a bruise.” He said darkly. “Do you think you might have cracked rib?”
    “No.” I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a bruise.”
    “Hmm,” he grunted. “Well, you should probably have it looked at.”
    I shrugged, “Honestly, I’m fine.” He opened his mouth - presumably to argue with me - and I hurried to pepper him with another question. “So, back to Kyle.” I blushed at his piercing gaze. “I know I’m prying, but I’m really nervous to meet him. Is he nice?”
    “He’s usually pretty nice.” He offered, but that was it.
    “Usually?” I felt my heart leaping in my chest with nerves. “Have you had a bad experience with him?”
    He shook his head. “Nope.” He focused on the road again.
    “You’re kind of mysterious, you know that?”
    He smiled again, and again, I felt my heart flutter. It had been so terribly long since I’d felt my heart flutter because of man. Rhett had been anything but charming lately, and as I thought of Rhett, I was reminded of just how much I didn’t need a man. Any man - including Mr. Strong Arms here.
    What I needed was to reinvent myself. Actually, I just needed to invent myself, never mind reinvent. I’d been with Rhett since I was fifteen. I was everything that Rhett had allowed me to become. The man had molded me into who I’d always been, cautious, quiet, and his. But now I was my own person and from here on out, I would do only what I felt in my heart and soul was right. That meant no men. At least not until I figured out what I really wanted and needed from life.
    Taking a chance on dating meant I would have to consider the