Holding On (Love In Montana Book 3)

He was surprised that Robbie didn't throw any tantrums the next morning. For the first time in his life, he co- operated and got ready on time. He didn't cry and neither did he put up a fight.

"You seem eager to go to school today?" Asked his uncle.

"Yes, Miss Anna will take me to the chapel today," he told his uncle who had stopped believing in God altogether after that loss three years ago. He hadn't been to church since and as such even Robbie hadn't.

"Oh, is it?" Hunter asked in a bored tone. What good would going to a church bring? God didn't save his family when they needed Him. So what would He do now for them? He didn't say that to his young nephew though. That was his thought entirely.

"Yes, and you better apologize, uncle Hunt, " reminded Robbie with a glare. Hunter grinned. He would see about that!

He stopped his truck at the parking area of the school and looked around. There was no sign of Robbie's Miss Anna anywhere. They climbed down and walked towards the school gates.

"Miss Anna, " said Robbie, all of a sudden and extricating his hand from Hunter's, he dashed off. Hunter's heart beats accelerated hearing her name. He turned and watched mesmerized as the hot Miss Anna walked from her car towards the school gates, her white dress making her chocolate brown long hair stand out. She looked absolutely stunning, in fact too gorgeous to be a school teacher.  She should have been a model or a lead character of some Hollywood movie. He blinked and blinked as she walked in slow motion and all he could see was her hot body, swaying deliciously as she walked.

Robbie, the lucky guy, caught up with her and caught her hand. She turned to smile at the little boy, her hazel eyes sparkling under the sun. Hunter felt a strange stab of jealousy pierce his heart. She started talking to Robbie without even glancing his way. He walked up to them refusing to be ignored.

"Good morning, Miss Anna, " he drawled with a lazy smirk, appraising her from head to foot and back up.

"I'm Miss. Wilson to you," she scoffed. Hunter grinned. So she was still mad at him. She hadn't forgotten him or his remark. Good!

"Anna Wilson, huh? Sounds kinda ordinary, " he said in a bored tone. Rihanna glared at him. He was such a rude a*shole! He really got to her nerves everytime they met. 

"Rihanna Claire Wilson isn't an ordinary name by any chance?" She gritted out. Hunter grinned. Rihanna! He loved her name already.

"You must have found out my name by now?" He drawled lazily, looking at her with an amused expression. Rihanna was done with his snide remarks. She just wanted to erase that look from his face.

"I'm not interested to know, " she said, then holding onto Robbie's hand she marched off.

"You can call me Hunter in your dreams!" He yelled after her. She literally ran towards the school gates to get away from him. Hunter chuckled at her cuteness. He had never felt this excited in years. Teasing her, getting her worked up  gave him a strange sense of satisfaction and the permanent smile that dwelt on his face was another matter anyway.

He got weird looks from his employees at the ranch but what the hell! A man can be happy once in a while, couldn't he? The whole day, he looked forward to meeting her again in the afternoon.

He had built this ranch, Whispering Meadows Ranch with his own hands. The last three years, his sheer hard work and dedication had made it a successful venture. He was the best horse breeder and trainer in the vicinity and had a good number of faithful clients who only wanted to buy horses from him.

"Miss Anna, I loved going to the chapel. It made me feel like I'm so close to God. Since my family is with Him, it made me feel closer to mom, dad, Carson and grandpa too," said Robbie. Rihanna hugged the little boy.

"I'm glad that you did, Robbie. We can come here daily if you want to," she suggested.

"Yes please. I want to," said Robson. They went towards their classroom. "I'm happy that you're not mad at me, Miss Anna, " said Robbie.

"Why should I be mad at you, Robbie?" She asked him.

"Because uncle Hunt always makes you angry. He's actually silly. Please don't mind him. He has never smiled for the last three years," said Robbie like it was a casual piece of information. It got Rihanna thinking. Robbie and his uncle might have lost their family three years back. It made her soften a bit towards Robbie and his uncle. Maybe she was overreacting whenever she met that Hunt Bradshaw. She rolled her eyes. How could a person whose name was Hunt make fun of her name?

She took her class and to her satisfaction, Robbie responded to her. Although he didn't make friends with any of his classmates, he was improving and that made Rihanna hopeful. The classes were over for the day and Robbie wouldn't leave her hand. He led her to the parking lot with him. His uncle hadn't arrived yet so Rihanna took him to inspect her car. Her car had a flat tyre and she had no spare tyre to fix it.

"Oh, your car needs fixing, Miss Anna, " said Robbie, looking worried.

"Yeah. Wait, I'll call my brother," she said, dialing Ryder's number. Rhett and Rex had arrived late last night from  Helena and today they might have gone to work late. They would surely be busy. He didn't pick up. Rihanna rolled her eyes and dialed Ryan's number. He was at work too. She dialed Sawyer's number who was the adopted son of her uncle Kevin and aunt Katherine. Her grandfather had found Sawyer on the banks of Bearhead Creek. He had been abandoned at birth and ever since he was brought up as part of the family. He was a year older than Rihanna and had just married Ryder and Ryan's younger sister, Renée.

"I'm at a customer's place. I can only come after an hour, " said Sawyer. Rihanna disconnected the call.

"You have so many brothers?" Asked Robbie with wide eyes. Rihanna smiled.

"I could drop you home," said Hunter's voice from right behind her. Rihanna looked at him, standing quietly behind her, listening to her talk of the phone.

"No thanks. I'll manage, " she told him.

"Your boyfriends didn't agree to help you out, eh?" He asked with a smirk.

"My brothers," she corrected him with a pissed off expression. Why does he always bet under her skin? Couldn't he talk normally for a change?

"Whatever, " he said with a sly smile as if he didn't believe her at all. "Get in and I'll drop you off to your place, " he offered.

"Please Miss Anna. I want to see your house. I want to meet your mommy, daddy and your brothers," said an excited Robbie.

"Okay, " she said and Robbie led her towards his uncle's truck. After they both had climbed onto it, Hunter started driving. She gave him the directions to her home, Wildcreek Ranch and he drove towards it.

"Do you have a grandma?" Asked Robbie eagerly.

"Yes. I have a huge family and three dogs," said Rihanna with a smile. "My brother's wife has a baby in her tummy. You want to talk to the baby?" Asked Rihanna. Robbie's eyes lit up.

"Really? Can it hear me, Miss Anna?" He asked excitedly,

"Yes, it can, " she told him. Hunter was quiet all the way, concentrating upon his driving, his jaws set in a grim line. His mind seemed like it was far away. They reached her ranch and she climbed down. Robbie too hurried to get down from the truck and run inside with her but Hunter's hand clamped onto his tiny wrist to stop him.

"Not today, Robbie. I have to get back to work, " he said. Robbie whined but he simply drove off before she could even thank him for the ride. She shook her head at the weird man. She wanted Robbie to meet her family and interact with them but mostly she wanted to show his uncle that she indeed had many brothers and not boyfriends as he had concluded.

She entered her house and saw that Ryder was sitting with his girl Anastasia who had returned from LA to attend her best friend Renée wedding. Was she returning to LA again?

"Hey Anastasia, how are you?" She greeted her, picking up an apple from the table and biting into it.

"I'm fine, Rihanna. Today you last day here. I'll be returning to LA tomorrow, " she told her. Ryder's face fell but he put up a brave face and made a valiant effort to smile.

"Good for you. You wouldn't be returning to Fordsville any more, right?" She asked her feeling horrible for her brother. Was the girl so blind that she couldn't see how much Ryder loved her? Some people are so pathetic that they trample upon true love refusing to acknowledge it, for what? Money, career?

"No," said Anastasia. Ryder got up and left the room. His best friend's sister, Hailey came to see him and he walked out to the porch to talk to her. Rihanna noted the look of jealousy in Anastasia's eyes. So maybe she did have feelings for Ryder, after all.