“Might sound stupid, but I’d convinced myself that for once, the name I had, the name you knew me by, didn’t matter, because you were interested in the man inside.Yeah, I realize it was dumb. But I didn’t have any idea on how to go about making it right back then.”She waited, unsure of where he was going with this and unsure of how she’d respond.Kade reached for her hand. “Except I can make it right now. Let’s start over.”“It’s too late.”“It’s never too late. Come on. I’ll go first.” He formally shook her hand. “Howdy, little lady. I’m Kade McKay.”Skylar laughed.“You shore are purty. Anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful laugh? Like bluebells in springtime.”“Kade.”“You maybe wanna go out with me sometime?” He grinned and gave her an exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows. “Or do you just wanna skip all that normal datin’ stuff and have my baby?”She laughed again. It’d been a long time since she’d made that carefree sound. She’d forgotten how Kade had tried to cajole her
“So we’re sharing a bed strictly as parenting partners?”“Yep.”“You’ll be a perfect gentleman?”“If that’s what you want. Besides, you’ll probably be so glad to get a full night’s sleep that you won’t even notice I’m there.”“But—”“But, it’s only for a few weeks, until you put her in her own room, right?”“Ah. Right.”“So, how hard can it be?”The look on Skylar’s face was priceless. He knew she wasn’t convinced it’d be no big deal having him in her bed.And that’s exactly what Kade was counting on.Two weeks later…“Wah. Wah. Wah.” Pause. “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.”Skylar groaned and rolled toward the edge of the bed. “Hang on, baby. I’m coming.”Kade placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stay put. I’ll get her. Go back to sleep.”She mumbled, “Thanks.” The minute he was out of bed, she sprawled in the middle of the mattress and snagged his pillow.What a bed hog.“Wah. Wah. Wah.”“Good Lord, child. Them lungs work fine at four in the mornin’, don’t they?” Kade murmured, scooping Eliza out
Kade heard Skylar thrashing around in bed before he opened the door to peek inside.It took a second for his head to decipher the images his eyes were relaying.Skylar was in the middle of the bed. Pajama bottoms off. Her left forearm draped across her eyes. Her right hand stroking madly between her legs as she climaxed.Holy shit.He waited. If he burst in now she’d probably die of embarrassment. But Kade realized Skylar wasn’t aware of what she’d been doing; she’d been dreaming.Jesus. Must’ve been some damn good dream. What would he’ve done if he’d been in bed next to her when she indulged in a little self-love?Woken her up and fucked her like a madman, convincing himself it was his way of making her dreams come true.Kade paced the hallway a few more minutes before he snuck in and tucked Eliza in her crib. He stared at Skylar’s half-naked body lolling on his side of the bed, in the ultimate pin-up girl pose. The ultimate temptation. No way could he crawl in there and not touch he
“True. Dad’d skin us alive if we upset the queen bee, even now.” Kane twisted the wire cutters. “Anyway, I’m thinkin’ about changin’ my name.”Kade laughed. “Right.”“I’m serious. Something that don’t start with a ‘K’ or a ‘C’ like everyone in this damn family.”“How about…Dick?”“How about you fuck off, smartass?”Kade grinned. “So whatcha thinkin’? Bubba? Spud? Deuce? Fred? Ethyl?”“I think Bennett’s datin’ a woman from Thermopolis named Ethyl.”“No kiddin’?”“Yeah, I’m kiddin’. Goddamn you’re easy to tease, Kade.”“Give me a break. I ain’t had to make small talk besides with the cattle for the last year. Good thing Eliza ain’t expectin’ me to be a brilliant talker.”Kane clipped a section of wire. “What about Skylar? Does she expect that from you?”“Who the hell knows?” Frustrated, Kade pounded his foot against the metal jaws of the posthole digger. “We don’t talk about nothin’ except Eliza.”“That’s to be expected, ain’t it?”“Probably. But it’s been a few weeks since I moved in.
“Nice to meetcha, Miz Bancroft.”When Annie yelled, “Sky. Did you hear me? Line two,” Skylar had no choice but to dump him with Dee.Ten minutes later, she found Kade and Dee chatting in the herb drying room. He turned around at her approach. His heated I-wanna-eat-you-up look made her nipples hard and her belly clench. Then his handsome face lit up when he noticed Eliza was in her arms.“There’s my sweet girl.”At the sound of his voice, Eliza’s tiny feet kicked.His grin widened. “Didja miss me, baby? You been behavin’ for your mama today?”“Your sweet girl hasn’t slept for more than fifteen minutes at a time all day.”“Maybe that means she’ll sleep all night for a change.” He nuzzled Eliza’s pudgy neck. “Which ain’t fair because it’s your night to be up with her.”“My night? I thought we were taking turns?”“Me too, sweetheart. But I took all the turns last night. You didn’t move when I got out of bed. At midnight. At two. And at four.”Dee chuckled. “Oh. I get it now.” Still smili
“Great timing. Dinner’s done.”“Good. That looks mighty tasty. Thanks for cookin’.”“You’re welcome.” Weren’t they civilized and polite? What happened to the heated looks and his suggestion of taking her to bed? Why didn’t he suggest they skip supper and head straight for dessert?Why don’t you take a chance and tell him what’s really on your mind?Kade shoveled in a forkful of rice and chewed. “This is good. What’s the spice?”“I added fresh savory.”“Mmm. That it is.”He ate. She ate. They finished the meal in uncomfortable silence.She started to clean up the dishes and declined his offer to help.Finally, he said, “You gonna tell me what’s wrong?”She slammed the cupboard door. “I don’t know.”“Could you at least give me the courtesy of lookin’ at me when we’re talkin’, sweetheart?”Skylar wheeled around. “We aren’t talking, Kade.”“Is that the problem?”“Maybe.”“Only one way to rectify that, Skylar. If you have some to say to me, spit it out.”“Fine. For lack of a better term, w
The mattress shifted and Skylar sat up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because I liked havin’ you next to me, no matter what your motives were. Don’t matter right now.” He fluttered his fingertips up the inside of her thighs. “Spread your legs wider for me, sweetheart.”Kade caught a whiff of her arousal. Thick. Sweet. Warm. He wanted to taste her so damn bad his mouth was watering. Keeping his hands gripping her thighs, he leaned over and put his mouth on her belly button.Her stomach muscles rippled beneath his lips.He dipped his tongue into the indentation, then dragged it down to the top of her pubic bone. He blew softly across her damp curls.Goose flesh broke out across her legs and she softly gasped.“Any objections about me kissin’ you down here?”“Ah. No. Please.”Kade chuckled at her polite eagerness. After a couple of gentlemanly licks, he buried his face in her pussy, found her pulse with his tongue and began to suck her clit.She moaned his name. His. Kade.Oh yeah. This is
She’d never had much of a sex life, so the fact she was getting some good lovin’ on a regular basis should’ve made her swoon like giggling maiden. So why did it bug the crap out of her that sex had turned…routine? And that was saying a lot, coming from someone like Skylar who thrived on routine. Not only was she too chicken to take a chance on initiating sex with Kade, she was afraid he’d balk at seeing her flab-ulous post-baby body and end all sexual contact. She kept all naked encounters in the dark, figuring so-so sex was better than no sex? Right?Wrong. The niggling feeling that something was missing outside of the bedroom didn’t help her frame of mind because she had no frame of reference for a situation like this—sexually or personally. For the first time in a long time, she had no plan of attack, no earthly idea on how to go about implementing changes.Sky left the office and headed home. The big screen TV in the living room wasn’t on. Kade wasn’t sprawled on the couch. The ba
“I believe you. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I had a lot of time to think between Omaha and Wichita.”“About us?”“That and some other stuff.”“Like what?”“I’ve been thinkin’ about safety issues and helmets and all that since Ryan died. And then after what happened to Dirk, I realized I wanna do more than talk about it; I wanna act on it. It’s a murky idea right now, but I have an opportunity to make a difference and I’m going to take it.” He kissed her just because he could, because she was here with him, where she belonged. “Enough about that. Tell me how long you were in LA, because Hollywood, I was headed there first thing in the morning.”“A couple of hours after you left, I got a casting call for a new sitcom and flew back to LA. I should come clean and let you know that my agent called me three times over the course of our road trip, after she’d lined up auditions. And every time I declined to go back to LA to audition. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, besides I didn
Ava gave Hannah an arch look. “Besides I know how damn good the man looks in chaps?”“Smartass. But really, what’s the point after Chase’s meltdown last night?”Her heart seized, thinking about how Chase had lost it on live TV. She’d wanted to jump through the screen and drag him off to comfort him. Assure him that not every wreck would have the same outcome as Ryan’s. Assure him she’d be there for him no matter what.“I know you can hear me, Ava, so stop ignoring—”“Ssh… They’re giving the injury report on Dirk.”The camera cut to an interview with the head of the sports medicine team. When he finished detailing the bull rider’s injuries, the announcer asked his opinion on Chase McKay’s comments about mandatory safety helmets. The doctor looked directly into the camera and said, “Helmets save lives. Period.”The camera returned to the main announcers. Their on-air banter circled to rider standings on tour and current matchups with bulls for the final round. When the list of the fifte
“After a few years, we started having you boys and… Well, my life was busy. Good. Happy. But I never forgot about that sweet baby boy I held in my arms for one short hour. Not a single day went by that I didn’t wonder about him. Pray his life was good. Pray he was loved.”*****Gavin’s eyes were on the shot glass he rolled between his fingers.“So I was shocked when your Aunt Kimi confronted me after your grandpa Jed died. She said one night Jed was loopy on pain meds and he told her that my father told him that I was pregnant. My father bragged to Jed I’d rather give the baby up than have it raised in a godless home as a McKay. Which was a total lie, but Jed must’ve believed it. After Kimi told me that, I finally understood why Jed never liked me and why he refused to live with us.”“Aunt Kimi never told Uncle Cal?” Chase asked.“No. But she told your Aunt Carolyn.”Gavin said nothing.“When did you tell Dad?” Ben asked gently.“Right after Quinn and Libby got back together.” She loo
Quinn? Yes.Ben? Yes.His folks? Absolutely.And probably any other McKay relation he called.They were just that way. They might fight like cats and dogs, but when it came down to it, family was everything. And he would do everything to reclaim his place in his family.“Chase?”“I’m here. Just figuring the logistics. If I leave now, I can be there by noon tomorrow. Is that early enough?”“You’re really not gonna compete in the final round and you’re coming home?” Ben said with total shock.“Hard to believe, but yeah. I’ve realized there are more important things than those eight seconds I spend on the back of a bull. I ain’t gonna be the one who lets Mom and Dad down.”Ben was very quiet.“What?”“You have changed. I’m looking forward to seein’ you. Drive safe.”Immediately after Chase hung up he called Elroy.“You’d better not be calling me to bail you outta jail, McKay,” Elroy barked.“Good morning to you too, sunshine. I’ll keep this brief. I have a family emergency in Wyoming and
“Me.”“And who are you?”Gavin took a deep breath. “I believe I’m your son.”****The crowd roared behind him, ready to party at the PBR on a Saturday night.Chase braced himself. The PBR’s newest female reporter, a fiery redhead named Lissa, stuck the microphone in his face as soon as he cleared the contestant gate. He’d been expecting it since he’d avoided an on camera interview last night. To ensure his cooperation, the cameraman blocked him in. Bastard.“We’re here with Chase McKay after that amazing ninety-one point ride on Devil’s Due. Congratulations, Chase, that’s gotta feel good to be back on top.”He focused on the woman and not the camera. “It does. Especially after an extended break and such a poor showing in Dallas.”“Tell us about the ride.”“Well, Devil’s Due is an ornery little cuss and highly unpredictable, so I wasn’t sure if he’d go into spin mode tonight or hopscotch around. Luckily I was able to stay with him no matter what he did.”“So the past few weeks you’ve b
“Okay. Thanks.”“And if that doesn’t work? Go with plan B.”Her mother, businesswoman extraordinaire, always had a backup plan. “And what is that?”“Track him down, tie him up and force him to listen to reason. It helps if you’re naked. And holding beer.”“Ah, Mom. I don’t think that will work.”“It sure did with your dad. Good luck, sweetie, keep in touch.”Ava packed her bag and booked a commercial flight to LA.“Why am I so nervous?” Ava asked Hannah, two days later.“I’ll tell you what I think after the audition.” Hannah straightened Ava’s miniskirt for the third time.“That’s not helping my nerves.” She tried not to think that Chase would know exactly what to say to her to calm her down. The door to the conference room opened and a long-legged blond strolled out. “We’re ready for you, Miss Cooper.”Ava squeezed Hannah’s hand and followed Corporate Casting Barbie into the conference room. Well, at least this production company didn’t have the clichéd casting couch. Ava chose the c
“No. And here’s fair warning: that is not a topic of discussion. With you. Or anyone else.”“Never thought I’d be happy to hear you say ‘no comment’ and mean it. Warms the cockles of my cold PR heart, McKay.”“You’re a riot. What else?”“The PBR is picking up your transportation expenses. You’re in New York now?”“Yeah.”“I can’t get you to Wichita directly—”“Book me into Omaha. I left my truck there. I’ll drive to Wichita.”“Done. What day you wanna leave?”“Today. As soon as possible.”Ava stared at him with shock.“The event isn’t for another couple days.”“I’m aware of that. But there are other things I need to take care of first.”Elroy sighed. “Fine. Contact me when you get to Kansas. And I don’t gotta remind you no press unless you’re escorted by a PBR media liaison.”“I get it. I’ll keep in touch.”“Good.” Elroy hung up.Chase returned to the bedroom and picked up his bag.“You’re leaving? Just like that?”“Yep.”“No discussion. No yelling, no hashing it out?”“What is there
Evidently he hadn’t realized she’d set up a goddamn camera in their room either.He hit the pause button, his head spinning, his gut churning, his thoughts focused on one awful thing.Betrayal.Yes, he knew she’d been taping all the fucking time, but he had no idea she’d been making a goddamned movie. The whole time they were together. To think he’d invited her to share his experiences on the road. He froze. Wait a second. He hadn’t invited her. She’d invited herself. Offering a convincing argument about wanting to see real life outside her poor, privileged upbringing.But Chase sure as hell hadn’t encouraged her to creep around, sticking that camera in everyone’s face. Capturing their private moments. Having no shame in using them for her own gain. For a woman who claimed to hate the intrusion of paparazzi, she’d become damn good at acting like one of them. She’d promised him she wouldn’t show her home movies to anyone.A new thought chilled his blood. Did Ava have footage of Ryan’s
“So I’ll think of you whenever I wear it.” Like I’ll ever stop thinking of you. Ava tried really hard not to cry, but a couple of tears slipped free. The last man who’d given her jewelry had been her grandfather.“Ava?” Chase tipped her face up. “Ah, hell. Don’t cry. I told you that you can take it back.”She made a sound half-laugh, half-sob. “No way am I taking it back, McKay. It’s beautiful. Perfect. I love it. Thank you.”The guardedness in his eyes vanished. “You’re welcome.”Chase paced in the hotel room, glaring at his phone. He hadn’t minded that the fucker hadn’t worked at all yesterday, since he and Ava had spent the whole day in their room, most of it in bed after they’d returned early in the morning from the penthouse.Dammit. He needed to access his email. Nothing was showing up on his phone. And he’d been in such a hurry to get away from the sorrow in Nebraska he’d accidentally left his laptop in his truck at the Omaha airport.His gaze landed on Ava’s computer on the de