Figure it out.“Why so glum chum?” Cam asked from the bottom of the stairs. “Why aren’t you playing games with the rest of your—” cousins, but Cam amended it to, “—buddies?”Anton didn’t look up. “I don’t know how to throw a rope. How to hook something with a rope. How to tie something up with a rope. I don’t know how to do any of that ranch and cowboy stuff.”“That’s all they’re doin’?”“No. There was a foot race. I got third. Colt got first and Ky got second.”Cam bit back a groan. Colt’s competitive streak would never go away. “Third is damn good.”Anton finally looked at him. “You really think so?”“Sure. What other games does Grama have planned?”“Some pin chaps on the cowboy for the little kids and a three-legged race.”Cam’s stomach did a loop-de-loop. Anything but that. He managed, “Do you want to enter that one?”“Yeah, but Domini’s sick and she can’t do it.”Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. You will fall on your ass and embarrass yourself in front of your entire family.Bu
“You in pain now?”“Yeah.”“How bad?”“It’s been worse.”Domini rattled off a Russian phrase.Hell, she only swore in Russian when she was really pissed. He attempted to remove his stump from her hands. “Let me do this. I…you know my family ain’t ever seen me—”“Vulnerable?” she supplied. “The injured war hero Cameron McKay has a chip on his shoulder the size of his missing leg, when it comes to letting his family see his stump.”Cam’s mouth dropped open in shock.But his wife wasn’t finished. “I can see how you’d hate all the love, support and help they’ve offered you. That has to suck.”“Domini—”She got right in his face. “I understand that you don’t want to show your stump to the world at large. But these people—” she gestured to the group watching them very closely from afar, “—aren’t the world at large. They care about you. They always have, they always will. What don’t you get about that?”“You sent Keely away,” he pointed out.“I’m not talking about Keely. Besides, if I wouldn
“I never meant to hurt any of you.”“But you did.”“I’m sorry.”“I know you are. And I forgive you even when I still want to paddle your butt.” She kissed his forehead. “But it needed to be said.”He owed her more than a perfunctory I’m sorry. He owed his entire family more than that.“Being kicked around by my family when I’ve been down today has been a good thing, believe it or not.” He smiled at Domini. “I don’t want to go back to being the man I was because some changes are for the better.”“That’s good to hear and I’m happy for you, son. Let us share in your happiness, okay? Let us get to know the different man you’ve become.”Cam nodded.“I meant it when I said you’re welcome at our house any time, Carolyn,” Domini said. “You too, Carson.”Carolyn squeezed their joined hands. “That means a lot. Cameron’s been back in Wyoming for a while but it took you to really bring him home to us. Thank you.”His dad just patted his shoulder and then Domini’s. Twice. Then he slipped his arm a
Keely McKay’s lucky cowgirl boots kicked up clouds of dust as she paced across the wooden plank floor.A mouse skittered in front of her and she jumped like a scalded cat.So much for maintaining nerves of steel.Well, at least she hadn’t shrieked like a scream queen from some cheesy slasher flick.In the last twenty-three minutes and forty-two seconds she’d chewed her bottom lip to the point she tasted blood beneath the cherry-flavored lip gloss. Not only that, her fingers hurt from continually cracking her knuckles. Frogs jumped in her stomach and were stuck in her throat. She’d clenched her jaw hard enough to make her earlobes sting. Given her erratic physical reactions, one would believe she was facing the hangman’s noose. An executioner’s blade. Or a blind date.She was meeting a man. A man she didn’t know. A man she’d never spoken to. A man who held her entire future in his hands.And that absolutely chapped her ass, sucked balls and blew donkey dick.No man ever had that much p
He recognized Keely’s frustration at having a vision no one else saw or understood.“I wanted something that was just mine. I wanted to do it my way, with my money, and my ideas. But this clinic would benefit everyone, not just me, so it’s not about my ego but about me wanting to help people.” Her eyes searched his, almost frantically. “Haven’t you ever wanted to prove yourself? To be different or do something different from what people expect of you?”“Of course.”“So I was feeling cocky that I’d pulled it off. Everything was going miraculously well. The real estate broker kept quiet. As did the banker. I thought I’d jumped through all the proper hoops. Imagine my surprise when I learned I can’t change a freakin’ thing on the building that I now own without the step-by-step approval of some damn committee.”Welcome to his world.“Oh, and on top of that, I have to hire a qualified expert, already certified by the committee, to oversee the remodeling process. So the specialist can reas
“Big talk. I suspect you’re all talk.”“I am not all talk,” she huffed.“Then take your best shot.” Jack grinned nastily. “But you’d better make it count, because what goes around, comes around.”Her eyes flicked over him from head to toe. “Such macho trash talk from coming from a guy who’s dressed like he just stepped off the cover of GQ. ”“Says the woman who’s a candidate for What Not To Wear,” he volleyed back.“Ooh.” Keely snapped her fingers in a Z shape. “You told me, girlfriend. Will your boyfriend be jealous we’re tossing bitchy banter back and forth?”Jack laughed. “That’s your best shot? Accusing me of being gay?”Keely snorted again. “Accusing? Dude. My gaydar goes haywire around you.”“And you’re an expert in all things gay because you live in Buttfuck, Wyoming?” he said with amusement.“Why, Jack-off… You actually have a sense of humor! You should share that playful side more often.Guys really go for it.”He laughed again. “Name one thing about me that sets off your fin
“I’ll need a minimum of one month commitment from you. During this engagement you’ll travel to Milford with me and convince the committee we’re madly in love.”“Didn’t you tell me the committee is aware you’ve been single for a while?”Jack paced again. “I didn’t share specifics on my personal life. I more or less sidestepped the question. But there has to be a way we can convince them we’ve secretly been together for the last few months…” He snapped his fingers. “Aha! I’ve got it.”“Got what?”“The reason we didn’t go public with our relationship—even with families—was because of our rocky past. I saw you as my best friend’s pesky little sister; you were dumped by my little brother. But we crossed paths again when you needed my help with this restoration project. It turned into something more than a working relationship. Each hour we spent together built on our past as a bridge to our future until bam—change of heart.”Keely began to clap.Jack gave her that devil-may-care grin and b
Her hand felt heavy. No wonder. When she peeked at the square cut diamond set in a platinum band, she realized the stone was the size of her fingernail. Keely met Jack’s gaze. “Is this for real?”“What? The stone? Yes, it’s real.”“Guess you took me seriously about the gigantic ring, huh?”“I figured ten plus carats would get your attention.”“And the attention of anyone within a mile.” Keely waggled her fingers, admiring the diamond’s flash of brilliance. “This is spectacular. I don’t know what to say.”“That’s gotta be a first,” he said dryly. “Thank you, Jack, would be a start.”Keely angled across the console and placed her hand on his smoothly shaven cheek. “Thank you, Jack.”His eyes were soft, a luminous green, nearly hypnotic. The moment was so intimate she almost believed it was real.Her dad knocked on the window and barked, “You comin’ in or what?” and brought a screaming halt to her momentary lapse in judgment.Jack kissed the inside of her forearm and mouthed, “Show time.