“Like a yard light?”“Exactly.”“Maybe if you cut the headlights.”Kane clicked the lights off, even the interior lights.Talk about dark and spooky. Ginger focused on the blackness out her window. A snow squall faded and she caught a fleeting glimpse of light. “There. Straight ahead.”“You sure?”No. “Yes, I’m sure.”“Hope you’re right, Red. If I run over a fence, you’ll be out here fixin’ fence with me early summer.”“I know how to wield a pair of wire cutters, so bring it, cowboy.”Kane gunned the truck. For a second it felt as if they were airborne. They landed hard and Ginger held onto the support strap hanging from the top of the doorframe.“Sorry.” Snow covered the windshield as they annihilated another drift. The wipers whisked away the remnants in a rapid slap slap slap and they skidded to a stop.“We’re here.”Ginger made out the faint orange glow of the porch light. Snow had drifted in front of the screen door up to the door handle.“Looks like I’m gonna hafta shovel again
He kissed her then. With such sweet surrender she felt tears prickling the back of her eyelids. She felt him get hard again. He rocked into her as he kissed her. Their mouths weren’t apart for any longer than a second or two, as they remained locked together, lost in each other. The waves of pleasure didn’t crash over them, but built slowly, sweetly, until they were swept away.After lolling in the moment, Kane withdrew and rolled to his back. He kept holding her hand and kissed her knuckles. “So you warmed up?”“Uh-huh. And sleepy.”“We’ve got nowhere to be. Go ahead and take a little nap if you want.”Ginger snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest. “Will you stay with me?”“Yep.”“Red. Wake up. Hayden’s on the phone.”She jackknifed, completely disoriented. “What?”“Your cell rang and I answered it. Hope you don’t mind but I didn’t want you to miss the call.” He handed her phone over.“Hello?”“Mom? Guess what? We’re snowed in and the hotel has a pool and an elevator and me
“Then you’d better strip them clothes off and crawl in bed.”“Kane—”He was right in her face. “No arguin’ with me. Do it. Now.”Ginger’s hazel eyes sparked defiance for a second. But she whirled around and stomped to the bedroom. About halfway down the hallway, she tossed out, “This’d better be good, McKay.”Any leniency he might’ve had vanished with that challenge.He snatched a bottle of lube and his other supplies from the bathroom. He locked the bedroom door and saw the outline of her body beneath the covers. “Ginger, I’m givin’ you a choice. Handcuffs or rope?”Slowly, the covers peeled back. Her hair appeared first, since it stuck straight up from static electricity. “You’re serious.”“Yep. Choose or I will.”Ginger smoothed her hair back and studied him. “Rope.”Kane lifted his hand and let the length of rope dangle from his fingertips. “On your knees, arms above your head, palms on the mattress.”It might’ve surprised him that she turned over and assumed the position without
He ground his teeth. In all the times she’d called him in the last year, nothing had been earth-shatteringly important.Every time he and Jessie had connected in the last two weeks, he’d managed to keep the phone call short. He wondered if she’d noticed. Then in the last week he’d stopped answering her calls altogether.Goddammit, cutting Jessie out of his life hurt like a son of a bitch. He’d realized the night he’d raced to her rescue that she’d never see him as anything but the helpful brother of her dead husband. Hell, she’d even told him she considered him like a brother.Brandt grunted. His feelings for her were so goddamn far from sisterly it wasn’t fucking funny.“Brandt. Buddy, you’re up.”He took the cell phone out of his pocket and set it on the table. He grabbed his cue and lined up his shot, trash talking with Tell, Dalton and Ben as they finished up their weekly pool game. After he scratched on the eight ball, he grudgingly gave both his little brothers ten bucks, and li
“Hello?”“Jessie! I was hopin’ you were around. What are you doin’ right now?”Sitting around all dressed up with no place to go. “Not much. What’s up?”“Well, I’m in Moorcroft with a few members of my new dart league team. Guess what? We just kicked the crap outta the Moorcroft Deadly Tips dart team, and we are seriously in the mood to celebrate.And I thought, Jessie lives close, I’ll see if she’s in the party mood.”“Where are you?”“Ziggy’s. Come on down. It’ll be fun.”“You surrounded by hot cowboys?”Keely laughed. “Absolutely. And I’ve even got a designated driver lined up so if we get shitfaced, we have a ride.”Jessie froze. Sometimes Keely cajoled her McKay male cousins into helping her outwit her five older brothers, since they continued to treat Keely like a twelve-year-old girl. She also knew Brandt had gotten roped into being Keely’s cohort on several occasions. “Who’s lined up as your DD?”The phone rattled as Keely spoke to someone else. “Hey, darlin’, what’s your name
It took forever to load, which was odd because it wasn’t a full order. Kane wasn’t happy with only half the amount of cake they’d ordered. When Kane questioned why, Denny informed him Colt had already been by to pick up the other half for the McKay Ranch account.That pissed Kane off. If Colt had intended on getting the cake all along, why had he made such a big deal about Kane picking it up right away? It incensed him further when he saw Colt’s rig—loaded with the other half of the cake—parked across from Sandstone Building.Probably wasn’t the smartest thing, storming into the Sky Blue and India’s Ink in his present mood, spoiling for a fight. But Kane scaled the steps and burst through the door anyway, sending the cowbell door chime clanking. Not even the sweet scent of lavender that Ginger favored calmed him down.Colt looked up from the magazine he was thumbing through. He yelled over his shoulder, “It’s just Kane, Indy.”Just Kane. He fought a sneer.“So what brings you by, cuz?
“This oughta be good,” Kane muttered.“She said Colt might be an asshole on occasion, but he was her asshole and she didn’t appreciate you messing up his pretty face.” Her eyes searched his. “Does that mean something to you?”Kane smiled. “Yeah, she’s not pissed off at me for getting into a fistfight with her husband.”“Wait a second. You and Colt got into a…fistfight?”“Yep. Wasn’t the first time, probably won’t be the last.”Ginger stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “You’re both grown men! Whatever would possess you to take a swing at one another?”He bristled. “I don’t expect you to understand. Me’n Colt… Let’s just say we’re both just hotheaded.We get pissed, come out swingin’ and then we’re done. Fine. Back to normal.”“You’re serious.”“India didn’t tell you that Kade and Brandt had to break up the fight between me’n Colt at Sky Blue?”“No. She just told me that you’d had a bad morning.”“Indy thinks Colt is completely tamed. Sure, he hasn’t been drinkin’, druggin’ and whor
She was totally in love with this man.But she wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. She wasn’t certain if she’d been celibate so long that Kane’s expertise in bed turned her feelings of lust into love. Not only that, if she confessed her feelings, would he think she was no different than the other mothers in the Little Buddies program, angling for a permanent piece of him?She’d never want Kane to think she prized his potential as a father over everything else that made him such a good man. And she wouldn’t put the weight of her confession of her feelings for him when his day had already been filled with emotional upheaval.Ginger felt her father’s curiosity as he watched the boy and the man still snuggled on the couch.Without a word, or even a look her direction, he refocused on his crossword puzzle.She put her father’s guarded reaction out of her mind and prepared supper. After they ate, her father pleaded a headache and retired to his room. She thought about finishing paperwork
“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