“Then it’s probably the real deal and she’s running scared.”“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m not the type of guy she thought she’d end up with,” he said, hating he sounded like a fucking whiner.Colt frowned at him. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about? You feelin’ like you’re not good enough for her? So she’s a lawyer. Big deal. That just means when you do something stupid and get your ass tossed in jail she can give you a helluva defense.”Kane laughed. “Asshole.”“Listen to me. Don’t be a dumbass and waste any more time. Do the adult thing and quit mopin’ around. It’s annoying as hell.”“How the hell do you know I’ve been moping? You ain’t been around.”“Like anything can be a goddamned secret for long in this family.”Before he could tell Colt to mind his own fucking business, the door blew open and a whole mass of people crowded in. Kade, Cord, Colby, Cam and Quinn.Kade spoke up. “We’re staging an intervention.”Kane glared at Colt. “Was this your doin’?”“Yep.” Colt smirked. “Paybac
“Yes.” She paused and counted. “Oh. My. God. It’s…March!”“Which means, in my estimation, that you are eight weeks pregnant.”Holy hell. She’d probably gotten pregnant the very first time they’d had sex. Ginger’s thoughts bounced like a million rubber balls. Her tears fell—part frustration, part relief, part fear. “How am I going to tell Kane? He’s been calving for almost three weeks and he has limited cell phone service…” Not something she wanted to tell him over the phone anyway.But Dr. Monroe didn’t have any magical advice about how to break the news to the father-to-be. She helped Ginger sit up. “Eat small meals until the morning sickness passes. I’ll give you vitamins. And obviously you can stop taking the pill.”“Funny.” Ginger dressed. She ran her hand down her stomach. Was it her imagination or did she have pooch there? Already?She dreaded going back to the office, so she wandered down the sidewalk and found herself standing in front of Sky Blue.Coincidence?The aroma of sa
“I moved to Wyoming a few years ago to take over my father’s law practice.”“You’re a lawyer?”Ginger almost laughed at the comical look on Daphne’s face. She half expected Daphne to blurt, “But you don’t look that smart!” Wouldn’t have been the first time Ginger had heard that. “Yes, I am. Are you originally from Sundance?”“Born and raised in Lusk. Moved to Sundance to be with Lock’s daddy, but the man took off before Lock was born so it’s just been me and him.”“Same,” Ginger offered.“Men. Only good for one thing. Since my daddy took off too, I wanted something different for my boy, so I signed up Lock for that Little Buddies program.”“It’s been great for Hayden.”Daphne gave Ginger a curious once-over. “You mean Buck’s been great for Hayden?”“That too.”“Did you request Buck?”“No. Hayden was assigned to Kane from the start.”“Well, I specifically requested him.”“Really?”“Uh-huh.” Daphne pursed her pink frosted lips around the straw and sucked. “Those dreamy McKay blue eyes,
“But these last few months when I’ve gotten to know you? How I feel about you has nothin’ to do with Hayden. Besides the fact he’s such a great kid because he’s got such a great mom.”Tears flooded her eyes. “Kane—”“Let me finish. Yesterday, as soon as we finished calving, I stopped by Stacy Lynnwood’s office and resigned as a mentor in the Big Buddies/Little Buddies program. I didn’t give her a specific reason.” His eyes narrowed. “I assume Stacy told you about what’d happened with Brandi?”“Not in detail, just the general gist.”“Then you understand why I didn’t want our relationship to be dissected by the organization or anyone else?”She nodded.“So I resigned. That wasn’t something I was gonna tell you over the phone. I don’t want to be in your life only as Hayden’s mentor. I want to be in your life as your lover and your partner. I want us to be a family.”“Kane—”“Don’t interrupt.” He dropped to his knees and gathered both her hands in his. “I’d hoped to do this differently, b
Hayden had taken the news of them becoming a family far better than either he or Ginger anticipated.When Kane mentioned adoption, Hayden immediately stopped calling him Buck and started calling him“Dad”, which had been beyond cool in Kane’s opinion. But it also drove home the point there was a big difference between being a Big Buddy and being a father. But he couldn’t imagine loving any kid more than he did Hayden.Kane knocked on Ginger’s office door. He heard a muffled “Come in,” and entered the room.The redheaded woman of his dreams stood in front of the window behind her desk, her left arm braced across her lower belly, her left hand up by her face.“Ginger? Everything okay?”She shook her head and he was by her side instantaneously.Kane turned her to face him. His heart plummeted at seeing her tear-stained face and red-rimmed eyes. “Do you feel all right?”“No.” Her arms circled his waist. She sobbed against his chest. She cried so hard he couldn’t make heads nor tails of th
“Better for who?”“For all of you."“Bullshit.” Kane gave him a long, measured look. “Did you know that my Grandpa McKay lived with us from my fourth birthday until he passed when I was almost thirteen?”“I vaguely recall something about that.”“Since Carson was older than my dad by like ten minutes, Grandpop deeded him the family ranch house after my grandma died. Plus, Uncle Carson and Aunt Carolyn kept havin’ all them kids and needed the space. Grandpop didn’t much like his son Casper, so movin’ in with him was out as an option. And he wasn’t too fond of my Uncle Charles’ wife, Vi, neither. So he came to live with us.”“How’d your mama feel about that? Wasn’t there bad blood between the Wests and the McKays?”“For years. But my Ma never got along with her own father, and Grandpop never had a daughter, so surprisingly, the two of them hit it off like gangbusters.”“It’s hard not to like your mama.”“She is something else.” Kane smiled. “So Kade and I were raised by both our parents
(Prologue)“Who’s up for a threesome?”Whoops and catcalls echoed around the campfire while Brandt McKay seethed in the shadows of the pine trees.“And I mean anyone,” Mike, that little fucking prick, emphasized with a drunken leer. “Guys, gals.Hell, it don’t matter if it’s more than three. In fact, the more the merrier! Me’n Jessica here—” he whacked Jessie’s bikini-clad butt hard, “—are up for a good fuckin’ time tonight.”“Or a good time fucking,” someone shouted.“You got that right,” Mike shot back to additional wolf whistles.Jessica. The little fucking prick didn’t even know Jessie’s name, for Christsake. What the hell was she doing with him?Ain’t that why you’re spying on her like some lovesick peeping Tom? To figure out why she turned you down but she’s hooked up with a loser worse than you?Brandt ignored his sarcastic internal voice that resembled his father’s. He remained as still as a hunter tracking prey as he spied on his brother’s widow. The woman he’d purposely stay
“Goddammit, Jessie, look at me.”Miracle of miracles, she rolled over, angrily pushed her tangled hair from her face and squinted at him.Brandt didn’t let his gaze fall below her chin.Jessie had that glassy-eyed look from too much alcohol, and her reaction time was slower, but she didn’t react like he’d expected. No embarrassment. No trying to cover her naked body. Hell, she didn’t even shriek with surprise. She just stared at him.He stared back.“I forgot how much you and Luke sound alike.”“I wasn’t tryin’ to pretend to be him,” Brandt said softly.That comment brought her sad smile. “I know. There’s no comparison.”There was that kicked-in-the-heart sensation again.“Why did you stick around? I wasn’t very nice to you.”His thoughts skipped back to Jessie’s bored appraisal of him and her insulting parting shot. “I intended to take off. B-but…” Goddammit. Why was he such a stammering freakin’ idiot around her?“But you didn’t because you were worried about me.” She held his gaze.
She pushed her hips back, meeting his every hard thrust with a soft grunt. The fringe on his chaps swung forward, the leather connecting with her skin.Even as his cock plunged into her fully, even as his balls drew up, aching for release, even as his legs shook and sweat coated his skin, he planned for the next time he fucked her. The next hundred times.Chase closed his eyes; his hands yanking her body back to meet his escalating thrusts. Faster, harder, deeper, the only words echoed in his head as primal need roared. Impossible to hold off his orgasm, no matter how much he wanted to prolong the sensation of sinking into her soft, wet, flesh.He threw back his head, groaning as his cock emptied in hot pulses. Groaning louder when he felt Ava’s pussy contracting around his dick as she came again.Heart thumping, mouth dry, lungs lacking air, Chase fell forward onto Ava’s back, bracing himself on his hands. Although this rendezvous was supposed to’ve been a dare, a fun, wild slap and
“Who are you?” Douchebag demanded.“The guy tellin’ you to get the hell outta my room.”The douchebag looked at Ava. “I thought you said this was your room.”“Hey, fuckface, eyes on me, not her.” When douchebag turned, Chase stabbed his finger at the clothes by the bed. “You’re done. Grab your shit and get gone.”“Nuh-uh.” Douchebag gestured to Ava. “I get gone when she tells me to, not you, little man.”Ava said not one word.Chase’s anger hit the boiling point. Instead of yelling, his voice dropped lethally low. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”“Or what? You gonna throw me out?” Douchebag sneered. “You’ll have to eat your spinach and grow some first.”Faking calmness he didn’t feel, Chase scooped up the man’s belongings, opened the door and dumped the pile onto the walkway.“What is wrong with you?” Douchebag loomed over Chase.“You have fifteen seconds to get out of my room and out of my face or I will beat you bloody. You’re not the first asshole who’s tried to take me on, believing a short
That vague comment got his back up. Was she trying to get rid of him? Just to be ornery, he said, “I hadn’t planned on goin’ anywhere today. Thought I’d stick around the room and rest up. Hang out with you, my friend.”Panic darted through her eyes. “Oh. Obviously since you’re paying for half the room that’s your prerogative. But I was hoping…”“Hoping for what?”“To have a few hours of quiet time so I can get your rides separated from the other footage.”Quiet time his ass. She wanted nookie time. And he’d be goddamned if he’d just fucking walk away and make it easy on her to bang a total stranger in his hotel room. “I’m not exactly loud, Ava.”“I know, Chase, but I need quiet. Complete silence. No TV. No talking. No cell phone conversations. No fighting.”The sneaky-ass woman knew that lying on his bed, counting the flaws in the ceiling tile for hours would drive him bonkers. But the idea of any man, in here—the private space Chase shared with Ava—touching her, kissing her, fucking
Ava nodded. “I’m new to the world of rodeo. He agreed to show me the inside scoop. That’s all.”“Dollface, that surely ain’t all. Not even close. The man has it bad for you.”Not bad enough to act on it.“I seen how he’s been lookin’ at you.”“And how’s that?”“Like you’re a hot, sweet fried Twinkie and he’d like to lick you up one side and down the other before devouring you completely.”“Except the man seems to be on a sugar-free diet,” she said wryly.Taz chuckled. “Maybe. But I reckon he’s just trying to keep from gorging himself.”“Such an overactive imagination, Taz.”“I try. Better to be one of them colorful characters folks talk about than an average Joe.”The conversation drifted to Ryan. Upcoming rodeos they’d all be attending. Other events. Then Taz took off, leaving Ava alone. It was enough to give a girl a complex about men.Right. She already had enough complexes, although she doubted anyone would look at her and believe that.A guy paused behind the barstool on Ava’s ri
“I’ve gotten up early to work out. I met this rookie kid last week. After I rode, he cornered me, calling me out as Chase McKay.” He smiled sheepishly. “The little shit promised to keep my secret if I gave him bull ridin’ pointers.”“Which you did.”“Not that he listened to me. Kid is such a greenhorn. And stubborn? He won’t turn his foot out, refuses to wear a helmet, won’t consider a trying a different wrap. So I gave up talking to him about bull ridin’ and we watched the slack competition. What did you do—” his knuckles grazed her breasts as he reached for the lanyard around her neck “—besides craft fake press passes?”“I had my assistant whip them up. Realistic, don’t you think? I needed access behind the chutes so I can video you from a closer angle. It’s made a huge difference. You won’t believe the footage I got today.”His rough-skinned hand enclosed hers. “Ava. We need to talk.”The lanky, shaggy-haired young rider inserted himself between Chase and Ava. “Man, that ride was e
“Of course they will. Are you by a computer? Sorry. Stupid question. Go to Faces of Rodeo dot com.”“I’m there. What is it?”“A new magazine I created,” she said with pride.“Seriously, Ava, this is your brainchild?” Computer keys clicked in the background. “The Check back for more details on the main page is vague.”“Which is perfect for my purposes. Anyone who checks it—and me—will believe this is a brand-spanking-new magazine, still working on a web presence. Ooh, now go to Behind the Chutes dot com.”“Why do you need two fake magazines? Why not just one?”“So I have options.”“You’re scaring me. You did all this?”“Yep. Thank God for cheap, quick and easy websites.”“Behind the Chutes—all the news and current standings of the stars of the PRCA. Now that is a great magazine tagline.”“Thank you.” Filled with nervous energy, Ava hopped off the bed. “So what do you say? Can you get these made up this afternoon and Fed Ex them to me by tomorrow?”“I should say no, but I haven’t heard
Wanting what you can’t have will only make this trip miserable. And this trip isn’t only about getting down and dirty with Chase McKay.Also true. Disgusted with herself for wallowing, she focused on the task at hand for today—finding a motel within their budget.Chase wandered to check out the contractor’s rough stock.Ava wasn’t content texting him; she called. “Hey, I found us a room. I actually comparison shopped. This place isn’t as nice as the first one I checked out, but it does have free Wi-Fi.”It amused the hell out of him that she sounded so damn proud of herself. “It’s less than a hundred bucks?”“Of course. Be nice if you had a little faith in me, Sundance. Anyway. I’m starved. I’ll probably try to find something healthy before I head to the rodeo grounds. Did you want me to pick you something up?”“If it’s healthy? Hell no. I noticed a couple of tempting treats as I wandered past the vendor stands.”“We are talking about food treats, right?” she said sharply.“Be nice if
“Probably their whole adult lives. Why?”She released a wistful sigh. “They’re beautiful. So in tune with each other. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have that solid connection every day. I wish I had my video camera so I could capture their happiness.”Maybe Ava did understand more than he credited her.“By the way, when are you planning to teach me to two-step?”“I’m not.”“Do you dance?”“Yep.”She frowned. “But you don’t want to dance with me?”“Drop it, Ava.”Of course she didn’t. “I’ll only put up with so much high-handed behavior, and you’re pissing me off. Answer the question. Why don’t you want to dance with me?”“Because I’m short,” he snapped.About twenty seconds passed before she was in his face. “That’s it? That’s your reason for not dancing with me? Here’s where I tell you that is not a valid reason. That’s a sucky reason.”“It’s a valid reason to me. Christ, Ava, you’re a good three inches taller than me when you’re not wearing them three-inch fuck-me heels. I wil
“Such sweet bullshit,” she mimicked. “How soon before you’re ready to leave?”“As soon as I get my boots on.”“I’ll change shoes too.”Chase shoved his wallet in his back pocket, and maybe for the first time he’d gone out with a woman, he hadn’t double-checked his condom supply.The place was jam-packed and they scored the last table. Pretty basic menu. Several different cuts and sizes of steak. Fried chicken. Pasta. Seafood. The house specialty was the chicken-fried buffalo steak, served with mashed potatoes, gravy and a cold broccoli salad.“It all looks good. I’m too starved to pick one thing.”“Trust me to order for you?” Chase asked.Ava folded her menu and set her elbows on the table. “Please.”The waitress dropped off two glasses of peach iced tea and Chase dumped in three packets of sugar.“This is a cool place.”“Pretty standard for a small Midwestern town. I try to find joints like this rather than eating at another chain restaurant when I’m on the road.”She mumbled somethi