Without saying anything to her? That was strange. Brandt always searched her out when she did chores. Always.Maybe he was tired. Yesterday was long and emotionally trying for both of them. Not to mention he’d kept her up half the night, making love to her until they fell asleep still joined—which had been a first for her, and more romantic than she’d imagined. Draped across Brandt’s warm body, her head nestled under his chin, her knees curled by his hips with his cock still embedded inside her, his hands cupping her ass.She’d woken up a couple hours later when he hardened inside her. He rolled her over and made love to her again, whispering words of devotion. Declaring his undying, never-ending love for her. Making promises she actually believed.It’d been the greatest night of her life.Smiling, she dropped the bucket and the pitchfork next to the gate and raced to the house. She burst inside. “Brandt?”No answer.Lexie lifted her head and gave her a crabby look for disturbing her
Her Irish coffee threatened to come back up.“Then Brandt threw Dad against the wall and that’s when me’n Dalton came in. After that, Brandt left.”“So you don’t know if he’s decided—”“Don’t say it, Jessie, don’t even fucking think it. Brandt loves you. He always has.”She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “But he loves that ranch too. That’s all he’s known.That’s all he’s ever wanted was to take over running it.”“And you think our Dad don’t know that?”“I know that once Casper has drawn the line in the sand, he won’t erase it, he won’t move it, and he sure as hell won’t back down from it. Brandt will have to choose.”A muttered curse, followed by, “Yeah, it sucks, but he will.”Poor Brandt hadn’t wanted to choose between her and Landon. He’d dodged that bullet only to have the gun waved in his face again. As much as she wanted to be the one he’d pick, as much as she wanted to plead her case and offer him assurances that their life together would be worth giving up his heri
“Know what I never understood? Why Casper hated me so much in the first place.”Joan drained her coffee and walked to the kitchen. Almost on automatic, she poured herself another cup, but it sat cooling untouched on the counter for several excruciating minutes while she stared out the front window.Jessie followed her, a feeling of dread settling in her bones. “Joan? Is everything all right?”“No. I can’t even begin to tell you how wrong it is. All of this.” She braced her hands on the counter in front of the sink. “Casper hated you because your bun-in-the-oven marriage to Luke reminded him of me. Of us.”Okay. That was news. Luke had ever mentioned it. Or maybe Luke hadn’t known. “Yours was a shotgun wedding?”“Yes. Are you shocked?”Jessie had to tread lightly. This was the most Joan had ever opened up to her. “Yes. I am.”“Because Casper ended up with someone like me?” Joan asked, not bothering to hide her petulance.“No. The opposite. I can’t fathom how a woman like you ended up w
Jessie wanted that same happiness for herself. Dammit. She deserved it.And the only way to get it was to take it.After she changed into work clothes, she hitched the empty horse trailer to her truck and headed out.Butterflies danced in her belly as she drove down the long driveway leading to Brandt’s house. By the time she reached the banks of snow piled by the deck, Brandt stood on the steps, waiting for her.“Jess? What are you doin’ here with a horse trailer?”She scaled the stairs in one step and got right in his face. “Did you mean what you said? When you told me you loved me and wanted to marry me?”“Yes. But—”“Did you tell your dad to take a flyin’ leap as far as the ranch is concerned?”“Yes. But—”“In the past four days when you haven’t contacted me at all,” she lightly cuffed him in the arm, “have you had any regrets about anything that’s been going on between us in the last few months?”“No. But—”“Good. Then what are you waiting for? Let’s get your stuff packed up and
And what Dash Paulson found sort of shocked us.”“What’s that?”“We were under the impression that if just one of us wanted to sell our portion of the ranch, the other three owners would be forced to sell theirs too. Which is how Casper tried to control us, or at least got away with a lot more shit than we would’ve let him, had we known the real legalities of the matter.”Carson pointed with his beer bottle. “It entails lots of legal gibberish that took us slow readin’ ranchers some time to understand, but the bottom line is we were wrong. Casper never had the power to force us to sell.”Brandt held up his hand. “Wait a second. My dad threatened to sell his portion of the ranch?”“Several times over the years. To be honest, he even went as far as to have it appraised about six months after Luke died.”That son of a bitch. “Why?”“So he could point out what idiots we were for keepin’ it, when we could have more money in our pockets than we could ever spend.”“How much money we talkin’?
There was nothing like live porn.Chase McKay rested his shoulders against the cheap headboard, taking a long pull off his beer as he settled in for the show.The naked blonde with the huge rack balanced on her knees, head thrown back as the naked brunette, with an equally impressive set of double D’s, feasted noisily on her nipples. When the blonde—Lanae, or was it Renee?—grabbed the brunette’s head, trying to force her to take more of her nipple into her mouth, the brunette—Leah, or was it Gia?—smacked her ass.“Rhea,” the blonde whimpered, “that hurt.”So the brunette was Rhea. Check.Rhea fisted her hand in the blonde’s mane, gaining her full attention. “Every time you touch me without permission, I’ll stop what I’m doing, Janae. Understand?”Ah, so that made the blonde Janae.And people said he was bad with names.Janae’s nod of assent earned her a reward from Rhea. A kiss. A deep, openmouthed kiss, with lots of glimpses of flashing pink tongues and feminine moans.Damn. That was
Until the cops tackled him, cuffed him and threatened to arrest him for assault. But ten minutes later they released him, because not a single man came forward to press charges. They all claimed to be too drunk to remember who’d taken the first swing.But the truth was no man wanted to admit that five-foot-seven-inch Chase McKay had taken on five Texas tough guys, all who topped the six foot mark…and won.Luckily no one had uploaded streaming video to YouTube of PBR bad boy Chase McKay busting heads. But his ass smarted after Elroy ripped him a new one the following day.And it was more of the same tonight.Elroy said, “This attitude isn’t helping you. And we both know this situation has been building for a while, because you, my friend, like to fight and fuck. Not necessarily in that order.”Through the haze of anger, he demanded, “How’d you guys get a key to my room anyway?”“Sheree told the manager you were despondent about your bad ride and she feared you’d do something drastic li
Smarting from the dressing down, Chase waited until he heard her car roar away before he moved and sat on a bench.She’d called him a spoiled brat.For Christsake, he was a twenty-eight-year-old man. He was too goddamned old to be a brat.Wasn’t he?How’d you react tonight after getting your ass handed to you on an easy bull?He’d taken off to indulge in a threesome instead of sticking around to talk to the fans.Yeah. That was kind of bratty.How did you respond after being caught in bed with two women by PBR officials?He’d gotten indignant. Like he was being persecuted for his bad choices. Like he was being singled out.Yeah. That was kind of bratty behavior too.He scrubbed his hand over his face. This was all kinds of fucked up. But he wasn’t too delusional or self-centered to admit the astute Winnie had a point. Several of them. He didn’t have much farther to fall before he hit bottom.And Winnie knew just where to strike the hardest blow—when it came to his family. Maybe his pa
“Poor starving baby. Want to brave the cameras and eat out? Or order room service?”“How about if you use some of that Cooper clout and get us a table at the hotel restaurant? You look too goddamn good to waste sitting on a bed in our suite.” He grinned. “But feel free to leave them shoes on later.”After a leisurely meal, which turned out to be romantic and fun, even amidst a crowd, they returned to their room. Chase led Ava to the bedroom and stripped her slowly. Silently. When she was bare before him, he murmured, “I knew I’d find my Ava under here.”Her eyes, always so expressive, were oddly wary when she whispered, “Am I really your Ava, Chase?”“Goddamn right you are. The rest of this stuff—country boy, city girl—doesn’t matter. You understand that, right? I’m not here with you because you’re a celebrity, or because you’re rich. I’m with you because whenever we are, whether it’s in Wyoming or Nebraska or New York City, it feels right. When I’m with you, Ava, I feel like I’m wher
Again she blushed. “My boyfriend is a journalism major at NYU, so I tend to notice stuff like that because he does.”“I wonder what he’s doin’?”“Probably following up on the picture of you and Ava Cooper in this morning’s edition of Talk of the Town.”Chase froze. “Excuse me?”“You haven’t seen it?”How come Ava hadn’t mentioned it? “No, ma’am.”“They don’t name you, just mention the mysterious man in the cowboy hat. And without sounding all freakish fan girl, when I saw the picture, I thought that might be you.”“Do you have a copy of the paper?”She shook her head. “My boyfriend uses them for class so it’s at our apartment.”Pissed him off that someone had tipped the press Ava was in town. They couldn’t even have a dinner out alone like a normal couple without it being news?The snoopy bastard had probably been lying in wait today. Had he followed him to the gym? Obviously the asshole had followed him from the hotel. Wait. Chase had taken a cab. Had this guy jumped in a cab too? Wh
Ava nearly snorted. Since Petra lived in a fifteen-million-dollar apartment on Park Avenue, her little cocktail party probably meant a guest list of fifty, a black tie affair with a quartet from the New York Philharmonic providing entertainment.“As a matter of fact, I won’t allow you to say no, Ava.”“Be honest, Petra. How elaborate is this party? And what’s the dress code?”Petra sighed. “Twenty guests. Just appetizers. New York casual. Really, it’s practically a barbecue.”Ava laughed at the image of stylish, elegant and immaculately coiffed Petra in jeans and a gingham-checked shirt, serving fried chicken.“Glad I amuse you. Show up any time after seven-thirty. And feel free to bring the gentleman in the hat. Ta.”The gentleman in the hat might be optional after he got wind of their tabloid appearance.Almost on cue, the door opened and Chase walked in.She should be used to his jaw-dropping physique by now. The massive biceps, bulging triceps, thick forearms, bulked up chest, the
“No fucking way in hell.”Ava walked over to sit on the edge of the rumpled bed. “What’s going on with you?”“Nothin’.”“Bullshit. Talk to me.”Chase crossed his arms over his chest. “You wanna hit the pricey stores on Fifth Avenue tomorrow? Fine. That’s your thing. Not mine. I’m sure you have girlfriends who’d love to shop with you for a few hours while you’re in town. You’ve probably already lined up a car service. You don’t need me. And you shouldn’t expect me to trail behind you, carrying your bags and standing around like a fucking idiot while you’re pawing though purses.”Her eyes narrowed. “You’re too manly for that?”He rolled to his feet on the opposite side of the bed. “Yes. And you’d be wise to remember I ain’t a lap dog like Jake neither.” He slammed the bedroom door behind him and grabbed another beer—his third of the night.Christ. He should’ve known. Ava Dumond was fine being with a dirty rodeo cowboy in his world, but when it came to Ava Cooper’s world, he didn’t measu
“How is it any different than sponsors fawning over you?”He scowled over his shoulder. “Big difference. Trust me.”At a loss of how to deal with his reaction to their economic disparity, she retreated to the opposite sitting area. Less than fifteen minutes ago they were as physically close as possible. Chase had looked her in the eye and assured her he knew her. Were those just babbled words uttered in a moment of lust?She’d shared every facet of herself with him. Ava never lied about her family background. Could he only deal with her when she was in his world? A transplanted city girl who had to rely on him for everything?It didn’t matter if he didn’t want her to be this Ava. Truth was, this was the real her.Chase had known her family had money.To think he’d been afraid a Hollywood actress was out of his league? That was a drop in the bucket compared to seeing her as the billion-dollar baby.He needed a drink. He correctly guessed which cabinet held the minibar and opened it, sn
That forceful statement delivered in his masculine growl sent a curl of heat through her. Yes, she’d missed this sexual part of Chase because it was such an important part of who he was. “I wouldn’t dream of horning in on your territory.”They exited the plane and wended through the crowd at baggage claim. After Chase hefted their luggage, Ava led him to the area where private transportation companies waited. A man in a black sports coat stepped in front of another guy wearing a gray pinstriped suit. “Miss Cooper?”“Yes.”“I’m Gino. I hope your flight was enjoyable.”The young man attempted to take the duffel bags from Chase, earning a dark scowl as Chase increased his grip on the luggage. “I’ve got it.”“That’s fine, sir. The car is this way, please.”The heat and stench assaulted her as they left the cool comfort of the terminal. God. The noise didn’t bother her, but somehow she’d forgotten how rank the city smelled in the summer months—garbage, urine, grease and exhaust fumes.Gino
Time passed in a vacuum of misery.After she heard the toilet flush for the third time, she curled her palm around the handle, praying he hadn’t started locking the door. The door swung open with a loud squeak.Chase sat on the floor, his face hidden in his hands. He said, “Get out,” in that dangerously low tone.She parked herself next to him, hip to hip. When he didn’t bark at her to leave, she placed her hand on his knee, wondering if he’d accept her need to soothe him.Try.“You want some water?” she asked.No answer.She counted to one hundred. “Chase? Do you need—”“I don’t need anything. Just go.”“I can’t.”“Don’t you understand? I don’t need you.”Ava ignored the sharp pang his words caused. “But I need you.”Chase slowly lifted his head and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. “What?”The stark misery had her reaching for him without conscious thought. “Don’t turn me away. It’s ripping me up to see you like this. I need to help you. Tell me how. Please.”“You can’t.”“Can’t w
“No. They haven’t told me anything.”“Did you call someone to wait with you?”“My boyfriend is on his way. I won’t call the rest of my family until I know what’s going on. I appreciate you coming. I know Ryan will appreciate it too. It can be a group effort to chew his ass for worrying us once they let us see him.”“Anything I can get you?” Ava asked. “A drink? Something to eat? A blanket?”Jackie shook her head and continued pacing.Chase wanted to bust through the swinging doors and get some answers. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he braced his shoulders against the cement wall, his stomach too queasy to pace.Time dragged. The click of Jackie’s heels competed with the beeping machines that echoed from the nurse’s station.Ava left him alone. She left Jackie alone too. The three of them were the only ones in the waiting room, but they might as well have been miles apart.The doors opened.“Jackie Ackerman?” a woman wearing blue scrubs asked.“Yes. I’m here. I’m Jackie.”The woman
Once they’d reached Jackson Hole, Chase found a luxury resort and surprised Ava by booking a suite. She’d actually teared up when he arranged for two hours of in-room spa treatments and left her alone to be pampered.While she was getting massaged, he took his truck for an oil change and called his family to catch up. Maybe it stung a bit, their shock he’d contacted them without prompting. But Chase was determined to prove he could make changes in all areas of his life and stick to them.“What are you thinking about?” Ava asked.Chase grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “How fantastic these last six days have been. Just me’n you seeing the sights. Hanging out with my friend. Then you rockin’ my world in bed and out of it.”She permitted a smug smile. “I did, didn’t I?”After driving through Riverton, Ava suggested they drive up to Thermopolis to see the famous hot springs. Then she surprised him and booked a room at a bed and breakfast joint that boasted a small private hot spring.