All Chapters of Cattenach Ranch: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

From a seat in the corner of Olivia's wide open barn, Amy tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence of her tablemates and watched her best friend and Nate share their first dance as a married couple. They looked so perfect and right together that Amy's teeth hurt. If she weren't so dang happy for them, she'd yak.Longing tugged her midsection. No one had ever looked at her the way Nate did Olivia. Like she was his everything and nobody else existed. After thirty years of being the girl most guys skimmed past for a glance at her friend, Amy should be used to the shadows by now. Guess not, since her belly cramped.Because this was the working barn for shearing sheep and grooming horses, there were no stalls in the generous hundred-by-hundred space, but everything had been cleared out. Amy's brother Kyle was in the far corner, running the stereo in lieu of a DJ. Ten or so round tables were covered in white tablecloths and votives. Both the front and rear carriage doors were open, lettin

He was the best I was going to get.With that statement rolling around in his skull, irritation pounding his temples, Nakos stared at Amy, waiting for her to break. He knew her better than anyone. Too much tense silence, and she'd crack. It was just a matter of time. Shadows from the trees created havoc with the moonlight on her alabaster skin. Her dark cocoa hair swept past her shoulders, and he had the damnedest itch to shove his hands in the strands and force her to look at him. Since dancing with her inside, she'd yet to glance at him more than fleetingly and that, more than what she'd said, had concern sinking its claws deep.Arms crossed, he shook his head. This wasn't her. The defeat in her shoulders, the sad curve of her lips, the lack of spark in her mermaid eyes...Not his Ames. Where was her fire? Where was the woman who could argue him into a corner and make him heel? She exuded confidence like most people did pheromones.Except... No. Not lately. Ever since the inciden

Nakos's two-story rustic cabin had been built by Olivia's parents a few years before they'd died, and was intended to be living quarters for the active foreman. It was set on Cattenach Ranch, deep in the southern pasture, with a clear view of the Laramie Mountains on one side, sprawling prairie on the back end, and a copse of cottonwoods to the north.Amy hadn't been inside since they were children. Yet here she was, standing in the second floor guestroom, just a sheet of drywall separating her from where Nakos slept. He'd...taken her home with him. Had arranged for all her things to be brought over. It was just like him to pull a move like this.And it didn't feel right. He was no more responsible for her wellbeing than Kyle. The sheer loss of independence since her divorce had been jarring, but being utterly displaced was worse. Like dandelion fluff caught in a stiff wind. Rootless. Helpless. She hated not being able to stand on her own two feet.She had no options, though. Olivia ne

Cursing his internal alarm clock, Nakos padded down the hallway before the buttcrack of dawn, his sole focus to get coffee. Lots of coffee. Until his blood type was Folgers. Once a caffeine blast hit his system, he could better determine the cause for the tension in his neck and why the hell he woke in a zombie state. Not that he normally popped out of bed raring to go, but Hihcebe, he felt like he was crashing from a week-long bourbon bender.Rubbing his eyes, he rounded the landing, descended the stairs, and headed for the kitchen. And stopped short. Blinked. Scratched his chest.Amy, facing away from him, poured coffee from a carafe into a mug at the counter. Long cocoa strands trailed halfway down her back, and she wore a pair of frayed skinny jeans that molded to her round, luscious ass. Blue polish peeked from her toes as she curled them on the checkered linoleum. As she reached for the sugar dish, her hips wiggled like she was grooving to an internal beat, and... He grew semi-h

As Nakos pulled his truck up to the main house, Bones came barreling around the corner and stopped to sit on his haunches. Though the sheepdog's tongue lolled, his postured deflated as if disappointed in the visitors.Amy released her seatbelt from the passenger side. "Looks like someone misses Olivia."Nakos grunted. "Or Nate. The dog follows him everywhere."They climbed out and warm, humid air tinged with the scent of pine and soil bathed her face. Hot sun beat down and created the perfect lighting for some shots she had in mind.Nakos bent to rub the dog's black and white fur. "Just a honeymoon, boy. They'll be back before you know it." He straightened and glanced around. "Do me a favor. Check on Mae before you wander off to take pictures?"She'd planned on it anyway. "Sure."Leaving Nakos to care for the horses, Amy made her way to the mudroom and inside the spacious kitchen. Huge and airy, it held stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and white distressed cabinets. Aun