Rough Riders Bundle 1(books 1, 2, 3) (99 page)

Jesus. He couldn’t believe Dag was dead. None of them could.

Voices murmured. Cord loosened his tie and Keely caught him looking at his watch.

“What time do you have to leave?”

“In about an hour.”

“You sure you want to go alone? I could drive you.”

“Thanks, sis, but I’ll be fine. It’s gonna be a quick trip.”

“Did you talk to him today?”

“Yeah. He don’t understand and I’ve done a poor job explaining it to him.” By the time Cord decided to tell Ky what’d happened to Dag, his son had plain gone into hysterics and demanded to come home. Oddly enough, Marla agreed Ky should be with him. They’d changed the plane reservations and Cord was scheduled to leave on the last flight out of Denver to Seattle. As happy as he’d be to see his boy for the first time in what felt like months, a layer of sadness dimmed his enthusiasm. Death changed everything.

Carter shoved his empty cup across the table. “Sorry I’m gonna miss seeing the little squirt, but we can’t stick around.”

“My fault,” Cash said. “I don’t wanna leave Gem alone with the twins overnight. She says she can handle them but she shouldn’t have to. We brought two horse trailers and we still need to load up the horses I bought from AJ before we take off.”

Cord’s stomach clenched at the mention of AJ’s name.

“That means you guys are leaving me to deal with Colt once I track him down?” Colby asked.

Shit. Cord hadn’t thought of that. “Can it wait until I get back?”

“What am I, Colby, chopped liver? I didn’t get to knock some sense into Carter the last time we had a McKay fall out of line, so I’m entitled to let loose on another one of my stupidly clueless brothers.” Keely gave Cord a pointed look.

“What?”

“You know
what
.”

Kane said, “Don’t sweat it. Kade and I’ll be around.”

Quinn scratched his head beneath his hat. “Count me and Ben in, if you give us enough warning so we can make the drive. Chase has gotta get back on the road too.”

“Where you competing next?” Cash asked.

“Wichita. Big purse. Lotsa points.”

“That’s a long way. You drivin’ straight through?”

Chase nodded.

“Good luck and be careful.” When Cash stood to leave, everyone at the table followed suit.

After Cord was on the road, he heard his cell phone beeping and he saw he’d missed a call from AJ. Damn. They’d been playing phone tag for a couple of days. The day after Dag died she’d gone to Billings with Jenn to get her mother moved into a condo in a retirement community. She wouldn’t be back until after he and Ky returned.

Yeah, he knew it was over. He knew he shouldn’t call her back. He should just let it go. He should just let
her
go. But the idea of not seeing her again? Not talking to her? Not laughing with her? Not touching her? That was just another reason why his reunion with Ky would be so bittersweet.

He hit redial anyway and left her another message. Cell service through Wyoming was spotty at best so he knew chances were slim they’d actually connect. Why did everything in life have to be so goddamn hard?

Why don’t you just buck up and tell her how you feel?

Right. So she could walk away from him?

Maybe she’d stay.

Nah. The die was cast. The ball was in play. There was no way to go back and he really couldn’t see how he and AJ could go forward when they’d literally be miles apart from Sundance to Denver.

It was a damn long, lonely, depressing drive.

‡

W
hile Kade and
Skylar waited for the check after a crappy meal at Ziggy’s sports bar, which neither of them tasted, he saw Colt.

Happy as Kade was to know his cousin wasn’t dead, because no one had seen him since Dag’s funeral, he was less than happy when Colt stumbled to their booth drunk as a skunk, high as a kite with a vulgar look in his bleary eyes.

“Hey, cuz. Who’s the purty lady?”

“Skylar. Skylar this is my very drunk cousin, Colt McKay.”

“Colt. Nice to meet you.”

“So how come you haven’t brought her by the Boars Nest? ’Cause she ain’t the adventurous type?”

“No. Because I don’t live there anymore.” Kade had a moment of panic. What if Colt was here with Kane? Why in the hell after half a dozen dates hadn’t he come clean about his real identity? Because it’d gone too far and he was a total fucking dumbass.

“Excuse us, we were just leaving.”

“Hold on, hold on. I’ll let ya go get lucky,” he winked lewdly at Skylar, “soon as you tell me what the hell Kane did with my extra set of truck keys. Can’t find ’em anywhere.”

“Is my brother here?”

“No, your brother ain’t here. That’s what I’m saying. The bartender took my keys. I keep an extra set in my glove box and they’re missing. Kane didn’t give ’em back last time he borrowed my truck.”

“You shouldn’t be driving anyway.”

“When did you turn into such a fuckin’ pussy, Kade? Jesus.”

“Shut up, Colt, and go someplace else. For Christsake go sleep it off in your truck.”

“Think you got the right to tell me what to do like everyone else in my goddamn life? Fuck that. I’ll knock you into next week, you smarmy cocksucker.”

Skylar said, “Take it easy, Colt. You’re confused. Maybe Kane and I should take you home.”

Colt frowned and looked around wildly. “Kane? He’s here?”

“He’s right there.” Skylar pointed at Kade.

No no no
. Kade knew everything was about to go horribly wrong.

“Darlin’, I may be drunk as shit, but you’re the one who’s confused. That ain’t Kane. That’s Kade.”

Skylar stared at Kade as if she expected him to dispute it. While she waited, two more shadows fell across the table and they both looked up to see Colby and…Kane.

Fucking great.

Skylar gasped. Her gaze zipped back and forth between the twins. “There are
two
of you?”

“Skylar? What the hell are you doin’ here with my brother?”

Her eyes were black with rage when they connected with his again. “
Kade
, I presume?”

“Look. I can explain. When I found out what a dick Kane was to you on your date that night—”

“You took it upon yourself to pretend to be him that lunch date in Moorcroft? And then all the times after that?”

“Yes. I mean, no. Shit. I wanted to show you I’m not him. Just because we’re identical twins doesn’t mean we have identical behavior.”

“Unless you want them to, purty lady. These guys fulfilled quite a few women’s fantasies of bein’—what’d Jasmine call you that night she fucked both of you at the same time?—a twin beefcake manwich.”

“Colt, shut your fuckin’ mouth,” Colby snapped.

“I’ll bet you’re having a big goddamn laugh about this,
Kade
.”

“I ain’t laughing, Sky, ’cause it ain’t a joke.” He leaned forward, blocking her from view. “I planned to tell you—”

“Right after you screwed me in the parking lot of a honky tonk not an hour ago?” she hissed in his face. “Was it all a lie? A trick? See if I’d notice the difference between you two?”

“No!”

Colt poked his head around. “Aw, sweet darlin’, there’s plenty of us McKay men around if you wanna give me a shot. I’m up for anything.” He ran his fingers down Skylar’s arm.

Kade jumped up and clocked Colt in the jaw. Colt stumbled but remained upright.

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ touch her,” Kade warned. “Don’t you even look at her, you drunken piece of shit.”

“At least I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not in order to get some pussy.”

Kade lunged for him again and Colby held him back as Colt hit the ground.

He noticed everything and everyone in the bar came to a dead stop.

“Come on.” Colby and Kane each had one of Colt’s arms as they dragged him outside.

Somehow, Kade found the balls to face Skylar’s justifiable fury. He boxed her in so she couldn’t escape until he’d said his piece. “No matter what you think, I was
me
when we were together. Me. Kade McKay. Everything I did, everything I said, every damn time. None of it was a lie. The way I feel about you ain’t a lie either.”

She whispered, “Just go away and leave me alone.”

“I’m takin’ you home.”

“No. Just go.”

“But—”

“Don’t humiliate me any more than you already have. Go.”

Miserable, he walked out.

*

Colt had passed
out in the parking lot. The three of them threw him in the back of Kane’s truck with more force than necessary.

“How’d you track him down?” Kade asked.

“The bartender called me. We’ve put the word out to all of Colt’s regular watering holes that we’re looking for him.”

Colby was pissed and as close to losing it as Kade had ever seen him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with him? I can’t take him home. Ma is already a mess over Dag’s death and she’s worried sick the same thing is gonna happen to Colt. If I leave him by himself to sleep it off, he’ll disappear again, or I’ll find him dead from choking on his own vomit. You guys can’t stay up all night and babysit him because we’ve all gotta work tomorrow. We’re short-handed since Cord’s been gone and Colt ain’t been around to pick up the slack.”

“Colt ain’t done shit for months, Colby. None of us are happy about that,” Kane pointed out.

Colby paced. “My pregnant wife is fuckin’ hysterical because she’s afraid my stupid brother will do something to get me killed. Now she refuses to let me work anywhere around him. How am I supposed to tell my folks that? When Colt and Cord can’t work together anymore either.”

Softly, Kane said, “She’s right.”

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? We’ve got a goddamn ranch to run! None of us can spend our time worrying about soap opera family shit like this.”

They remained quiet, lost in their own thoughts.

“I’ve got no choice but to call Quinn and Ben for help,” Colby said offhandedly.

“I’ll stay up with Colt at the Boars Nest tonight,” Kade said. “I’m too wound up to sleep anyway and Ma will know something is wrong with me if I go home.”

“Guess that gets you outta mornin’ chores,” Kane said. “But I don’t blame you for not wantin’ to tangle with the blond tornado.”

Even the mention of their secret nickname for their tiny, firecracker of a mother didn’t bring a smile to Kade’s face.

“Talk to Uncle Cal about this. I’ll talk to my dad. We’ll come up with something because far as I’m concerned, tonight was the last straw for Colt’s employment anyplace on the ranch.”

Kane retrieved the keys from the bartender and drove Colt’s truck home, then helped Kade get Colt into the house.

After they’d dropped Colt fully clothed in his bed, Kane said, “About what happened with Skylar—”

“Not talkin’ about it with you now, or ever, Kane. Let it alone.”

He nodded and Kade heard the door to his brother’s room close.

It was a long night.

*

Colt stirred around
eight o’clock when Kade dumped a bucket of cold water on him. “Get up, asshole.”

Colt rubbed his jaw and wiped water from his face. “What happened last night?”

“I hit you.”

“Why?”