“Hey,” he greeted Kylie and Gage. “Where’s Travis?”
He noticed how Gage instantly looked away.
“He had work to do,” she explained. “Said he might swing by later.”
From her tone, he could tell she didn’t believe there was work. Then again, Keegan knew Travis well. The man always put his family above everything else. Or rather, the man he’d known before Kate’s kidnapping had, anyway. No one could pretend there wasn’t something different about Travis these days.
“Y’all gonna watch the auction?” he asked.
“We most certainly are,” Kylie said. “Fully intend to inflate those prices if at all possible. It is for a good cause and all.”
“And if it backfires and you end up with a hunky date of your very own?”
Kylie glanced up at Gage. “I have all the hunky dates I need, but we could always use an extra babysitter.”
Keegan laughed.
“Well, I’ll get outta your hair,” he said as he twirled one of Kate’s pigtails. “Let you get back to it. Tell Travis I said hey.”
With that, Keegan headed off to find Kaden, figuring his brother was already mingling with those gathering for the auction. He immediately spotted him across the way, his brother’s gaze swinging his way. Forcing a lightness he didn’t quite feel, he headed in Kaden’s direction.
From the moment he made his first pass by the stage set up for the event and the surrounding area sectioned off for today’s auction, Keegan realized he had died and gone to heaven. Women every-fucking-where and most of them here with one goal in mind. Landing themselves a man for the evening, their eyes on the prize. And two of those prizes being him and Kaden.
He was actually surprised to see such a good turnout. He had no idea there were this many single women in Coyote Ridge. They ranged from probably mid-twenties to, by his guesstimate, mid-seventies, and a good portion in between.
Not that he cared about age or race or size for that matter. Keegan was an equal-opportunity lover and he welcomed any and all. Except for married women. No sense mixing it up with those who were tied down. Relationships might not be his thing, but he still considered them sacred. Do unto others and all that jazz.
Right now any and all included the six women circling him and Kaden, asking question after question, all hanging on their every word. They were almost enough of a distraction for him not to notice the one woman moving through the space, ignoring him like he had the plague.
Keyword being almost.
Yeah, he had noticed Bristol as soon as she approached, talking to one of the women she was usually hanging out with at Moonshiners. Kayla, he thought her name was. They had their heads together. Every so often Bristol would gesture toward something or someone. No matter what, she always kept her back to them. A protective instinct, maybe? Afraid if she looked at them even once she’d end up naked and writhing between them again?
The memory of Thursday night continued to play in his head, most notably when Bristol had run out of the room like her ass was on fire and they were the flames threatening to come for her.
It hadn’t surprised him one fucking bit. In fact, he had expected it.
Granted, he hadn’t been exactly nice when he’d made the comment about what the parents of her students would think. In his defense, it had been about self-preservation. No way was he going to allow himself to fantasize about anything more with this woman. Hell no. Not when she was the queen of distance where they were concerned.
So, yeah, he had said it in hopes she would do exactly what she’d done. Run.
Still, he found himself watching her as she spoke animatedly to a man who had approached her after her friend left to tackle whatever she was tasked with. While the chatter droned on around him, Keegan smiled when appropriate but continued to observe Bristol despite his reservations.
It was as though he was a magnet and her gaze was drawn to his, because it wasn’t long before Bristol turned, her eyes searching as though she sensed someone was watching. When she met his eyes across the way, she instantly looked away and not subtly, either.
It pissed him off that he cared that she wasn’t paying any attention to them, hadn’t except for those brief few seconds. So much so, he turned his attention to the women surrounding him, tried to figure out which of them would be the one sandwiched between them tonight.
Because damn it all to hell, he would fuck Bristol Newton right out of his head if he had to.
*
Curtis Walker strolled up to Jeremiah Tucker’s front porch, smiled as he glanced around.
From where he stood, he could just make out the house his nephew Brantley had bought. If Kaden and Keegan bought this place, they’d be next-door neighbors. For some reason, he liked the idea of that. He could see them having cookouts from time to time, maybe Brantley and Reese pitching in and vice versa. Not a bad setup this would be.
Curtis couldn’t remember when his brother Gerald had given this plot of land to ol’ Tuck. Probably a good fifty years, maybe. Whenever it was, it felt like yesterday. He still remembered the view of the rolling hills out beyond the back pasture. At the time, it had been unused land. Land that was ripe for running cattle, something they’d heard Tuck was eager to do but had never had the means to do at the time. So, with their siblings’ permission, Gerald had gone to Tuck with an opportunity, one that had benefited them all at the time.
Now here they were, many decades later, and Tuck was gearing up for the next phase of his life, which evidently didn’t involve a stay in Coyote Ridge.
Curtis hated to see him leave, but he couldn’t imagine spending his days away from his own family, so he understood.
As he stepped up onto the porch, he noticed the front door was open, the flimsy screen door the only thing between him and the indoors.
He rapped his knuckles on the worn wood. “Hey, Tuck. You in there?”
“It’s open,” the old grisly voice called out. “Come on in, Walker.”
Smiling, Curtis opened the door and stepped inside. Aside from the underlying stench of cigarettes, the house smelled like dust and mildew, as though it had been closed up for some time. He knew that wasn’t the case. Tuck spent all his time here these days, rarely venturing out even on the nights Curtis and his old buddies met up at Moonshiners to shoot the shit and catch up. Health issues, Tuck had told him a while back.
“What brings you by, Walker?” Tuck asked, his gnarled hand curled around a wooden cane as he hobbled toward the kitchen.
“Thought I’d let you know I’ve got some buyers for your ranch.”
Bushy white eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “More than one?”
“Have a seat, Tuck,” Curtis told him.
“Got some tea in the fridge,” Tuck replied as he detoured to the table. “Maybe you could pour us some.”
Curtis nodded, headed for the refrigerator. He noticed a couple of cardboard boxes sitting on the counter. They hadn’t been closed up yet, and he could see dishes inside.
“Packin’ up, are ya?” he said as he grabbed the glass pitcher, closed the refrigerator door.
“That was Lizzy’s doin’.”
Curtis glanced back over his shoulder. “Your great-granddaughter?”
“Yep. Last time they were down for a visit, she got excited about the prospect of me movin’ up there to be with them.”
So she was speeding up the process. It would be good for Tuck to be around love like that.
After filling two glasses with ice, Curtis poured the tea, joined Tuck at the table.
“Now I know your boys ain’t got no interest in this ol’ ranch, Walker. So who you got in mind?”
Right to the point. That was the way Tuck had always been. Didn’t appear time or age had dulled his sharp edges one bit.
“My nephews,” he said easily, taking a sip of the tea. A bit sweeter than he expected.
“Tells me nothin’.” Tuck grinned, revealing the absence of a couple of teeth. “You got a boatload of ’em
.”
“Kaden and Keegan. Gerald and Sue Ellen’s twins. They’ve been workin’ at the demo company for a while now.”
“And they wanna be ranchers?”
“Always have.”
For as long as he could remember, Keegan had been talking about running a ranch of his own one day. And as much as he hated to lose them on his own spread, he knew this would be the perfect opportunity for them. Plus, it would help cement them back in Coyote Ridge, where he hoped the rest of the family would soon move back to. Curtis had been working on Gerald for a time now, trying to convince his older brother that he was missed. Now that Gerald’s kids were working their way back around, he got the feeling the old fart would be here before too long.
“I’m gonna bring them by tomorrow,” Curtis told Tuck. “After church. Let them do the hagglin’ with you.”
“Ain’t no hagglin’ necessary, Walker. It’s theirs if they want it. Can’t ever repay you for what you did for me and mine back in the day. Only right that I return the favor.”
Curtis grinned. “I’m not lookin’ for a favor, nor do I want repayment. You tell ’em the price, deal with them on it.”
Tuck nodded, his gaze swinging to the back door, which was also open. “I’m gonna miss this ol’ place, Walker. But it’s time. I need to be around my kids and my grandkids. For as long as I’ve got left.” He turned back to Curtis. “But it ain’t what it used to be. Needs some work.”
“They’ve got strong backs,” Curtis assured him.
“They married?”
“Nope. One day, though.”
Tuck grinned. “They young’n’s?”
“Old enough to know better. Fine boys, though. You’ll like ’em.”
Tuck nodded. “I just want it to be in good hands.”
“It will be. That I can promise.”
Curtis could’ve easily bought the place himself, found a way to work the land or rent it to a rancher to run cattle. He’d considered it, too, while he’d been waiting for Keegan to bring it up. According to Sawyer, the boy hadn’t known it was going up for sale, which explained why Curtis hadn’t heard anything from him until this morning.
Now that he had, he knew it was exactly where Kaden and Keegan needed to be. This was where they would settle down, find what they’d spent a lifetime looking for.
It was nothing less than what every man deserved.
*
Bristol realized as soon as she arrived at the park for the auction that she should’ve told Bianca she couldn’t make it. No matter how hard she tried not to notice the fact that Kaden and Keegan were surrounded by beautiful, intelligent women, she couldn’t stop herself from daring a peek in their direction. Every so often she would catch Kaden looking her way, but never Keegan.
Well, not until a moment ago, and the anger she saw in his eyes was not something she recognized on him. Keegan Walker was the one who smiled and laughed, joked and teased. Rarely was he ever serious, to the point she had wondered if he was even capable of it. After their encounter the other night, she knew there was something dark lurking behind those smooth grins and that jovial laugh. And it appeared their falling-out wasn’t doing anything to improve his attitude.
She’d spent last night and most of today doing her best to put the encounter out of her mind, reminding herself time and again that they were now out of her system and she would not be returning for seconds. Not even if Keegan apologized for being rude and she got over the fact the entire town would look down their noses at her.
Nope. She was moving on and no one needed to be the wiser, either. As far as she was concerned, not even Bianca or Rex, her two closest friends, would ever find out the truth no matter how much they pestered her. It was better that way. She would keep it to herself. Last thing she needed was to be the butt of everyone’s jokes. The last thing she wanted was pity or those blasted sympathetic looks. She’d lived it once thanks to her ex-husband. Not doing it again.
As she walked through the people gathering together, laughing and talking, no one stopped her to chat. Not even Kaden or Keegan when she slipped past them, pretending to be invisible. Not that she’d expected either of them to come after her. She was the one who had run out on them, like a chicken being chased by a fox. Only she wasn’t being chased, and the sad thing was, she sort of wished one or both of them had made the effort. At least then she wouldn’t feel quite so much like another notch in their bedpost.
What she needed to do was focus on her one and only task, which was ensuring this auction went off without a hitch. Of course, that required the master of ceremonies to be there, and since Bianca was MIA, Bristol was worried that wouldn’t happen.
The auction was scheduled to start in half an hour, and without the mayor there to run the show, Bristol feared it would fall on her. The absolute last thing she wanted was to have to stand there while a dozen women fought over who would get the chance to take home the sexy twins, because that seemed to be the topic of the hour, the very words she heard as she weaved through the gathering.
She was pretty sure all the single ladies in town had shown up. Some married ones, too. The ages ranged from roughly twenty-two to perhaps ninety. No doubt about it, the auction was going to be a success.
And it was a good thing.
Really.
Except for the fact she was running herself ragged trying to keep up. Worst were all the questions she didn’t have answers to. Sure, it was an auction and it was fairly straightforward, but there were things Bianca hadn’t shared with her. Which, now that Bristol thought about it, was probably her own fault. And now that Bianca was MIA, she didn’t have a choice but to tell everyone she would get back to them when she could.
If she had her way, she would man the refreshments from behind a table and leave the mingling to someone else. She couldn’t deny she had a way with people, but it wasn’t her first choice of things to do.
Yet here she was.
All of the men who would be auctioned off had arrived and they were hanging out with the women, chatting, laughing, and smiling. Though there was plenty of attention to go around, it seemed several women had taken a liking to Kaden and Keegan, including Adeline.
Not that she cared. She didn’t.
Really.
Uggh.
Fine. She cared a little. There might be a tiny spark of jealousy deep down inside her, but she was doing just fine ignoring it.
Mostly.
“Bristol?”
Turning at the sound of her name, Bristol came nearly face-to-face with Stephanie Hennessy. Had she known who it was before then, she would’ve pretended not to hear her. Granted, that was a crappy thing to do considering Stephanie was one of her kids’ parents, the mother of Danielle and Danica, six-year-old twin girls who’d been going to her daycare almost since the beginning.
“Mrs. Hennessy.” Bristol forced a smile. “It’s good to see you.” She glanced around, then made eye contact. “I honestly didn’t expect you to be here.”
Stephanie smiled brightly. “I had to see what was going on in town. This is the event everyone’s been talking about.”
Yes. Yes, it was.
The way she said event was as though it was a dirty word. Bristol would expect no less from Stephanie. The woman thought most things, as well as people, were beneath her.
“I’m surprised to see you working. Is the daycare doing all right? Should I be worried that you’ll be closing your doors soon?”
Always flocking to drama, this one.
Bristol laughed. “Of course not. I’m simply volunteering, helping out Bianca.”
Stephanie nodded as though considering that. “I didn’t realize you knew the mayor.”
Then she clearly walked around with blinders on, because everyone in this town knew Bianca and Bristol had been best friends since elementary school.
Bristol merely smiled and said, “I do. Is John here?”
“Oh, no. He’s off on business. Has a big client in Los Angeles he’s tendin
g to this week.”
Bristol didn’t bother to tell her it was the weekend and most people were with their families then. The rumor going around Coyote Ridge was that John Hennessy had another woman on the side.
“Well, help yourself to refreshments. Bianca should be here shortly.”
“Thank you, dear. If you could let her know I’m here when you see her.”
Clearly, she’d been relegated to Stephanie’s personal assistant. “Of course.”
A sigh of relief escaped her when Stephanie turned and wandered toward a group of women. While she would never let Stephanie know how she truly felt about her and her two spoiled children, Bristol preferred not to have contact with her if she didn’t have to.
Needing something to do, Bristol placed several clear plastic cups onto a tray, filled each one halfway with champagne, and then wandered around, urging those who had registered for the auction to take one. She smiled when it was appropriate, laughed at a couple of jokes. It wasn’t the most glamorous job in the world, but she didn’t mind it.
When she came upon the group surrounding Kaden and Keegan, she cleared her throat, offered champagne. The women mostly ignored her, but she didn’t care.
“So, when I win the date with you both, what will that entail?” one woman asked.
“You mean when I win the date,” Adeline said with a giggle. “I’m hoping there’s nothing off-limits. We’ll make a night of it.”
Bristol felt a strange churning in her stomach. How could these women be so … forward? Especially one of her friends. She’d never understood it.
Not by choice, Bristol made eye contact with Kaden, noticed the way he was watching her. Unable to resist, she peered over at Keegan. He wasn’t looking her way, instead giving his groupies his undivided attention.
Why wouldn’t he? He’d pretty much shunned her before their skin had even cooled after the amazing sex. And then he’d opened his mouth and made her feel about two inches tall, spurring her immediate escape. Which had been the right thing to do, she reassured herself. Never mind the fact she’d regretted giving in to her urges in the first place.
Kaden & Keegan (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge Book 9) Page 13
