Her Cowboy Daddies: A Secret Baby Ranch Western Cowboy Romance

by Crowne, K. C.

  “Well, I do my best to make sure the issue of animal rights is on people’s minds. And he never likes to hear about it – always shootin’ me down and talkin’ over me and all that shit.”

  He nodded. “Like it or not, you’re on the man’s radar. Doubt he’s gonna let up until you do.”

  “And I ain’t gonna let up. After hearin’ what I have about how he treats the horses at his track…not a chance in hell I’m gonna stand aside while that happens.”

  “Sounds to me like that thing about two irresistible forces collidin’,” he said. “Not gonna be pretty.”

  “I’m not scared. My parents always taught me to do the right thing, and I can’t think of anything more right than closing down that damn track.”

  “You say that like it’s gonna be simple. Bryce has money, and like it or not, money means you’ve got power. And you’re just some kid fresh out of college—”

  “I’m not some kid,” I said, my tone sharp. “I know what I’m doin’.”

  He raised his palms, as if signaling for me to calm down. “Now, I ain’t sayin’ you’re stupid or nothin’.”

  “Then what are you sayin’? That I’m naïve?”

  “More like…still learning how the world works.”

  “Talkin’ to me like you’re my daddy or somethin’,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “I ain’t tryin’ to baby you. But Skye, I’ve been on this planet for ten years more than you. That means ten years more of experience seein’ how shit works. And I’m sorry to say that when a man’s got money and power, things tend to work out in his favor. Regardless of whether or not they work out in the right way.”

  I wanted to tell him he didn’t know what he was talking about, but there was something to his voice that made me believe him, like he’d been through some shit I didn’t know about.

  “Then what I’m I supposed to do?” I asked. “Give up?”

  “No, don’t give up. That won’t sit right with someone like you. But be careful. Play it smart.”

  “Easier said than done, you know.”

  “I know. But also understand that you’ve got two guys lookin’ out for you.”

  Travis. We hadn’t talked about the issue between the three of us, and I wasn’t sure if I’d even know how to do it. I still wanted both of them – our night together had only whetted my appetite for the men. But Adam seemed more interested in looking out for me, in being my friend.

  As much as I wanted him to be between my legs again, maybe a friend was something I needed more.

  The bill came and I reached for my purse. But before I even had a chance to open the zipper, Adam slipped a pair of bills into the book and handed it back to the waitress.

  “Hey,” I said. “You’re payin’ for the food, too?”

  He grinned. “If you don’t like it, consider it a celebration of your first day on the job.”

  “Fine, fine.”

  Adam was in construction, but he was the cowboy-type through-and-through. Stubborn, rugged, and damned charming. His type had always had an effect on me – I couldn’t resist them.

  “Let’s get a move on,” he said after polishing off the rest of his beer. “I want to make sure your truck’s in good working order – it’ll put my mind at ease as much as it will yours.”

  Truth be told, I was glad to have him look at it. My truck had been dependable over the years, but I knew she was getting up there. I finished my beer and the two of us headed out. We’d parked around back in the alley of Raddler’s, so we had to walk around the building to get to our trucks. When we turned the corner, I saw something that made my jaw drop down to the damn concrete.

  My truck. It’d been totally trashed.

  “What the hell?” asked Adam.

  They were the exact words on my mind, but I didn’t say them out loud. The truck was a mess. The tires had been slashed, the windows broken, and deep gouges cut into the sides. It was more than a break-in – someone had set out to wreck my ride.

  “My truck!” I stammered out the words as I ran over to her. The damage was even worse up close –inside I could see that whoever’d done the job had gone to the effort of tearing up the seats and ripping the ignition.

  I turned to Adam, who looked about ready to boil over with rage.

  “Who…who…” I shook my head as I looked at my truck with frantic eyes.

  “You know who.”

  “Bryce?” I squealed.

  He nodded. “We’re not sticking around. And I’m sure as shit not letting you go back to your place. Come on.”

  I wanted to protest, to tell him I’d be fine. But the state of the truck had put fear into me. Still shaking, I hurried to Adam’s truck and he helped me inside.

  “You stay right here,” he said. “I’m gonna call the police.”

  I nodded weakly, still in a state of mild shock. Adam took out his phone and stepped in front of the truck, making the call.

  Didn’t take more than five minutes before a Patterson PD squad car pulled up. The officers got out and approached Adam, who eventually gestured for me to come speak. The conversation with the cops was a blur – I was barely aware of what I said to them. They took a report, told us they’d look into it, and were gone. Adam called a tow truck, who told us they’d be by in a bit to cart my truck to Adam’s place. After all of that was done, we got back into his truck.

  Adam turned over the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. I didn’t know what to say, what to do. We drove in silence for a time.

  “It’s Bryce,” he finally said. “You know it, and I know it.”

  “Maybe…maybe it was some kids. Some punk-ass vandals or something.”

  He shook his head. “You saw what they did to your car. That wasn’t just some kids screwing around –there was anger behind that.”

  Adam was right. But I didn’t want to believe it. It was one thing for Bryce to be a shithead to me in public, or to mess around on my articles, but if it’d been him, that meant he’d taken his grudge into the real world, with real violence.

  For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was scared. Seeming to sense this, Adam reached over and took my hand, squeezing it tightly. I wasn’t sure if it was a violation of our friend agreement, but it sure felt nice.

  “Here’s the deal,” he said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “We’re gonna go back to my place.”

  “Are…are you serious?”

  He flicked his eyes to me. “I don’t mean it like that. There’s a spare bedroom and you’re gonna take it. I don’t know what the hell Bryce has planned, but there’s no fuckin’ chance I’m gonna let you stay alone at your apartment by yourself. And the matter’s not up for debate.”

  His voice was stern, and I realized there was no sense in arguing with him. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to. Going it alone didn’t sound good in the slightest. What if Bryce really was thinking about…trying something?

  We drove through Patterson, eventually arriving at Adam’s house. It was well into the evening when we got there, but between work and what had happened after, I was dead tired.

  “Come on in,” Adam said as we entered his house. “Let me get you somethin’ to drink.”

  I nodded without saying a word. Adam led me to the couch. His place was nice – not as huge as the Rainbow Canyons ranch, of course, but a nice, well-kept home for one man. He flicked on the TV and pressed mute, highlights from one football game or another playing on the screen in silence.

  He returned a few moments later with a pair of beers, cracking them both open and setting them on the coffee table.

  “How you feelin’?” he asked.

  “I…I don’t really know. Not sure how to even begin processing this shit.”

  “Don’t worry about processin’ nothin’. Drink your beer and try to mellow out. You’re safe for now. And I’m gonna drive you to work in the morning, so don’t you worry about what you’re gonna do without yo
ur truck.”

  “Thanks. This isn’t your problem, but you’re helpin’ me all the same.”

  He nodded without saying a word, and the two of us sipped our beers. About halfway through my drink, a terrible sleepiness fell over me. Without thinking, my head dropped onto Adam’s shoulder and I closed my eyes and was out.

  The last thing I remembered was him carrying me to my bed, then looking at me from the entrance before shutting it.

  He was keeping me safe. I wasn’t going to forget it.

  Travis

  I was confused as all hell by the sight of Adam’s truck pulling up to the property. It wasn’t strange for him to stop by, but he’d always shoot me a text or give me a call first. Not only that, but it was the start of the day. What business did he have at Rainbow Canyons?

  I watched his big, white truck pull up and come to a stop in the parking area. I a woman in the car with him. It was Skye.

  He hopped out and stepped around to the passenger’s side door and opened it, helping her out of the high-up cab. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on the previous day, and the implication caused a surge of anger to run through my body.

  They couldn’t have. He couldn’t have.

  I hated to admit it, but I was jealous as hell. Sure, I’d told Adam that I wouldn’t have any problem if he were to hook up with her, but I sure as shit didn’t expect him to do it so damn soon. The fucker hadn’t wasted any time getting in those skin-tight jeans of hers.

  I grit my teeth and clenched my hands into fists. And when she stepped up onto the toes of her boots and planted a kiss on his cheek, I felt about damn near ready to put my fist through the wall.

  You fuckin’ told him he could. You gave him your blessing, said it was alright if he wanted to get with her. You’re pissed, but you know damn well it’s your own fault.

  My words somehow calmed me and made me more pissed all at the same time. I was right, and I knew it. If they had hooked up, I couldn’t get mad at Adam for going around my back or any such nonsense. He’d done nothing we hadn’t discussed. And more than that, they were two grown adults – did they even need my permission to see one another?

  None of that shit made me feel any less angry or jealous. I watched as Skye glanced towards me before heading off to the nearest barn to start her day. Adam saw me, too, and started in my direction.

  Shit. Didn’t want to talk to the man, not even a little.

  “Mornin’,” he said as he approached.

  “Mornin’.”

  He stopped in front of me, as if waiting for me to say something. “What’s up?”

  “Same shit, different day.” I was being glib and short, but I didn’t care.

  “You mind if he stops off at your place? Wanna talk about somethin’ with you – somethin’ important.”

  “Sure.”

  A conversation with him was the last thing I was in the mood for. I could already imagine how it was going to go, him telling me that he didn’t intend for anything to happen, that he and her just kind of hit it off, it all just sort of happened. Yeah, yeah. The idea of him and her appeared in my mind, the mental image driving me crazy.

  I said nothing to him as we walked in the direction of the cabin, anger still swirling around inside of me like hot lead. We headed inside, where there was fresh coffee, and I poured two mugs as I mentally prepared myself for the shit he was about to say.

  “Uh, so I showed up with Skye today.”

  “I know. I saw.” I passed him the mug, and he leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “But…well, shit. First thing you should know is that nothing happened between us.”

  I frowned at him. “What the hell do you mean nothing happened? I saw with my own two eyes her get out of your truck in the same clothes she was wearing yesterday.”

  “You’re right – she stayed at my place last night.”

  The words hit me like a cold spike to the gut. I held the coffee mug so hard by the handle I thought I might break it in two. “Yeah, no shit.”

  He shook his head emphatically. “No, Trav, you’re not getting’ it – she stayed over, but like I said, nothin’ happened. We didn’t hook up, if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”

  “Are you lyin’ to me? Because I know what I saw. The damn girl gave you a goodbye peck on the cheek like she’s your damn girlfriend or somethin’.”

  “Let me explain.”

  “Go for it.”

  “Yesterday when I left the ranch, I bumped into Skye on the way back to my truck. She needed some help carryin’ shit, so I offered.”

  “Damn gentlemanly of you.”

  “Are you gonna let me tell you what happened or are you gonna keep interrupting me?”

  “Fine.”

  “Good. Anyway, I could tell right away that somethin’ was up. She was bothered as hell, and I told her I’d take her into town for a bite – as friends – and let her get off her chest what was goin’ on.”

  “Alright.”

  “So I hear her out. Turns out she’s got some shit goin’ on with Bryce, got on his shit list. Man’s been upset about her activism, makin’ her life difficult.”

  I scowled, my anger shifting to the proper source. “Sounds like Bryce.”

  “That’s what I said. Anyway, so we grab a bite and we’re ready to go our separate ways. But then when we get back to her truck, turns out someone wrecked the hell out of it.”

  “What?”

  “Just what I said. They slashed the tires, broke the windows, keyed the fuckin’ side. Even got in the interior and ripped it up.”

  “Holy shit. You’re serious?”

  “Does it look like I’m screwin’ around?”

  His tone was sharp, and part of me wanted to tell him to cool it. But at that moment I was right there with him, furious as fuck that someone had done that to Skye.

  “What happened? What’d you do?”

  “I called the cops.”

  “And what’d they say?” I knew I should’ve just shut the hell up and let him speak, but I wanted to know every last detail.

  “They said they’d take a look at it, but the odds of finding out who did it from evidence was slim to fuckin’ none.”

  “Yeah, I bet. But you think it was Bryce?”

  “Maybe not him personally, but maybe some goons he hired to do the job. Somethin’ tells me he’s not the kind of man to get his hands dirty with actual work like that.”

  I leaned back against the counter next to Adam, taking in what he’d told me. “Holy hell. If Bryce Atwater has the girl in his sights, she’s in a load of trouble.”

  Adam nodded. “You’re right as fuckin’ rain about that. Anyway, after I called for a tow, I took her back to my house. Wasn’t about to let her stay by herself. Girl was wiped, scared out of her mind. Barely got halfway through the beer I gave her before she fell asleep.” He turned to me, his expression serious. “And that’s what happened. We didn’t do anything.”

  “Wouldn’t matter if you did.”

  “Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, bud?” he scoffed. “You were madder than a damn wet hen when I show up with her, and now you’re tellin’ me it wouldn’t have mattered if we’d gotten busy? Come on – if you’re gonna be jealous, be jealous. But don’t be that way and pretend you’re not.”

  I wanted to say I felt better that they hadn’t screwed. But with the revelation of what Bryce had done, I found myself not giving much of a shit about any of that.

  “Alright,” I said. “Well, we gotta figure out what to do. Bryce is a fuckin’ prick, but he’s not someone to screw around with.”

  “Shitty thing is he’s probably just trying to scare her, get her to back off her activism.”

  “What’re the odds of that happenin’?”

  He let out a dry laugh. “Slim to none. The girl’s stubborn. Hell, it’s one of the things I like about her.”

  I felt the same way but didn’t say anything. I was too focused on the matter at hand.

&
nbsp; “OK,” I said. “First thing’s first – we’re not gonna let her stay at her place alone. She stays at your house or she stays here. I’m inclined to have her on the ranch – lots more space.”

  “And you wouldn’t have to worry about anythin’ happenin’ between the two of us.”

  “Dammit, Adam – we got bigger things to worry about than who’s screwin’ who.”

  “I know, I know. But we’re in this together, bud. If you’re gonna look after her, I’m gonna look after her.”

  “But you know as well as I do that this is the best place for her to hide out. The entire Walker family’s here, and I don’t doubt for a second they’d pitch in to keep an eye on her. Not to mention this is where she works.”

  Adam nodded. “Yeah. And for the time being she doesn’t have a vehicle.”

  “It’s the best place for her, and you know it.”

  Adam said nothing, sipping his coffee and staring straight ahead. “What a fuckin’ mess,” he said finally.

  “No kiddin’. And it’s not just a matter of lookin’ after her. We’re gonna have to find out what Bryce is plannin’, put a stop to it if we have to.”

  “Maybe we could hire a private investigator, follow him around and see if we can dig up anything.”

  “Maybe. But someone like Bryce ain’t a person to pull somethin’ like that with lightly. We’re gonna have to tread carefully with all this business.”

  “Trav, you think…I dunno, you think Bryce might do somethin’ drastic?”

  I knew what he was implying with the word, and the mere thought of it was enough to make my stomach turn, to make me want to beat the living hell out of Bryce for even considering doing anything to Skye. Hard to believe I felt that strongly, that protectively, over a girl I’d only just met. But I did, and it was obvious Adam felt the same way.

  “Let’s make sure it doesn’t come to that. For the time bein’, we’ll keep an eye on her. And she’s tough, too – more than capable of looking out for herself.”

  “There’s the other thing, too,” Adam hedged.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”