by Amelia Shea
“Hey, Kellie, didn’t know you would be here.” He got up and pulled her in for a hug. Travis was sweet in the sense he seemed to be clueless at the tension filling the outside air. Without even looking at Sarah, she could feel her glare directed at Kellie.
Lucas waved and said hello while Sarah turned her back to Kellie. “Let’s get a beer,” she heard Travis say, assuming he was talking to Kellie. She didn’t bother looking, she was too busy glaring at Sarah, waiting for her to look her way. This girl was batshit crazy if she thought Britt would allow her to be rude to someone at her house.
A tug on her hand had her glancing over her shoulder. The blue eyes staring back at her were a gorgeous distraction. She intertwined her hand in his and moved closer to Grey.
“No brawling before we eat.” Grey smirked.
She reached up on her toes to his lips. “As long as your cousin remembers her manners, we won’t have a problem.” Britt watched Travis and Kellie walk over by the grill.
“Hey Kellie, glad you could make it,” Grey said.
She smiled. “Hi Grey.” Britt watched her tug on the hem of her shirt before making eye contact with Jasper. “Hi Jasper.” She seemed shy as she said those two words.
Jasper dipped his chin and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Kellie.”
Britt wouldn’t have seen it had she not been looking at Kellie. Her friend was blushing.
While the men talked about Travis’s upcoming tour, Kellie and Britt listened. Actually, Kellie listened. Britt was merely pretending. She was more focused on the way Kellie watched Jasper and shyly looked away when he turned his head. Interesting.
“I’m just gonna run inside for a minute,” Kellie said. “Be right back.”
Britt nodded and turned back to the guys, but Jasper caught her attention. His head may have been facing the group, but his eyes followed Kellie as she moved across the yard and through the door. That was very interesting.
As his gaze went back to the group, he widened his eyes when he realized Britt was staring at him. She grinned and raised her eye brows. Gotcha! Jasper averted his attention back to Grey and Travis, ignoring the fact she had just caught him checking Kellie out.
Britt curled into Grey’s side, wrapping her arms around his waist. She liked the idea of Kellie and Jasper together.
»»•««
Grey had never hit a woman, but he was seriously contemplating it with his cousin. He never realized what a bitch Sarah could be, but she was showing everyone tonight. She was fine until Kellie showed up. The snide comments under her breath were leaving everyone uncomfortable and his woman fuming. Even Lucas looked irritated. Grey noticed him pull her aside twice to talk in private. He had hoped Lucas was giving her some kind of warning. If he did, she wasn’t listening.
They were all sitting in chairs on the front lawn. Britt had moved them after dinner so they could catch the sunset. Surprisingly, it was a nice night. They were all drinking and laughing at Travis’ rodeo stories.
Even Grey was amused by the story of Travis getting pummeled by the bull so bad his entire ass was bruised for weeks and he couldn’t sit down.
He saw Britt come out of the house with two beers. She handed one to Jasper and moved to Grey, sliding down in his lap. His hand curled over her hip.
“So, Travis, I wanna know, being a city girl and all…what’s a buckle bunny?” Britt asked.
Everyone in the group started laughing, except Sarah. Grey noticed her peer over at Kellie, who was sitting between Travis and Jasper.
“Why don’t you ask Kellie, she would know.” Her tone was cruel and loud enough for everyone to hear. The laughing stopped.
“I would know, Sarah?” Kellie asked. She had ignored all the snide comments the entire night. Grey had a feeling she was doing it for Britt, not wanting to cause trouble. Something his cousin had no problem doing. However, everyone had their breaking point. By Kellie’s tone, she had had enough.
“What’s your problem, Sarah?” Travis asked, his face twisted in disgust.
“I don’t have a problem. Just calling it like I see it.”
“And what you see is me as a buckle bunny?” Kellie challenged, cocking her eyebrows and leaning up from her seat.
Sarah tilted her head, raising one eyebrow. She didn’t say anything, but it was obvious to all of them that was exactly what she meant.
Kellie chuckled, shaking her head. “Little girl, you got a lot to learn about men. Here’s a clue, insecurity is not a turn on.”
Grey bit back his laugh. Tell her, Kellie.
Sarah face twisted in anger. “The last person I’d take advice from is you, Kellie.”
Kellie snorted and held up her hand. “All right, have it your way.”
“Sarah, stop!” Lucas hissed.
She gaped at Lucas. “Me? What about her? Tell her to stop.”
“You started it, Sarah. Jeez, what’s gotten into you?” Travis growled.
Sarah let out a cruel laugh. “Well, of course, you’d defend your buckle bunny. Want to make sure you got a warm body in your bed tonight, right, Trav?”
“What the fuck?” Britt yelled from Grey’s lap. He held her waist down as she struggled to get up. He knew she was about to knock Sarah out.
“Sarah!” Lucas shouted.
“I think it’s time I left.” Kellie stood up.
Jasper straightened in his seat. “You shouldn’t be the one leaving.” He turned with a deep scowl aimed at Sarah.
“That’s right, you’re staying, Kellie, she’s leaving.” Britt pulled away from his grip and stalked over to Sarah, who seemed shocked. Grey tried to contain his laugh. “You.” She pointed down. “Get your shit and get off my property. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
Sarah stood up, tears forming in her eyes. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah, I’m serious. Sarah, she did nothing but be nice to you. She let all those bitchy comments you spewed go. Still, you made it your mission to be cruel. That shit’s not happening, not at my house in front of me.”
Sarah opened her mouth, but Lucas spoke. “Sorry, Britt, I’ll take her home.”
Lucas walked to his truck, Sarah following behind. They drove away and Grey was thankful he wasn’t Sarah. Lucas was a laidback guy, but he seemed not only angry but embarrassed by Sarah’s behavior. The whole scene had Grey wondering if he had it all wrong. Maybe Lucas would be better without his cousin.
“I should just go…”
Britt whipped her head in Kellie’s direction.
“You’re not going anywhere. Now, sit.”
Kellie looked over at Grey, who shrugged. She sat down in her seat. Britt looked around the smaller group.
“Now, I’m going to get chips and Travis, you go grab more beers.” She walked over to Grey, leaned in for a kiss, and headed into the house, followed by Travis, who was smirking. His woman was feisty.
There was an awkward silence between the three left outside. Grey peered over at Kellie, who sat back, staring at her feet. His gaze was drawn to Jasper, who was staring at Kellie’s legs. He’d give his brother credit, Kellie had an incredible body.
Britt came back out, followed by Travis. She took her seat on Grey’s lap, encouraging more stories of the rodeo. Buckle bunnies were not mentioned. Twenty minutes later, Lucas came back, cracked open a beer, and remained silent the rest of the night.
»»•««
The group left around midnight. Grey brought in the chairs and locked up the front door, and then headed up to her room. He stopped in the doorway admiring his woman. She lifted up her dress and stood with her naked back facing him.
“I know you’re there.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t spying, darlin’. I can pretty much sense anytime you get naked.” He kissed her bare neck. “Your body calls to me.”
Britt giggled. “Oh yeah, what does it say?”
“Come and get it.”
She burst out laughing and hugged his arms around her stomach. His eyes glared
at her small bed. He hated her bed. It was a full size, barely enough room for two. Pulling away from him, she went to her dresser, put on an oversized T-shirt, and crawled into bed.
Her eyes squinted at him from her side. “Why do you look mad?”
“What happened to your nightie?”
“Don’t you like me in this?” She pulled at the shirt.
He growled.
“I like wearing your shirts, Grey.”
Pulling off his shirt and tearing down his jeans, he slid onto the bed, pulling her body under him. “I like you in anything, darlin’, but I especially like you in nothing.”
She giggled, peeking up through her long lashes. “I really love you.”
“I really love you more.”
Epilogue
Seven months later
Britt looked down at her phone. “Shit!”
She was late. Again. She got up from the ground, stretching her legs. She only meant to stay for ten minutes. According to the time and her aching legs, she had well exceeded her time limit. She shivered from the cold breeze and reached down for her seat warmer and blanket.
She hurried toward the large oak but stopped to get one last look. The stars were bright, so close she could almost touch them. Not really, but it was how they appeared. She loved the summer nights in Montana the most, but winter nights played a close second.
“Thanks, Cal,” she whispered.
She rushed over to Beauty. Putting her foot in the stirrup, she heaved her leg over the top. Digging her heel into the horse, she pulled her reins, turning her toward the path and started her trot.
It had taken time. A lot of time, but Grey never gave up and finally tamed her wild horse. She vowed never to ride her, still convinced she was too wild. Grey encouraged, some would call it forced, and eventually she learned to ride her wild girl.
The air was bitter and she felt her nose running. Her hat covering her head did nothing to shield the wind. She dug in her heels, increasing Beauty’s pace. Nothing had prepared her for her first Montana winter. Temperatures below zero and being snowbound. Although they found plenty of things to do when they were snowbound.
Trotting up to the barn, she saw one of the ranch hands wave.
“Hey, Britt. Want me to put her away?”
She smiled and dismounted. “Cody, you’re a lifesaver. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Is Lucas inside?”
He laughed at her antics and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
She raced up the gravel path and ripped open the door, screaming, “You decent?”
Travis’ laugh echoed from the living room. Britt walked through the kitchen to see the guys watching television. Travis was on the recliner, his broken leg elevated as it had been for the last week. He had taken a nasty fall and broken it in two places. He was officially off the circuit for the next eight weeks.
Lucas rolled his eyes. “You need a new line, boss.”
“I don’t want to just barge in here. You guys could be naked.”
Lucas scowled as his lip twitched. “One, we don’t just walk around naked, and two? Britt, it’s your house, you can barge in any time.”
“I may own it, but you,” she pointed at Lucas, “live here, so does Travis, for now.”
Lucas shrugged.
Britt moved into Grey’s place six months ago and offered Lucas the house. It took nearly a month to convince him to move in, but Britt was persistent. He was doing her a favor by living there. He had already fixed the leaky faucet, painted all the rooms, and started construction to give the kitchen a facelift. She refused to accept rent, which did not sit well with him.
“Consider this a raise. You live here rent free. You pay your bills and fix shit that breaks, and we’ll call it even.”
Lucas fought her, but as usual, Britt won. When Travis came home from the circuit, he moved in with Lucas. It was a relief to know Lucas wouldn’t be by himself. Since his break up with Sarah months ago, he’d been homebound, devoting even more time to the ranch.
When Britt had heard about him ending it with Sarah, she felt bad. He assured her the night she kicked Sarah off her property was just the last straw.
“It had nothing to do with you, Britt. Honest. Sarah and I just need time apart. Sometimes, I think you can love someone too much, you get blinded and don’t see the whole picture. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know.”
The few times she had seen Sarah in town, she turned the other way when she saw Britt coming. Sarah had stopped going to Sunday night dinner at the Fords.
“Gotta run, boys, as always, I’m late for family dinner night.” She rushed out the door and into her truck, vaguely hearing the sounds of the guys cackling behind her.
She drove over to the Fords, parking in front of the house. Usually she parked up at Grey’s place and walked down, but she was already twenty minutes late. She rushed up the stairs and rang the bell.
Wait for it.
“Why, on God’s green earth, does she ring the bell every time?” Britt covered her laugh with her hand. She did it because it annoyed her soon-to-be father-in-law. It was her way of keeping him on his toes. Their relationship had shifted after the talk on Grey’s porch. It was as though they shared a secret. It made her feel closer to him. He maintained his burly, stern attitude, but every once in a while, they would share a look and she knew what he was thinking.
We may not have been the first choice, but we were the best choice.
The door flew open with Grey standing in the doorway with a smirk, shaking his head. He knew. She walked in, reaching up for a kiss and then starting into the house. She didn’t make it far. Grey grabbed her hand, yanking her into his body, wrapping his arms around her and leaning in.
His mouth came down on hers, stroking the seam of her lips. She tried to keep the kiss PG, but his hands caressing her back and his body against her was too much. She opened her lips to him, inviting his tongue in for an all-out thrashing, licking, sucking hot kiss. It had been eight hours since she’d seen him last. Too long.
“Hundred bucks says she’s pregnant by spring.”
Britt froze at the voice. God, time may heal old wounds, but Tripp Fords was still a little dipshit. She was about to turn around and strike, but Mrs. Fords beat her to it. Britt snickered when she saw her smack the back of Tripp’s head and he fell forward.
“Watch your mouth.” She smiled up at Britt. “Hello, Britt. How are you, sweetheart? How’d the beef stew turn out?”
Grey’s mom had been teaching her how to cook. The beef stew was her first solo effort on an old Fords family recipe.
“Not quite as good as yours but not bad. Right, Grey?”
Grey clamped his mouth shut and helped Britt with her jacket. She glared up at him. He’d eaten it but refused a second helping. He said he was full. An hour later, she caught him raiding the fridge. Her cooking skills were a work in progress.
They walked into the dining room, following an angry Tripp. Grey and his youngest brother were finally on speaking terms. It had taken time, a few talks with Jasper, and one long talk with his father to have Grey forgive Tripp. There was also a fistfight leaving Grey unscathed and Tripp with a fat lip, black eye, and a bruised ego. That may have been the clinching moment of Grey’s forgiveness.
Jasper came up next to Britt, kissing her cheek and whispering, “I didn’t take the bet.”
She giggled. “Thank you. You were always my favorite brother.”
“Considering your options, I can understand why.” He winked. “I wouldn’t mind being an uncle, just in case you were wondering.” Jasper smiled.
“No babies until they get married,” Mr. Fords interrupted.
Britt laughed at the gruff boom coming from the dining room. She shrugged. “Your dad says no babies.”
They took their seats at the table and settled in. Mr. Fords cleared his throat, gathering everyone’s attention, including Britt’s. He pointedly staredg at her.
“I said, no babies until
you get married. Are you ever going to set a date?”
“You seem pretty eager to make me your daughter. But as you know, we do enjoy living in sin.” She looked down at her ring. The table laughed and everyone started serving themselves.
“You know, Edward secretly always wanted a girl.” Mrs. Fords winked at her as she passed the corn to Tripp.
“I did not. You, my dear, wanted a little girl.” His voice softened when he spoke to her. “I was content with all boys. Even though as you like to forget, these three were a wild handful when they were younger.” His eyes narrowed, aimed at Tripp. “Some still are.”
Britt chuckled at Tripp’s shocked face. The guy had no clue the havoc he reaped. Or he didn’t care. The jury was still out. Tripp furrowed his brows when he caught her stare.
“Hush, Edward. We’ve raised wonderful men.” She patted his hand as he intertwined his fingers through hers. She turned to Britt and gestured to her husband. “Don’t let him fool you, he wanted a little girl. Although, I think the idea scared him. She probably would have been smart-mouthed, defiant and a handful, more so than the boys.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” Grey said, grinning next to her. “Looks like you got your daughter, after all, Dad.”
The chuckles around the room morphed into talk about the spring season on the ranch, as it usually did. Sunday dinners had become not only a ritual for Britt, but something she looked forward to. Hard to believe after her disastrous first one. The dinner ended with everyone cleaning up, except for Mr. Fords, who retired to the living room.
She was passing by him with plates in her hand when he stopped in front of her. His hard face couldn’t hide the softness in his eyes. She had learned to read him fairly well.
“Set a date.” He sighed. It was more of a plea than an order.
“You sure you don’t want me to start working on making you a granddaughter first?” She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.
His face tensed. “Wedding first.” He glared down at her before turning to walk through the doorway. She giggled when she heard the faint sound of his voice in the other room. “Then I want a granddaughter.”
