Cowboy Take Me Away (Rough Riders #16)

by Lorelei James

  “Where is he?” Carolyn whispered.

  “Probably napping in the living room.” He led her past the staircase to the kitchen.

  Carolyn set the pie on the counter and wandered through the space. “This is lovely.”

  Carson moved in behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “This was Mom’s domain. Seemed weird to be in here without her after she passed.”

  “I love that you can see the rolling hills and the pasture as you’re standing at the sink.”

  “This house didn’t originally have indoor plumbing, so Dad had everything updated about fifteen years ago.”

  “And it’s probably due to be updated again,” Carson’s dad said behind them.

  Carson kept his hands on Carolyn’s shoulders when they turned around.

  His father stared at Carolyn without saying a word.

  Her body tensed.

  “This is my girlfriend, Carolyn West.”

  His scrutiny increased, but he remained mum.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. McKay,” Carolyn said.

  “West. You Eli’s kid?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “He still alive?”

  What the hell?

  “Yes, sir, he is.”

  “Thought he’d be dead by now.”

  Again. What the hell was wrong with his dad?

  “Excuse me?” Carolyn said.

  “Eli West had a big mouth and a lot of nerve. Not a good combination. I figured either someone would’ve killed him or he’d died due to his own stupidity.”

  “Jesus, Dad. Enough.”

  Those blue eyes—eyes just like his—narrowed into mean slits. “You meet her family yet, son?”

  “Had dinner with them today.”

  “They welcome you with open arms once they learned you’re a McKay?”

  Carson didn’t respond.

  His dad’s shrewd gaze gauged the damage to his face. “Any of them responsible for that?”

  “No. Had a little trouble at the dancehall last night but me’n Cal, Casper and Charlie handled it.”

  “That’s why them boys weren’t worth a hill of beans this mornin’.”

  “I don’t have a problem with them getting their work done during the week. But I can see why they’d wanna pull the covers over their heads if you were as much an ass to them as you’re bein’ to Carolyn.”

  They glared at one another.

  “I’m takin’ her on a tour of the house.” He clasped Carolyn’s hand in his and towed her behind him. “This is the dining room. Beyond that in the corner is a parlor, also my mother’s space.” He kept up a brisk pace. “Living room.” Down the hallway, he opened the first door. “This is Dad’s study.” The next room was self-explanatory but he found himself explaining anyway. “This bathroom got added on when they put in indoor plumbing. It used to be a bedroom. On the other side of that wall is the washroom with a washer and dryer.” He pointed to the end of the hall. “Around that corner is another entrance to the kitchen and also a door that goes out to the back porch. Let’s go upstairs.”

  Carolyn stopped. When he turned to ask her what was wrong, she placed her palms on his chest. “Carson. Sweetheart. Slow down.”

  He exhaled and pressed his forehead to hers. “Sorry. It’s just…”

  “I know. It’s okay. I wanted to throttle my family earlier too.”

  He tipped her face up and kissed her, meaning for it just to be a short tender press of lips. But the instant their mouths met, he needed more of her.

  She pulled away. “Let’s get back to the tour.”

  Carson led her up the wide staircase that opened onto the second floor.

  “Are all of these bedrooms?”

  He’d never really looked at the house he’d been born and raised in through someone else’s eyes. “There are eight bedrooms up here now. Don’t know if they had rooms for live-in staff or what. During the remodel they turned one of the rooms into a bathroom. My folks’ room had two connecting rooms, with the smaller room being the nursery. Dad surprised Mom and had them put in their own private bathroom.”

  “I’d love that. We have one bathroom in our house, but I know that’s better than an outhouse.”

  “Yeah, I don’t miss that at all.” He pointed to doors on the opposite ends of the long hallway. “Casper and Charlie both still live here.”

  “Did you have your own room growing up, with this many to choose from?”

  “Since me’n Cal are twins we shared the biggest room until we were probably thirteen. Then we each got our own space.”

  Carolyn touched the wide mahogany molding. “Did your grandparents have lots of kids?”

  Carson shook his head. “They had four or five—I never can remember, but I do know that my dad was the only one who survived to adulthood.”

  “A shame.”

  “With this much space my mom always wanted to have more kids. Felt it was her duty.”

  “My mom did her ‘duty’ and almost died after she lost the last baby. That’s the reason she and my dad have separate bedrooms. The doctor said the next pregnancy might kill her, so they had to stop…” She blushed. “I can’t imagine my parents doing it anyway.”

  He ran his finger down her jaw. “I know what you mean. I’m sure all kids feel that way, thinkin’ about their parents’ bein’ nekkid together. Our kids will probably feel the same about us.” Dragging her against him, he kissed her, his mouth demanding. It’d be heaven to haul her into his old room, pin her to the mattress and fuck her until they broke the antique bed frame.

  She moved her lips away from his. “I know what you’re thinking, McKay.”

  “You do?”

  “Uh-huh. And that wouldn’t give your dad a very good impression of me, would it?”

  “Well, he already doesn’t like you because you’re a West—”

  Carolyn shoved him.

  He laughed. “Just kiddin’, sugar.”

  “Carson? You still up there?” his dad shouted up the staircase.

  “Yeah. We’re comin’ down.” He sighed. “And that is why I don’t live here anymore. Snoopy damn man.” They moved past the closed doors, taking the narrow set of stairs back to the main floor.

  “They built this house with servants in mind, didn’t they?”

  “I guess. These stairs came in handy when we were sneakin’ back in after curfew.”

  She gasped. “I can’t believe a good Catholic boy like you would do that.”

  “Just because Father Dorian called me that don’t mean it’s true.”

  His dad was waiting in the kitchen. The aroma of coffee filled the air.

  Rather than hanging back, Carolyn walked over to the counter. “If you’ll get plates and a pie cutter, I’ll dish up.”

  Carson didn’t offer to help. His dad needed to make up for being an ass. If he’d had his way, his father would’ve been denied pie, just like her family had been.

  They carried their plates and cups into the dining room. After a couple of bites, Jed McKay said, “This is good. Thanks for bringing it. I hafta get my sweet fix at the diner.”

  “You tick off all them women who were dropping off coffee cakes, pies and cookies?”

  His father iced him with a look. “Yep. Not interested in getting married and that’s what they were all angling for.” He looked at Carolyn.

  She smiled. “Rest assured, Mr. McKay, I’m not interested in marrying you.” She shoved a bite of pie in her mouth.

  Carson about choked on his coffee.

  “You don’t look old enough to get married. How old are you?”

  “Dad—”

  “That’s fine, Carson, I’ll answer. I just graduated from St. Mary’s. I’ll be nineteen soon.”

  “You sticking around these parts?”


  “We’ll see. I’m here over the summer.”

  He sipped his coffee. “How’s your mother?”

  Then everything started to fall into place. Talking to Carolyn’s mother after lunch, she’d asked about his dad. Obviously they knew each other. How well? Then he remembered the story Thomas told him about Eli West putting Jed McKay in the hospital years ago.

  Had that been over Carolyn’s mother? That made the most sense. No wonder the men hated each other. And it had nothing to do with the supposed blood feud between Eli and Jed’s fathers.

  “Right, son?”

  He looked at his dad. “What?”

  “I asked if she’d been at the dancehall last night when you mixed it up.”

  “I told him I’d already left and he said it was a good thing,” Carolyn inserted.

  He wasn’t about to let his dad deliver a lecture about fighting. He’d been hearing that same lecture since his first fight at age ten. He finished his coffee and stood. “We gotta run.”

  Startled, Carolyn pushed back from the table and said, “Excuse me. I need to use the facilities,” and disappeared down the hallway.

  As soon as she was out of earshot, his dad warned, “Don’t go getting serious about her.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s too damned young for one thing. She’s the daughter of Eli West for another.”

  “She’s also Clara’s daughter.”

  “Don’t matter. I don’t want you seein’ her again.”

  “What you want don’t matter to me because I am seein’ her and I’m already serious about her.”

  His father crossed his arms over his chest. “It should matter because I hold all the cards for your future. Be a mighty bleak one for you if you see her in it.”

  “So you’re…threatening me? You get off on makin’ me jump through hoops. So go on and tell me, Dad. If I don’t break it off with her, you’ll disinherit me? Kick me off the ranch?”

  “You mark my words, boy, that girl will—”

  “I left you a slice of pie, Mr. McKay,” Carolyn said as she breezed back into the dining room. “I promised the rest to your son.”

  “I’ll just bet you did.”

  Would Carolyn think less of him if he took a swing at his old man?

  Probably.

  “Come on, sugar, we got places to be.”

  Carolyn held the pie in one hand and he grabbed her free hand. “Nice meeting you, Mr. McKay.”

  They were out the door before they heard his dad’s response. They were out of the driveway before Carson spoke. “Sorry about that.”

  “What did he say to you that prompted our quick exit?”

  “Nothin’ worth repeating.” He pulled off to the side of the road. “When I talked to your mom today she asked about my dad. Doesn’t it seem odd that my dad would ask about your mom?”

  Her eyes went wide. “Do you think they…?”

  “Dated? Snuck around? Maybe. Maybe even behind your dad’s back when he was dating your mom. Seems to be the reputation McKays have.” He paused to breathe. “Years ago Eli put my dad in the hospital.”

  “I didn’t know that! How’d you find that out?”

  “Thomas told me. He overheard it from Roscoe.”

  “Then it’s true because Roscoe is my dad’s one decent friend.” She looked at him. “I thought all the bad blood was between your grandfather and mine.”

  “It was. But it appears that’s not where the bad blood ends between the Wests and McKays.”

  Carolyn set the pie on the dash and scooted closer, uncurling one of his hands from the steering wheel. Then she curled that hand around her face. “Maybe we’ll be the generation that ends it.”

  Or maybe by being together they were starting a third-generation feud.

  Carson didn’t give a damn about what’d happened in the past. When he looked in Carolyn’s eyes, he saw his future.

  “That’s a pretty intense look you’re giving me, McKay.”

  He smiled and gently kissed the inside of her wrist. “Better?”

  “Sweeter, definitely. So where to now?”

  “I’m supposed to be meetin’ my brothers at the Silver Spur.”

  “You hang out in a bar on a Sunday?”

  “Yep.” And just to be ornery, he said, “I’ve been to your church today, now it’s time for you to come to mine.”

  Somehow he’d forgotten she could hit that hard.

  Cal had taken their usual booth in the back. He stood when they approached.

  “Cal, this is Carolyn West. Caro, this is my brother, Cal.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.

  “Cal is short for…?”

  “Calvin. Can I get you a drink?”

  “I’ll take a Coke.”

  Carson gestured for her to sit on the inside. “I’ll take a double shot.”

  Cal raised both eyebrows in a silent “That bad?” and Carson nodded before he slid in next to Carolyn.

  “Where are your other brothers?”

  “They’ll be here soon.” She was looking at him strangely. “What?”

  “You and Cal aren’t identical twins but you look an awful lot alike.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m just wondering if your other brothers look like you two.”

  “Why such a curious kitty?”

  “Because you’ve met my brothers. None of us look anything alike. My sister Kimi is blonde like me, and she’s the spitting image of our mother, but Harland is the only one who looks anything like our dad.”

  “Huh. Same thing happens with cattle. Once in a while we get some weird color mixes.”

  She laughed.

  “What?”

  “I think that’s the first time you’ve brought the conversation around to cows.”

  “I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be the last time.”

  Cal returned with the drinks.

  It was hard for Carson to sip his double shot of whiskey and not slam it.

  Cal and Carolyn hit it off right away. He relaxed a little.

  “Well, who we got here?” Casper said, grabbing a chair and flipping it around before he straddled it. “Didja bring dates for all of us? ’Cause if we get to pick, I’m choosing her.” He offered his hand. “Casper McKay.”

  Carson batted his brother’s hand away. “This is my girlfriend, Carolyn, so keep your paws off her.”

  Casper lifted his in hands in surrender. “No harm in tryin’.”

  Charlie slid into the booth next to Cal. “I told you they wouldn’t sell to me. Go up there and buy your own damn beer.”

  “Fuckin’ little brat. What good are ya if ya can’t keep the booze flowin’?”

  “I drive your drunken ass home, remember?”

  “Right. Guess you are good for something.” Casper stood and headed to the bar.

  “He is pissin’ me off today,” Charlie said. “Ever since we fought them guys last night, he’s been talkin’ about knockin’ fool heads together.” He snorted. “Big fuckin’ talker. He’s usually passed out in the truck when the real fightin’ starts.”

  Carson didn’t want to dissect last night’s dust up, or anything about last night. “Carolyn, this is my youngest brother Charlie. He’s usually more polite than this. Charlie, my girlfriend, Carolyn.”

  “Shit. Sorry. Sorry for sayin’ shit.” He rubbed his hand on his jeans before offering it to Carolyn. “Nice to meet you. What’d you say your last name was?”

  “It’s West.”

  Charlie’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “West? As in…”

  “Yeah, that West,” Carson finished.

  “Now I know why Dad was bein’ such an ass when we stopped at home to get some money before we came here.” His ga
ze slid to Carolyn. “No offense.”

  Cal rubbed his hands together. “Who wants to play pool?”

  “What’s the bet?”

  “Same as usual. Buck a game.”

  “I’ll play ya,” Carson said. He tugged on a hank of Carolyn’s hair. “You can be my good luck charm.”

  Carolyn didn’t say much as they played pool. She seemed more amused than bored.

  Cal beat Carson. Then Cal lost to Charlie. Charlie then lost to Casper. Carson challenged Casper and Casper beat him.

  Normally Casper would’ve been impossible to sit with after winning. He wasn’t acting the least bit cocky, which threw Carson off. Then Casper offered to teach Carolyn how to play and she surprised them all by accepting.

  “So what the fuck did Dad say to you today, Carse?” Cal demanded. “You had two damn doubles.”

  Without taking his gaze off his brother and his girlfriend, he said, “Dad threatened my future with the ranch. He didn’t come straight out and say he’d kick me off and cut me out, but he sure as fuck implied it.”

  “That’s a crock of shit,” Cal said. “He knows he can’t run the ranch without you. He also knows if he cuts you out we’ll all walk—at least I will.”

  “Me too,” Charlie said. “But I ain’t so sure about Casper.”

  “He’s too fuckin’ lazy to step up,” Carson said. “And if we all walked? Dad would be forced to hire men, which we know he ain’t gonna do.”

  “Only McKays work McKay land,” Charlie mimicked their father’s favorite edict.

  “He’d have to sell, which won’t happen because he just bought two new sections in the last year.”

  “I knew he was bluffing as soon as he opened his mouth,” Carson said. “Still pissed me off. He just had to speak his piece when Carolyn was in the next room.”

  “Did she hear him?”

  Carson shook his head. “But she knows something happened.”

  “How’d things play out with the Wests today?” Cal asked.

  “Worse than with Dad. Eli wouldn’t even eat at the same table as me. Only reason I sat to the table at all is because of Carolyn’s mother.”

  “I dunno, Carson. She’s pretty and she seems real sweet, but is she worth the trouble?