Something About a Bounty Hunter

by Em Petrova

“Get back, Stormy. Your dad and I have something to settle.”

  Druid’s eyes gleamed a split second before he sent a hard kick at Wes’s thigh. Narrowly missing his junk, and damn that fucking hurt. The bruise started welling before Wes could shake off Stormy and beat Druid to a pulp.

  Guys circled them and ladies poured out of the club to watch, leaving him and Druid pounding the shit out of each other like the opening act in a violent three-ring circus.

  “Motherfucker.” Wes spat a glob of blood onto the ground.

  “Look at the tough guy—he bleeds like the rest of the world.” Druid danced aside, but Wes swept his leg out from under him. He went down with a groan and Wes gave him a punch to the kidney that would have him pissing blood for a week.

  “Enough! Stop!” Stormy threw herself between them, and both fell still, panting from exertion and anger.

  Wes and Druid reached for her at the same time, and Wes saw red. He picked up the curvy woman, set her on her feet a few steps away and went after Druid for one final round. Determined to end this score and let the man know he no longer held any sway over Stormy. She was a woman, she’d made her choice, and that was Wes.

  * * * * *

  “Damn fools,” Stormy said under her breath as she watched two grown men beat the hell out of each other. Neither seemed to be tiring and they seemed too indestructible to even bleed either. Besides a few drops, it looked like they could go on all day.

  Stormy’s brother had been interested in dog fights and dragged her with him a time or two. The only thing that would split the beasts up was a startling noise.

  Inspiration struck. “Sundance, give me your sidearm.”

  He looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Then his expression changed. “I won’t give it to you, but I’ll do the honors.” He slipped a hand inside his cut and came out with his Glock. “Cover your pretty ears, ladies,” he said and pointed the weapon at the open yard that sprawled toward the mountain range.

  The report reached through Stormy’s fingers pasted over her ears and did exactly what it was meant to—the guys fell apart.

  Her dad planted his hands on his knees, bent over gasping. Wes shook his hands, which had to be swelling from all the blows he’d delivered.

  “Don’t stand for fighting amongst ourselves,” Sundance said, still holding his weapon. “You’ve proved you’re both tough as fucking steel and can’t take each other down. The beef between you is officially settled.”

  Her father cast Sundance a look and then shifted his gaze to Stormy. She grimaced at the rising lump on his browbone.

  “Don’t even fucking look at her,” Dirty bit off.

  “Dirty,” Sundance barked. “I said stand down. Now, that’s her father. He’s not goin’ anywhere, so make peace or make your own way.”

  Neither man looked willing to shake hands, and for a minute Stormy feared they’d lay into each other again. But Dirty stepped up to Druid and extended a big hand.

  Her dad straightened and stared at it as if it was a bit of roadkill. “Fine,” he said and shook.

  Their grip looked like a stranglehold, but they parted.

  Silence fell over the whole group. Finally, DeeDee broke it. “Lunch is on. Handmade pizza crust.”

  Everyone headed toward the clubhouse, but Stormy didn’t move. Watching what the two fighters would do.

  “You okay, Stormy?” her father asked.

  She swung on him. “Now that you ask… No. You planted Kylie in Dirty’s bed to make him stay away from me, didn’t you?”

  He stared at her, and she thought of all the times he’d protected her in her lifetime. Too many to count. But Dirty was one thing she didn’t need protection from.

  She stepped up to her father. “You know I love you, but this fight ends here. Dirty is in my life, and you’re going to have to accept it. I can make my own decisions. Even if that’s leaving the Bighorns.”

  Her father’s eyes widened in shock. “You’d let him take you away from here? From the family that loves you?”

  “I love them too. I love all of you. But lately I’ve been thinking there’s something more out there for me. And you can send a dozen girls to Dirty’s bed to make it look like he’s cheating, but it won’t change my mind about being with him.”

  He gazed at her for a long minute as if seeing her for the first time. Maybe he was. She’d never stood up to him this way before. Finally, he turned and headed into the club too, leaving her and Dirty in the yard.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said quietly, inspecting a swollen knuckle.

  She reached for his hand, his big palm like a paw in her own as she checked for broken fingers. Everything looked intact. The man was trained to fight.

  She met his stare, a tumultuous gray like a hurricane sea. “You’re not coming inside, are you?”

  He didn’t say anything at first, only searched her face. The kiss of his eyes was like a caress to her soul, but it broke her at the same time.

  “I’m gonna go, baby.”

  “Where?” Her throat closed with emotion. Would she see him again?

  “Look, there are things I haven’t explained to you. I don’t know why I haven’t, except I keep a lot to myself.”

  She waited, heart fluttering at the thought of losing him.

  “There are questions about my real mother and father that I’ve avoided for a lifetime, but it’s time I learn the truth. My…” He trailed off and took a step closer to her, palming her cheek.

  She leaned into his touch. “Go on,” she urged. What she wouldn’t give to unburden her soul and if she could give that to Dirty, she’d have a measure of peace after he left.

  “My mother and my aunt were sisters. But I share my eyes with my cousins.”

  She gave a light shake of her head. “That’s normal, right? Family traits passed down.”

  “And also my uncle,” he said flatly.

  Her heart gave a flip-flop at the torment on his rugged face. “You think your uncle’s your real father?”

  He dropped his hand from her face and shoved his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. But I have to find out.”

  She stepped closer and put her arms around him. Going on tiptoe to mold her body to his, hating that she wasn’t strong enough to keep from shaking.

  He made a noise in his chest and pulled her tight to his big body. They stood that way for a long minute. “I’ll be back, baby.”

  All she could do was believe him. At least until he betrayed that trust. She stepped back.

  “I’ll be here, Dirty.” She didn’t add waiting, though it was on the tip of her tongue.

  “I’d kiss you but then I won’t stop.”

  “I understand.” She did. He had to fight his demons to come back to her whole. Then maybe they could continue their life together, make their own way with or without the Bighorns in their lives.

  She smiled and he returned it, gray eyes twinkling. “See ya soon, Dirty.”

  With that, she walked into the clubhouse, feeling his stare on her back and burning to run back into his arms.

  But she resisted.

  A few minutes later, she heard the engine of his Harley and knew he was gone.

  The clubhouse was full of talk about the fight, but her dad was sitting apart from them. As soon as she entered, he walked up to her and handed her a bottle of beer. “Thought you could use this.”

  “Thanks.”

  He stared at her too closely.

  She twisted off the cap and raised the bottle to her lips. The cold brew was tasteless in her mouth.

  Her dad rested a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be back.”

  “Why do you care? You just tried to break his neck.”

  A huff of laughter left him. “Tried is the operative word.” He skimmed his fingers over his bruised brow with a grimace. “At least I found out what I needed to.”

  Her gaze shot to his. “What?”

  “That he’s worthy of keeping
you safe.”

  Chapter Seven

  Pulling into Eagle Crest on his bike felt surreal. The ranch felt like another world.

  One where he could roam free and sweat out his frustrations through hard work. Many a time he’d come home after running down a difficult fugitive solely to work it out of his system.

  This time, he felt weighted with worry, though. He was determined get to the bottom of why his mother had run away and left him behind. This time he wasn’t buying the answer he always got—that his momma knew he’d have a solid home with them.

  And it was high time to find out if he wasn’t a Roshannon in name only.

  A couple dogs burst around the barn and headed for his bike as he rolled up the driveway and stopped in front of the house. He spoke a word to them and they settled at his familiar voice.

  He cut the engine and pushed the kickstand into place with his heel before climbing off. The dogs leaped at him, barking with enthusiasm now. Chuckling, he bent to scratch their ears and one offered his butt.

  Laughing now, Wes gave them a spot of attention before looking to the house and then the fields… He looked beyond to the cattle dotting the land and dragged in a deep breath of air. Home.

  No matter where he fit in or who he actually was, Eagle Crest would always be his home. Years ago, he’d thought about giving up hunting bail-jumpers one day and taking over the ranch with Uncle Matthias.

  Now, he didn’t know.

  Throwing a look at the other vehicles in the drive, he stepped onto the porch. Wasn’t so rare for his cousins to be home on a weekend—they often tried to gather at least once a month. But Wes wasn’t sure he wanted them around for what he needed to say to his aunt and uncle.

  When he opened the door, a baby’s wail came to him. He closed the door with a smile—Aiden was a new father. The man was born to boss people around, and now he had one of his own to boss.

  Aunt Winter appeared in the mudroom, a dishtowel in hand. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She rushed forward and threw her arms around him.

  “Oh my God! Wes, we weren’t expecting you. Haven’t heard from you in too long. I’m so glad you’re here!”

  He squeezed her and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Hope it’s okay I came.”

  She swatted him with the towel. “Okay? You know we want you home permanently.” She stepped back to eye his attire of leather and denim and made a tsking sound. She didn’t ask him to put on his Stetson, but she didn’t need to anyway.

  He wanted to. His heart was too full with the sights and smells of Eagle Crest not to truly feel he belonged here.

  “What’s everyone doing?”

  “They all just got here. Oh my, is your jaw bruised?” She pinched his chin as if getting ready to rub away a dirty spot with a thumb.

  He pulled back. “I’m fine. Could use a drink though.”

  She was set in motion with the task. Waving him along, she listed all the contents of the refrigerator. He emerged from the mudroom to see his twin cousins gathered in the living room with their pretty wives and the new baby.

  “Look what the hounds dragged in. Thought I heard a bike.” Aiden stood and crossed the room in two strides to clap Wes on the back. Judd was there too, a mirror image of his brother and looking happier than he’d ever seen him.

  Wes greeted his cousins with genuine affection. Then he turned to their wives. Each beautiful and smiling at him. If he ever brought a wife home, would she fit in with them? He pictured Stormy with these ladies and wasn’t sure.

  “Who’s the newcomer?” He hovered over the baby in Amaryllis’s arms. To him, infants all looked like worms, but this one had the Roshannon eyes.

  He smiled and was introduced to Sawyer Matthias Roshannon.

  “Want to hold him? He’s not even stinky.” Amaryllis smiled down at her baby the way only a mother does.

  “Later.” He straightened and met his uncle’s eyes. The same as his. And if Wes looked closer, he could pick out other features he shared with his uncle—the thick dark hair and the square jaw, though his uncle’s was getting softer with age.

  “Like to talk to you and Aunt Winter alone.”

  Something passed in his uncle’s eyes, but he gave a no-nonsense nod.

  “What’s this? You’re conducting Roshannon business without us?” Judd asked.

  “This isn’t something you should be part of. Yet.”

  “Hold on.” Aunt Winter’s face paled and she twisted the dishtowel in her hands. “Wes, is this about the bikers? Are you in trouble?”

  “Hell no. I am the law, Aunty. Why would I be on the wrong side of it? It’s about my mother. And father.” He swung his gaze to Matthias, though he couldn’t quite meet his stare.

  “Whatever’s said should be said to all of us. Judd and I have a right to know what’s happening in our own family.”

  “Do we have to do this right now, Wes honey? There’s dinner to put on and—” Aunt Winter silenced at Matthias’s touch on her shoulder. A look passed between them.

  They started toward the kitchen and everybody got up to follow. Wes turned to look at his cousins. He supposed it was their business too—finally hearing whether or not the rumors they’d endured as kids and into adulthood about being brothers and not cousins were true.

  * * * * *

  Seated in his usual spot around the farmhouse table, about to confront his relatives about his true identity, was one of the more nerve-wracking moments of Wes’s life. He could do with a beer right now and realized with surprise how much the Bighorns had really rubbed off on him.

  He wasn’t the same boy who’d left Eagle Crest. His career had taken him places and now he was coming back to find his roots.

  His aunt and uncle sat at the head of the table, hands interlocked. United as always.

  Wes drew a deep breath and held it till his lungs burned. When he released it, the words flowed out as if he’d rehearsed them.

  “I think you know what I want to discuss.”

  The barest of nods from Matthias.

  “I checked some DNA a while back.”

  Judd’s head snapped up. Aunt Winter’s face paled alarmingly.

  “I went to the Bighorns thinking I’d find the man who fathered me there. I took a sample of his DNA and Judd ran it for me.”

  Everyone looked to Judd.

  “It didn’t match,” Wes continued. He eyed Matthias. “I could go deeper into my suspicions—I have all the resources at my fingertips—but I believe you kept it hidden from me and the rest of the world for a reason.”

  Judd and Aiden exchanged glances. Their wives’ eyes were wide and even the baby was quiet, the pacifier bobbing in his mouth as he drifted off.

  “So, I’m coming to you and Aunt Winter for the real answers about my mom and how I ended up a Roshannon—a real Roshannon by blood.” He held his breath. There—he’d said it. And nobody was arguing his point.

  Yet.

  Aiden made a sharp movement and Aunt Winter’s face crumpled for a split second before she regained composure and smoothed it over.

  Judd spoke up. “Wes, you’re talking crazy. I never believed you were in harm’s way with the bikers, but it seems they’ve scrambled your brains.”

  Wes gave a shake of his head. “Ask yourselves why I look like you—and you resemble your father more than my mother’s sister.” He nodded to his aunt.

  She moved to stand and leave the table, but Matthias kept her hand in his hold and drew her back down. “Time we talk to these boys like the men they are,” he said softly.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Aiden asked.

  “I really am your son, aren’t I?” Wes stared into Matthias’s eyes, so like his own.

  He squeezed his wife’s hand and squared his shoulders. This was where they’d all gotten their grit—from this man.

  A man who was Wes’s father too. Why had he been denied all these years the right to call him Dad, Daddy, Pa, Pops?

  “It’s my fault we kept this sec
ret from you so long,” Aunt Winter blurted.

  “Jesus, Mom,” Judd croaked out, and Cecily wrapped an arm around him.

  “It was a decision made by both of us. It’s a difficult thing to explain to children, adults or strangers. People wouldn’t have understood, and you boys would have spent your lives explaining where you fit into a family tree.” Matthias stared into Wes’s eyes—his soul.

  “I am your father, son. And I raised you with the same love as I raised the twins. I hope I did right by you in that sense.”

  Wes couldn’t speak or even nod. The tears lay hot behind his eyes and he didn’t dare blink.

  “Holy fuck,” Aiden breathed. “How?”

  Aunt Winter issued a shaky breath. “Your father and I got together and then decided to part ways early in our relationship. It was only months we dated, but when I left the area to pursue a different life, I was pregnant and didn’t yet know it.” She twisted her hands into a knot and stared at her fingers.

  “Had I known, I would have dragged your momma back immediately and married her. But she’d made it clear we were over, and well, a few months later, Winter’s sister Blanche ran into me sitting alone at a restaurant. She joined me, one thing led to another and…”

  Aiden shoved away from the table and jammed his hands into his hair as he paced away. Wes ignored him. His suspicions were confirmed—Matthias had slept with both sisters and gotten them pregnant within months of each other. Now he wanted to get to the part where his mother gave him up and left for good.

  His worst fear was hearing this couple had driven her off. But that went against everything he knew about his family and the morals ingrained in him from birth.

  “Go on,” he managed to say, voice gritty.

  “Blanche and I weren’t really a thing—just offering comfort I think. The loss of Winter was hard on both of us. Well, then Winter returned pregnant and I pretty much married her on the spot. Then Blanche came to us in the family way.”

  Aiden walked back to the table and dropped into his seat. “And then what? You offered to take the baby,” he gestured at Wes, who was the six-two, two-hundred-pound version of that coupling, “and sent his momma on her way?”