Forever Falcon Ridge (The McLendon Family Saga Book 7)

by D. L. Roan

  “I was out in the barn all day trying to make sense out of the chaos in Duncan’s office,” she said when Mason was gone.

  Grey had his back turned, checking on the garlic rolls, and Dani grabbed a fork. She almost had the stolen bite of chicken in her mouth before Grey caught her.

  “Oh no you don’t!” He snatched the fork from her hand before she could escape. “Go take a shower.” He pulled the dishtowel from his shoulder and popped it in her direction, but she dodged just in time and sprinted up the stairs.

  The second she stood beneath the hot spray and closed her eyes, a vision of Clay’s crooked grin filled what should have been a blank canvas. Her eyes flew open and she cursed.

  “Don’t be stupid.”

  She grabbed the shampoo and squeezed out enough to do the job. She would not be that girl. No way. Daydreaming about any guy was not her style. Fantasizing about Clay was…just not going to happen. She worked the lather through the length of her hair and then tilted back beneath the spray.

  If you’re so sure, what do you have to lose?

  “Ugh!”

  She scrubbed her hands over her face, pressing her fingers against her eyelids, but Clay was still there, staring down at her.

  The corner of his mouth ticked up just before his lips parted and the tip of his tongue peeked out from between them. His warm breath misted across her lips and her eyes fluttered closed. He trailed his fingertips along her jaw, into her hairline, and she leaned into his palm, the tender caress sending a rush of chills skittering along her arms. The ache in her belly rolled like a thundercloud and sank lower between her thighs, making her teeter closer to him.

  Say yes.

  “Dani, hurry up!” Cory pounded on the door.

  Dani sucked in a breath, and what felt like a gallon of water.

  “I’m starving and Grey won’t let us eat until you’re at the table!”

  “I’ll be right down!” she choked out, spitting and sputtering as she slapped at the taps until the water shut off.

  “Dani, did you hear me?”

  “I said, I’m coming!”

  Almost. Molly’s mocking snicker echoed in her ears.

  “I need an exorcist,” Dani muttered and grabbed the towel from the rack.

  Dried, dressed, and desperate for a drink, she stopped by the kitchen and swiped a beer from the fridge on her way to the table.

  “Sorry.” She crashed into her usual seat and bowed her head.

  Matt recited a quick but reverent prayer and she snapped off an Amen in unison with everyone else at the table, then reached for the chicken parm, beating Cory to it by a split second.

  “Couldn’t you have stayed in Billings this summer?” he grumbled.

  “Then I wouldn’t have been here to take your shift this morning.”

  “Or steal half my breakfast,” he reminded her. “Thus, the whole starving thing.”

  “Do you work tonight?” Gabby asked Cory.

  “Nope.” Cory said, and then stole Dani’s beer.

  “Hey!” She tried to snag it back but couldn’t get her hands on it before Cory licked the rim. “Gross!”

  “Hand it over,” Mason commanded.

  “I don’t want it back now,” Dani said.

  Matt reached across the table for Cory to hand it to him. “You’re not old enough.”

  Cory looked at Grey. “You let Jonah drink before he turned twenty-one.”

  “A month before,” Grey argued and motioned for him to hand it over. “You’ve still got a year to go.”

  “Whatever.” Cory handed it across the table. “It’s not like I’ve never had one.”

  “I’m sure it’s not,” Mason said with a chuckle. “But you won’t be having your next one at the dinner table.”

  “Get me another one,” Dani demanded.

  “Go get it yourself.” Cory reached for the chicken. “I’m not supposed to touch alcohol, since I’m under age and all.”

  “A-hole.” Dani marched to the kitchen and retrieved another bottle from the fridge, but when she returned to the table, Cory had stolen her plate.

  “What the—”

  The whole family burst out laughing. Dani gave Cory a shove and took her plate back, unable to keep from laughing herself. “Jerk,” she said and shouldered her kid brother as he dug into the food on his own plate he’d hidden in the empty chair beside him.

  “Welcome home, darlin’.” Matt raised the beer bottle he’d taken from Cory.

  Dani rolled her eyes as she clinked her beer with his. “Didn’t miss it for a single second,” she said with a mocking smile.

  “Think that broodmare will foal tonight?” Grey asked Mason, and just that quick her family fell into its usual mealtime banter. It was a little quieter than normal without her Papas, Uncle Cade and her other brothers, but it was no less her favorite part of the day.

  “How was your visit with Jonah, Chloe, and Pryce yesterday?” her mom asked, reaching for a dinner roll.

  “Good,” Dani said around a mouthful of the best chicken parm she’d ever tasted. “Jonah grilled some burgers while I helped Chloe study. Pryce wasn’t there, though,” she said with disappointment. She and Pryce had become good friends since he, Jonah, and Chloe got married. They even shared some of the same classes at M.S.U. “The veterinarian he works for called him to assist in a birth. He didn’t make it home before I left for Con and Car’s.”

  “That reminds me,” Mason cut in. “I need to call Pryce after dinner and invite him out to help with the new foal. I keep forgetting we have a future vet in the family now.”

  “I thought the semester was over,” Gabby added. “What’s Chloe studying for?”

  “She switched her major to health studies and had to take on some additional prerequisites,” Dani said with a shrug. “She did it early enough she should be able to make them up before the fall semester starts, but it’s going to be a busy summer.”

  “How are Con and Car?” Gabby asked. “And Breezy? I haven’t spoken to them since they returned from Nashville.”

  Somewhere between telling her mom about the exploding toaster and trying not to spill the beans about Breezy and the doctor appointment, she heard Grey say, “I’m glad Dani’s coming with me.”

  “Where am I going?” she asked, abandoning the conversation with her mom.

  “Texas,” Grey said matter-of-factly as he cut a bite from his plate. “You remember? Clay invited us down to visit Sterling Eagle a few months back? We finally set a date for next month.”

  Grey kept talking, but the flood of adrenaline pinging through Dani’s system prevented her from processing anything beyond the words Texas and Clay.

  Her appetite as dead as Con and Car’s toaster, she pushed her plate away. “But…I thought Mason was supposed to go with you.”

  “Believe me,” Mason said. “I’d love to go, but I have a genetics conference I can’t cancel.”

  “I’d rather go with Dani anyway.” Grey elbowed his brother.

  She couldn’t go to Texas to see Clay. That would mean…

  That sneaky spawn of a donkey’s left nut! He tricked me!

  “Wait.” Her blood turned to ice as the last piece of Clay’s deceptive plan clicked into place. “When, exactly, did you make these plans, Daddy?” Had he called Grey after she’d stupidly agreed to go on a date with him?

  “This morning.” Grey shrugged. “I was going to tell you at lunch, which you skipped by the way.”

  “I wasn’t hungry.”

  The deal had already been made.

  The trap had been set and she’d walked right into it.

  Bastard!

  The next time she spoke to Clay Sterling, she was going to tell him exactly where to shove his apology and their date, right after she removed her boot from that specific orifice.

  “I can’t go to Texas, Daddy. I’m sorry. Maybe Matt, or-or Mom can go with you.” She cast her mom a pleading glance.

  “Why not, honey?” Gabby asked. “I agr
ee with Grey. It would be a great opportunity for you.”

  “I thought you’d be happy to go,” Grey said.

  “You didn’t even ask me, Daddy.”

  “You didn’t ask her?” Matt set his beer on the table and glared at Grey.

  “I shouldn’t have to,” Grey argued.

  “You said you were going to start respecting her boundaries,” Matt reminded him.

  “I haven’t disrespected them. Not in this.”

  Grey dropped his fork onto his plate. With his arms braced on the table, he pinned Dani with a glare she’d only seen him use with the ranch hands or their other employees.

  “Sterling Eagle is one of the most technologically advanced, efficient working cattle ranches in the world,” he said. “Clay Sterling is responsible for that. You’ve been pushing us to modernize Falcon Ridge for God knows how long, and you’re right, but you can’t expect to do that with ideas you’ve only read about on the internet or in your textbooks. Sometimes you have to experience the real thing to fully appreciate it. Before I hand the reins over to you to make those kinds of costly decisions, you should at least check out your options in person, get your hands dirty, and some real world experience under your belt.”

  “But, Daddy, you don’t understand what you’re asking.”

  “Dani.” Her dad held up a staying hand. “I understand you have your issues with Clay. I respect that, but whatever they are, they’re personal. This is business. You’ve asked for more responsibility. Well, this is me giving it to you. If you want to run Falcon Ridge one day, then you’re going to have to learn how to put your personal issues aside and do what’s right for the ranch.”

  Chapter Seven

  Flight one-twenty-seven touched down on the dark Texas runway, the sound of the jet engines throttling down sending a muted rush through Clay. The only better feeling in the world was being behind the yolk during takeoff, something he acutely missed on this trip.

  Even if he had rented a bird for the flight back, he doubted it would have topped the high he’d been riding since he’d left Falcon Ridge. Nope. His usual form of addiction had taken a backseat to the feel of Dani’s nervous breaths rushing over his lips.

  The plane safely on the ground and taxiing to the terminal, he powered up his phone. As it cycled on and searched for a signal, he closed his eyes and relived that blistering-hot moment in the barn for the umpteenth time.

  She’d been completely stunned, teetering on her boot heels, drowning in her body’s unexpected reaction to him. She may not want to want him, but she did, and he sure as hell wanted her. That deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes, and the way she leaned into him, drawn to him in the same instinctual way he was drawn to her, had solidified his intentions. One way or another, one state or the other, she would be his. In his bed, beneath him, beside him, on top of him, riding him like a bucking bronc until they both—.

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  Jarred from his new favorite fantasy, Clay sucked in a shuddering breath and turned to the woman in the window seat beside him, who pointed toward the empty rows ahead of them.

  “Oh.” He stood to grab his bag from the overhead compartment, only to glance down and find the woman eye level with his painfully erect cock. “Sorry,” he said, lowering his bag in front of his hard-on and ushering her ahead of him.

  “Don’t be,” she said with a sly grin and inched her way across the seats into the narrow aisle, slithering up his body as she rose to her full height.

  Wondering how he hadn’t noticed her before, Clay swallowed as he took in her tall, lean form, glancing down at her ample breasts spilling out of the too-tight, low-cut blouse she wore. Any other night, any other flight, he would have made a play, but despite holding the perfect pair of aces, she wasn’t the woman he wanted.

  “Have a good evenin’.” He gave her a polite nod and made his way to the exit, checking his phone for messages on his way through the gate.

  One missed call.

  He grinned when the voicemail notification flashed on and he saw the familiar number. Imagining the colorful string of curses Dani had no doubt left him after finding out about the trip he and Grey had planned, he ignored her message and flipped over to his texts instead. If he called her back now, she’d be spitting mad. One of the most important lessons his father taught him about working with a high-spirited filly was to work with her, not against her. He’d be patient, bide his time, let her simmer, and then ease her into forgiving his little con.

  “Shit,” he cursed when he saw the text from his ex-fiancé, Shannon.

  Can you please pick Paxton up on your way to the ranch?

  Clay cursed again as he noted the time, then snaked his way through the terminal toward the parking garage. Once inside his truck, he didn’t bother to call and find out why she was asking him to pick up his seven-year-old nephew in the middle of the night. He thumbed in a reply instead, saying he’d be there in an hour, then tossed the phone into the cup holder.

  He didn’t begrudge the task. Shannon’s apartment was on the way home, so it was no inconvenience, but given the late hour, it would be midnight by the time he got there, and then another hour before they reached the ranch. The last thing a seven-year-old kid needed was to be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.

  The roads out of Midland were empty, the drive as boring as usual, and before he knew it, he was in Fort Stockton knocking on Shannon’s door.

  “Hey,” she said with an apologetic grin and waved him inside. “I’m so sorry about this. Jackson was supposed to be here hours ago to take him to the ranch for the weekend, but…” Staring at the clock on the wall, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “You know how he is.”

  Clay nodded. He knew exactly why his brother wasn’t there. Jackson was off chasing the same eight seconds he’d been chasing the last time he broke a promise to his son. “Which circuit is he riding this time?”

  Shannon shrugged and gave him a sideways glance. “Does it matter?”

  She had a point. “Guess not.”

  “Hi, Uncle Clay.” A sleepy-eyed Paxton wandered into the room, dressed in his Superman pajamas and cowboy boots, and wrapped his tiny arms around Clay’s legs.

  “Hey, Pac Man. You ready to go, buddy?”

  Pax gave him a sleepy nod. “Momma said Grandpa said I could drive the tractor this time.”

  Clay laughed, remembering the first time his dad had let him drive. “Well, we’d better get on the road, then. You know how early Grandpa wakes up.”

  “I’m leaving at five thirty for the airport myself,” Shannon said with a groan and handed him a bag she’d packed for Paxton. “Tell Virgil I’ll be there Monday around five to pick him up, and that I really appreciate him watching Pax for me. I’d cancel the trip if I could, but I really need this promotion, you know?”

  Clay nodded. Shannon may have been a shitty girlfriend, but she’d changed in the years since they’d split. She was a good mother, and at least she was trying, which was more than he could say for his brother.

  “It’s no problem.” He ruffled Pax’s hair as they walked to the door. “I’m sure we’ll find plenty of trouble to get into.”

  “Give mommy a hug goodbye.” She stooped down to pull Paxton into her arms. “Be good for Uncle Clay and Grandpa, okay?”

  “I will.” Paxton hugged her back and took the stuffed bear she handed him.

  Clay opened the door and followed Paxton out.

  “Clay?”

  He turned back and saw the silent request in Shannon’s tired expression. “Go on and get in the truck, buddy.” He clicked the button to unlock the doors and urged Paxton ahead, then turned back to Shannon when they were alone.

  “If Jackson shows up…”

  “You know he won’t,” Clay argued.

  Jackson had tried to quit the bronc and bull riding circuits more times than a drunk trying to quit whiskey, but it never took, even after spending a week in a coma after getting stomped in the
head a year-and-a-half ago by one of the rankest bulls in the sport. Since then, Jackson had doubled down, taking every semipro and amateur gig he could get, staying as far away from his family and his son, as he could.

  “But if he does,” Shannon forged on. “Pax gets so little time with him these days. I just don’t want what time they do get to be ruined with bitter arguments and—”

  “I understand,” Clay assured her. “I won’t promise I’ll be able to keep from saying my piece, but Pax won’t get wind of it if I do. It won’t matter, though, because we both know we won’t see him until the next rodeo blows into town.”

  Shannon gave him a reluctant nod.

  “Get some sleep,” Clay urged her and turned to go.

  “Clay, wait.” She grabbed his arm but then quickly let it go, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the porch railing. “I was thinking,” she said, meeting his gaze for only a second before she looked away. “Maybe when I get back, we can go out sometime. Catch a movie at the old drive-in outside Odessa before they tear it down next month.”

  A familiar burn churned to life in the pit of Clay’s stomach, the sheer audacity of her offer throwing him faster than a rank bull. He narrowed his eyes, biting back the hurtful words he wanted to say as the pain of their past sparked through his veins. She may have come a long way from the deceitful cheat he once knew, but whatever fantasy she was cooking up in that pretty little head of hers needed to be shut down for good.

  “Do not mistake my kindness and friendship for forgetfulness, Shannon,” he warned. “Pax is family, and I’ll always be here for him, but you chose your cowboy eight years ago. There’s no coming back from that. Ever.”

  “I chose wrong.”

  Clay blinked. In all the years since their breakup, she’d never once admitted as much. She’d stood by her mistake with the stubbornness of a mule, her chin held high through every promise his brother broke, defending him with the love of a fool.

  Satisfied, if only a little, Clay drew in a calming breath and took a step back. “Yes, you did,” he said and left her standing in shadows.