by Carol Lynne
“You’ll have to ask them. I tried to talk them out of it, but Rachel likes Pete and Lolly so much the guys couldn’t resist.”
Jeb swept her up in a big hug. “So when’s the next one coming? Every time we get together, Rawley ends up hogging all the sugar kisses.”
“Well,” Sonny said, “if we’re going to be fair, we need to each have one to spoil.”
Lilly held up her hands and walked toward the kitchen. “Sorry, fellas, but I’m not having six children just so each of you can have one to hold once a week.”
“Spoilsport,” Sonny said, sticking his tongue out.
* * * *
Trying to untangle Rachel’s fingers from Tinkerbell’s mane, Ryker jumped when he heard his brother’s loud voice. “Where’s my sugar-pie?”
“Trying to pull the hair off her new pony,” he called back.
A few more strands and Ranger managed to free Rachel’s chubby little fingers. She looked up at Rawley and clapped, her amethyst eyes twinkling with mischief. “Ra Ra.”
“Yep,” Rawley said taking her out of Ryker’s arms. “It’s your favorite Uncle.” Rawley lifted the chubby one-year-old into the air and blew raspberries on her stomach.
Ryker hooked an arm around Ranger’s waist and rolled his eyes. Who’d have thought the biggest, toughest member of the Good family would have the biggest soft spot for kids. “How ya doin’?” he asked thumping Rawley on the back.
“Okay, don’t seem to have enough time in the day, but I’m happy.”
“How could you? Working as part-time Sheriff while running the Mayor’s office.”
“Well if Garron would stop being an ass and take over as Sheriff, I wouldn’t have to do two jobs.” Rawley continued to make funny faces at Rachel.
“He might be more inclined to consider it if you didn’t make him cut his hair.” Ryker put Tinkerbell back in her stall before leading the group toward the back deck.
“Sorry, but you can’t have a small-town Sheriff with long hair, it’s just un-American.”
Ryker stopped and turned around. “Seems to me you’re holding a few prejudices you need to let go of.”
That had Rawley spitting and sputtering just like Ryker knew it would. He used the opportunity to climb the deck steps. “Where’s my wife?” he asked looking around.
“She’s in the kitchen showing Jeb how to mix up homemade ice cream.” Sonny said, from atop Garron’s lap. “She looks good by the way. I was worried about how she’d hold up with Jeff’s trial being so close to the birth of Rachel, but she’s come through it just fine.”
“Yep,” Ranger said, wrapping his arms around Ryker. Ryker leaned back against the solid wall of muscle. Two years ago, they would have never shown this type of affection around people, even their family, but everything was different now.
“We’ll see in another couple of years how she does. I imagine Jeff will get out on parole by then,” Ranger said, squeezing him tight.
“Well, even if he does get out early, he’d be a damn fool to come back here with a Sheriff like Garron in charge.” Rawley looked at Ryker and winked.
“Dammit, I told you, I’m not cutting my hair,” Garron fumed.
“Well I’ve been thinking about that, we may be able to negotiate the hair thing.”
Chuckling, Ryker pulled Ranger toward the kitchen as soon as he saw Jeb come out the door. Spotting Lilly washing a few dishes, they both pressed against her. “Forget the dishes, it’s a party.”
Lilly turned and gave them each a kiss. “If I don’t wash them now, I’ll have to stay up late after everyone leaves and we won’t have time to celebrate Rachel’s birthday by creating a little brother.”
Ryker looked at Ranger before looking back at Lilly. “You’re ready to try again?”
“Well if I’m expected to have six, we need to get started. Of course if I have to do dishes…”
Ranger poked Ryker in the stomach, “Pass me a dishtowel, brother.”
Also available from Pride Publishing:
What’s his Passion?: The Brick Yard
Carol Lynne
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Dammit, boy!” Brick yelled. “Get your head out of your ass!”
Lucky blinked several times as Brick smeared more Vaseline over the newly-opened cut on his left eyebrow. “I’m fine,” he mumbled around the mouthguard. His opponent in the amateur match, Jake ‘Lightning’ Boone, had a better record and was higher ranked, but in Lucky’s opinion, the guy’s heart wasn’t in it.
“The hell you are. We both know your power’s in your fists. You can’t use your best asset if you let this joker engage in dirty boxing.”
Lightning was a clinch fighter, someone who preferred to hold his opponents too close to land punches. The prick was good at using his elbows to inflict injury, thus the cut above Lucky’s eye.
“I’ll finish him this round,” Lucky declared. He needed the win. His record was good, but not great. Definitely not good enough to get the UFC’s attention.
Brick slapped Lucky’s chest before sending him back into the cage for round two. He stared at Lightning and knew the next three minutes meant everything. Four more wins and he’d have a shot at a title match—something he wanted more than anything. He’d given up too much not to succeed in the damn sport.
“I’m taking this,” he told Lightning.
Lightning smirked as much as the mouthguard allowed, but despite the attitude, the fire in his eyes had been snuffed at some point since the fight began.
Lucky waited for the referee to signal the start of round two. Do it. He took a deep breath then landed two power punches to the fucker’s nose and an uppercut to his chin. Lightning’s eyes rolled back and like a giant redwood, he toppled with a loud thud.
Lucky stared down at his opponent, wondering why the victory didn’t feel as good as it should have. At twenty-four, he was already behind a lot of fighters due to the time he’d taken off to deal with his mom’s legal shit and subsequent incarceration. Each knockout was a notch on his belt.
Lightning’s crew shoved Lucky out of their way as they raced to their fighter’s side.
Lucky barely acknowledged the referee as his arm was lifted, signaling the clean win to the cheering fans. He needed the wins, loved the challenge of the fights, but knowing his victory was another man’s loss bothered him. It was always the same and something that drove Brick crazy. The passion Lucky felt for the sport went beyond the wins, and he was sure the guys he fought—at least some of them—felt the same way.
Staring out at the crowd, Lucky couldn’t help but see them as the people who had turned their backs on Dray—who was still the best fighter Lucky had ever followed. He refused to give those same people the power they’d held over Dray.
As Lucky watched Lightning’s crew get him to his feet, he had the overwhelming feeling that he’d just beaten the last of Lightning’s passion out of him. He stepped forward and held out his hand. They may have been opponents in the cage, but he knew Lightning was a good man, too good to be helped from the ring, bloody and defeated.
Lightning stared at Lucky’s hand for several heartbeats before taking the offered gesture. “Well done.”
For some reason, Lucky felt the need to offer the man encouragement. “They don’t call me Lucky for nothing.” He knew it was a lie—he was a damn good fighter—and by the slight smile on Lightning’s bloody face, he knew it, too.
* * * *
Dray put the DVD into the player, but held off on starting it. He knew what was on the disc, but he still didn’t understand why Brick continued to send him copies of Lucky’s cage matches. It was a sick hobby, but he couldn’t stay away from it. No, that was a lie—one he’d told himself a million times. It wasn’t the sport that still held him, but the fighter and the old man in the corner.
After moving his recliner closer to the fifty-inch television, he took his seat and pressed Play. The quality of the video was a little grainy and without sound
but good enough for him to get a decent look at Lucky. He still couldn’t believe the muscular fighter on the screen was the same skinny teenager who’d once heard him fuck Vince in the shower. Vince. Dray shook his head. Falling in love with Vince had been the biggest mistake he’d ever made. Vince’s betrayal had broken something in him that he doubted could be repaired—not that he hadn’t tried at least twice a week since returning to Kansas City. His dick worked better than ever. It was his heart that was still stone cold.
His gaze was glued to the screen as Lucky disrobed. Fuck. The man’s body was perfection. Dray stared at the creamy-white skin of Lucky’s torso. The first time Brick had sent him a DVD, Dray had been surprised by Lucky’s lack of ink. He wondered when Lucky had changed his mind about getting tattooed and why. Glancing down at his own arms and hands, he shook his head. There were few places on his body that didn’t have art. Ink had always been his way of expressing his pain and after the life-altering affair with Vince, he’d gone crazy.
His eyebrows furrowed as he returned his attention to the fight just in time to see Lucky’s opponent clock him with an elbow. “Get the fuck away from him,” he yelled at the television, scooting to the edge of his chair.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the first round. During the minute between rounds, the camera only zoomed in on Brick and Lucky once and only for a few seconds. Still, he could see the anger on Brick’s craggy face. He grinned, remembering what it felt like to be on the receiving end of Brick’s sharp tongue. Lucky appeared indifferent to Brick’s tirade, staring at his opponent instead.
“What’re you thinking?” he asked Lucky, wishing he could get an answer to his question. He hadn’t spoken to Lucky since the day he’d left him in the laundry room—not that he hadn’t wanted to.
Lucky charged back into the ring with a determined expression on his battered face. Lucky’s light brown eyes zeroed in on Lightning, and Dray had no doubt the man was going down.
Lucky came out swinging as if he was possessed, landing three punches in quick succession, felling the taller man in seconds.
“Holy shit!” Dray yelled, jumping to his feet. He reached for the phone and called Brick.
“Did ya see it?” Brick answered without pleasantries.
“Yeah,” Dray acknowledged while still watching the TV. “The ref’s just called the fight.”
“Keep watching,” Brick urged, “and tell me what you see.” He started to cough, prompting Dray to pull the phone away from his ear until it stopped.
The referee lifted Lucky’s arm in a sign of victory, but Lucky’s expression didn’t change. Although the video didn’t have sound, it wasn’t hard to gauge the crowd’s reaction to Lucky’s win. Christ. The fan reaction had always been the high for Dray, but it didn’t seem like Lucky even heard them. “What the fuck’s wrong with him?”
“Wish I knew, but it’s getting worse. He loves to fight, but I can’t get him to interact with the fans at all, and we both know the UFC loves fan favorites and winning records. Victories alone won’t get him there. He might have a chance as a villain in the sport, but he won’t even interact to earn that title. He’s totally indifferent, and the fans know it.”
“Yeah, I know all too well what part the fans play in the game.” It was the loss of support from the crowd that had cost Dray his career.
Before Brick could answer, he was racked by another series of coughs.
“You sick?” Dray asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Brick replied. “I’ve had a damn chest cold for several weeks, but I’ll get over it.”
The hairs on the back of Dray’s neck prickled. “You been to the doc?”
“Yeah, I got some antibiotics a week ago, but they haven’t kicked in yet.”
At Brick’s age, pneumonia was the first thing to come to Dray’s mind. “Maybe you should go back and have him check you out?”
“No time. Lucky’s got another fight in two weeks, and I’ve gotta find a way to make him break out of his shell.” Brick cleared his throat. “I’d hoped you’d talk to him. Give him some pointers.”
Dray fell back to his chair and closed his eyes. He’d lusted after Lucky since Brick had sent him the first fight DVD nearly two years earlier. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“How many fighters took the time to give you pointers when you were moving up in the ranks? Don’t you think you owe Lucky the same treatment? He’s got no one but me and that loser friend of his, who continues to tempt him with the darker side of this life.”
Dray heard the reproach in Brick’s voice loud and clear, but his attention was drawn to the bit about Lucky being tempted by the dark side. “Drugs?”
“Yeah. You’d think with his history, he’d stay away from that shit, but I’ve caught him a couple times with glassy eyes between fights. He wouldn’t tell me what he’d used, but nothing’s shown up on his piss tests.”
“Is he trying to ruin his career before it gets started?” Drugs had never been Dray’s thing. He glanced down at his ink, knowing what he’d used to dull the pain. Suddenly, his attraction to Lucky took a backseat. “Hell. Give me a minute to find a piece of paper,” he growled.
Tucking the phone between his shoulder and ear, he opened the junk drawer in the kitchen in search for a pen. “Goddammit,” he cussed, coming up empty. “I can’t find shit in this house. Just give him my number and tell him to call anytime.”
“Thanks,” Brick’s reply was cut short by another round of coughing.
Dray winced. “I’ll do this on one condition. You have to promise you’ll go back to the doctor.”
“I will. Lucky could really use a friend beside that little fucker Sid,” Brick said, his voice sounding wheezy.
Dray hung up and wondered what he’d agreed to. He’d planned to stay in that night, but with thoughts of Lucky churning around inside him, he changed his mind.
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About the Author
An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. These days, you can usually find Carol either cleaning jelly out of the carpet or nestled in her favorite chair writing steamy love scenes.
Email: [email protected]
Also by Carol Lynne
Campus Cravings: Coach
Campus Cravings: Side-Lined
Campus Cravings: Sacking the Quarterback
Campus Cravings: Off-Season
Campus Cravings: Forbidden Freshman
Campus Cravings: Broken Pottery
Campus Cravings: In Bear’s Bed
Campus Cravings: Office Advances
Campus Cravings: A Biker’s Vow
Campus Cravings: Hershie’s Kiss
Campus Cravings: Theron’s Return
Campus Cravings: Live for Today
Campus Cravings: Incoming Freshman
Campus Cravings: A Lesson Learned
Campus Cravings: Locky in Love
Campus Cravings: The Injustice of Being
Campus Cravings: Watch Me
Campus Cravings: Coming Clean
Campus Cravings: Professor Sandwich
Good Time Boys: Sonny’s Salvation
Good-time Boys: Garron’s Gift
Good-time Boys: Rawley’s Redemption
Good-time Boys: Twin Temptations
Good-time Boys: It’s a Good Life
Cattle Valley: All Play & No Work
Cattle Valley: Cattle Valley Mistletoe
Cattle Valley: Sweet Topping
Cattle Valley: Rough Ride
Cattle Valley: Physical Therapy
Cattle Valley: Out of the Shadow
Cattle Valley: Bad Boy Cowboy
Cattle Valley: The Sound of White
Cattle Valley: Gone Surfin’
Cattle Valley: The Last Bouquet
Cattle Valley: Eye of the Beholder
Cattle Valley: Cattle Valley Days
&nb
sp; Cattle Valley: Bent-Not Broken
Cattle Valley: Arm Candy
Cattle Valley: Recipe for Love
Cattle Valley: Firehouse Heat
Cattle Valley: Neil’s Guardian Angel
Cattle Valley: Scarred
Cattle Valley: Making the Grade
Cattle Valley: To Service and Protect
Cattle Valley: The O’Brien Way
Cattle Valley: Ghost from the Past
Cattle Valley: Hawk’s Landing
Cattle Valley: Shooting Star
Cattle Valley: Confessions
Cattle Valley: Shadow Soldier
Cattle Valley: Alone in a Crowd
Cattle Valley: Second Chances
Cattle Valley: Finding Absolution
Cattle Valley: Fingerprints and Muddy Feet
Cattle Valley: Snake Charmer
Cattle Valley: Journey to Lobster Cove
Poker Night: Texas Hold Em
Poker Night: Slow-Play
Poker Night: Pocket Pair
Poker Night: Different Suits
Poker Night: Full House
Men in Love: Reunion
Bodyguards in Love: Brier’s Bargain
Bodyguards in Love: Taming Black Dog Four
Bodyguards in Love: Seb’s Surrender
Bodyguards in Love: I Love Rock N Roll
Bodyguards in Love: Seducing the Sheik
Bodyguards in Love: To Bed a King
Neo’s Realm: Liquid Crimson
Neo’s Realm: Blood Trinity
Neo’s Realm: Crimson Moon
Neo’s Realm: Royal Blood
Seasons of Love: Spring
Seasons of Love: Summer
Seasons of Love: Fall
Seasons of Love: Winter
C-7 Shifters: Alrik
C-7 Shifters: Seger
Buck Wild: Cowboy Pride
Buck Wild: Cowboy Rules
Lobster Cove: Welcome to Lobster Cove
