He’d threatened to take Eliza away, just like she’d feared.Why had she believed Kade would be different from any other man who’d been in her life? Charm her and then take what they wanted and leave her broken.Kade isn’t like that.Yes, he is.Chase him down and hash it out.No, let him cool off first.Talk about a split personality.“Sky, you should go back in. It’s five o’clock.”“Did everyone see what happened?”“Pretty much. Dee shooed the kids away, but Nadia watched the whole thing.”“How is she?”“Mad. Scared. Embarrassed.”“I’ll talk to her and try to calm her down before she leaves.”As she trudged inside, Skylar wondered who was going to calm her down.*****“What the hell happened to you?”“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Kade signaled the waitress and held up Cord’s bottle of Budweiser.“Where’s Buck?” Cam asked with a snicker. “I gotta admit, it’s funny as shit he’s changed his name after all these years.”“He’s sick as a dog. I wasn’t at the ranch today and he didn’t answ
What she didn’t realize? That was not his family’s way to blab about personal issues…unless they considered her part of the family, which appeared to be the case with Sky.So why couldn’t Sky see that? Why was she so damn resistant to a permanent relationship with him? Why couldn’t he just buck up, tell her he loved her, and they were tying the knot whether she liked it or not?You’re taking control in every aspect of my life.Yeah. That caveman behavior would go over like a club to the head.“Kade? Buddy? You still here?” Cord asked.He looked up guiltily. “Sorry, just thinkin’ about something else. What’d I miss?”“Ben said Chase scored a ninety-one in the final go round in Lewiston on Sunday afternoon. Ended up in third place.”“Cool. Which circuit is that?”“Dodge. The PBR had an off week, but you know him. He’s obsessed with bull ridin’ so he found another event to feed his habit.”“Glad to see my little cuz is keepin’ the McKay name alive in the world of rodeo,”Colby said.“Rum
Kade wouldn’t roll on his brother or his cousins anyway.Before Kade uttered another denial, the man hauled off and punched him in the eye like a champion boxer. Pain exploded in his head and he staggered back.“How’d you like that? An eye for an eye, fucker. That’ll teach you to keep your eyes off my wife.”While Kade was trying to regain his equilibrium, the guy delivered a wicked uppercut that rocked his jaw so hard his teeth clacked together and he bit his tongue.“Keep your mouth offa her.”Kade curled his arms around his head, attempting to protect it, when the guy slugged him in the gut with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Through the pain Kade realized he was getting his ass kicked and he couldn’t stop it. He dropped to the pavement in defeat.“Stand up and fight me, you fuckin’ pussy.”A car door slammed, followed by bootsteps thumping down the sidewalk. “Hey!What the hell is goin’ on?”“Walk away. This ain’t your concern,” the man said.“The fuck it isn’t.”Co
“Skylar doesn’t need saving in the same way, but she needs you. Don’t let her fears chase you away, Kade. Fight for her.”“I’m a little tired of fightin’ at the moment.”“I can imagine.”Kade stared at Skylar’s front door before he faced India. “You ever heard the phrase‘nice guys finish last’? It’s true. Been true my whole life. So, maybe it’d be nice for me for a change, if someone thought I was worth fightin’ for.”He climbed out of the car leaving India in stunned silence.*******Heeding Kade’s advice about her impetuous behavior, Skylar didn’t race down the porch steps when a set of headlights appeared at the end of the driveway. She paused in the doorway until she recognized India’s car. What was her sister doing here at eleven o’clock at night? Then Kade’s truck pulled up, but Kade didn’t jump from the cab. Colt McKay did.What the heck?The sight of Colt helping Kade out of the passenger’s side of India’s car finally spurred Sky into action.“What’s going on? Omigod, Kade, y
He sighed deeply.She continued across his collarbones and shoulders. Down his pectorals. He hissed, not with pain when the nubby washcloth drifted over his nipples and the disks hardened into little points. Skylar realized since she’d handed Kade control of their interludes, he’d never allowed her to spend much time exploring his beautiful, strong body. She hadn’t lingered on learning how he liked to be touched above the waist. She hadn’t traced the delineated muscles of his abs and stomach with her tongue. Which was a damn crying shame, and a situation she’d rectify pronto.Skylar admired his meaty biceps and thick forearms as she ran the washcloth along his brawny arms. The back of his hands were scarred and scabbed; the palm side of his hands were callused and rough. The hands of a working rancher. She knew these strong hands could rein in a thousand-pound horse, or fix barbed wire fence or even knock a man out cold. But she also knew how unbelievably gentle these powerful hands c
Hadn’t she sworn she’d delegate rather than do everything herself? Especially after Eliza’s birth? And here she was stuck in the same pattern she’d been stuck in her whole life? Would she never learn she wasn’t superwoman?“Go ahead and snap off a smart question like ‘If you feel so unsafe and unappreciated here, why are you still working for me?’ ”Skylar absolutely recoiled.Annie shook her finger. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you defensive? Full of pride.Glaring at me, unwilling to admit when you’re wrong?”Hadn’t Kade accused her of the same thing? She swallowed, but her voice still was barely audible. “Because I was wrong, Annie. Fix it, however you see fit, okay?”“Good.” Annie sidestepped a pile of papers and slammed the door.Startled by the sound, Eliza started screaming.Sky wished she could scream right along with her.She was still sitting on the floor an hour later when Nadia knocked. “Is this a bad time?”“No. Come on in and pull up a piece of carpet.”It surprised Sky whe
But he didn’t. He positively grinned and chucked his niece under the chin. “I figured that might be the case. When you track him down, tell him I’ll finish up tomorrow. Ma sent me out to ask if you needed help carryin’ anything in the house.”“That’d be great. There’s a portable crib in the back seat.”After Skylar deposited Eliza with grandma and grandpa, she leaned against her car door and studied the map Kimi had drawn.Kane sauntered over. “Got an idea where you’re goin’?”“Not a clue.”He chuckled. “Throw away that map. Ma goes a little overboard. It’s easy to find. Go five miles east on the gravel road. Turn right at the first four-way. Two miles later on your right, you’ll come to a barbed wire gate. Go through it and follow the tire tracks along the fence line until you see dust and tractors.”“Much easier.” She smiled at him. “Thanks.”Kane gestured to Sky’s Subaru wagon. “You takin’ this?”“Yeah. Why?”“’Cause with the rain there’s a couple places you might get stuck.” He po
“I like the way you smell, fresh off the ranch. I like the way your tired muscles feel, flexing beneath my greedy hands.” She licked his throat. “I like the way you taste.Everywhere.”“Sky—”“Kade,” she imitated his tone. “The naked rule is in effect. Strip.”“Wait a sec—”“Nope.” Buttons flew as she ripped his shirt open.“Skylar!”She’d focused on unbuckling his belt as she rained kisses down his belly. “Damn T-shirt. Why do you have to wear so many layers of clothes?”Why did he? Hell. He could not think. “Ah. Um. Protection from the bugs and sun.”“This little scrap of cotton isn’t gonna protect you from me.”Kade groaned again.“Fine. Half-naked works. You want to leave your boots on?”Kade’s head was spinning with, what the hell had gotten into her? Followed by, why are you resisting?“I take that as a yes.” Zip. His fly was undone. Yank. His Wranglers and boxers were down past his knees. She looked up at him. “Are you gonna lay back on that blanket?”When he didn’t move, her e