Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

“Okay.” Megan smiled. “Thanks for everything.”

Leah smiled back then left the room.

Megan stroked the cat, who began to purr louder now that the kittens were close up against her side. The cat finally opened her eyes and stared right at Megan. Emotion flooded her as she felt a slight kinship with the cat. “We’re a lot alike, you and I,” she told the cat with the green eyes. “We’re both trying to protect our babies. But you trusted Nash. You trusted him enough to know he would keep your babies safe. And he has, hasn’t he?”

There was no denying it anymore. Nash had proved himself, more than enough. Megan continued to stroke the cat’s head, wondering if maybe she was being tested too. Day after day, she kept waiting for the bomb to drop and for the world to fall apart around her. But it hadn’t, not once. In fact, she felt happier now than ever.

If fate was trying to show her something, she was listening loud and clear. “I don’t know if you’re here to make me realize that he is standing up to his word,” she added to the kitty, stroking her soft head. “To show me this new gentle side of him. But I thank you for it. And I promise I won’t let anything happen to you or your babies.”

The cat drifted back off to sleep, and Megan knew she couldn’t run anymore. Everything had changed today. Thinking she had almost lost Nash showed her how much she needed him. Seeing him risk his life for kittens proved so much, though if he ever ran into a burning building again she might kill him herself. She did care for Nash. She cared for him deeply, sometimes maddeningly. Since he found out about the baby, he’d been fighting hard to do the right thing. There was no hatred or anger around her anymore. He never talked about her father, making her believe that maybe they could find a way past the feud, as long as this calmness lasted after they told the parents about the baby.

Megan leaned her shoulder against the cage and smiled as the kittens purred away, kneading at their mama’s side. “We’re going to be okay.” She placed a hand on her belly. “Nash is right. We’re all going to be fine.”

* * *

The past hour and a bit had been a whirlwind of being rushed into the emergency room where a doctor and a couple of nurses examined Nash. After that, they proceeded to nearly murder him while they cleaned the burn. Pain had been something Nash had become accustomed to over the years. Christ, even something he enjoyed, reminding him that he was pushing his limits. Nothing got him more pumped up than the sweet rush of adrenaline racing through his veins.

What he didn’t like were hospitals. His nose crinkled at the antiseptic scent, and the fluorescent overhead lights always gave him a headache. And he was damn happy Megan hadn’t been there to see the pain he’d gone through.

Now lying in a hospital bed, more than annoyed, he glanced over the faces of his brothers, Harper, Emma, and his mother, who sat in the chair next to his bed. He saw in their expressions how much they hated this place too. The last time they’d been here was when Dad passed away.

Nash didn’t even want to think of what his mother had endured, sitting out in the waiting room like she had over a year ago worrying over her husband being alive or dead. The doctor

had given her news of the latter, and while his mom often put on a good front, Nash knew Dad’s death had been a major blow that she never recovered from.

Fucking fire.

Seeing the discomfort of his family matched with the thought of the scared guests and the kittens made his jaw work with frustration.

Something that had only amplified when the doctor checked on him and hovered, examining his IV bag for the third time since he had arrived.

Doctor Clay Booth, one of River Rock’s longtime doctors, finally turned to Nash with a smile. “You look good. The nurses will come and check on you every couple of hours.” He turned to Ma and his smile warmed. “Will you be staying with him, Ms. Jenny?”

Ms. Jenny?

Nash frowned, taking a better look at the doctor. He was in good shape, maybe a few years older than Mom. He had stylish white hair and some hard lines on his face, showing he’d lived well. But it was the doctor’s blue eyes ogling his mother that Nash noticed most.

“Oh, no,” Jenny said, her cheeks blushing. “He doesn’t need me to stay.”

The doctor nodded, and his smile grew. “Will you be attending the music festival coming up soon?”

Shep and Chase exchanged a long look, mouths hanging open. Emma and Harper appeared to be hiding their laughter. Nash was ready to jump out of the bed and kick the doctor out, burned shoulder or not. His mother didn’t want to date. Who the hell was this man?

Jenny gave a little shrug, sitting taller. “I hadn’t really thought of it, but that does sound like fun, Clay.”

Clay?

Nash looked from his mother to the doctor and back again. The soft smile his mother gave had Nash eating his words to protect her. Her eyes pleaded with him to stay quiet. Nash felt his glare melt away.

“It’s bound to be a fun time,” the doctor agreed.

Nash controlled his voice and offered, “If she goes, we go.”

Clay gave an easy laugh then turned to Nash, “I would have expected as much.” To Shep and Chase, he asked, “I take it you’ll be going too?”

Shep nodded, as did Chase.

Clay’s easy smile grew. “A family affair, then.” To Nash, he said, “If you have any trouble cleaning that wound, stop on by and one of the nurses can help you. Give it two weeks and you should be back to yourself.”