Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

Nash sighed heavily. “Might I remind you that I just lost a few layers of skin?”

“Because you risked your life to save kittens,” Shep added with a smile.

“All hail the savior of kittens.” Chase grinned.

Nash would never live this one down. Yeah, the girls seemed to like his rescue of the day. His brothers would goad him for years. Even Nash still couldn’t believe what he’d done. Apparently, the baby wasn’t only making Megan soft, but him too. He flipped Shep off then extended the gesture to Chase.

“Nash Blackshaw,” Ma gasped. “That was rude.”

Emma laughed then wrapped her arms around Shep’s one arm, leaning into him. “What does the review say?”

“First, the cattle went missing,” Nash reported. “Then the barn burns to the ground. Things are not up to standard at this guest ranch. We will not be returning.”

“It’s expected,” said Chase. “There will always be people who are pissed, no matter what.”

“Not on my watch,” Nash grumbled, glancing down at the square bandage on his shoulder. The burn throbbed and the pinch on his hand from the IV wasn’t helping any.

When he looked up at Shep, he let loose the thoughts that had weighed heavily on his mind while the nurse applied the bandage. “Something is going on here. First the cattle. Now this? It can’t be a coincidence.” He ran a hand over his tired eyes. “There were explosions.”

“Explosions?” Shep repeated, scratching his chin. “I can’t think of anything in the barn that would explode. Are you sure that’s what you heard?”

Ma nodded. “I heard them too. Three of them, it seemed like.”

Shep frowned and glanced at Chase. “Can you think of anything that would cause that?”

Chase shook his head. “Nothing at all.”

“Which is exactly what I’m saying,” said Nash, glancing at Chase. “You were targeted during the build.” It turned out that another builder, and a close friend of the family, hadn’t been thrilled Chase was in competition with him. “Just like then, this feels like someone is trying to shut us down.”

Emma agreed with a nod. “I’m with Nash on this one. It’s beginning to feel weird.”

“I second that,” Harper said.

Nash gave both women a smile. He’d come to like having them around. They were both strong and funny and made his brothers happy. Christ, where was Megan?

Silence descended on the room. Heavy silence that Nash knew came from confusion. From day one of learning Blackshaw Cattle was facing bankruptcy, they had met trouble at every turn of this new venture. Nash had known it wouldn’t be easy when he took over, but he hadn’t been expecting it to be this hard.

He also knew he would give anything to get away from it all. He didn’t want the responsibility of the guest ranch on his shoulders. He wanted to hand off the control to the employees who did a fantastic job and were happy doing it. But he couldn’t do that until everything ran smoothly. His brothers had done their part, and he needed to do his.

Up until a week ago, he thought he was well on his way to quietly handing over control of the guest ranch to someone else. His life felt more unstable now than ever. And he had a baby on the way.

Shep’s brows furrowed as he studied Nash, his expression revealing nothing. “It does seem unlikely that this is all a coincidence, but what else can it be?”

“Clint Harrison,” Nash said through gritted teeth. “If anyone is behind this, you know it’s him. My gut is telling me he still wants our land. I’m sure of it.”

Chase frowned and shook his head. “No matter what you think of him, Nash, I don’t think Clint would set a fire that would engager Ma’s life.”

“It’s too extreme,” Ma agreed with a soft nod. “Clint has never been a violent man before, and he and your father have gone through many rough patches.”

Nash drew in a long deep breath. Even he doubted Clint had that much evil in him, but at the same time,

he said, “I don’t know how he’s involved, but I’m telling you that dirty sonuvabitch has his hands in this somehow.”

At that exact moment, Megan entered the room.

And Nash realized there was something he hated more than hospitals—hurting Megan. One look into her unique eyes told him his words had not only hurt her, they had crushed her.

Chapter 9