Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

“Relax,” he said softly in her ear. “Be here with me.”

“You and the entire town,” she muttered.

He chuckled and went to look into those fiery eyes of hers. When he did, his gaze connected with Clint standing across the park. Megan’s mother was chatting it up with someone. Probably about Megan’s pregnancy. Clint, on the other hand, glared right at Nash.

Nash brought Megan even closer, sprawling his hand across her lower back. Suddenly, something occurred to Nash. Before now, he’d have made a statement to Clint, showing Clint that Megan was his now. He would have glared back. He’d never have looked away first in their staredown. It was an unspoken show of weakness.

But everything was different now. Especially with this sweet woman against him, thinking he was a good man. Nothing else mattered but that.

Nash brushed his lips against Megan’s pulse again, and she shivered, all but vibrating in his arms. He swayed their hips together, keeping to the rhythm of the beat. There was a certain peace he’d found in the quiet with her. His life, including his relationship with Megan, had been a struggle from day one. A push and pull. And yet, he always thought the quiet would bore him.

He’d never been so wrong.

Nash slid his fingers slowly up and down her back, and she melted into him. Christ, he loved when she did that.

“You’re vibrating,” she said, breaking the silence.

He nipped her earlobe, and she shivered again. “That’s you vibrating, Freckles.”

She laughed softly, moved away, and gave him a cute look. “No, your phone is vibrating.”

Damn. He realized she was right. His cell rang in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and looked at the screen. Beckett. “What’s up?” Nash answered the phone.

“Hey, Nash. You gotta get out to the ranch,” Beckett said, voice strained. “The guests have food poisoning.”

“The guests?” All the heat Megan had stirred in Nash now became ice cold. “Not all of them.”

A pause. Then, confirming Nash’s worst thought, Beckett said, “Buddy, it’s bad. You need to get here. Now.”

The line went dead, and Nash reached for Megan’s hand. “Trouble at the ranch.” He beelined for Shep.

Megan dug in her heels a little. “What happened?”

“The guests have food poisoning.” He hurried to Shep but first said to Megan, “Please stay with Ma.” The last thing he wanted to do was ruin his mother’s night. But he also didn’t want to leave her alone.

Megan nodded, concern heavy in her eyes. “Yes, of course I will.”

Shep was already rising from the picnic bench. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a problem at the ranch. We need to go.”

Chase dropped a kiss to Harper’s forehead. “Stay with Megan.” He grabbed his keys from his pocket. “Take Ma home later.”

“Yeah, okay,” Harper said, brows furrowed tight.

With the music now a loud hum in Nash’s ears, he worked his way through the crowd. Once he made it to the food trucks, Shep, Emma, and Chase caught up with him.

“Is it bad?” Shep asked.

Nash hurried forward. “Yeah, it’s bad.”

Minutes later, they were in Nash’s truck. He explained what Beckett had told him on the phone, and then there was silence. Heavy silence. The kind of silence where deep worry lived.

By the time they finally made it to the ranch, the scene was worse than Nash had imagined. Twenty cars were there, including police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. But the bigger issue was the little kids vomiting into plastic bags, and the guests being put into cars and ambulances, obviously on their way to the hospital.

Nash slammed the truck’s door behind him and jogged toward Beckett. “What in the fuck happened?” he demanded.

Beckett took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand over his hair, concern tightening the corners of his eyes. “I haven’t a fucking clue. We had dinner, like usual. Everyone was fine. Then as I was about to leave for the night, I saw a few people running for the bathroom”—he paused and then cringed—“and then all hell broke loose.”