Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

When he got into his truck, watching Clint comforting Megan’s mother, he took out his cell and texted his brothers: W

e need to meet. It’s urgent.

Shep replied first: Meet at my place.

Then Chase responded: On my way.

Nash started the engine and drove off down the driveway, hating this entire situation. The look Megan had given him before she left stayed with Nash the entire drive over to Shep’s place. He didn’t doubt for a moment that she wasn’t thinking about how much the fight between the families hurt her anymore. She was thinking about the future pain of their child having to endure the feud too. And the entire thing made Nash feel like shit.

This wasn’t the man he wanted to be to Megan, or the father he wanted to be to their child. He wanted to lift Megan up, give her the world in the way he knew she deserved, and make her smile. These past weeks they’d created a life he could no longer live without.

More importantly, he didn’t want to become like her father, who was one way with her and a different way with others.

Still, his conversation with Butch repeated in his mind.

Torn in so many directions, Nash arrived ten minutes later to find Shep and Chase waiting on the porch for him. Nash parked his truck next to Chase’s and didn’t waste time, explaining the second he exited the truck, “I’ve come from the police station.”

Shep sat a little taller in the rocking chair, as did Chase from the landing on the porch.

Yeah, Nash had expected their reaction. He trotted up the steps and took a seat in the rocking chair next to Shep. “Here’s what I know.” That began a lengthy conversation in which he rehashed the details of everything he’d learned from Darryl. “There you have it,” Nash finally finished. “Butch is behind it all, but I’m damn sure that Clint plays a part too.”

“Unbelievable,” Shep growled, rising to pace the porch. “Okay, tell me this: how does Clint fit into all this?”

Nash ran his hands over his tired eyes. “When I talked to Butch, I told him that I knew he wouldn’t have done this alone. There’s no fucking way. He started crying and apologizing and saying that he had no choice. He did it for his wife.”

Chase cocked his head. “Did Butch actually say Clint was the one who paid him to sabotage the ranch?”

“He didn’t need to,” Nash retorted. “I saw it written all over Butch’s face. A while back, Butch told me that his wife has cancer and he’d been struggling to pay for her treatments.”

“Why would Butch take all the blame, though?” Shep asked with an arched brow. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe that was part of the deal,” Nash offered. “If caught, Butch would go to jail, as long as Harrison kept paying for his wife’s treatments.”

Always the devil’s advocate, Chase offered, “This is only a theory. Right now, you’ve got no proof that Clint has any involvement in this. What if you’re wrong?”

Nash leaned in and looked at Chase and Shep. “What does your gut tell you? Would Butch really do this to a family he’s been loyal to since we were children? The only reason to do this is for money for his wife’s treatment. To save her. Who has money and the animosity toward our family to want to shut us down for good? And most of all, who wants Blackshaw land bad enough to make us crumble?”

Shep frowned. “Fuck if that doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Nash took off his hat, dropping it into his lap, and leaned his head back against the house. “I’ve been spending weeks trying to smooth this over with Harrison for Megan. It’s like a constant uphill battle. He’s a fucking bastard and continually reminds me of it.”

A long pause. Then, Chase asked, “Will you tell Megan about your suspicions?”

Nash wished he could erase this day entirely and start again fresh. “I planned to this morning. I went to confront Harrison earlier and Megan happened to be there. She didn’t want to hear any of it and is only thinking of the baby. She wants to create a world where everyone in it is happy, but it’s fictional. Her father is a ruthless bastard. And I don’t know how to get her to see that.”

Shep studied Nash intently. “Maybe if you told her what he did, she’d see that for herself.”

“Yeah, sure,” Nash grumbled, already having come to that same conclusion this morning. That was until he had seen the hopelessness in Megan’s expression, heard the desperation in her voice, and realized she planned to take her second-best shot at happiness. “And then what happens?” he asked his brothers seriously. “She’d admit to herself how fucking terrible her father is and her whole world would fall apart around her. I don’t want to hurt her.”

From his spot on the porch, Chase sighed. “It’s a tough situation.”

“It’s an impossible situation.” Nash tapped the back of his head against the house twice, wishing he had some idea on how to fix all this. “I don’t know how to make this right for her.” And that was the crux of the problem. “He tried to fucking ruin us. His greed pushed Butch to act desperately and endangered lives. That’s not something I can exactly let go of and ignore.”

Another pause.

“But he didn’t ruin us,” Shep said softly.

Nash arched a brow at Shep, who stated, “Yeah, I agree with you, there is a damn good chance he put this plan into motion. And if that’s true, he should be held responsible.” Shep paused, cocking his head. “But we need to also be aware that no matter how many times Clint has tried to sink Dad’s company, we’ve always bounced back.”