Sexual Healing (Contemporary Cowboys 1)

“But in the meantime, Mrs. Gibbles would’ve been dead,” Joshua pointed out. “Now, with that said, we’ll do some research today to find out what kind of weaponry these fellas are known to use. I don’t know if you talked to Kane this morning, but as it turns out, the crew after your woman is actually out of Chicago. Their operations are in New York, but they have connections with a new outfit out of Chicago.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Flint asked.

“May mean something, may mean absolutely nothing,” Joshua said.

“What we fear is they’ll feel like they have something to prove,” Aspen added, finishing off his glass of orange juice.

“When you’re dealing with folks like this, there are two types to watch. One, those who have nothing to lose and tell you as much. Two, those who have something to prove and never mention it, they just show you what they can do.”

“Which type are we dealing with in this case?” Tyler asked.

“We don’t know,” Joshua said. “But Kane’s sources are pretty accurate most of the time and last night he discovered that the reason those guys walked is because someone had a half a million reasons to turn them loose.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Tyler’s anger resurfaced again.

“Any idea who could’ve been bought?” Aspen asked.

“It’s gotta be Andrew,” Tyler said, pushing away from the table and pacing. “The sheriff is getting ready to retire. He’s been as honest as the day is long.”

“But he’s retiring on a sheriff’s pension from small town USA,” Aspen pointed out. “Either way, we need to know if the locals are standing with you or will continue to turn their heads.”

“We only trusted Andrew. Most of the others over there are about as dirty as a farmer’s hands after a day of branding cattle,” Flint said.

“That explains why Kane didn’t want to involve the locals,” Aspen said.

“We really can’t,” Tyler said. “Andrew was trusted the first time around when our parents were killed. He showed up on our doorstep a few days later and said they were released on a technicality. Last night he called to tell us they couldn’t hold the dudes from New York citing there wasn’t enough evidence to hold them.”

Brianna shifted in her chair. Finally she said something that she’d never spoken aloud. “And Dad walked away without a scratch after my mother died. I’m not suggesting he had her blood on his hands, but he knew who was responsible. No one ever served a day in jail. Her death was ruled an accident.”

Vicky squeezed her arm. “Your mother was a beautiful person, inside and out. I know Peyton misses her and I miss hearing all the fun stories the Cartwell men used to tell about Ann. She was a firecracker, honey.”

Jax shot her a wink. “So now I know where you get your spunk.”

Chapter Sixteen

Instead of going for a ride, Tyler and Flint took her for a drive. They’d practically had to pry her out of Jax’s arms, but he finally agreed she’d be safer with them if they were out and about running errands.

They ran their errands, stopping at the grocery store for snacks, drinks, and Vicky’s grocery list, which was about as long as Tyler’s arm. Still, he hadn’t grumbled or complained. The McKays were there to help and if Vicky wanted to take over the kitchen, he wasn’t about to tell her she couldn’t. Outside of breakfast, Mrs. Gibbles wasn’t exactly an award-winning chef.

On their way home, Flint suggested they stop by the Nolichucky cabin and make sure they hadn’t left anything the day before. Tyler rolled his eyes, knowing damn good and well what his little brother had in mind.

They parked on the riverbank and walked around the area, acting as if they were actually looking for items when Brianna finally said, “I only had my phone with me yesterday.” She waved it in front of their faces. “And I still have it.”

“Hmmm…I can see that,” Tyler said, pulling her close.

At the same time, Flint scanned his credit card on one of the machines, entered an amount and hit save. “What do you say we check out one of the rooms here?”

Her pretty eyes glistened like a screen of lust fell over her heated gaze. “Why do I have a feeling you had this in mind the whole time?”

“Because we did?” Flint suggested, pushing the door back to showcase their private quarters.

The unit he chose had wide open space with log-lined walls and high ceilings. The living room was scarcely appointed with a futon bed, a couple of beanbag chairs, and a coffee table. Surprisingly enough, it was clean. The area smelled

like fragrant cleaner, but Flint had come prepared. He immediately grabbed one sack of groceries and sprayed down everything with a germ-free cleaner.

The bathroom was small but had a standing room only shower, toilet, and sink. The one bedroom had enough room to walk on either side of the double bed.

“Go on Mr. Germ-a-phobia. Grab our blankets out of the truck.” Tyler grabbed Brianna around the waist and tickled her like crazy while Flint hurried to their vehicle.