Lena's Happily Ever After (The Town of Pearl 3)

“Are you in pain?” she asked, and he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Lena laid her head against his chest and held him.

“I guess I overdid it in bed this morning,” he teased, and she smacked his butt then pulled away.

“Hey.” He pulled her back to him then held her hands behind her back.

“Have a nice visit with Kenny?”

She smiled and nodded her head.

“He headed back out toward town.”

As he said the words, a thought jumped into Lena’s mind. Kenny was really upset about the unidentified woman from Detroit. Lena had a funny feeling in her gut.

“You okay?” Bryant asked her.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about something Kenny mentioned. Hey, does your leg hurt too much to walk with me up to the stables to see Quinn and Blake?”

“You’re pushing it, Lena. I haven’t spoken with my brothers in nearly a year, and in a matter of seconds I’m making love to my woman with them. A man has to have his limits on how much you can push me.”

“Well, I want to go visit them. I haven’t been up there at all, and I thought it might be a nice surprise.”

“Okay, then you go and I’ll stay. I have the feeling that my parents want to stop in to see me.”

“That’s good, Bryant. You should talk with them.”

“You’re are quite the pushy little thing, Detroit. You keep it up, and I’m going to throw you over my knee and spank this ass.” He pressed her hands that he held over her own ass.

“Bryant!” she scolded, and he covered her mouth with his mouth, swallowing any more of her complaints. When he released her, he kissed along her neck then to her collarbone.

“Don’t take too long up there. Let them work and then come back to my place so we can play.”

“Play, huh? How about we work on some of those exercises you’re supposed to be doing.”

“Demand, demand, demand.”

He released her, and she walked outside with him.

* * * *

Lena walked up toward the main corral and saw a few men standing around watching. They were hollering and cheering on whomever was inside of the fenced in area. Her curiosity got the best of her as she joined them.

“Hey, Lena, we haven’t seen you up here ever,” Kyle, one of the ranch hands, stated.

“I’ve been busy since I moved into the cottage.”

“Yeah, we heard about what you’ve been doing for Bryant. It will be nice to see him back on horseback and involved with the horses again. I hope he’s headed in that direction,” Kyle stated as the two other men on either side of him smiled.

“What’s going on in there?” she asked, and Kyle offered her his hand to help her stand on the upper ring of the large fence.

She was shocked as she saw Quinn on top of a huge horse swinging a lasso around his head. She began to shake with a mix of concern and excitement. He looked wild. His Stetson remained on his head somehow despite the way he swung that lasso round and round. His target was a small calf. At least that was what she thought it was.

“Quinn does this routine for the visitors on Fourth of July. It’s part of a show we all put on after they see the horse training facility,” Kyle whispered next to her ear. She heard someone clear their throat and turned to see a stern-looking Blake making his way closer. Kyle and the others made room quickly, and Blake grabbed on to Lena’s waist.

“What are you doing up here?” he asked sternly. Her eyes widened in surprise at his unfriendly greeting until she heard the other cowboys whistle and yell.

She looked toward the center of the large fenced-in area, and Quinn had lassoed and caught the calf.

“Damn it, you made me miss it,” she scolded then heard the chuckles from the men as she looked at Blake. His angry facial expression grew even angrier.