Branded as Trouble (Rough Riders 6)

“To Colt’s house. I’m keeping an eye on him tonight. Dr.

Brewer’s instructions.”

“Huh-uh. If she is stayin’ in your apartment, I want you there with her. I don’t want her to be alone anywhere.”

“Then why doesn’t she stay with you?”

Silence.

Domini dropped her chin to her chest and studied her feet.

Come on Cam, here’s your chance, take it and run. Domini would rather be with you, not me. Why can’t you see that?

“Because she’s gotta work at the crack of dawn and your apartment is right above the restaurant, so that makes the most sense.” Cam sighed. “Look. I’m about to get off shift. I’ll take Colt home with me and keep an eye on him if you watch out for her.”

“Her? She?” Domini said. “I have a name, Deputy McKay and if you insist on treating me like a child—”

Cam whispered something directly in her ear that shut her up.

“Colt? You okay staying with Cam?”

He looked at India and shrugged. “I’ll be lousy company. It’s just as well Cam has to deal with me rather than you.”

“It’s settled.” Cam shifted his stance. “Miz Katzinski, would it be all right if I had a word with you? In private?”

Domini stomped away and Cam followed.

India stepped in front of Colt and placed her head on his chest.

“I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be good as new if I get some rest.”

She kissed his chin. And his jaw. “Probably a good thing I won’t be taking care of you tonight.”

“Why? Because you always interrupt my sleep a billion times and then pick a fight with me so I’ll kiss you?”

“No. I’d’ve tucked myself right in with you and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing you could’ve done about it because it would’ve been on doctor’s orders.”

“You are ornery.”

“And a little mean. Okay, a lot mean.”

He shuddered. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

Chapter Twelve

Stupid Colt McKay should’ve taken his own advice about not pissing her off, India thought for the millionth time as she slammed a box of essential oil in the middle of the showroom floor.

She and Skylar spent Saturday afternoon at Sky Blue doing quarterly inventory and India was glad for the busy work. It kept her mind off Colt.

That dickhead.

They’d had another fight. A doozy of a fight. A throwing-things-get-the-hell-out-I-don’t-want-to-see-you-until-I-cool-down kind of fight.

Naturally, her sister brought up the elephant in the room when the last box of lotion had been tallied. “Don’t you think you’re acting unreasonable?”

India slammed the cupboard door. “Nope.”

“It’s been two days.”

Two very long days. “So?”

Sky gestured to the enormous bouquet lined up on the counter.

“Obviously Colt is sorry.”

“He should be.”

“Aren’t you being hard on him?”

She whirled around. “What would you have done, if Kade had stormed into the factory, chewed you out for…something someone else had supposedly seen you do? Ripped you a new one in front of a customer? And then literally dragged you off to—” Kiss you until you couldn’t breathe, touch you so thoroughly you had to check your skin for branding iron marks. Turned you so dizzy with want and anger and fear you couldn’t choose which feeling made you craziest so you acted out on all three? At the same time?

“To what?” Sky prompted.

“To make your head explode. The man is infuriating.”

“What is infuriating? That he wanted to talk to you because he was worried about your risky behavior?”

“Colt didn’t talk; he yelled. And isn’t there some legal confidentiality clause that Deputy Cam can’t call him up and tattle that he thought I was driving my motorcycle too fast?”

Skylar wagged her finger in India’s face. “Tough. You drive that deathtrap like Wyoming is the autobahn. I’ve been telling you that for years. And I wish Cam would’ve chased you down and given you a ticket.”

“You’re siding with him? With both of them?”

“Yes. Cam only told Colt because he knew it’d be better coming from him than from someone else in this gossipy town. And Colt confronting you on your dangerous activity is not surprising because he cares about you, Indy. He really, really cares about you.”

“Yeah? Then how do you justify Mr. Caring barging in here and going all caveman on me, practically dragging me away by my hair, in front of a client?”

“Simple.” Skylar smirked. “He’s a McKay.”

“That is not even close to funny, Sis.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. Chest thumping is part of Colt’s genetic makeup and if you’re going to be with him for the long haul, you’d better get used to it. Besides, wasn’t the client just Colt’s cousin, Blake?”

“So?”

“So, I doubt Colt would’ve acted so agitated if it’d been a stranger in your tattoo station.”

“That is not the point! He acted totally inappropriate.”

“You aren’t exactly blameless, India. You reacted just as inappropriately.” Skylar rolled her eyes. “Honestly. Did you have to throw a wrench at him?”

India’s cheeks went hot with shame. “How’d you find out?”

“Colt told Kade. Kade is now blaming Eliza’s tendency to throw things on my side of the family. A wrench for godsake.

Why?”

“It was the closest thing I could find.” And the tool belonged to Blake, so it’d seemed like karma at the time. Now it just seemed stupid, dangerous and childish. She sagged into a chair. “God. This is so screwed up.”

“What’s really going on? You have a nasty temper, but this knee-jerk ‘anger and retreat’ reaction is so unlike you.”

“I know.”

“Talk to me.”

“I’m scared, Sky. I don’t want to f**k this up. And I’m afraid I already have.”

“So fix it.”

“How?”

“Channel that anger into a more productive activity.”

“Like what?”

Skylar slipped on her coat. “Do I really have to spell it out for you? Go out to his place, accept his apology, apologize yourself, and f**k his brains out until Monday morning.”