Cowboy Take Me Away (Rough Riders 16)

“Yes.”

“No way,” Cal said hotly. “He’ll have to show up armed with your brothers gunning for him.”

“That’s your solution? He walks into my goddamned house armed?” Thomas shot back.

“There’s no other way I’m letting my brother walk into a roomful of Wests.”

“I’ll do it,” Carson said softly.

“Carse—”

“Cal. I’m not walkin’ away from her.” He looked at his brother. “Thomas is right. I’m actin’ like a pu**y. I backed down because I thought…” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “That’s the problem. I wasn’t thinkin’ straight. I am now.” He locked his gaze to Thomas’s. “Think your dad sent his sons after me instead of comin’ for me himself?”

“No. I don’t think my brothers have told our dad about you or I doubt Carolyn would’ve been allowed to leave the house tonight.”

“She’s an adult. She’s been responsible for herself since she was twelve.”

“It’s screwed up, okay? Our mom sent her away because she wanted something more for her. Yet when Carolyn comes home, things go back to her doing everything for us. I guarantee our father won’t be happy when a McKay shows up for his daughter.” Thomas’s eyes searched his. “Did you know that my dad and your dad crossed paths years ago?”

“No. What happened?”

“Words were exchanged, fists were involved and my dad put your dad in the hospital.”

“Christ. I didn’t know about that.”

Thomas shrugged. “I wouldn’t have known either if I hadn’t asked my dad’s friend Roscoe about it. My dad goes ballistic whenever the McKay name is mentioned.”

“Any idea what prompted the fight between your old man and mine?”

“Word is it doesn’t take much for the McKays to get pissed off and come out swinging. So I’m guessing, like father like sons—no offense.”

“Fuck you. I am offended because I didn’t start this one; your brothers did. Who’s to say your dad didn’t jump my dad back then?” Carson demanded.

“Seems like attack and retreat is the Wests’ style,” Cal said with a sneer.

“You wanna stand here and speculate about shit that happened before any of us were born?”

Carson shook his head. Motherfucker hurt.

“Good. I’ve got a couple of ideas on how to get back in Carolyn’s good graces.”

“What’s your suggestion?

He zeroed in on Carson. Then he rattled off what he saw as the best course of action.

As Carson listened to Thomas’s suggestions, the perfect way to prove his intent occurred to him. He was mired in thoughts on how to pull it off, when he realized Thomas was speaking to him again and he refocused.

“So I’m asking you, McKay. You gonna do right by my sister?”

“You can count on it.”

Without another word Thomas walked off.

Cal broke the silence first. “Some night, huh?”

“I’ll be feelin’ it in the mornin’, that’s for damn sure.”

“Maybe it’s best if we head home. I’ll follow you.”

Carson pushed away from the car he’d been resting against.

“Is she worth it?” Cal asked. “You’ve known her for little over a week.”

“Yeah. But it feels like I’ve been waitin’ for her forever.”

Chapter Eleven

Carolyn

Carolyn’s red-rimmed eyes nearly kept her home from church.

At least her eyes weren’t swollen shut like the last time she’d spent the night crying, after her cat had died.

But she’d never cried over a guy.

That’s because you’ve never been in love before.

If this was love, who wanted it? At least her cat hadn’t catted around on her.

Maybe she should head back to Montana and enroll in the convent.

During the miserable drive home she’d relived every awful moment: seeing him with that woman, witnessing the disinterested and dismissive expression on his handsome face.

Was it typical lovesick behavior to scroll back through all the times they’d spent together in the past week, searching for signs she’d missed that indicated he intended to use her for sex and then move on to the next conquest? She’d come up blank. Or maybe she was too naïve to recognize the warning signs.

Beverly had caught up with her as she’d dashed back to her car, tears already streaming down her face, the scream of pain and outrage stuck in her throat.

Her friend’s look of pity made Carolyn want to crawl under the car. But with Beverly’s gentle urging, Carolyn had told her what’d happened.

“Carolyn. Sweetie. He’s got a bad reputation. He isn’t interested in dating; he’s interested in screwing as many women as he can. And I’m sorry it hurts, I wanna march over there and punch him in the nose, but that’s why they call men like him heartbreakers.”

“But I thought I was different. I was—”

“Special?” Beverly inserted. “I’m sure he probably told you that in such a way you believed it. He’s very good at acting sincere because he’s used that line on so many girls before and it always works for him.”

“So I’m just a fool?”

“We all are. Heartbreak is a rite of passage.”

Carolyn wiped her eyes. “Are you afraid Mike will break your heart?”

“Every day. But I love him every day anyway. Maybe Carson will come to his senses.”

Maybe Martians will land on top of Devil’s Tower.

She snapped out of the memory when she realized she’d started to drift to the center line of the road.

Much like she had last night.

The church service was packed. Several people her mother’s age smiled at her as she slid into the fourth-to-last pew. She lifted out the hymnal and flipped to the first hymn. She loved these songs. It connected her to the past, imagining a church full of people across the world singing these same hymns of praise a century or two ago.

The organ played the processional as the altar boys lit the candles. A figure paused at the edge of the pew before sliding in next to her.

Carolyn looked over…right into Carson McKay’s blue eyes.

Her mouth dropped open and she bobbled the hymnal.

Carson steadied the book and softly asked, “Can we share this?”

She nodded. Numbly. Dumbly. Her mind wasn’t on the music or anticipating the inspirational bits she could take from this sermon to sustain her throughout her week, but got stuck on the cowboy sitting next to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Carson’s black hair looked damp. She caught a whiff of his aftershave. He’d donned a dark brown western-cut suit. Polished dress boots adorned his feet. And she knew the man was turning heads, even in church.