Spurred (Steele Ranch 1)

“Kady. So glad to finally meet you after all the emails and phone calls. Riley Townsend.”

Riley reached out and took her hand, shook it, then didn’t let it go.

Courteous, she smiled automatically, but I watched her eyes flare when she took him in. Yeah, she was interested. Thank fuck. If Riley and I wanted a relationship that fit the mainstream, I’d be jealous of the way Kady was taking in every inch of him. His blond hair, his blue eyes, quick smile. He was almost as tall as me, but built like a runner, not a linebacker. She wasn’t scared of him.

No, she didn’t even realize he still held her hand.

“You two certainly ate your vegetables as kids,” she commented, humor tingeing her words and curving the corners of her lips. Her eyes sparkled.

“Yes, ma’am,” Riley replied, giving her his wicked grin that made women drop their panties.

“Have the others arrived?” she asked, looking around.

She wasn’t immune to Riley’s good looks, but she was too much of a lady to toss her panties his way. At least here in the airport.

“Your sisters?” I asked, wanting her to look up at me. She did and I swore I could see flecks of gold in her pupils along with the emerald green.

“Half-sisters,” Riley clarified, although I was well aware of the difference. “While we’ve found five of you, five daughters of Aiden Steele who’ve inherited equal shares of his ranch and estate, we’ve only been able to connect with three.”

“That’s my job. To make contact with the other two like I did with you,” I elaborated.

“And as the estate lawyer, I’m the paperwork guy.” Riley patted his chest. “The one who overnighted you the documents for your signature.”

“I still can’t believe this is happening. That I’m here.”

Her fingers fiddled with the shoulder strap on her bag. She was nervous, although she hid it well. Not because of us, but she’d just found out she had a father she’d never known who’d died and left her a large inheritance and had four half-siblings. I’d be a little freaked out, too.

“I was lucky to have summer break from school and was able to come.”

“Lucky for us,” Riley commented, raking his gaze over every inch of her. She flushed again and I watched as the color crept down her neck and beneath the neckline of her dress. How far did it go?

It was then she remembered her hand and pulled it from Riley’s hold.

I frowned. Yeah, I was jealous of him since he’d gotten to touch her. I bet her skin was soft. No callouses on her palm. Her hand was so small, too. She was so damned…breakable.

“I can’t believe I have half-sisters I never knew about. No half-brothers?”

Riley shook his head. “None that we’ve found. Steele”—Riley cleared his throat—“got around.”

Aiden Steele had been a womanizer. Never married, he’d lived a bachelor life. A wild bachelor life. Sure, I wasn’t a monk, but at least I used a fucking condom, every damned time, instead of getting a string of women pregnant all around the country. He’d fucked ‘em and left ‘em. Every single one.

Kady blushed again. I knew from her file—from the information my team had gathered about her—that she was twenty-six. No prim young virgin. But she was a school teacher. Second grade. She didn’t sleep around. Had two past long-term relationships that we’d been able to find. No wild partying. No smoking, no drugs. She was innocent to the underbelly of society that I knew all too well. My hands were dirty from it. From the cruelties of the world. Seeing her smile, her soft nature, I knew none of that had ever touched her. It would be our job now to ensure it stayed that way.

But her father—

“Let’s not stand here,” Riley said, cutting into my thoughts. “You’ve had a long trip and I’m sure are tired. Are these your suitcases?” Riley asked, walking around her to the two big bags behind her. When she confirmed they were hers, he raised the long handles and led us out of the baggage area, pulling them both behind him.

“Here. Let me take your other one,” I said, reaching out to take the carry-on slung over her shoulder. It was heavy; easy for me, but would have been a burden for her. We followed Riley through the sliding doors and out into the bright sunshine.

“Have you ever been to Montana before?” I asked, walking beside her in the crosswalk to the parking lot. When a hotel van didn’t seem to be slowing, I stopped and gave the driver a look as I nudged Kady forward with my hand at the small of her back. That’s right, fucker. I’m watching out for her now.

“No. First time. In fact, I haven’t been out west at all. Philadelphia is a long way from here.” She looked out at the mountains in the distance. “It really is Big Sky country.”

The Bozeman airport was settled in a valley, the Bridger Mountains just to the north, other small ranges were farther off, but offered stunning views, especially for someone who’d never seen anything quite like it before.

Riley had the tailgate of his truck down and was loading her suitcases in as we walked up. I opened the passenger door for her.

“I’ve been to Pennsylvania. Lots of trees,” I commented.