Spurred (Steele Ranch 1)

It had been almost twenty-four hours since Archer had come by and told us the few details about the dead man. We’d heard nothing since then. And while the sex with Cord and Riley was spectacular, we needed out of the house. And, my pussy needed a break. Riley suggested a horseback ride. That hadn’t been my first thought. Actually, it was probably the last thing my pussy wanted to do, but when I thought about how they might make it all better later, perhaps with their mouths, I got on board with the plan. I’d learned they were very, very skilled with their tongues.

After that, I realized I’d see the men on horseback. The mental image alone made my ovaries jump for joy. I owed it to women everywhere to ogle the two cowboys in their natural setting.

We’d just walked out the front door to head to Steele Ranch to ride because it seemed I was the proud—one-fifth owner—of a whole bunch of horses. Cord was locking the front door when the cell rang.

“Hi, Beth, how are you?”

Both men turned to look at me when I said my sister’s name. Riley’s pale brow went up. I sat down on the stoop as they walked toward Riley’s big truck. They leaned against it as they talked quietly to each other, their eyes squarely on me. I could only imagine what they were saying.

It may have had something to do with the fact I was wearing jeans, not my usual dress. To them, my pants, new boots and one of my old t-shirts was quite a change. Jamison had called the old Steele housekeeper, Mrs. Potts, to come in and help pick up the main house after the robber’s mess. She’d pulled together an outfit for me—since he knew I’d left in just a nightgown—and had brought it by. I was thankful for the clothes—and underwear—because my nightie was all I had.

“You are never going to believe this.”

She was speaking quickly—too quickly, although with an excitement I hadn’t heard in a long time.

“What?”

“I got married!”

My brain took an extra few seconds to process those three words. “Married? I…um. Who? How? When?”

She laughed. “Two days ago. His name is David and at the courthouse.”

“Two days ago?” I asked, stunned. Did that mean when she called me at the restaurant she’d been married and hadn’t told me? But she’d been so mad at me she was in rehab while I vacationed, spent all of my new inheritance. “The courthouse? How did you do

that if you’re in rehab?”

“I’m not in rehab, silly. They said I didn’t need to be there any longer. I’m all better.”

All better.

No one got all better from drug addiction. Someone might stop using drugs, but they always had the addiction. It never went away. “You’ve only been in rehab two months. Are you sure—”

“Are you ever going to be happy for me? Is it always going to be about how wonderful your life is, Kady, and never about me? I’ve had something wonderful happen and you’re just going to shit all over it like you usually do.”

There was the Beth I knew. Mean, vindictive. Cruel.

I took a deep breath, let it out silently. “Tell me about David. How did you meet?”

I had about a million other questions but chose the ones that weren’t total landmines. Beth had gone from happy to DEFCON 1 in the blink of an eye.

“We met at New Beginnings. He’s so handsome. You’re going to love him. I’ve told him all about you.”

“Okay, wow. He sounds great,” I replied. He didn’t sound great at all. They’d met at New Beginnings? He worked there? A patient? Neither option sounded good.

I heard a voice in the background and Beth said something, although it was muffled. “I’ve got to go. David says hi.”

“If you’re not in rehab, where are you two staying?”

Instead of replying, she only said, “Bye, Kady!”

The line cut and I dropped my phone to my lap, stared at it.

Beth was out of rehab and married. I looked to Cord and Riley.

“Everything okay?” Riley called.

“Yeah, just give me a sec.”