Herd That (The Valentine Boys 1)

“When your mom was about fifteen, she met a boy,” he continued.

“My dad?”

Granddad shook his head. “No. Another boy. They were best friends at first, and that transformed into something else. I’m not sure it was love, but it was infatuation, maybe. But then she met your dad… and things changed. She understood the difference between liking someone, and loving someone.”

My eyes widened. “Mom was with someone when she met my dad?”

That was news to me.

I’d known that they’d met when they were just graduating, but I hadn’t realized that my mother had been seeing someone at the time.

“Anyway, that guy just so happened to be the son of the man that your grandmother left for me.” He paused. “Needless to say, after the father and the son were jilted, so to speak, things got a little hairy with the townsfolk. Those men were well-liked by the community.”

“Who was it?” I practically begged.

“The old assistant police chief.”

I gasped and leaned forward. “You’re freakin’ joking!”

No wonder every time I used to beg him not to call my parents, he took absolute glee in it!

Holy shit!

“Is that why mom and dad moved away?” I asked curiously.

Granddad shrugged. “Possibly. I don’t know. When your grandmother died, I considered moving myself. It’s uncomfortable being here with all those meddling people thinking that I’m an adulterer. Not to mention Robert Glasgow is still quite a prominent member of society. Even if he is pushing eighty. He’s on the school board, as well as the city’s board. He attends all the kids sporting events, and he and his wife are well-liked around town. His son is doing well in his ranching business. His wife and kids are well-liked in the community. They have a son about your age, remember?”

I did.

He was also one of the reasons I’d gotten into so much trouble when I was younger.

He was excellent—or at least used to be—at convincing me to do bad things.

Jace Glasgow, who was now a police officer himself, had once upon a time been a big ol’ pain in the ass and the man that had taken my virginity.

I hadn’t seen him since I’d gotten back to town and was honestly worried about meeting back up with him.

However, Ace had taken over my every thought since I’d met him at the sale barn a couple of weeks ago. Jace Glasgow hadn’t even registered on my radar.

“What does all this have to do with the Valentines?” I wondered.

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “Really it just has to do with the fact that nobody really liked our family. You didn’t help matters running around with their kid getting him in trouble, either.”

I snickered. “It was more Jace getting me in trouble and me tagging along, but I’ll accept partial responsibility for it all.”

Granddad rolled his eyes. “Sure, you were completely innocent in everything you did… didn’t you try to steal a car?”

“It was Jace’s father’s car, and honestly? How was I supposed to know that he didn’t have permission to use it?” I shook my head. “I really, really liked Jace.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, do yourself a favor and stay away from him. I hear Jace’s wife is a right bitch.”

I’d heard that as well. And I sure the hell wouldn’t be testing out the waters with Jace ever again.

He’d been a good guy, and I knew that he probably was likely still a good guy.

However, my eyes were set on a certain cowboy with brooding good looks, a killer jaw, and a scratchy beard that I was dying to get my hands on.

Oh, and let’s not forget his sweatpants.

Those things are goddamn deadly.Chapter 11Women. The one thing duct tape can’t fix.

-Coffee cup

Ace

“Where are we going?” she asked inquisitively.

I grinned over at her. “You told me to take you to Breakfast with Santa.” I paused, gauging her reaction. “So that’s what I’m doing.”

Her mouth fell open in stunned surprise.

“That okay?” I asked.

She nodded her head so fast that she looked like one of those bobblehead dolls that sat on the dash of your car.

“Yes.” She clapped her hands with excitement. “The one with the longhorns and turkeys, right?”

I nodded. “The one. I had to scalp some tickets, too.”

She frowned. “What? How?”

I recalled the discussion with my sister from last night.

“I had to trade my sister babysitting time to get them since they were sold out,” I answered. “Therefore, you better realize how big of a deal this is.”

She blinked owlishly at me.

“You did what?” she breathed.

“I traded babysitting duties for my sister’s tickets to this,” I repeated.

She blinked. Then burst out with, “Are you freakin’ crazy?”

I snorted out a laugh. “They’re really not that bad.”

Her brows rose. “When I came back after trying to leave they looked like they took that as a challenge. They went out of their way to make the rest of the night a living nightmare for me.”