Catching the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch 2)

“You ever gonna grow up?” she snaps at me.

Shaking my head, I shoot her a wink and grin. “Never, baby.”

Rowan heads outside, and we’re on her tail. As she bends over, I stare at her plump ass, imagining her completely naked and in my bed. Riley’s glaring at me, and I can tell he’s getting pissed, but I just can’t help it. For years, he’s warned me how off-limits his sister is, but it hasn’t stopped me from finding ways to antagonize him. They walk past me and continue their conversation, but I’m too busy laughing to care.

It takes nearly an hour for us to put all of Rowan’s stuff in her room. She gives her brother a hug and me a firm handshake accompanied by a glare.

I lean down and point at my cheek. “I’ll take a kiss and a thank you.”

“Will you turn back into a toad if I do?” She playfully slaps my arm, and a jolt of electricity streams through where she touched me.

“No, sweetheart. I’m already your prince.” I pucker my lips, which only causes her to groan and walk away. I deserve a medal for trying.

As we climb into the truck, I’m beaming with joy. Once we’re inside, I turn to Riley. “I think she likes me.”

He snorts. “I think you’re still drunk from last night.”

“Nope, totally sober,” I say, giving him my mini version of a sobriety test by touching my nose with the tip of my finger.

“Don’t forget I’ll kick your ass if you fuck with my sister. She’s off-limits,” he warns, being completely serious. Rowan deserves the world, and I wish I could be the one to give it to her.

I snicker. “What you don’t know won’t hurt ya, Daddy.”

“Dude! It’s sick when you call me that.”

When I start the engine, my mood shifts, and Riley notices my frown. I’m trying not to sound like a jealous stalker, but I’m not happy. “I might’ve seen who she was texting earlier.”

Riley looks at me.

“You’re not gonna like it.” Hell, I don’t either.

“Who was it?”

“Trace. That guy she hung around a couple of years ago.” Just knowing Rowan is chatting with him again makes my stomach turn. He’s old as dirt, at least ten years older than her, and I hated when she hung out with him.

“That fucking thirty-year-old?” Riley’s livid, and as I recall the memory of when she brought him to the Fourth of July party, it has me seething all over again. At least Riley hates the guy as much as I do.

“I think he was twenty-seven at the time, so almost, I guess.”

Riley lets out a growl and grips the steering wheel even tighter as he drives me to my truck that’s parked at the B&B. “What the fuck is he doing texting her?”

I suck in a deep breath, growing more agitated with every passing minute, but Riley needed to know. She won’t listen to me if I say anything, but she might listen to Riley if he tells her he doesn’t approve of him. “The message said ‘Can’t wait!’ so it sounds like they’re planning to meet up,” I explain, agitated as hell over it.

“Over my dead body,” Riley hisses. “No good can come from her dating an old fart like him, especially after the last guy cheated on her.”

The thought of any man using Rowan in the way Nick did has me ready to bust my knuckles against his face. The thought of Rowan being with another man drives me insane, and it’s something I try to ignore, though it’s hard as hell. No one will ever be good enough for her. At times, I don’t think even I can spoil and treat her the way she deserves, but I’d damn sure try.

He parks next to my Chevy and hops out, still thinking about Trace. “I’m lookin’ quite good now, aren’t I?” I waggle my brows, knowing I’m a better fit for Rowan than Trace or any man in a five hundred mile radius could ever be. “At least you know I wouldn’t cheat on her.”

With furrowed brows, he tenses. “No, because you don’t date. You just bang ’em and bail. And I’d really hate to kick your sorry ass if you touch my sister. So, don’t even think about it.”

After I give him a cocky salute, I walk to my truck. Riley honks his horn, grabbing my attention long enough to see him shooting me the bird. He’s more than amused with himself over it too. I expect nothing less from my best friend, an asshole extraordinaire who’s determined to protect his little sister.

Riley Bishop has no idea how much I want and have always wanted Rowan, and I need to figure out how to keep that shit to myself, which may be more challenging than even I realize. Especially now that she’s home, looking so goddamn beautiful, giving me all of her sass and side glances. It’s not the attention I want, but hell, I’ll take anything from her.