Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
brADY
“ C ome on, girls, it’s going to be a bitch of a winter.” I crack my whip and maneuver my horse through the snowy pasture, herding our cattle to a meadow closer to the barn, where we can keep an eye on these ladies during the coldest months of the year. Winter in Bitterroot Valley, Montana is a bitch, and it’s only early December, which means we haven’t even hit the solstice yet. We’ve already seen record snowfall this year, which tells us that it’s going to be a long, cold season.
And we need to make sure these girls make it through calving season in a few months.
“Storm’s moving in,” my oldest brother, Remington, yells out to me, and I tip my head back to look up at the sky. The wind has picked up, and the clouds have dropped and grown darker.
“Fuck,” I mutter and crack the whip again before I call back to him. “We’ll be down this hill in an hour!”
“Let’s hope the blizzard holds out that long,” Lucky, our senior ranch hand, replies. He’s got to be ninety if he’s a day. I swear, there’s never been a time when Lucky wasn’t old as fuck. And no one on this ranch knows what they’re doing better than him.
Which is saying something, because my family has owned this land for well over a hundred years. My father, leading us all up ahead, passed the reins on to Remington a few years ago. Ranching, cattle ranching, is in our blood. It’s who we are.
It’s what we do.
But shit, I think Lucky worked for my grandfather once upon a time.
I wonder if he’s a goddamn vampire.
When we’re about a mile from the pasture that the cattle will spend the winter in, the snow starts to blow harder. None of us, the humans or the animals, want to be out here in this, but it reinforces that it’s the right time to move the herd.
We might not be able to get to them in a few days, and they’ll have a better chance of survival if we can watch them.
With our heads down and our minds on the work, we get everyone safely into the fenced field in less than the hour that I predicted.
“I’ll get the water,” Bruiser, another of our men, shouts as he swings off his horse and hurries to the troughs to fill them with fresh drinking water for our cows.
Despite the troughs being heated to keep them from freezing, we’ll have to come out here several times a day to break up ice that’ll form on the top.
Montana is fucking brutal.
But damn if I don’t love her.
We work as a team to spread hay, and when everyone is settled into their new home, we lead the horses into the barn so they can warm up and rest. We all put in one hell of a day.
I take my time with my boy, Blackjack, giving him apples and brushing him well before I settle a blanket on his back and kiss his cheek.
“You did great today, boy.” He nudges my shoulder, and I grin, ignoring the twinge that’s always there in that joint. “Yeah, we both did, huh? Good boy. I’ll see you in the mornin’. You get some rest.”
I kiss him once more and then close the door of his stable behind me as I walk out with the others.
“Want to come in for dinner?” Remington asks me, then narrows his eyes on me when I roll that same shoulder.
“You could join us, too, if you want,” Bruiser adds. We have a house here for the hands to live in, and those cowboys make some damn good food.
I usually eat at either my brother’s or with the hands, but I shake my head.
“Thanks, guys, but I have a date tonight.”
My brother turns and frowns at me in surprise. I don’t usually date at all, and I would never announce it to anyone, so the look on his face makes me laugh.
“I’m taking Daisy to the father/daughter dance at her school.”
“Shit, that’s right,” Rem says, dragging his hand down his face. “I have to take Holly to that. I’d better go get cleaned up.”
“Me, too.”
“Have fun,” Lucky says with a wave. “I’m gonna go put some chili on the stove.”
The other two men walk in the direction of the bunkhouse, and I walk with Rem out to his truck.
“I guess I’ll see you there,” I say with a wink.
“I hate these things,” Rem complains with a sigh. “I love my girl, but I hate dances.”
“Come on, it’s only a couple of hours.” I laugh again and head over to my 4Runner. “See you later.”
“Wait,” Rem says, his hands on his hips. “That shoulder giving you trouble?”
I shake my head with a sigh. “You know my long list of injuries over the years, Rem. Something’s always giving me trouble. It’s the cost of being a cowboy.”
“You’re an idiot,” he reminds me.
With a laugh and a wave, I hop into the vehicle and drive the couple of miles over to the old cabin that I live in here on the Wild River Ranch. It’s the oldest dwelling on the property, and it could use some updating, but it suits me fine. I’ve lived in the tiny two-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin for almost a decade, and I haven’t needed anything more.
Besides, I really only sleep here. I’m always working the ranch or riding a bull. At the very least, I train on the drop barrel daily so I don’t get rusty. There’s no time for anything else.
But when Daisy asked me to take her to her little dance, the night that my brother Ryan proposed to Polly, I couldn’t say no. She reminds me of Snow White, with her dark hair and deep brown eyes. She’s the cutest little thing, and she was so…earnest when she asked.
Only an asshole would have turned her down.
Besides, I like the kid. She hangs out with Holly all the time, and Daisy’s mom, Abbi, is always with my sisters, since they started up their women in business group. And that part, the part where Abbi’s always around? That’s harder to swallow.
Because she’s fucking beautiful. I want to have my way with her, and nothing good can come of that, so I have to keep my distance.
“Good job doing that,” I mutter as I finish in the shower and towel off. “Taking her kid somewhere is definitely not the way to stay away from the mom.”
I shake my head in disgust as I get dressed. I’m wearing a goddamn suit tonight. I usually only do that for weddings and funerals.
And yet, here I am, the consummate bachelor, taking a little girl to her dance.
My phone pings with a text, and I see that it’s Abbi.
Abbi: Hey! The snow is really coming down here. We understand if you don’t want to brave the roads to come all the way into town from the ranch tonight. It might not be safe.
I smirk. I’ve been driving into town from this ranch for half my life. Sure, I’ll take it easy, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
Me: I’ll be there in an hour.
The bubble bounces, then stops for several seconds before it comes back, as if she doesn’t know what to say.
Abbi: Okay, we will see you soon. Please be careful.
After I tie my purple tie—Daisy was sure to let me know that she’d be wearing her favorite color, purple , to the dance—I grab my black Stetson and head out. Of course, I have a stop to make before I get to Abbi’s place.
Abbi was right; the roads into town are a bitch. I have to slow way down because it’s hard to see through the blowing snow, but I reach Bitterroot Valley without a mishap.
And just before my sister-in-law, Summer, closes her flower shop for the day.
“I just caught you.” I grin at Summer as I walk into her store. “Sorry, would have been here sooner, but the roads were shit. Hey, Chase.”
My brother, Chase, is standing by the counter, obviously waiting for his wife to finish working for the day.
“It’s bad enough out there that I’m taking Summer home with me, and we’ll get her car tomorrow,” Chase says.
“Good idea. That bend at Half Moon is icy. Be careful.”
“Will do,” Chase says with a nod.
“I have your flowers ready,” Summer says with a big grin and hurries into the big walk-in refrigerator where she keeps the flowers. She returns with a clear plastic box holding a corsage of purple roses and a bouquet of pink and orange flowers whose name is completely lost on me.
“Nice,” Chase says with a grin. “All of that for Daisy?”
“Fuck off,” I warn him, but my brother’s smile only grows. “I can’t take flowers to one and not the other.”
“Right, ‘cause that would be rude,” Chase says, and Summer rolls her eyes.
“Be nice to your brother,” she tells her husband. “He’s doing a really fun, cute thing for that little girl.”
“Yeah,” I agree, making Chase laugh.
“It is nice of you,” he concedes. “And you look…spiffy.”
“I don’t want to have to punch you and get blood all over my outfit.”
“I’m in uniform,” he points out. “I don’t want to have to arrest you for assaulting an officer.”
I smirk and pay Summer for the flowers.
“Be careful out there,” I call out to them as I walk to the door.
“Have fun,” Summer calls back.
Abbi lives in a little neighborhood of townhomes on the edge of town. It’s a newer area, with a park for Daisy and sidewalks and trees. It’s a nice part of town, which makes me feel good because I know that they’re safe.
And I don’t even want to think about why that’s something I worry about.
I pull into the driveway of Abbi’s end unit and cut the engine, and with the flowers in hand, I make my way to the door, which is immediately opened by Daisy, who is currently jumping up and down in her ruffly purple dress.
“You’re here! You’re here!”
“Well, hello there, Princess.” I wink at her and step inside when Abbi gestures, keeping most of the cold outside. When the door is closed, I offer Abbi her bouquet of flowers, and her gorgeous blue eyes soften. “For you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” But she buries her nose in a bloom and fusses over them in that way that women do that makes a man feel like he gave them the world. “Thank you.”
“And for my gorgeous date, we have this.” I present the box, and Daisy frowns down at it.
“What is it?”
“A corsage,” Abbi says with a laugh. “Come on, let me set these in the kitchen, and we’ll get the corsage on you, baby.”
“Okay.” Daisy takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen. I like this townhome, with its open floor plan. This floor is just the kitchen and living room, with a door out to the garage, and another that I assume is a half bath.
The bedrooms are upstairs.
“You look handsome,” Daisy says with a bright smile. “And your tie matches my dress!”
“I heard a rumor that you’d be wearing purple.”
Daisy giggles. “I told you, silly.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Well, your dress is super pretty, and your hair is all curly.”
“Mommy did it,” she says shyly, gently touching the curls that fall around her shoulders.
“Here, I know how to do this, thanks to prom about a million years ago,” Abbi says as she takes the corsage out of the box and slips the wristband around Daisy’s wrist, tightening it to fit.
“This way,” Daisy says, “it’s easier for me to sniff them.”
She does and then closes her eyes, as if it’s the best thing she’s ever smelled.
“Good?” Abbi asks.
“I’m gonna smell them all night. Can we go now?”
“Pictures first,” Abbi says, grabbing her phone. “Here, stand by the fireplace.”
We pose for photos. In some, I’m holding Daisy’s hand. In others, I’m squatting next to her, and she has her arms around my neck.
It all makes me wonder where her father is. Who would willingly miss out on something this great?
Before long, we’re on our way to the school where the dance is being held. Daisy’s in the back seat of my 4Runner, chatting away.
The kid never shuts up, but it’s kind of cute.
“Robert is nice,” she says, “but he has red hair.”
“You don’t like red hair?”
I glance in the rearview and see her frown, thinking it over. “I do. Polly has red hair, and I like her.”
“Okay, so what’s wrong with his red hair?”
“It’s just…I can’t say because Mom says it’s mean.”
I frown back at her. “You’re not a mean girl.”
“ I know. Okay, if I tell you, you can’t tell Mom I said it.”
“Cross my heart.”
“What does that mean?”
I grin as I pull into the parking lot.
“It means that I promise not to tell.”
“Okay. So, I don’t like Robert’s hair because it looks like spaghetti sauce.”
I wait, positive that there’s more to this story, but she doesn’t say anything else. So, I pull into a parking spot and cut the engine, unbuckle my seatbelt, and turn to look at the little girl who’s staring back at me with sober brown eyes.
“ That’s why you don’t like him?”
“I don’t like spaghetti.” She leans her head back in despair. “We had to play duck, duck, goose the other day in the gym, and I didn’t want to touch his hair.”
“Because it looks like spaghetti.”
She nods solemnly.
“And what don’t you like about spaghetti?” Now I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever eat it again.
“It looks like Robert’s hair,” she says, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Well, sweetie, I think of all the things in the world, this isn’t so bad. You don’t have to touch his hair or eat spaghetti.”
“Okay, good. Let’s go in!”
I learned a few things during the dance.
One, little girls will dance forever if given the chance, and they give zero shits about silly things like keeping their shoes on or if anyone cares what they look like.
Two, my brother may have moaned and groaned about going to this thing, but he indulged the hell out of Holly all evening and never once frowned or complained.
Three, Robert’s hair does, indeed, look like spaghetti sauce.
And four, I am completely smitten with a little girl.
Of course, I already knew number four. I’ve had a soft spot for Daisy since the first time I met her, so I’m glad that I came tonight and that she didn’t have to sit this one out because her dad isn’t around.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say to Remington, keeping my voice down. We’re each holding a little girl, and both of them are passed out cold. “They danced until they dropped.”
Rem grins and waves before we go our separate ways to our vehicles. I ease Daisy into her booster seat and then drive the five minutes to her house.
The snow hasn’t stopped falling. If anything, it’s only started falling harder, which means the drive home will be an adventure.
Daisy doesn’t even stir when I lift her out of the 4Runner and walk up to the door, where Abbi must be watching because she opens it when I approach.
“I saw your lights,” she says and smiles at her daughter, her eyes softening. “She must have had fun.”
“I’ve only seen more dancing on Footloose ,” I confirm, making her chuckle. “I’ll carry her up.”
“Thanks.” Abbi gestures up the stairs. I know which bedroom is Daisy’s because I helped them home a couple of weeks ago after Ryan and Polly’s engagement party.
It doesn’t take us long to have Daisy in her pajamas, her corsage off and safely in its box, and tucked into bed, and I follow Abbi back downstairs.
“Are you hungry?” Abbi asks.
Truthfully, I’m starving. And it must show on my face because Abbi grins and crooks her finger for me to follow her into the kitchen.
“I have some leftover meatloaf from dinner. I can make you a sandwich, if you want?”
“That sounds damn good.” I take off my jacket and set it on a chair at her small kitchen table, loosen my tie, and sit at the kitchen island as I roll up my sleeves. I love the way her home feels warm from the fire and from the glow of Christmas lights from the tree in the corner.
When Abbi turns back around, her eyes go wide.
“Problem?” I ask.
“No. No, of course not. You should get comfortable. Was Daisy good for you?”
“Daisy’s always good,” I reply with a grin. “She’s smart, and she listens. She had a blast dancing with her friends, and I even cut a rug with her a couple of times. That seemed to make her happy.”
“I’m sure it did,” Abbi says with a chuckle as she slices the meatloaf and sets it on the buttered bread. “My daughter is quite taken with you, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“It goes both ways.” She slides the plate my way and then opens her fridge.
“Would you like some lemonade? Water? I don’t keep soda because Daisy likes it too much, so we save it for a treat. I do have beer, if you want that.”
“Water’s perfect, thank you.” I’d tell her she doesn’t have to go to so much trouble, but the truth is, I like being here with her, even though I know I shouldn’t. I take a bite and sigh when the flavor hits my tongue. “Jesus, this is good.”
So, she’s gorgeous, and she can cook. I’m fucked.
“If I’d known you hadn’t eaten, I would have fed you before you went to the dance.” She puts the rest of the leftovers away and wipes down her countertop. Abbi’s house is clean. Sure, there are a few things out here and there that show that the house is lived in, but it’s all clean. Which makes sense, given that she owns a private cleaning company here in town.
“It’s okay,” I reply. “I just had a busy day. We had to herd cattle from higher ground, down near the barn so we can keep an eye on them in this weather. We don’t want to lose any of them.”
“Of course not.” Once she’s finished tidying up, she leans on the counter, and I get a front-row view of her impressive cleavage.
What am I doing here? I should go home. I should get the hell out of here, where I’m not tempted to make moves on a woman that I absolutely can’t fuck around with.
“This was delicious,” I say after finishing the last bite. “Thanks for it.”
I take my plate to the sink, rinse it, and then set it in her dishwasher.
“Are you sure it’s safe for you to drive home?” Abbi asks with a frown as she nibbles on her bottom lip. “It’s snowed another foot since you picked up Daisy.”
I sigh, looking toward the windows where the snow is coming down hard, and shoot my brother, Chase, a text. “Let me check with Chase.”
Me: How nasty are the roads?
Almost immediately, he replies.
Chase: Rem just texted. He barely made it home without going off the road. Had to crawl. It’s a shitshow out there.
I show her the response, and she cringes.
“Stay here,” she says, and my whole body reacts at her suggestion. “I have a guest room upstairs, and I’d feel better if I knew that you were safe. The storm should pass by morning.”
“Abbi, you don’t have to?—”
“Am I that repulsive?” she demands, her hands on her hips now, and we’re caught here, between the island and the sink, and I want to kiss her more than I want my next breath. “I know I’m not a skinny woman, and I’m a mom, but I’m only suggesting you stay here, where it’s safe. You don’t have to worry about me getting naked and trying to have my wicked way with you when my daughter is twelve feet away.”
Her eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth with her hand, clearly horrified that she said the words out loud.
“Oh, God,” she whispers.
“Number one,” I begin, and immediately move in, sliding my hand over her round hip, my fingertips pressing into her, as I cage her in against the countertop. “You’re every fucking fantasy I’ve ever had, so don’t ever say that shit about yourself again. Got it?”
She’s watching me intently as she nods, and her hand falls from her face.
“Number two.” I lick my lips as my gaze slips down to her mouth. “I want to kiss you. I won’t take it further. I know Daisy’s right upstairs, but fuck me, I want to kiss you, Abbi.”
She doesn’t pull away. She doesn’t say no, and by the way her breathing has just gone ragged, I take that as consent.
My hold tightens on her hip, and I cup her jaw with my free hand as my mouth descends to hers, and I nibble. I take my time tasting her before I sink in and take. She moans deep in her throat as she shifts closer to me, presses those fan-fucking-tastic tits against me, and her hand dives into the hair at the nape of my neck, and I am completely lost to her.
Fuck me, I’ve wanted this for months. I have no business doing it. None whatsoever, but I’ll be damned if I can stop.
Finally, though, I loosen my hold on her, and she pulls away, just out of my reach. She’s breathing hard. Her blue eyes are on fire as she watches me, and her blonde hair is the perfect halo of light around her, illuminated by the firelight and Christmas lights in the living room.
“Every goddamn fantasy,” I repeat before swallowing hard. “And your curves? Jesus Christ, Abbi, your curves are enough to kill a man.”
She giggles, pushes her hands through her hair, and turns away from me, pacing.
“You’ll sleep here,” she insists after swallowing hard and clearing her throat. “Because I don’t want to worry about you getting home safely.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I shove my hands into my pockets so I don’t reach for her again. “I have a bag in my SUV with necessities.”
She lifts an eyebrow, and I grin.
“I get pretty messy at the rodeo and at the ranch. It pays to have extra things on hand.”
“Ah. Makes sense. Go ahead and grab it.”
With a nod, I hurry outside, through the falling snow and wind that’s just flat-out obnoxious, and retrieve the bag from the back seat. When I return inside, the lights are off, and Abbi’s waiting to escort me upstairs.
Her ass sways back and forth as she climbs the steps ahead of me, and I have to swallow hard and think about something other than burying my face between her legs. Baseball. Branding season. Getting bucked off of a pissed-off bull and dislocating my shoulder.
Again.
Nope, even that didn’t do it.
“You’re in here,” she says, gesturing to the fourth door on this floor. “You’ll have to share a bathroom with Daisy.”
“No problem.” I grin and walk inside, setting my bag on the queen-sized bed. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. I’m making pancakes for breakfast, in case you want to stay in the morning.”
“Just for me?”
She laughs softly and shakes her head. “No. We have pancakes every Sunday. Good night, Brady.”
“’Night, Abs.”
She bites her lip and flushes, as if she wants to say something else, but she decides against it and closes the door behind her.
When I’m alone, I blow out a breath and shake my head. I shouldn’t have kissed her, no matter how badly I wanted to. But damn it, hearing her say that I might not find her attractive was fucking ridiculous. Does the woman not know how damn hot she is?
I guess not.
I was happy to remind her.
But this can’t become a habit because I can never commit to her, and she’s a mother. You don’t fuck around with that. She deserves so much more than I can give her.