46
“T his is fuckin’ bullshit,” I grumble, storming into the Bullshit Box. The door slamming shakes the wall. Keena barks. My brothers stomp after me.
“Relax, kid.” Ford puts a hand on my shoulder as if restraining me. “We’ll get him.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Charlie says, “we want to kill him as much as you do.”
I roll out my neck. It does.
Chairs squeak as we all settle at our respective desks. Outside, a tractor putters across the field.
This afternoon, my brothers and I went to Pappy’s ranch, only to be hit with the news that he’s on the road for the next week. Just like the asshole. Hiding out like a fucking coward.
“You go again, you don’t go without me,” Davis demands, leveling a stern finger. “Someone’s gotta keep your ass out of a jail cell.”
“Fat fuckin’ chance.” On a growl, I slam a fist in my palm. “I want Pappy shot in the head and then skinned, and then I’ll make a pair of cowboy boots out ofhis fat fucking hide.”
“Heartless,” Ford says with a smirk.
When it comes to Fallon, yeah, I’m a fucking maniac.
Ever since Weston’s reveal, I’ve got blood on the brain. Pappy’s blood. Because that piece of shit is beyond fucked. He’s the reason Fallon got hurt that day. Beating his ass is going to be a goddamn beautiful way of making sure he never messes with the rodeo or my girl ever again.
Charlie passes me a beer from the mini fridge and nods at the hammered gold band on my hand with its distinctive markings. “That ring’s got you seein’ red.”
Ford kicks his boots up on the desk. “That ring’s got him ready to bury another body.”
My eyes narrow in suspicion. “Another?”
Davis groans and needles his brow. “Ford, you asshole.”
Charlie suddenly seems way too occupied with the label on his beer bottle.
“Okay, you dicks.” I glare at my brothers. “Stop doin’ this shit. Shuttin’ me out.”
Guilty glances make the rounds among my brothers.
Ford spins his baseball cap around, shakes his head at Davis. “C’mon. Tell the kid. We owe him that.”
Davis and Ford have some sort of psychic twin stare-down. Finally, Davis sighs. “Valiante’s buried near the falls.”
My eyes bug. “Holy fuck.” I swing my gaze between Charlie and Davis. “Who…?”
Charlie leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Doesn’t matter.”
Grinning, I look at Davis. “How’d it feel?”
A slow smile tilts his lips. “Fuckin’ beautiful.” His face sobers as he glances at us. “Now we’re all in it.”
“Damn right,” I murmur. To my grave. Anything for my brothers.
A long silence falls as we each take a sip of our beers.
“That ring,” Davis begins. “It comin’ off?”
I grin down at my hand. “Not a chance.”
“Whipped,” Ford drawls then makes wuh-PSSSH sound.
I roll my eyes. “You’re one to fuckin’ talk. Your wife’s got you wearin’ turtlenecks. I saw you at the Market, man.”
“Fuck you,” Ford snaps, and I smirk.
I smear a hand down my face. “Listen, while we’re on the subject of wives, let’s keep this—oh shit.”
The door to the Bullshit Box slams open. Fallon stands there, hands on hips, creases marring her pretty brow.
Fuck.
Her fiery gaze lands on me. “You’re an asshole, Wyatt Montgomery.” She storms toward me, those gorgeous tattoos rippling on her muscled thighs. “You went to Pappy’s without me?”
Standing, I give her what I hope is an irresistible grin. “Reconnaissance.”
“Pig.” She slams a hand to my chest. “That smile won’t work.”
I capture her wrist, pulling her toward me. “If it makes you happy, he wasn’t there. You can go next time.”
“No one’s goin’ next time,” Davis orders in his Rambo voice. “Let the article fuck him up.”
Fallon pouts. “Boring.”
While Cole Weston’s reveal still leaves some questions—who’s been leaving Fallon the flowers, who was in her cottage—we have some answers. Not all, but enough to know that Pappy’s a traitor, an embarrassment to the entire PRCA. When that article hits, his career’s over.
Fallon glares down at Davis. “If anyone’s beating that fat bastard’s ass, it’s me.”
The doorway darkens.
Ford straightens. “Hey, uh, we got more wives.”
“Oh, please,” Fallon snarks, lifting a tattooed hand. “We already know what you idiots do in here.”
“It is not plan-a-murder-night,” Dakota interjects, stepping inside. “It’s game night.”
Charlie snorts. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“ Family game night,” Reese adds, giggling as Ford tugs her onto his lap.
Ruby, blue eyes gleaming, palms her hands. Bats her lashes. “We have wine, beer, whiskey, and board games. Please .”
The four of us sigh. Charlie’s rugged expression instantly softens. No one can say no to Ruby.
Not even Fallon.
“You heard Ruby.” Fallon’s dangerous gaze flicks to me. “Let’s get violent.”
Babies are asleep. Dog and cat at our feet. Whiskey, wine, and a cheeseboard. A deck of cards on the coffee table. Domestic as fuck. But I won’t lie. I fuckin’ love it.
Love this . Fallon, looking too damn beautiful for words, stretched out beside me on the couch. Where she belongs. Where she has always belonged.
“No cheating, fuckers,” Charlie says from the recliner.
Ford, sitting on the opposite end of the U-shaped couch, looks up from his conversation with Reese. Ever since we arrived at the Edens, they’ve been talking in hushed tones. “You remember that, little brother,” he drawls.
“We can’t cheat.” Fallon arches a sharp brow. “But we can lie.”
Ruby wags a finger. She sits in Charlie’s lap, his hand stroking over her thighs. “No lying.” She smiles. “Be real.”
Murmurs of agreement float around the room.
Fallon groans, slapping a hand to her brow. “I regret ever teaching you my no-bullshit ways.”
Dakota and Reese share a smile of cahoots.
Clearing her throat, Dakota reads the instructions on a game called Cold Hard Truth that she and Reese picked up at the pharmacy.
“Draw a card from the question deck. Ask the person of your choice the question. After they answer, they choose a card and pick someone to tell the truth. It’s simple.
Get to learn more about those closest to you.
Oldest starts.” Her dark eyes glitter. “Hotshot, you’re up. ”
Davis grunts, reaching for a card. “Oldest by a minute.”
I look between him and Ford and cackle. “Hell, you’re both pushin’ forty.”
Ford raises a fist. “You’re pushing daisies, kid, you keep talkin’.”
“Listen up.” Davis clears his throat. His eyes scan the card. The tips of his ears turn pink.
“Oh, shit.” Fallon hoots. She leans forward. “The big guy’s blushing.”
Davis chuckles. “This is for you, then, smart ass. Who’s the horniest of the group?”
“Damn.” Ford laughs. “Startin’ out with a bang.”
Fallon’s eyes shoot to mine, then she looks around the room. “No offense,” she says, her smile wicked. “But no one’s hornier than Ruby.”
Ruby gasps in dismay. Her cheeks are beet red as she looks around the group and then up at her husband. “That is not…I mean, that’s not true. Is it?”
Charlie covers his face with his big hand, but the harsh wrack of his shoulders tells me he’s laughing.
Everyone’s laughing.
I stare at Fallon like a man obsessed. Her face is lit with joy.
Fallon draws a card. Hand on her heart, she says, “To the horniest of the group, Ruby, even if you’d be paid one million dollars for it, what’s something you would never do?”
“Leave the ranch,” Ruby says, her bright smile turned on all of us. “Never.” Her eyes float to Charlie’s, which are suddenly misty. “I love this life. You all are my favorites.”
“No cryin’,” Ford drawls. “We ain’t even on our second beer yet.”
The night spins on. We’re on our third round of questions, our fourth round of whiskey, when Ruby, giggling, reaches for a card. She squeaks as she reads it over.
“Okay. This is for Dakota.” She bites her lip like she’s afraid of the question then continues. “Who would you be with if not your current partner?”
Charlie and I snicker. Davis doesn’t look happy.
“I mean…” Dakota shrugs, a smile on her lips that tells me she plans to fuck with Davis. “Out of all the men in Resurrection…I could see myself with maybe…”
Davis shoots out of his seat, snatches the card from Ruby. “We’re done with this game,” he growls.
“Poor sport,” I drawl.
Davis glares then drags a hand over his head. “Makin’ me go gray, Cupcake.”
Dakota leans in, kissing him, and whispers, “Only you.”
Hard expression softening, Davis traps Dakota in his arms and leans back against the couch.
“Ford,” Dakota starts, struggling to read her card beneath Davis’s massive bicep. “If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would you choose?”
“Fuckin’ easy.” Ford scoffs. Then his gaze lands on Reese. “Reese.”
Howls from all of us.
“Oh my god.” Reese’s eyes are wide. Her cheeks pink with delight. Embarrassment. “You’re disgusting, Ford.”
He laughs, slaps her ass. “Okay, Birdie, you’re up.” Reading his card, he says, “Who is most likely to get into a bar fight?”
Ford throws the card in the air in defeat. Everyone groans, their gazes snapping to me and Fallon.
Fallon waves her fingers, tattoos rippling.
“I don’t even need to answer that,” Reese quips, drawing a card. “Wyatt.” Her emerald eyes gleam. “What’s the biggest secret you’ve ever kept?”
“Not that,” Charlie booms when my eyes flick to Fallon. “We already know that one.”
“Don’t be a chicken,” Reese teases.
“Hell, you’re puttin’ me on the spot,” I try to joke. I know my voice holds a sliver of trepidation, but I can’t help it.
Weight settles in my chest. For so long, I’ve held this secret about Younger. One that ate at me over the years. I’m tired of it. Tired of always trying to convince everyone I’m the fun one who doesn’t get too worked up about life, doesn’t take anything too seriously.
Fallon slips her tattooed fingers through mine and whispers, “Tell them, Wyatt. It’s time.”
My heart hammers. She’s right. If everyone else can be honest, so can I. I’ve got the bravest woman in the world by my side.
Davis frowns. “Tell us what?”
At the expectant stares, I clear my dry throat then say, “I lied to y’all. About the training job.”
“Ain’t no secret you hate it,” Ford says. “Picked up on that pretty damn loud and clear.”
“I don’t hate it because I quit rodeo.” I pause and take a deep breath before continuing. “I hate it because of Younger.”
“Younger?” Charlie frowns. “But he’s the best.”
“Yeah. He is.” I jerk my head in a nod. “Remember that horseback riding accident I got into when I was fourteen?”
The room gets deathly quiet, and my brothers tense, their faces pained. Everyone in my family had been a wreck, coming home from their jobs, taking time away to be there for me. I’ll never forget that.
I swallow the brick in my throat and say, “It wasn’t an accident.”
Ford looks startled, his eyes slicing to Charlie’s.
Davis tenses, shifts on the couch. “What are you talkin’ about?”
Fallon squeezes my fingers, urging me on. Giving me her strength.
“I lied.” I look up. “It was Younger. He beat the shit out of me.”
A gasp from Ruby.
Eyes dark with tears, Dakota whips her head to Davis.
My brother’s expression transforms from confusion to rage. “ He did that?”
I swallow the bile in my throat. “Yeah. He did.”
“Talk, Wyatt,” Davis demands, drilling a finger into the table in front of him. “Right now.”
Unable to sit still, I push up from the couch. I tell them what I told Fallon, explaining how Younger would hit the horses. How when I tried to intervene, he beat the shit out of me. How I’m afraid to send those kids to any of his training facilities except my own.
When I’m finished, I’m pacing. A blanket of tense silence falls across the room. Ruby sniffles. Reese wipes at her cheek.
Ford, gaze blazing, rips up off the couch. “Motherfucker. That piece of shit motherfucker.”
Reese stands and slips a hand over his shoulder like she’s restraining him.
All the while, Fallon keeps her fierce gaze on me, letting me know she’s here.
Color drained from his face, Ford tears a hand through his hair. “You were in that hospital for a goddamn week, kid. He broke your fuckin’ ribs, your—” Voice breaking, Ford can’t go on. He looks to Davis. “Younger’s dead. That motherfucker’s dead.”
Davis doesn’t disagree. No one does.
Charlie, a muscle in his beaded jaw pulsing, asks, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
I’m honest. “Younger was a big deal. I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.”
“We would have believed you.” Charlie’s deep voice is pained.
“I know that now.” I nod at Fallon. Emotion swirls in her hazel eyes. “She helped me see it.” All summer, my beautiful, resilient girl’s shown me how to face a fucked-up past. You can run, but you can’t run forever. Confronting it, turning pain into power, is what I have to do with Younger.
My girl’s made me brave. Braver than I’d ever be without her.
Eyes blazing, Davis rises from the couch, stepping into my space. He puts both hands on my shoulders. “You never should have gone through that alone. I’m sorry, Wyatt.”
I let out a rush of breath, my heart squeezing painfully. “Hell, it ain’t your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault but Younger’s.” I know that now.
Davis hauls me into a hug. “I’m still sorry.”
“It’s okay, man,” I mutter, crushed by his grip.
More arms come around us then, squeezing tight. My older brothers.
“Move over, assholes,” Fallon grumbles, worming her way through the tight cluster of muscle and men. Her slender arms wrap around my waist, and she buries herself against my chest. Just like that, the noise, the world, falls away. Just us.
Hand on my cheeks, she looks up into my eyes. “You did it.”
I grin. “Yeah, Trouble, I did.”