15. Bowen
CHAPTER 15
BOWEN
I push through the back doors of the lobby, balancing a stack of crisp, freshly laundered towels as I make my way toward the Pillow Plow Palace suite. There’s not much time left before our VIP guests arrive, and in my opinion, the place is already set up just fine.
But our new marketing director, Priya, has me jumping through every damn hoop imaginable. Normally, I’d push back, but if you saw her, you’d understand why I don’t. I make it through the courtyard in five minutes flat and shove the door open without a second thought.
“Hey! Get the hell out of here!” Alex’s voice booms through the room, sharp and unyielding. It makes me jolt mid-step.
“Man, you get the hell out of here,” I fire back, annoyed and confused. “I’ve been calling you all morning. What the hell are you even—” I reach for the light switch, flip it on, and instantly freeze.
Alex stands in front of me, completely naked. This isn’t the picture of my big brother I want to hold in my mind.
“What the actual fuck man? Why is your ass a solid three shades lighter than the rest of you? Why am I going to have to go to my grave with this picture of you in my head now? At least you have the decency to face away from me, but why are you naked… what’s wrong with you?”
The sight of a comforter moving behind him draws my attention. I realize that Alex isn’t alone. I look again to catch the sight of Cassidy wrapped in nothing but the plush comforter from the bed. As we lock eyes her face turns a shade of hot pink that I didn’t know was possible for a human. Then her head slowly disappears beneath the blanket. Realization dawns and a deep, uncontrollable roar of laughter rips out of me before I can stop it.
“Close the damn door!” Alex barks, his face a mix of rage and sheer panic, but I don’t budge.
I shake my head, grinning with no intention of letting this go anytime soon “Alex, I honestly can’t decide which version of you I liked better—the broody, hard-up loner, or this .” I gesture toward him, still laughing. “I mean, you’re definitely nicer now, but at least before, I never had to see your damn ass. ”
Cassidy groans from her hiding spot on the bed.
“Welcome to the family, sis,” I call out through my laughter.
Alex is still shooting daggers in my direction when he bends over to pick up a shoe. The sight is like something out of a fucking horror movie. Then he chucks it at my head hard enough to put a hole in the door. He’s agile for a big dude.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’m leaving! If you damage this place before the big arrival Priya’s gonna kill both of us. And Alex, when you’re, uh… done, the guys and I are meeting over at The Velvet Spur . It’s important. We’ll wait for you.”
Another shoe flies in my direction, and I barely manage to duck as I pull the door shut behind me. As I head down the hallway, I can’t help but grin. It’s good to see Alex settled. The dude deserves it. Cassidy deserves it too.
She’s like the older sister I never had. As a bonus, she comes with a kid who is funny as hell. He’s smart too. They’ve both brought something to this place. And since I’m not planning to settle down anytime soon, it’s been nice having a little family around.
By the time Alex makes it up to The Velvet Spur , the rest of us are already gathered, drinks in hand, waiting. All except for Fallon of course, that dude isn’t slated to be home for another few months still. I’ve kept the discussion under wraps, but there was no way I could resist spilling the other tea.
Alex shoves the door open. His eyes sweep the room like he’s already expecting trouble.
“Hey, man. You look… relaxed.” Holden flashes Alex an enormous grin.
Alex’s expression darkens. His gaze locks on Holden and then he cuts his eyes in my direction. “You fucking told them.”
The room explodes into laughter.
“I mean, how could I not ?” I shrug, barely suppressing a smirk. “The desecration of the Pillow Plow Palace suite by you of all people? That’s legendary.”
Holden claps a hand on his chest. “Our boy’s all grown up. Finally getting some.”
Alex mutters a curse under his breath, but there’s the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips.
“I’m just glad you’re blowing off some steam,” Holden chimes back in, raising his beer. “I was starting to worry you’d forgotten how.”
“Enough already. What the hell is this meeting about?” Alex grumbles.
I lean forward, my grin fading. “That guy from the hoedown. The one poking around where he shouldn’t be. He’s been back a few times wandering around the ranch. I couldn’t track him down myself, but you know how people talk. Patty June says he was out back today the last time she checked.” I tip my chin toward Alex. “Before we had to wait on you to, uh… finish up your business. I thought maybe we’d catch him roaming.”
Another round of laughter ripples through the group. Alex exhales sharply, his amusement vanishing.
“What the hell does he want?” Geoffrey demands, leaning forward.
“No clue,” I admit. “But I figure it’s time we find out.”
Alex doesn’t hesitate. “Let’s go see if he’s here.”
Before I can make a move, Alex grabs a set of keys and swings himself into the driver’s seat of one of our work trucks. It’s probably for the best—because as soon as I hop into the passenger side, the rest of the guys pile into the back like a damn clown car. If I had been driving, we’d have lost a few before we even hit the gravel road. We take the long route, circling the bottom of the ranch near the stables before heading up toward Bareback Haven Spa .
That’s when I see him.
A tall, broad-shouldered man leans against the backside of the spa. He’s got a camera in hand and appears to be snapping pictures of the fields beyond the split rail. On the surface, he looks harmless enough. But he’s hiding out on our ranch and that isn’t going to fly.
I don’t like it. Unfortunately for him, neither do my brothers. It’s not just his presence, there’s something about the way he carries himself that sets me on edge.
Alex doesn’t hesitate. Without a word, he slams his foot on the gas, and the truck lurches forward. We come to an abrupt stop just three feet from the guy. I commit the chaos to memory for use the next time Alex gives me shit about my driving.
Gravel kicks up around us and the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. Any normal dude would be pissing his pants right about now. But this guy doesn’t look bothered and that’s one more reason not to like him.
I hop out first, but the second my boots hit the ground, I hesitate. There’s something unsettlingly familiar about this man. I’ve never seen him before, I’m sure of it. Alex must clock the same thing I do because he hesitates.
Alex lifts a hand, silently telling the guys in the back to stay put. But they climb out anyway, filing in behind us like a damn wall of muscle. The man finally turns to face us. But he hardly makes the effort of putting his camera down. Instead, his gaze sweeps over our lineup of broad shoulders and clenched jaws. He doesn’t flinch. Something like amusement flickers across his face.
“Wow,” he says, scanning each of us like we’re a puzzle he’s just figured out. “So it’s true. Yeah, I can see it. Interesting.”
One thing is for certain, this dude ain’t from around here. Not with that West Coast accent.
Alex steps forward and his tone goes from neutral to lethal in the span of a breath. “Are you here on behalf of Mayor Randolph Bellcourt? Because if you are, I’ve got a message you can take back to him.”
The man holds up a hand, shaking his head and he lets out an airy chuckle. “No, no. I’m not here on behalf of anyone but myself.” He waves Alex off like he’s unbothered by the way we’re closing in around him.
The sheer nerve of this dude is unreal. If I wasn’t so worried about him being here, I might actually be impressed.
“I’m interested in Kingridge Ranch . Not in buying it or anything—just the history, the roots, that kind of thing.”
I cross my arms over my chest, my jaw tightening. “And you are?”
He grins and it’s as casual as can be. Then he extends a hand like we’re at some kind of meet-and-greet. “Oh, I’m Danner . Nice to meet you.”
Behind me, Holden snorts. “Tanner?”
The guy shakes his head. “No— Danner . With a D .” His expression sobers slightly. I see the first inkling of hesitation creeping into his features. “I, uh… I don’t know much about my father. But I do know he was insistent that my name start with a D .”
I take a dizzying step backward and shoot a look at Alex. It can’t be. It isn’t possible. Holden and Geoffrey use my silence as an opportunity to start peppering Danner with questions, but I can’t hear them anymore. I take him in again. The broad shoulders, the strong jawline, something familiar in his eyes.
The pieces shift into place and it clicks. I feel the ground move beneath me.
Alexander. Bowen. Callum.
Danner?