Cowgirl Up and Ride (28 page)

“You took care of the cattle? And the horses? And fixin’ fence and mowin’ ditches?

And breedin’ and brandin’?”

“After the first calving season Daddy started selling off cow/calf pairs. By the time I was fifteen all the cattle were gone. Dad told everyone he wanted early retirement and we leased most the grazing land. Then I just had to deal with the other ranch stuff you’re always talking about.”

“You didn’t ask my dad, my brothers, my cousins, or any of the McKays? You have to know that someone in my family would’ve helped you out—”

“Which family, Cord? Colby was rodeoin’. Cam joined the service. Carter was at college. You were living in Seattle, which left Colt. Your McKay cousins, Kane, Kade, Quinn and Bennett had to do all the rest of the work—except for Chase who was still in high school—and they had to hire out, remember? The McKay ranch is fifty times the size of ours. So your family couldn’t have helped us even if my dad hadn’t had too much pride to ask.”

“AJ—”

“I’m warning you, Cord, drop it.”

“Like hell.”

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AJ reined Nickel the opposite direction, snapped the reins and raced back to the barn like the hounds of hell nipped at her heels.

Cord was right on her horse’s tail. But all thoughts of continuing the discussion were lost when she noticed Colby’s pickup screaming up the driveway as she reached the fence beside the barn. She jerked Nickel to a stop, causing Cord to do the same with Jester.

He snapped, “What now?”

“Do you want me to hide in the barn until Colby leaves?”

“Fuck that. I’m sick of this hidin’ shit. I think it’s time we told everyone the truth about us—”

“Cord!”

They turned to see Colby running toward them.

A sick feeling churned in AJ’s stomach. Colby. Running.

“You gotta come. Dag had an accident.”

“Dag? What the hell happened?”

“We ain’t sure.”

“He okay?”

Colby shook his head. “He’s dead.”

Shock hung in the air.

AJ said, “Go on, Cord. Be with your family. I’ll take care of the horses.”

Neither he nor Colby said another word as they climbed into Colby’s truck and roared off.

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Four days later…

Cord sat next to his brother Carter in the church basement after Dag’s funeral service. Everyone was somber, still in a state of shock over Dag’s death.

Sometimes a tragedy will pull a family apart. But it had the opposite effect with the Wests and McKays, by putting an end to the rift between them. Carson and Cal and Charlie McKay and all of Dag’s male McKay cousins—less Cam who was in Iraq—were pallbearers right alongside the eight West cousins.

The church had been packed with family, members of the community and lots of young rodeo cowboys. They’d all been holding up fairly well until Dag’s buddy Trevor Glanzer brought the traditional riderless horse to the funeral procession of cars headed to the graveyard.

In the last four days, Dag’s father, Harland, aged twenty years. He refused to let his daughter, Chassie, out of his sight. Cord’s mother shooed Chassie away to give her a much needed break from her father’s overwhelming grief, and Carolyn stayed beside her grieving brother. The only other time Cord had seen his mother so distraught was two years ago when Colby nearly died from a rodeo injury.

Cord’s gaze swept the table. Carter and Macie. Colby and Channing. Keely. Kane and Kade. Chase McKay and his older brothers Quinn and Bennett. Cash Big Crow.

Trevor. But Trevor went to comfort Chassie and they disappeared outside. Cord imagined it wouldn’t be much longer before he’d be hearing another set of wedding bells. Better that than the somber tones of a funeral dirge.

Colt was conspicuously absent. He’d been at the service and the burial, but no one knew where he’d gone afterward. No one said it, but everyone knew his brother was drinking someplace. And of all the stupid fucking things to do…drinking was what’d gotten Dag killed.

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Dag had still been half-drunk from a hard night of partying when he’d started chores Saturday morning. The assumption was Dag passed out on the tractor, drifted into the ditch where the tractor flipped on top of him and crushed him. Luckily Trevor discovered Dag that afternoon, not Harland. God knows that would’ve killed his uncle and they’d be having a double funeral.

Ranching was a dangerous life. Fatal accidents happened all the time. Not in their family in recent years. And not because of a bad decision that could’ve easily been avoided.

A fucking senseless waste of a life.

Jesus. He couldn’t believe Dag was dead. None of them could.

Voices murmured. Cord loosened his tie and Keely caught him looking at his watch.

“What time do you have to leave?”

“In about an hour.”

“You sure you want to go alone? I could drive you.”

“Thanks, sis, but I’ll be fine. It’s gonna be a quick trip.”

“Did you talk to him today?”

“Yeah. He don’t understand and I’ve done a poor job explainin’ it to him.” By the time Cord decided to tell Ky what’d happened to Dag, his son had plain gone into hysterics and demanded to come home. Oddly enough, Marla agreed Ky should be with him. They’d changed the plane reservations and Cord was scheduled to leave on the last flight out of Cheyenne to Denver, en route to Seattle. As happy as he’d be to see his boy for the first time in a month, a layer of sadness dimmed his enthusiasm. Death changed everything.

Carter shoved his empty cup across the table. “Sorry I’m gonna miss seein’ the little squirt, but we can’t stick around.”

“My fault,” Cash said. “I doan wanna leave Gem alone with the twins overnight. She says she can handle them but she shouldn’t have to. We brought two horse trailers and we still need to load up the horses I bought from AJ before we take off.”

Cord’s stomach clenched at the mention of AJ’s name.

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“That means you guys are leavin’ me to deal with Colt once I track him down?”

Colby asked.

Shit. Cord hadn’t thought of that. “Can it wait until I get back?”

“What am I, Colby, chopped liver? I didn’t get to knock some sense into Carter the last time we had a McKay fall out of line, so I’m entitled to let loose on another one of my stupidly clueless brothers.” Keely gave Cord a pointed look.

“What?”

“You know
what
.”

Kane said, “Don’t sweat it. Kade and I’ll be around.”

Quinn scratched his head beneath his hat. “Count me and Bennett in, if you give us enough warning so we can make the drive. Chase has gotta get back on the road too.”

“Where you competin’ next?” Cash asked.

“Wichita. Big purse. Lotsa points.”

“That’s a long way. You drivin’ straight through?”

Chase nodded.

“Good luck and be careful.” When Cash stood to leave, everyone at the table followed suit.

After Cord was on the road, he heard his cell phone beeping and he saw he’d missed a call from AJ. Damn. They’d been playing phone tag for a couple of days. The day after Dag died she’d gone to Billings with Jenn to get her mother moved into the assisted living facility. She wouldn’t be back until after he and Ky returned.

Yeah, he knew it was over. He knew he shouldn’t call her back. He should just let it go. He should just let
her
go. But the idea of not seeing her again? Not talking to her?

Not laughing with her? Not touching her? That was just another reason why his reunion with Ky would be so bittersweet.

He hit redial anyway and left her another message. Cell service through Wyoming was spotty at best so he knew chances were slim they’d actually connect. Why did everything in life have to be so goddamn hard?

Why don’t you just buck up and tell her how you feel?

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Right. So she could walk away from him?

Maybe she’d stay.

Nah. The die was cast. The ball was in play. There was no way to go back and he really couldn’t see how he and AJ could go forward when they’d literally be miles apart from Sundance to Denver.

It was a damn long, lonely, depressing drive to Cheyenne.

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Two days later…

While Kade and Skylar waited for the check after a crappy meal at Ziggy’s sports bar, which neither of them tasted, he saw Colt.

Happy as Kade was to know his cousin wasn’t dead, because no one had seen him since Dag’s funeral, he was less than happy when Colt stumbled to their booth drunk as a skunk, high as a kite with a vulgar look in his bleary eyes.

“Hey, cuz. Who’s the purty lady?”

“Skylar. Skylar this is my very drunk cousin, Colt McKay.”

“Colt. Nice to meet you.”

“So how come you haven’t brought her by the Boars Nest? ’Cause she ain’t the adventurous type?”

“No. Because I don’t live there anymore.” Kade had a moment of panic. What if Colt was here with Kane? Why in the hell after half a dozen dates hadn’t he come clean about his real identity? Because it’d gone too far and he was a total fucking dumbass.

“Excuse us, we were just leavin’.”

“Hold on, hold on. I’ll let ya go get lucky,” he winked lewdly at Skylar, “soon as you tell me what the hell Kane did with my extra set of truck keys. Can’t find ’em anywhere.”

“Is my brother here?”

“No, your brother ain’t here. That’s what I’m sayin’. The bartender took my keys. I keep an extra set in my glove box and they’re missin’. Kane didn’t give ’em back last time he borrowed my truck.”

“You shouldn’t be drivin’ anyway.”

“When did you turn into such a fuckin’ pussy, Kade? Jesus.”

“Shut up, Colt, and go someplace else. For Christsake go sleep it off in your truck.”

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“Think you got the right to tell me what to do like everyone else in my goddamn life? Fuck that. I’ll knock you into next week, you smarmy cocksucker.”

Skylar said, “Take it easy, Colt. You’re confused. Maybe Kane and I should take you home.”

Colt frowned and looked around wildly. “Kane? He’s here?”

“He’s right there.” Skylar pointed at Kade.

No no no
. Kade knew everything was about to go horribly wrong.

“Darlin’, I may be drunk as shit, but you’re the one who’s confused. That ain’t Kane.

That’s Kade.”

Skylar stared at Kade as if she expected him to dispute it. While she waited, two more shadows fell across the table and they both looked up to see Colby and…Kane.

Fucking great.

Skylar gasped. Her gaze zipped back and forth between the twins. “There are
two
of you?”

“Skylar? What the hell are you doin’ here with my brother?”

Her eyes were black with rage when they connected with his again. “
Kade
, I presume?”

“Look. I can explain. When I found out what a dick Kane was to you on your date that night—”

“You took it upon yourself to pretend to be him that lunch date in Moorcroft? And then all the times after that?”

“Yes. I mean, no. Shit. I wanted to show you I’m not him. Just because we’re identical twins doesn’t mean we have identical behavior.”

“Unless you want them to, purty lady. These guys fulfilled quite a few women’s fantasies of bein’—what’d Jazz call you that night she fucked both of you at the same time?—a twin beefcake manwich.”

“Colt, shut your fuckin’ mouth,” Colby snapped.

“I’ll bet you’re having a big goddamn laugh about this,
Kade
.”

“I ain’t laughin’, Sky, ’cause it ain’t a joke. I planned to tell you—”

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“Right after you screwed me in the parking lot of a honky tonk not an hour ago?” she hissed. “Was it all a lie? A trick? See if I’d notice the difference between you two?”

“No!”

“Aw, sweet darlin’, there’s plenty of us McKay men around if you wanna give me a shot. I’m up for anything.” Colt ran his fingers down Skylar’s arm.

Kade jumped up and clocked Colt in the jaw. Colt stumbled but remained upright.

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ touch her. Don’t you even look at her, you drunken piece of shit.”

“At least I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not in order to get some pussy.”

Kade lunged for him again and Colby held him back as Colt hit the ground.

He noticed everything and everyone in the bar came to a dead stop.

“Come on.” Colby and Kane each had one of Colt’s arms as they dragged him outside.

Somehow, Kade found the balls to face Skylar’s justifiable fury. He boxed her in so she couldn’t escape until he’d said his piece. “No matter what you think, I was
me
when we were together. Me. Kade McKay. Everything I did, everything I said, every damn time. None of it was a lie. The way I feel about you ain’t a lie either.”

She whispered, “Just go away and leave me alone.”

“I’m takin’ you home.”

“No. Just go.”

“But—”

“Don’t humiliate me any more than you already have. Go.”

Miserable, he walked out.

Colt had passed out in the parking lot. The three of them threw him in the back of Kane’s truck with more force than necessary.

“How’d you track him down?” Kade asked.

“The bartender called me. We’ve put the word out to all of Colt’s regular waterin’

holes that we’re lookin’ for him.”

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Colby was pissed and as close to losing it as Kade had ever seen him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with him? I can’t take him home. Ma is already a mess over Dag’s death and she’s worried sick the same thing is gonna happen to Colt.

“If I leave him by himself to sleep it off, he’ll disappear again, or I’ll find him dead from chokin’ on his own vomit. You guys can’t stay up all night and babysit him because we’ve all gotta work tomorrow. We’re short-handed since Cord’s been gone and Colt ain’t been around to pick up the slack.”