Rules of the Ride: A Silver Star Ranch Novel (2 page)

“
R
emember
the night I picked your sweet ass up here at this bar?”

Challis wallops Merek across the chest before attacking his lips. I feel the need to leave the table, but it would make it even more awkward, so I focus on Marvel, who’s nursing a beer and trying to avoid Merek and Challis. It will only be a matter of minutes before they escape to the parking lot and return happier than pigs in mud. They’re very easy to read.

I reach down and pat Jake’s head and take a moment to be silent and thankful for everything right in my life. No one can ever take away the fact I’m a Slatter with two strong brothers, a legend and very loving grandfather, a new sister-in-law who fits in better than me at most times, and my Jake. These are the things that can never be ripped away, because I won’t allow it.

A sense of pride and honor prickles up my backbone, and I feel the Maverik that’s survived the last years. The one who drowned himself in alcohol and the next adventure around the corner. Stepping up to the bar, I order three more shots and down them instantly. The stinging whiskey hits the back of my throat and floats throughout my body, spinning me into an instant state of numbness. In this state, everything looks perfect and beautiful, my career ending injury fades, as does the memories of Ella. Right now everything is fucking butterflies and unicorns. The kind I’m about to fuck up in my endless state of happiness.

I turn around and see Marvel sitting alone at the table with his worried face plastered on as Merek and Challis are visibly absent. My vision wanders a bit more until it lands on the perfect prey. A redhead who’s absolute perfection to finish myself off in smirks at me from across the bar.

Her natural smile and relaxed posture assures me that she’s only here for a good time.

“Hey.” I nod my head as I encroach on her space with her and her girlfriends.

I take a second to soak in all their sexiness and make sure the redhead is the best pick of the litter. This is what I’ve sunk to…finding the best piece of ass and taking care of my family.

“Well, hello there, sexy.” The redhead twirls her long hair in her fingers, hypnotizing me and calling my cock to attention.

Bingo, she’s it and will take care of everything I need tonight, and more importantly, at this moment.

“How you doing?” I don’t break eye contact with her, and sure in hell don’t miss her gaze as it wanders down lower to the crotch of my jeans. A huge smile spreads across her face as her cheeks flush with red, and I know I’ve caught my prey and have one hell of a good night in front of me.

Giggles spread across the table as I settle in backward on a chair with Jake on my heels. Jake’s always been a ladies’ man and has never let me down in this department.

“Your puppy is so cute.”

Comments like this are the ones I’m forced to grin and bear because the end prize is so damn sweet. Jake is no pup and beyond his age in man years, but again, he’s a good sport and just tilts his head in appreciation of the comment, causing the women to ogle even more. The dog ain’t dumb; he knows there’s a big old juicy T-bone waiting for him.

“His name’s Jake and mine’s Maverik.” I tilt my hat in their direction. “What brings you ladies to town?”

And in unison they all sound off. “Girl’s weekend.”

“Nice.” I grin even brighter at the redhead who has been staring me down. I notice Marvel make his way from the table and out the door. He may be the youngest of us Slatters, but he’s damn sure the smartest. He knows I’m on the prowl and nothing is worthy of stopping me.

The redhead leans forward in her chair, exposing the milky skin of her cleavage, causing me to stir in my very tight jeans. I take the opportunity to inch in closer to her, and when the sweet smell of a light fruity scent mingled with rose aroma hits my senses, I all but go in my jeans.

“Need you now,” I growl in her ear.

And if on point, she stands from the table and excuses herself, and like any other gentleman, I follow her to the ladies’ room for safety. When the swinging door of the bathroom flies back and forth in front of me, I follow, not worrying about the gender sign on it.

Once in the tiny and very dingy bathroom, I slide the deadbolt on the swinging door behind me.

“You better tell me to leave if we aren’t on the same level here, Red.” I take my hat off and set it on the counter.

Her petite hands unbutton her stark white skirt, sliding it down her hips, leaving behind her black lacy undies barely covering her. I watch helplessly as she turns around, bending over and sliding down those barely there lacy things, leaving her bared ass to me.

“Is this a yes?” I ask. It’s one thing I’ll never lose, and that’s my gentleman card. I may play the game but will never assume.

She doesn’t reply with words but instead hoists herself up on the counter near the sink, spreads her legs open, and begins touching herself. Her movements hypnotize me, and I’m not sure if it’s the combination of her gorgeous looks or the naughty things she’s performing before my eyes, but I freeze, mesmerized by her fluttering eyelids and the motion of her fingers.

My fists ball into a tight clump of frustration because I know once I touch her, it won’t be over for hours on end. It’s the one thing I’ve found that completely buries everything of what my life should have been, and that’s losing myself in pleasure with strangers.

“I’m going to explode if you don’t stop me.” Her red hair fans down over her face as I hear her breathing pick up. Light moans escape her as her chest begins moving up and down, faster with each flick of her finger. I wait until she completely lets go, falling off the edge, and when she’s about to collapse backward on the counter, I swoop in.

My hand fits perfectly against the small of her back. It’s easy to hold up her petite frame with one arm as I free myself from my jeans. And within moments, I’m sunk deep inside her. Pausing for a mere moment, I throw my head back and let out a loud growl at the sensation attacking my body right now. I skipped all the tempt and tease of foreplay and went right for the kill.

“Fuck me.” She wraps her arms around my neck, flipping her red hair to the side. I feel her scoot from the counter, hoisting herself completely on me, then moving her hips back and forth, urging me on.

“Deep. Oh fuck, that’s deep,” I growl out as I try to steady myself and hold off the thoughts that are drowning in a sea of booze and pussy. I’ll blow instantly at this rate with the combination of her sexy eagerness and very tight pussy.

My palms become sweaty and start to slip a bit on her plump ass cheeks so I back her up to the wall and begin moving inside her. Red’s moans and pleas for me to go faster do nothing but turn me on more and more. I grow painfully huge inside her and feel my release flash before my eyes and know it will all be over way too soon.

I drop her to her feet, and before she has the chance to protest, I spin her around, pushing her chest down on the countertop and looping my hand through her thick red hair and enter her once again. The angle is different, giving me a few more moments to enjoy the sensation and stay lost far away from reality. She begins to moan again and I lose it, spilling inside her.

No sooner than I finish does the door fly wide open.

“What in the fuck?” I growl, turning around and trying to hide most of Red’s exposed ass.

“Sorry, I just wanted some action too.” One of Red’s friends stands in the doorway with the bartender behind her waving the keys in my direction.

Holy shit, and my cock stands to attention just like that.

“Find a new room, Mav.” The bartender turns and walks away.

“We have a hotel room across the street,” Red offers over her shoulder.

“I just hope I can make it that far,” I huff out.

The blonde makes her way to me, running her hand up my ass. “A cowboy is on my bucket list.”

Her voice alone turns me on, forget her ginormous tits and perfectly plump lips.

“By all means, darling, let’s get that bucket filled up.”

I step back from Red and do up my pants quickly while tossing her clothes at her. The bar is loud and much busier than before. I spot Merek and Challis back at our table and catch their attention. I send my signature “I’m about to get fucked” wave to Merek and watch the reality of what’s about to go down. The look on his face is priceless as the redhead and blonde come into view. And in typical Merek fashion, he throws back his longneck and sends me the middle finger.

“Girls, need a drink before we head out?”

I turn to the two eager ladies on my heels.

“No.” The blonde waves me off and hooks her arm through mine. “We have plenty in the room.”

“Yes, lots and lots of booze.” The redhead follows suit, locking her arm in my other one.

It’s times like these where I feel like the fucking king of the world. It may not be what I envisioned my life to be, but I’ll take it, or at least for now when it’s muting out reality.

“
Y
ou’re a fucking liar
.” Marvel tosses up his saddle on the back of his favorite horse.

“I’m not.” I run my palms over the top of my blue jeans. “It was like a dream. One blonde and a feisty redhead taking it to me.”

“He’s not lying.”

We both look up to Merek, who just entered the barn. “I watched him leave with both of them. Not sure if he was able to get his dick up though.”

“Dude, it’s what fucking dreams are made of. I still can’t believe some of the shit those two did.”

“Shut the hell up. I haven’t been laid in months.” Marvel settles down on a straw bale.

“Well, maybe if you acted your age and not ninety, you might have a chance.” I toss a pebble toward him.

“Fuck. Hire a hooker, they don’t turn anyone down.” Merek’s laughter fills the barn and I can’t help but join in as well.

Poor Marvel looks like he’s ready to throttle both of us. I’ve tried over the years to get the kid to loosen up, but it’s never happened. He’s an old spirit trapped in a young man’s body.

“Simpson Feed Store called and they won’t sell us any more feed.”

Marvel’s words tear all the humor out of the air, replacing it with tension.

“When did this happen?” Merek asks.

“This morning. Fed me some line of bullshit about supply and demand and some crop damage limiting his supply.”

“Granddad has done business with them for years. What the hell?” I slam my fist into the wall and watch the pools of warm liquid blood flow from my knuckles.

“Saint. It’s fucking Saint. He’s been quiet long enough and is now back to setting our asses up.”

“We’re screwed. We have this last set of colts to train and get to him to wash our hands of Dad’s debt, plus the last set of fall calves to sell. It’s more than enough to pay him back.” Marvel tucks his head. “But now with no feed, it’s impossible.”

I watch as Merek goes into his fight or flight state and know he’s about to blow up by going over to Saint’s house and getting into another fight. It’s happened twice, and both times our asses have ended up in the slammer.

“Merek, think this time. We need to be smart,” I warn him. “Clearly, he has the upper hand and is bound and determined to make us pay for our dad’s debt and for him fooling around with his wife.”

“Saint always claims there’s another higher up guy. Do you believe that?” Marvel finally asks.

“No, fuck no I don’t,” Merek yells, startling a single colt in his stall. “He’s screwing with our heads and has been winning since the day we agreed to save this damn ranch.”

“We have to take this to Granddad. He’ll know what to do.” I stand up, not loving my own idea but know it’s the only way.

“His heart can’t handle this shit. It’s been through the ringer with his own son jeopardizing everything,” Marvel argues.

“It’s our only option. Let’s go.”

I lead the way to his front porch, and with each step, my boots grow heavy as does my heart. I’ve always wanted to fix this problem without him knowing about it or even having to worry. The man has built us an empire on Silver Star Ranch, and his own flesh and blood goes and ruins everything for a little money and pussy.

“No anger, Merek. I’ll talk and stick to the basics.” I stare down each of my brothers, studying their worried faces.

“He knows more than you think.” Marvel steps ahead of me.

Well, of course he does. This is the same guy who knew the trouble we caused before we hit the driveway as kids. He may be old and his body failing him and his cowboy ways, but his wealth of knowledge should never be underestimated.

“Hey, handsome.”

Challis’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as I enter the house. She’s standing in the middle of the kitchen with Granddad sitting in front of her in a cape while she trims his hair.

“Verde.” Merek makes his way to her and places a light kiss on her lips and then nods to Granddad.

“Well, this can’t be any damn good.” We all stare back at the man who has paved the path for all of us. “Sit down, boys.”

Challis plants both of her palms on his shoulder. “What do you mean? They just walked in.”

“It’s the worry and dread plastered all over their faces. Spill it, boys.”

Both of my brothers look to me. “Simpsons won’t sell us any more feed and we only have enough grain and hay to last us maybe a week at best. We have to get those colts sent off to wash our hands of this mess.”

Silence falls over the small kitchen as no one dares to speak. The situation is serious and may be a final blow to take down all of our progress.

“Sounds like you boys are in quite the pickle then. Got the truck but no damn gas to reach the final destination.”

“Yep.” Marvel takes his hat off and sets it on the table and then buries his head.

“I’ll kill Dad the next time I see him,” Merek growls.

“Merek,” I warn, sending him a look to keep his cool.

“You boys should be pissed.” Granddad tries to stand up but is ushered back down in his seat by Challis.

“Just a minute, I’m not done.”

He growls in discontent before he settles all the way back down. “I guess it’s time I tell you three the truth. I’ve kept it buried long enough and now’s the time.”

“What are you talking about?” Marvel sits up.

“Your dad is not my real son.”

My head spins as I struggle to process each of his words and string them together in a meaningful sentence. The scissors Challis holds topple to the floor, creating the only noise in the house.

“Your grandma and I couldn’t have kids of our own, and it’s the only damn thing the woman wanted.” Granddad stands this time and Challis allows him to do so. Merek stretches out his arm toward her, pulling his love into his lap.

“I’d do anything for that woman and still won’t change the decision I made to this day. She loved the little boy I brought home and never looked back. I love him too, but his blood is tainted and not right.”

The room continues to spin faster without any hope of stopping. He continues to talk, but the only thought racing through my mind is, I’m not a Slatter. I’ve been raised like one, but I’m nothing better than a fraud.

“Who’s his real dad?” Merek’s voice snaps me from my thoughts.

“It doesn’t matter, son. I raised him like my own, and only a handful of people know what went down. Times were different back then.”

“It does fucking matter.” Marvel stands, slamming his fists down onto the dinner table with anger prancing all over his face.

“It doesn’t matter.” Granddad doesn’t back down.

“We’re not Slatters.” My words come out louder than anticipated, and now all eyes are on me. “We are not Slatters.”

I don’t know how many times I repeat it over and over until Challis is at my side talking in my ear. I don’t process her words but try to focus on her voice instead of the ugly thought running through my head.

All attention has been taken off of Granddad and now it’s just a flood of emotions whirling between us three brothers.

“Does he even know you’re not his real dad?” I don’t care for the hate lacing my voice but don’t know how to disguise it either.

“Dammit.” I watch as the old fragile man stands before us and wipes everything from the table in one fell swoop. “No one knows the whole fucking story. I vowed to protect my wife and new son from it, and now all it’s doing is wrecking this fucking family.”

His last words trail off as he clutches his chest and begins grasping for words.

“Granddad,” Challis screams and races to his side.

Merek is on his phone in a flash dialing 911 as Marvel rises to get a bottle of pills and fights to get Granddad to take them. I sit in my chair and watch everything I’ve once known vanish before my eyes. My roots were shredded and thrown to the wind along with my self-pride and sense of ownership. It’s disappearing quicker than I ever thought possible.

His dark gray eyes begin to roll into the back of his head, and I watch the man I’ve always idolized go lifeless. The sound of him fighting for air fills the room and threatens to break me. Not only did he just throw a bombshell in our faces, but now this is happening.

“Watch out.” I’m on my feet pushing my brothers out of the way and then scooping up my fragile granddad into my arms and racing outside. The sound of the sirens are in the distance, and with each heave of his chest I feel against mine, I know he needs help right now. I take off down the driveway hoping to get him to the ambulance faster.

“You’re a Slatter, Maverik. Your birth grandpa was my brother.” He paused, inhaling as much air as possible and writhing in pain. His leathered hands never leave his chest where they’re clutched. “He knocked up a local town girl—the pastor’s daughter. When I volunteered to take the baby, we also had to promise to keep it hushed.”

“Granddad, stop.”

“No.” His voice shocks me as it comes out as a loud and angry roar. “You deserve the truth, Maverik. You’re a Slatter, and in no time, you’ll be the one in charge. The king of this ranch. It will all be on your shoulders to keep everything rolling. Please don’t lose hope.”

His eyes close as his breathing slows down as does his pain. I hold my granddad in my arms as his entire body goes limp.

“No. No. No. You hang in there, you stubborn ass. None of it matters. Hang in there, Granddad.”

My last word is muffled by the blaring siren of the ambulance at the end of the long drive. Paramedics fly from the cab and take him from me, inserting all sorts of tubes and trying to find his heartbeat.

“We gave him aspirin.” Challis comes running up behind me with tears streaming down her face.

The workers don’t pay us any attention as they work on him, and soon the doors shut and the ambulance is off toward town with its siren and lights going off.

“Get in.” The roar of Merek’s truck takes over the scene. Challis jumps up into the front seat and I follow, crawling in next to her. I twist uncomfortably in my seat to see Marvel in the back seat. It’s the same little boy I used to save on the bus when the bullies would pick on him. His face is flushed ghost white while his eye twitches and tears silently stream down his face.

“We’ve got this, bud.” I cover the top of his hand with mine. The silence in the cab of the truck is gut wrenching.

“Granddad told me the story as I raced him down the lane.”

I continue to tell the story and even his final words to everyone in the truck, and if I thought it hurt hearing it, it tore out the last shreds of my fucking heart to retell it.

“We are Slatters, and this topic will never fucking come up again. We know who our dad is and our granddad. It’s done.” Merek pulls Challis in tighter as he drives one handed.

We all agree in unison.

“And once we get him back home we are going to enjoy the rest of his days. There’s no way he’s going out like this,” Marvel adds.

Hours pass in the waiting room feeling like years, and we wait for any news. Random nurses have been out reassuring us the doctors are doing everything they can, but it’s not enough to erase the feeling of Granddad limp in my arms.

“I can go back home and buy enough feed to get us through this mess.”

I look over to Challis, who is now sitting up in Merek’s lap.

“What?” I ask.

“It will cost us a little more in delivery charges, but I’ll make it happen. We have to get these colts sent off to Saint. Period.”

“You’re not getting involved in this shit, Verde, I don’t want you in it.”

“Too bad, I’m a Slatter now and will do everything I can to help.”

She has her phone out and is dialing a number before Merek can stop her.

“He’s not going to hurt Challis.” Marvel sits up from the chairs he’s been sprawled across. “He’s after us and punishing us for our dad’s shit. Let her get the feed and all this will be behind us sooner than fucking later.”

Challis orders the feed and agrees to go back to her hometown tomorrow to settle up on the bill and bring half the load home. Her saving the day gives me a bit of hope and forces a slight grin to spread across my face. Relaxing back, I reflect over the last year and fight like hell to put all the puzzle pieces together.

We all know our dad fucked up by putting the ranch in jeopardy with his betting habit and then got caught with his dick out when it shouldn’t have been. Money is money and the whole state of Texas knows Saint has more of it than God. So, I can see the part where my dad boning his old lady would piss him off, but to the point of ruining a ranch and the livelihood of a family that had nothing to do with it? Something is missing, that’s for sure, and I have a damn good feeling there’s more to the story that has the potential to threaten all of us.

I pull out my phone and open the note section and begin typing out all the shit that’s gone down since our dad shared his misfortunes with us. The list isn’t pretty, from horses being let out of our corrals, to fences being torn down, to Teebaby being drugged and nearly killed, and now the feed. I read over the list several times before I type out the final line. “Who is behind this scandal?” And the only name that follows is Saint, and then the word, why?

I rest my head back on the wall and let out all the air I’d been holding as I was typing. Not much good was accomplished from the typing besides making it clear someone has a bigger vendetta to settle with us than we understand. And it may as well be Saint, but why is he sabotaging his own operation with us that has potential to bring in thousands for him? It all boils down to hate.

“Slatters.”

We all look up at the same time to a doctor clothed in scrubs standing in the doorway.

“You all have one very tough and stubborn cowboy on your hands.”

I feel the tension wash away from all four of us as his words take away the fear of the inevitable. At least Granddad is still with us.

“We had to replace a stent in his heart to open it up. Of all the problems, this was the best of any. We will keep him for observation, then he should be good to go. He’s already harassing the nurse in the recovery room.”

“How long will he have to stay?” Marvel asks.

“If all goes well just a day, and then we’ll send out a home nurse to continue monitoring him, but like I said, he’s a tough one.”