Rock Star Cowboys (McLendon Family 3)

by D. L. Roan

  “The important thing is that we all communicate. And right now,” he said, reaching out to pull her into his arms, “I’m communicating that I am absolutely and completely in love with you.” He spun her around the kitchen to a melody only he could hear. She had her own sound, a song that was very different from anything he’d ever heard. He swore to himself that one day he’d write that song.

  He saw Carson coming down the stairs and twirled her right into his arms. “Hey, Breezy Girl’. Feelin’ better?” he asked.

  “Much,” she said. “And I’m starving.”

  “Good,” Carson said. “We’ll eat a bite before we drive over to the Grunions. I was thinking about what Pryce said and I think we should call the Sherriff first.”

  “I was thinking that same thing,” she said. “But how do we keep from outing Jonah?”

  As they sat down at the table a light tapping sound came from the front hallway. “Who’s that?”

  “I’ll find out.” Carson pushed away from the table and made his way down the hall, calling for Breezy a moment later. Connor followed her to the front door, stopping short when he saw the thin-framed woman standing on the other side of the screen door, cradling a wooden box in her arms.

  “Mrs. Grunion?” Breezy opened the door and invited her inside.

  What the hell was Dirk’s wife doing here? And my God, she looked so old. Connor glanced over her long, loose dress. Her graying hair was pulled into a tight bun, accentuating the harsh lines in her thin face.

  He ran through his memories, trying to calculate her age. While he seemed to remember that she was only slightly older than their dad, Grey, she looked at least a decade older than that.

  “I-I’d rather talk outside if you don’t mind,” she said meekly.

  “Sure.” Breezy stepped out onto the porch. She motioned to one of the wooden chairs beside the door, but the older woman declined.

  “I won’t be staying that long.”

  “Is Pryce okay?” Breezy asked. “Did something else happen to him?”

  “No, he’s fine. Or he will be.” Mrs. Grunion handed Breezy what appeared to be a white business card. The same card she’d given Pryce with her phone number on it. “He told me he spoke to you. While I’m glad that Jonah’s okay, and I thank you for being concerned, he won’t need that.”

  “Mrs. Grunion, your husband is abusing your child,” Breezy said. “If you won’t help him, I will.”

  “There’s no need,” Mrs. Grunion said, holding up a staying hand when Breezy tried to give her back the card. “I’ve made arrangements for Pryce to stay with one of the church deacons. They’re starting a seminary school over in Carlton this fall, and Pryce will finish out his senior year there, away from the sinful influences that have caused his rebellious behavior.”

  “Rebellious behavior?” Carson asked with a sneer. “Did you see the bruises on your son’s face?”

  “Car, wait.” Breezy stepped in front of Carson as he advanced on the woman.

  “How can you stand there and justify what your husband did to him? And to Jonah for that matter?” Carson continued despite Breezy’s objections.

  “Now Dirk may have gotten heavy handed with Pryce,” the woman argued, “but I refuse to believe he had anything to do with what happened to Jonah. That boy is swimming in sin, and where sin goes, trouble always follows.”

  “Heavy-handed?” Disbelief had kept Connor from interfering up until that point, but a searing rage had bubbled up inside and it was all he could do not to throttle the bat-shit crazy bitch. “Pryce was beaten black and blue. And the only sin I see is your willful ignorance of the truth.”

  Connor stepped between her and Breezy and looked the woman straight in the eyes. “Before you come to my house and lecture any member of my family about sin, you’d better fix the sin in your own house. Your husband is an adulterous, bigoted hatemonger and you’re nothing but—”

  “Con, please don’t,” Breezy said, placing her hand on his forearm. The pleading look in her eyes derailed his well-primed assault. He clenched his teeth together until it hurt to keep the insults from flying out of his mouth. Why the hell didn’t she tell the self-righteous witch the truth?

  “I didn’t come here to have a religious debate,” the woman said, disregarding Connor’s verbal attack. She held out the wooden box in her hands and offered it to Breezy. “These are your brother’s remains. It was wrong of Dirk to keep them from you. When Pryce told me you were back, I immediately retrieved them from the attic.”

  Connor’s blood chilled, his racing heartbeat pumping it through his veins like ice water. He glanced up at Breezy and found her staring at the wooden box, unmoving, unbreathing. He reached out and took it from Mrs. Grunion’s hands. Breezy’s gaze followed it, her body still frozen. He reached out and took her hand, pulling her toward the front door and away from the insane, cruel woman who stood staring at them, seemingly confused by their reaction.

  Carson charged at the woman, stopping only inches from where she stood. “Let me make myself perfectly clear.” He towered over the woman, his voice sounding more like a growl than anything human. “We know the truth. We know about Dirk’s affair with your sister. We know Ford was his son—”

  “Lies!”

  “We know everything and have the DNA to prove it!” Carson said. “And if we find out that Dirk had something to do with what happened to Jonah, or if he lays even so much as a finger on Pryce again, ever, you can bet your ass I’ll be telling the world about all your dirty little secrets. I’ll see to it that everyone in this town knows exactly who you are and make it my life’s mission to take everything you’ve got. Your life here as you know it will be over. And in case you don’t believe me, be sure to wave to the media vans sitting outside our front gate on your way out. They’re all dying to hear anything we have to say. Now get off my ranch!”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Six Months Later

  Breezy glanced down at the diamond band on her right ring finger. Her skin still tingled from Carson’s touch as he’d slipped it over her knuckle earlier that afternoon at the courthouse. She’d placed a more masculine version on his right hand, and another on Connor’s before she and Carson spoke the official version of their vows in front of the judge. Connor served as their witness, but her promise had been meant every bit as much for him as it had been for Carson.

  She glanced over to her left hand and imagined the band as it would be after their final commitment ceremony. She could feel it there, hugging her finger, reminding her always of her two rock star cowboys and the love they shared.

  The door clicked open behind her and she turned to find Joe standing in the doorway, his eyes crinkled at the corners from his proud smile. “You look every bit as stunning as Hazel did on our wedding day,” he said, crossing the room with a steady gate.

  “Thank you.” Breezy turned to the mirror one last time, running her palms over the fine silk, not believing the woman in the mirror was her. She, Dani and Gabby had spent the day before at a spa in Billings. Every inch of her body had been scrubbed, massaged, plucked, painted or pampered. She’d even had a little something new done to surprise Connor and Carson later that night. She giggled when she imagined the look on their faces when they discovered what she’d done.

  She felt like a princess in a dream, and she was about to marry not one, but two princes.

  “Are you ready?” Joe asked.

  She turned to Joe and he held out his arm. She hooked her arm through his, but held him back when he turned toward the door. “Joe, wait.”

  So much had happened over the last few months. She’d finally been able to lay Ford to rest. Matt and Joe had commissioned a beautiful headstone which was placed inside the McLendon family plot at the Grassland cemetery. They’d had a small graveside service for him the week before Thanksgiving. The air had been crisp and clean and for the first time since her brother died, she was able to truly say goodbye.

  She’d fallen even deeper in
love with Connor and Carson in the days that followed. They’d sold their places in Los Angeles and Nashville and started construction on a house on their family ranch. Falcon Ridge would forever be her home.

  Connor and Carson had bought out Ralph’s Drugstore—and his ridiculous trademark—and turned the second floor of the two-story building into their own recording studio. Breezy didn’t understand all of the technological aspects of what they were doing any more than they understood the physiological side of her profession, but starting their own label had been a good thing for their music career. They’d gained more fans than they’d lost since their engagement was announced publically, and they had both fallen in love with their music again.

  As soon as they returned from their honeymoon—destination unknown—she would begin construction on the first floor of the building, Grasslands first ever physical therapy and rehab center. The licensing and permit phase was already complete, and she couldn’t wait to get started. She’d be able to help so many people like Joe, and she had him to thank for all of it.

  “I know what you did for me,” she said. “You and your brothers and Hazel; paying my college tuition.” She’d finally gathered enough courage to ask Gabby one day while they were shopping for a dress. Gabby’s clueless denial had been genuine, leaving no room for doubt. It hadn’t taken her long to place the final piece to the puzzle.

  A moment of surprise flickered in Joe’s wise, old eyes before he could mask it with a wry grin. “I’m not following you, girl.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” she said, placing a kiss on his weathered cheek. “You changed my life. I can’t thank you enough for everything your family has done for me.”

  Joe’s eyes shone with mischief and love and pride. He was truly the grandfather she never had—one of five now, he, his brothers, Daniel and Cade each holding a special place in her heart. The corners of his mouth wobbled a little as he smiled and winked down at her. “Think of it as an investment in our future great-grandchildren,” he said and patted her hand. “One of the best investments we ever made.”

  “Are you running away with the bride?” Papa Nate popped his head into the room and let out a long, low wolf whistle.

  “We’d better hurry up and get you to that aisle before he tries it,” Papa Jake said with a chuckle.

  “Don’t tell me you’re not tempted,” Joe said, guiding her through the bedroom door and into the long hallway.

  “My shawl!” Breezy scurried back into Dani’s bedroom and snagged the silver fur wrap Hazel had given her as her ‘something old’. She’d loved it from the first moment she laid eyes on it, and it matched the style of her dress perfectly.

  A lazy cold front had moved in several days earlier and covered everything in a light blanket of fresh snow, as she’d hoped it would. The tents would be heated, but with nothing covering her arms, she would freeze the second she left the house without something to keep her warm in between.

  “All set?” Papa Nate asked after he draped the elegant fur around her shoulders and fastened it into place.

  “Beyond ready.” There was nothing she’d ever been more ready for than to see Connor and Carson standing at the other end of that aisle.

  With Papa Joe on her left, Papa Nate on her right, Jake escorted them down the front steps, across the shoveled path to the field between the McLendon’s home and what was soon to be hers. When they reached the first tent, Cade and Daniel were waiting outside. They lifted two flaps at the end of the long tent and she rushed inside the curtained off staging area.

  Thanks to a half dozen or more gas heaters, her nose and cheeks tingled from the sudden burst of toasty warm air against her skin.

  “Oh my God. You look amazing,” Dani said with a gasp.

  “So do you!” Breezy adored the deep blue halter dress Dani had chosen. She’d given her carte blanche on styles and colors. All that mattered was that Dani was there, her maid of honor, her new sister.

  “Are you wearing the boots?” Dani asked.

  Breezy lifted her skirt and stuck out her leg. The white cowgirl boots with silver trim and crystal rhinestones were fabulous and served as her ‘something borrowed’. Dani had made it clear in no uncertain terms that they were her favorite and must be returned.

  “Let’s go ladies.” Cade hurried them along. “Those two men of yours are coming unglued up there waiting on you.”

  “Okay!” Dani reached over and pulled Breezy into a hug and then handed her the simple but elegant bouquet of deep blue irises. “Love you,” she said and turned toward the aisle.

  A quartet of country violins began playing her wedding march and Daniel and Cade drew the curtains back. Breezy’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the enchanting atmosphere inside the tent.

  Rows of beautiful people sitting in elegant white chairs turned to watch Dani as she proceeded down the silver velvet runner. Strings of soft lights twinkled overhead like a million stars in the night, reflecting off the curtain of crystal snowflakes hanging from the center and casting tiny little prisms along the outer walls. White ash trees, their limbs wrapped in silver and white lights, lined the long aisle, forming a magical wintery tunnel, and at the end stood Connor and Carson, Jonah and Cory at their sides.

  The music changed. Guests rose from their seats as Joe, Jake and Nate took their places around her, but they could have all been a million miles away and she would never have noticed. Spellbound by the sight of the two devastatingly handsome men waiting for her—her men—everything else disappeared.

  As she moved closer, Connor’s knees buckled and he threw his hand over his heart in a very Carson-like dramatic fashion that made her giggle. Halfway down the aisle she was pulled to a stop. Having forgotten everything they’d rehearsed, a split second of panic preceded the sight of her foster dad, Henry, as he rose from the seat at the end of the middle aisle.

  “You look absolutely radiant,” Henry said as he took her hand from Joe’s.

  “Welcome to the family,” Joe said and kissed her cheek, followed in kind by Nate and Jake before they left the aisle and made their way to join Hazel in the front row.

  “Breathe,” Henry said, the lights from above reflecting off the tears in his eyes.

  Breezy let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how much he and Olivia meant to her, thank him for everything they’d ever done for her, but she knew the second she opened her mouth she would start crying.

  Henry glanced down the aisle and then back to her, nodding to where Connor and Carson stood. “You ready?”

  She nodded wordlessly and fixed her gaze on Connor and Carson. The knot in her chest grew tighter as she thought about all they had given her. Every dream she’d dared to dream and more had come true. As she drew closer to the front, she glanced over to see Olivia, then Gabby smiling through her tears, her hands clutched around a white tissue.

  Breathe. Don’t cry.

  Her tears persisted, prickling at her eyes and she had to look away, focusing on Connor’s steady smile, so bright it warmed her from the inside out. When she looked to Carson, the lump in her throat grew bigger. His expression changed as he watched her. His lips pressed into a thin line and his brows pinched together, forming a harsh line between them. When twin trails of tears fell from his reddened eyes, she lost it. A sob broke free from the knot in her chest. The tears she’d been holding back filled her eyes and ran freely down her cheeks.

  “Oh God, darlin’. Please don’t cry.”

  Henry stepped up onto the altar and escorted her to her bridegrooms, placing one of her hands in each of theirs. “I give you this day my greatest joy, to forever hold in your arms and keep her safe in your hearts.” He gave Breezy a kiss on the cheek before he turned and walked back to his seat.

  “You’re still crying,” Carson said, squeezing her hand in his and wiping his tears with his other.

  “So are you,” she said, giggling through
her tears at how adorable he looked with his red nose and bright green eyes.

  The officiant began to speak and she tried to listen. He spoke words of love and commitment and family, but his voice drifted in and out as she lost herself in the moment. She was in awe of the two men who stood before her. When it came time to speak their vows, her voice was strained and weak.

  Her hands shook as she removed the ring from Connor’s right hand and slid it onto his left ring finger. “Connor McLendon, with this ring, I give you my whole heart. I promise to love you with everything I am, encourage you in all you endeavor to be, cherish and honor you as you have cherished and honored me, to comfort and protect you, to live and laugh with you always. You are forever my love, as I am yours.”

  Connor’s warm smile melted her heart and drew a fresh flow of tears from her eyes which continued to flow as she took the ring from Carson’s right hand, placed it on his left ring finger and repeated that same vow to him, with one small caveat.

  “Carson McLendon, with this ring, I give you my whole heart. I promise to love you with everything I am, encourage you in all you endeavor to be, cherish and honor you as you have cherished and honored me, to comfort and protect you, to tell you with gentle kindness when you’re overreacting...”

  Carson rolled his eyes as the tent exploded with laughter.

  “To live and laugh with you always,” she continued through her giggles, heat rising in her cheeks in response to the promise of sweet revenge in his eyes. “You are forever my love, as I am yours.”

  When she was done, Connor removed the ring from her right hand. He and Carson slid the band onto her left ring finger. They placed her hand between both their left hands, Carson’s below, Connor’s on top, and repeated their vow to her together.

  When they were finished, the room fell silent. That place in her heart that prevented her from fully believing in her dreams was finally silent, too. For the first time everything was real, and happiness like she’d never felt before bubbled up inside her. She couldn’t stop smiling. She couldn’t stop crying either, but she was so happy. When was she going to get to kiss them?