by CP Smith
“I don’t belong . . .” I hiccupped.
“You don’t belong?”
“Anywhere. I’m different. My mother had an affair, and I don’t know who my father is. The man who raised me barely looks at me, and my brother and sister avoid me at all costs. I don’t belong anywhere.”
Bo searched my face, then brushed a kiss across my mouth. “You belong to me,” he whispered. “That’s all that matters.”
I hiccupped again and buried my face in his chest. My mind was bouncing around in so many directions I was suddenly weary. “Why do they hate me?” I whispered.
Bo went solid and tightened his arms, growling, “Sienna, if your family is blind to the beauty that is you, then they’re the ones who don’t belong in your life. Not the other way around.”
I looked up at him to argue. “But—”
“No. Fuck ’em,” Bo hissed. “You don’t need that shit in your life. You have your own family now.”
“My-my own family?”
“Yeah. A family of Wallflowers who would risk their lives to keep you safe, and a man who would step in front of a bullet for you.”
I gasped, disbelieving. “You’d step in front of a bullet for me?”
His face softened, and his eyes turned from stormy gray to shining silver as he scanned my face. “I’d do worse to keep you safe. So would the girls.”
I turned my head to look at Cali and Poppy. They were watching us with concern etched in the lines across their faces. He was right; I did have a family I could depend on.
“Look at me, Sienna,” Bo whispered. I turned my attention back to him and stared into his penetrating eyes. They were filled with tenderness as he ran his hands up into my hair and tilted my head back until he could meet my gaze head on. My heart quickened in response to his gentleness. “You’re not defined by who your parents are. We all come into this world pure of heart; it’s how we live our lives from that point forward that defines who we are. And your heart’s so fuckin’ pure, baby, that it radiates from you like the sun.”
After years of feeling like a dirty little secret within my family, and the reason they broke apart, Bo’s words poured over me like a cleansing shower and filled me with hope that just maybe I was worth loving. “You barely know me. How are you so sure I’m pure of heart?” I whispered, wanting more than anything to believe him.
“Because my gut’s never wrong, and it tells me I wanna be the man who makes you smile. The man you turn to when your mother pisses you off. The man who makes your body shudder while you’re callin’ out my name,” he drawled low and sexy. “But mostly because you make me want to be a better man.”
Hope grew brighter, and warmth settled in the pit of my stomach. “But why do you want to be that man?”
Bo drew me further into his embrace, wrapping me in his strength, and then rested his forehead against mine. “Why?” he muttered. “Because your smile is like the sun, and when I look at you, I see a future with laughter, headaches, passion . . . and love. Any man would kill for that; work hard to keep it. Strive to make sure he didn’t give a woman like you any reason to look elsewhere.”
My breath escaped in a whooshing rush, and my heart began to race. The way he talked about me, I almost believed him.
Pressing in closer to Bo, I drank in his confidence in me. I’d been filled with despair just a few short moments before, and now I felt . . . Safe . . . Loved—and just like that, it hit me so forcefully that if he hadn’t been holding on to me, I would have dropped to my knees. I was falling in love with him. May already be in love with him.
“Bo, I . . .” I started to panic again. I was in too deep to turn back. If he changed his mind about us, I would never recover.
“Yeah?”
I think I love you.
I looked down to shield my face. I was afraid he’d see the truth written across it and run for the hills.
“What’s runnin through your head?”
When I didn’t answer, he pulled back and looked down at me. “Eyes on me, Sienna.”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t be able to hide my panic.
Bo grabbed my chin and forced my head up.
I closed my eyes.
“Baby, look at me.”
I took a deep breath to rid myself of the panic, then opened my eyes like he’d asked, praying he couldn’t read the truth in my expression.
“Talk to me,” he whispered, brushing a kiss across my mouth. “Tell me what’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”
That I love you.
Bo searched my eyes for a moment, then his face softened, and he leaned his forehead against mine, whispering, “Jesus,” before he crushed his mouth to mine, pulling me deeper into his body.
The panic I’d experienced drained fully from my body. He’d read my thoughts and hadn’t run.
“I promise to earn that look every day,” he mumbled against my mouth.
I shuddered in relief. “You already do,” I whispered. “Thank you for what you said. For reminding me it’s okay to be different.”
“It’s the truth. If they can’t treat you with the respect you deserve, then scrape them off, baby. You’re not defined by them, you’re defined by you. No one else.”
God, I loved this man.
“I promise not to drive you crazy,” I blurted out. I wanted to be a better woman for him as well.
Bo smiled slowly. “Babe . . . baby steps.”
“Pardon?”
Bo curled his arm around my shoulders and started leading me out of the wreckage.
“Are you gonna answer me?”
“Nope. I just vowed to earn that look. Answerin’ you wouldn’t be earnin’ it.”
I snorted. “Ass.”
“I thought I was arrogant,” he chuckled, lifting me over the front door.
I shook my head. “No, you’re not arrogant, or an ass for that matter. You’re just you, and I . . . like all of you.”
Bo grabbed my neck, pulling my mouth back to his. His eyes had turned stormy gray again. “Ditto,” he whispered softly. “I like all of you, too. Every fuckin’ inch of you.”
“Even the crazy part?”
His eyes crinkled at the side.
“Is that a yes?”
He smiled wider and then kissed me silent.
Devin whistled, drawing our attention, so we broke apart and joined the others.
“We need to head up top to bring the cattle down,” Devin said as we walked up.
Bo nodded, then turned to me. “Nate’s here to help. I don’t want you out of his sight while I’m gone.”
I rolled my eyes and then turned to look at the big man. Nate was taller than both Devin and Bo by an inch, maybe two. He was built like a wrecking machine, and completely out of his league if he thought he could contain the Wallflowers. It was one thing if you were one of our men. But an unattached badass? No way. He’d never stand a chance against the three of us. He’d be putty in our hands.
I smiled brightly, going for sweet and innocent. “Hey, Nate. Who’s watchin’ your bar?”
A slow grin pulled across his mouth. “My Aunt Martine.”
“Welcome to Bullwinkle Ranch,” Cali stated, just a sweet as you like.
His grin pulled wider across his face.
“Why’s he smilin’ like that?” Poppy whispered.
Nate’s gaze shot to Poppy. He clearly had bionic hearing. “I’m smilin’ ‘cause I see the wheels turnin’ in those gorgeous heads of yours. You three are as predictable as the sun risin’ and fallin’, so if you think for one minute you can control me, think again.” Poppy started to argue, but he stopped her cold in her tracks. “If you say ‘Dilligaf,’ we’re gonna have problems.”
Poppy looked at me and asked smugly, “If I refrain from killin’ him, does that count as savin’ someone’s life?” Then she scanned Nate from head to toe, pfft’d, and turned to leave.
“Hold on, spitfire,” Devin called out. “I want your word you won’t get into trouble while we�
��re gone.”
Poppy’s back stiffened at the question, and she wheeled around. “I never get into trouble,” she answered sweetly.
“This is serious,” Bo jumped in. “The man who tried to rob you is in a coma. I don’t know what the hell is goin’ on, but until we do, we have to assume all three of you are in danger. We want your promise to behave while we’re dealin’ with the cattle.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll be on my best behavior,” she sighed, flipping her hand out. “It’s not like any of us try to get into trouble, you know. It just seems to find us.”
“They’ll be fine,” Nate stated, crossing his arms. “I have this under control.”
Devin chuckled. “We’ll see.”
“You got balls of steel?” Bo asked with a grin.
Nate raised a brow. “Yeah. Why?”
Bo looked at Poppy for some reason and grinned. “Just checkin’.”
The sun was hot as Bo and Devin made their way to the high country, made even hotter by the fact that when they reached the spot where the herd should be, they were gone.
“Where would they go?” Devin asked as they searched the horizon.
Troy pulled a pair of binoculars from his saddlebag and began searching. A minute later, he barked out, “There,” pointing toward a lower valley. “Fence is down.”
“Down?” Bo questioned. “Have you checked the fence line recently?”
“Not that section.”
“Whose land is that?” Devin asked.
“Ebenezer Craig,” Brantley grumbled. “He’s as mean as they come.”
“Ebenezer?” Bo questioned.
“His momma loved Charles Dickens, according to Eb. I reckon she knew he’d turn out to be an old coot and named him that on purpose.”
“Is he likely to pull down your fence?” Bo asked.
“Not likely. He’s in his seventies. Lives alone, no family to speak of except for a granddaughter who comes around from time to time. Only livestock he’s got is an old goat that eats everything in sight.”
“Is his land secured?”
“He’s got a fence around his property, so the herd should still be intact.”
Bo rolled his neck, then looked back at Devin. “You think Nate can hold down the fort? This is gonna take longer than we thought.”
Devin grinned. “It’s high time he had his turn keepin’ track of them. Maybe he’ll pull his head out of his ass sooner rather than later if he deals head-on with Poppy.”
“Throwin’ him in the deep end? He’ll drown.”
Devin grinned wider. “Let’s go find the herd so we can get back and see how he’s doin’.”
Troy and Brantley looked between the two, both with identical expressions. Expressions of disbelief.
“Remind me not to piss them off,” Brantley murmured. “If this is how they treat a friend, I don’t want to see what they’d do to someone they hate.”
Bo chuckled. “We’d do the same thing. There’s no punishment worse than wranglin’ three high-spirited Wallflowers.”
Nine
MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS WERE NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU
NATE LIFTED A FALLEN TRUSS as the girls and I rummaged through the debris of Boris and Natasha’s home. The insurance company had come and gone, and the electric company had finally disconnected the live wires, so it was safe to enter. The timbers were now cool enough for us to touch, so we dug in with both hands, determined to rescue what we could. The second floor was still somewhat intact, but the staircase was questionable, so Nate made us promise, under penalty of no beer or food for a week at Jacobs’ Ladder, we’d only search the first floor. Since none of us wanted to fall through the ceiling, we decided we’d cut Nate some slack and obey. In appreciation of our willingness to listen, he braved the stairs and found what was left of our purses and clothes. We were thrilled when he came down with our wallets still intact.
“How did it go last night?” Cali whispered, looking over her shoulder at Nate to make sure he couldn’t hear.
I looked up from a box of pictures I’d found, and smiled. “Hot. Magical. Kicking myself for hesitating.”
“So I take it you’re not having buyer’s remorse?” Poppy chuckled.
I started to answer “Not in the least,” but Nate grunted, interrupting my train of thought. He was straining with a beam, lugging it over to an interior wall to brace it.
“Do you think he was a bouncer before he turned bar owner?” Poppy asked. “He looks like he could crack heads for a livin’.”
There was something in the tone of her voice that was just this side of awe. I looked at Cali and grinned. Somebody had a crush on Nate. She wasn’t wrong, though. Nate looked like he could punch through a concrete wall and dodge bullets with ease, and when he was angry, he oozed menace.
“Devin said he’s smart. That he pulled himself up from poverty and earned a full-ride scholarship to UG, but no mention of bustin’ heads for a livin’.”
“He does seem smart,” Poppy mumbled absentmindedly as she watched him.
Nate finished bracing the wall and then turned. He caught all three of us watching him, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What?”
“Were you a bouncer in a former life?” Cali inquired.
His brow creased and he shook his head slowly.
“Did you take human growth hormones to get that big?” I questioned.
His mouth pulled slightly into a smirk. “No.”
“Train with the Russian weightlifting team?” Cali threw out.
One brow rose on his handsome face. “No.”
“Eat your Wheaties?” Poppy asked innocently, and his eyes shot to hers, and he grinned, in my opinion, somewhat sexily at her.
“No,” he responded yet again.
“You’re a man of few words, aren’t you?” I asked.
“No.” He full-on smiled then, crossing his arms. “Can I trust you three to stay out of trouble long enough for me to walk to the barn and grab a hammer and nails?”
“No,” we chimed in unison.
He shook his head, chuckling, then moved to an opening in the wall and disappeared around the corner.
I stood, arched my back to work out the kinks, then picked up the box of photographs I’d found in the living room. They’d been inside an entertainment console, which had protected them from the heat.
“Are you ladies hungry? I picked up a loaf of bread and peanut butter.”
Cali and Poppy nodded and stood as well.
“The fridge is still standin’; I’ll see if there’s any bottled water,” Poppy said.
We followed her to what was left of the kitchen. The sink was still intact, so out of curiosity, I turned the faucet on. Water streamed out, and I laughed.
“We can set up food prep in one of the cabins,” Cali said.
Poppy tried to open the refrigerator, but it was melted shut. “There’re only three cabins. How is that goin’ to work?” she asked. “Natasha will be home tonight now that Boris is out of surgery, so that leaves two cabins.”
“Boys in one and girls in the other,” I replied.
“That should go over well,” Cali snickered.
“Why?” I asked.
She smiled, then giggled. “I don’t know about Bo, of course, but Devin needs you know what before he sleeps and you know what when he wakes up.”
I looked at Poppy. “She still wins hands down as president of this club. She can’t even call it sex, yet.”
Cali rolled her eyes. “I’m just bein’ polite.”
“Say sex,” Poppy dared her.
“I can say the word,” she grumbled. “You’re bein’ ridiculous.”
I saw Nate heading for the kitchen and smiled. This should be good.
“Then say Devin and I have hot, sweaty sex before we go to sleep each night.”
She glowered at me.
“You can’t, can you?” Poppy dared.
Cali squared her shoulders like she was getting ready to do battle, then spit out quickl
y, just as Nate stepped through the wall. “Devin and I have hot, sweaty, mind-blowin’, off the charts, sometimes deviant, SEX before bed each night. Are you happy now?”
“Good to know,” Nate stated as he walked through the kitchen and into the living room, unfazed by our conversation. “Thanks for the update.”
Cali whipped around on Nate and turned beet red, then whipped back around on Poppy and me, scowling as we burst into laughter. “You did that on purpose,” she bit out.
I doubled over, holding my stomach, cackling loudly. Fortunately, Cali couldn’t seem to hold a grudge. She snickered and snorted, then began laughing along with us. At the commotion, Nate popped his head around the corner and smiled, winking at Cali.
“Time…”—I gasped for air—“Time for lunch,” I said between giggles, stumbling out of the kitchen, heading for the trunk of Poppy’s car where I’d left the food.
I searched the yard as I went, looking for Clint to ask him if he wanted a sandwich. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Have you seen Clint?” I asked the girls.
“He must be in the barn,” Poppy said, “I’ll check.”
“He might be in the pasture,” Cali added. “I’ll go look there.”
I nodded, then loaded my arms with the bags and headed for the guest cabins on the other side of the barn.
The cabins were situated in a secluded area far from the main house. The first cabin was bigger, meant for a large family or gathering, the other two were smaller, perfect for an intimate getaway. I chose the larger one and went inside.
Like the main house, the cabins were decorated in the same log furnishings with tribal print rugs and pillows. The warm honey-colored wood was welcoming, the furniture large and comfortable looking. Boris and Natasha clearly had spared no expense when it came to the comfort of their guests.
I put the groceries on the counter as Poppy walked in behind me and began unloading the sacks.
“He wasn’t in the barn.”
I noticed a dining room chair was lying on its side, and the rug beneath the table was flipped over on one side, so I walked over and righted the furniture. “He must be in the pasture, then,” I answered.