Nash pounded on the door. “You ready, brother? I don’t want to keep Claire waiting.”

I threw the heavy wooden door open. I was hit with Nash’s cologne.

“What the hell? Are you trying to give her a headache?”

He strolled into my cabin.

“I know what she likes.”

I shook my head. “You’re not the only one.” I was wearing a plain black T-shirts that was tight over my biceps.

Nash laughed. “You want to be competitive in bed? I can be competitive.”

“No.” I had to cut that off quickly. “It’s about her, isn’t that what you said?”

Nash nodded. “Yes. It is.”

“Then stop the cock-strutting and let’s go get the girl.”

I reached for my hat and we locked up the cabin. Claire was sitting on the porch with a book when we pulled up to the cabin.

“Holy fuck,” Nash whispered.

Neither one of us could move. The city girl looked like she was born and raised on a ranch. She was wearing tight cutoff denim short and a tank top that barely covered her breasts. She had on a pair of brown leather boots. Her hair was pulled into two ponytails. One behind each ear.

She rose from the rocking chair and placed her book down. “I cut off a pair of my jeans with some scissors,” she explained. “Is this ok?” She spun around and I swallowed hard when her ass cheeks peeked from under the hem.

“Darlin’, you’re the sexiest cowgirl I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m not a cowgirl, but I wanted to fit in tonight. It’s ok? And my hair? I can take it out. Should I?”

Nash stepped on the porch, lifting one ponytail and then the other. “You look ready to eat.” He winked.

My cock hardened the instant he said it. All I could picture was taking her the way we did last night on the porch, only this time with those boots on and things going a lot farther. I wanted to bend her all the way over and yank those pigtails as I drove inside her.

“Caleb?”

“Umm, yeah. Ready.”

“I asked if you wanted to come in for something to drink first,” Claire repeated.

I shook my head. “No, we better get going.”

I knew if we walked inside the cabin we’d never leave. There was plenty of time for that later. I wanted to show her Stonecreek. It seemed important for her to have the full picture of the ranch. I wanted her to know how it fit into the culture here. How important it was to the community.

I offered her an arm and Nash offered her his.

She giggled. “I can’t wait to see what you two have planned.”

“I think you’ll like it.” Nash walked her to my truck.

“Of course, you would have to have a huge truck. I should have known,” Claire said, giving us a big smile.

“Not the usual around Chicago I guess.”

“Not at all.” She stopped in front of the door.

Nash gripped Claire by the waist, helping lift her as she climbed into the truck. Smirking, he let her slide to the middle of the seat. I waited behind the steering wheel.

Once we were all inside, I chuckled and cranked the engine.

“This is going to be one hell of a night.”

We’d been at the brewery for nearly an hour. We had introduced Claire to plenty of our friends, which practically included everyone in the brewery. She wasn’t used to the small town life where everyone seemed to know everyone else. Although it had been somewhat awkward at first, Nash and I figured out the best way to introduce her was as a good friend. We couldn’t very well tell people we were both sleeping with her.

Small towns weren’t that liberal, no matter how much they loved their local boys.

I cleared my throat. “Come on, Claire. The show is about to start.” I stood from the table.

At that moment, Drew walked up to us. “So who is this?”

Nash patted him on the back. “Drew, meet Claire Parks. Claire, this is Drew. He owns the brewery. Claire is in town writing a piece on Double Canyons.”

“Really? That’s impressive. You two managed to snag a night out with a beautiful reporter.”

I glanced at Claire. She handled it all with ease.

Nash laughed. “You know me and beautiful women.”

He was good at deflecting with humor.

“I think everyone does, Nash.” Drew slapped him on the back again. “Hey, you’re sticking around for the show, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” I shook his hand.

“It’s about to start,” he warned. “Nice to meet you, Claire. Will you come back another night when it’s not so crazy in here?”

“Yes, I definitely want come back sometime,” she said with a smile. “I’d actually love to interview you and do a write-up on this place. It’s amazing.”

Drew winked at Nash. “She’s a keeper.”

I felt a tightness in my chest. A protectiveness over her. She wasn’t just Nash’s girl tonight, she was mine too. But what in the hell was I doing even thinking that was something I could explain? I couldn’t explain it to myself, let alone a room full of people.

“I love your friends,” Claire said as we led her to the table bordering the stage.

Claire’s eyes widened. “Wow—so this is like a real band?” she said, seeing the drums, microphones, guitars, and keyboards.

“Did you think I was pulling your leg?” Nash asked.

“No. I just thought it was going to be something different.”

“Some old drunken cowboys singing karaoke?” he teased.

She laughed. “Something like that.”

“Well, I think you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Wanna sit up close?” I asked. “We have the best seats, darlin’.”

“The three of us, right?” She asked, her eyes darted between us.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Of course,” Nash echoed.

“Good.” She bit her lip. “Because I love being between you two.”

Holy shit. This woman was going to be the end of us.

Nash looked over at me. I knew he saw it and felt it too. Tonight, was already too far gone to turn things around. The truth was, neither of us wanted to. Claire clapped and tried to sing to the songs. Her cheeks were pink from laughing and singing. Everyone here loved her. We knew it, without a doubt.

I only had one question—did she know how well she fit at Double Canyons Ranch?