Chapter 8
OF ALL THE PLACES JW imagined Kitty would want to go, he never expected she’d suggest his ranch.
In Buhl, Idaho.
A place she’d never heard of before she’d met him.
The plane ride was long, but bearable because she’d been there. He enjoyed the ride back to his ranch, pointing out his favorite spots along the way, and she’d oohed and aahed and smiled that killer smile, making his hands as clammy as a steam room.
He tilted his head toward the staircase, wondering what was taking Kitty so long to ‘freshen up’ after he’d given her the dime tour of his home.
The sound of an engine easing to a stop in the circular driveway had his dogs, King and Kong a yellow lab and a pre-breed long-haired German Shepherd whining, thumping their heavy tails against the sofa, knowing his sister had just pulled in.
“Relax, boys.” He’d gotten Kong first as puppy and named him after the first bull he’d ever rode. King came to him a year later, and he just couldn’t resist the name.
“Sit,” he commanded. Both dogs cocked their heads, and their butts hit the floor. They were already overly excited about him being home and utterly confused about the woman unpacking a suitcase in his bedroom. They hadn’t liked the last girl he’d shared a bed with, and while they seemed to enjoy Kitty, they were still reserved when in the same room.
The front door swished opened, then slammed shut. King, the lab, scratched his paw against JW’s leg.
“Go get her,” he said. The dogs took off running.
“Down, dogs,” Georgia Moon said before they even skidded to a stop in front of her. “You jump on me, I won’t give you these.” She held up two rawhides, and the dogs immediately sat, tails wagging impatiently.
Georgia Moon gave them their treats, and they scurried back over to the family room, lying down at his feet, happily gnawing away.
“So, where is this chick?” Georgia Moon asked as she tossed her keys on the table near the front door.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
“No,” she said, kicking off her boots before she meandered into the living room where he sat on the sofa, with a couple opened bottles of wine and two glasses.
The number of flutes should have been hint enough, but he knew he wouldn’t get rid of her until she got to meet the woman he let into his house when he swore no female would ever grace his bedroom again.
“I didn’t invite you,” he said.
“You seriously thought you’d call me and tell me you’re bringing a girl home, and I’d stay clear of the house?” She pulled another glass from the bar before helping herself to some vino. She settled in the big wingback chair, resting her feet on the ottoman.
“I was praying for a miracle.”
Georgia Moon was six years younger and only nine when their parents had died. As the youngest, she had the fewest memories, which most likely was for the best, but she’d been hit the hardest when their grandmother had passed. She’d been the woman who had raised Georgia Moon, and they had the kind of special bond that others searched for their entire lives.
“JD and JB are on their way over, so you might want to open another bottle.”
“Won’t be necessary. You will each have one glass and leave,” he said, shocked they hadn’t been in the house before he’d even left the airport. “Promise me you’ll be on your best behavior.”
She tossed her head back and laughed that insidious laugh that sounded like a mockingbird. The fake laugh, everyone called it, and it made his ears crave silence.
“Can I at least count on you not to insult her?”
“The only girlfriend of yours I’ve ever slighted was Bella, and she deserved it.”
“That’s true.”
The sound of rubber-soled shoes squeaking against the hardwood floors made his heart flutter. Both dogs lifted their heads, licking their chops, noses in the air, sniffing wildly. He pointed at his sister. “I really like her, so be nice.” He stood, waiting for Kitty to grace the room with her radiant beauty and killer personality.
“I have never seen a bathtub that big before.” Kitty bounced into the room, her hair cascading over her shoulders, swaying with every step. “Oh, hello.”
“Kitty, meet Georgia Moon.”
“You can call me Georgia.”
He poured a glass of wine while his sister pulled Kitty in for a hug. Georgia Moon had always been the most affectionate out of his siblings, which made sense, since the rest of them were all males, but JW, having to tuck her in many nights, developed a taste for hugs. “My brothers will be here any minute.”
“This will be overwhelming,” Kitty said with a smile, tucking her hair behind her ears as her ass sank into the chocolate leather sofa. “Does anyone ever call all the brothers Triple J or something?”
“JD and JB are often called a double shot,” Georgia Moon said, resting her head on the back of the seat.
“That seems unfair to leave out the eldest.” Kitty rolled a strand of hair around her finger in a mesmerizing dance that lulled him into submission. Whatever she wanted, he doubted he’d ever be able to say no.
“My brothers look like twins, where, sadly, I look more like my mom and sister,” JW said.
“I can see the resemblance between the two of you.”
He loved the sound of Kitty’s voice and wished she would talk all the time, so he could hear the sweet, sexy timbre roll off his ears, sending warm messages all through his body.
King and Kong barked as the rumbling of an engine hummed outside.
“You want to get those boys,” JW said, bending over, letting Kong lick his face. For the last year, his dogs had been his only real friendship outside of his siblings. After his best friend had slept with his fiancé, he didn’t trust people. He pushed the small doubt that tickled his mind that Kitty wouldn’t be any different from those he’d deemed faithful in the past. “You go tell them who is boss.”
Both dogs bolted from the floor.
“I’ve never seen such well-behaved dogs before. They listen and do everything you tell them to.” Kitty tucked her feet under her butt, looking poised and relaxed, while his insides stirred like a stick churning butter.
“JW is the dog whisperer,” his sister said. “Too bad it didn’t translate to bulls, or he might have been able to stay on one even longer.”
“I still hold the world record.” JW stared at the front door, the dogs dancing in circles.
Kitty leaned in, her warm, delicate fingers gently curling around his arm. “What are they going to do to your brothers?” she asked.
“Just watch.”
King and Kong loved his brothers as much as they loved them, but each dog was pushing a hundred pounds of solid muscle and not that easy to catch mid-air.
The second the door cracked open an inch, JW said, “Give them boys some love!”
Kong nudged the door with his nose then jumped straight up at JD, who grabbed the dog, but still had a hard time keeping his balance.
King leapt up into JB, who ended up slamming his back into the wall.
“God damned dogs,” JD muttered. “Do you have to have them do this every time?” He scratched the dog’s back while King slobbered all over his face.
“Please don’t ever ask the dogs to give me love,” Kitty said, laughter spilling out of her sweet mouth.
“King. Kong,” JW commanded. “Wanna come love this girl?”
The dogs raced around the sofa once as Kitty practically crawled onto his lap, clutching at his shoulders.
“You’re scaring your own house guest,” his sister mused, knowing exactly what was about to happen and by the amused look on her face, was enjoying it almost as much he and the dogs were.
“Just relax, they love ladies a little differently.” Reluctantly, he pried her fingers from his body. He felt a pang of guilt as this was often a test to see how a date might really feel about his dogs. You didn’t get along with them, there could be a problem.
Something he should have known with Bella.
“You could have warned the poor girl before commanding the dogs to her feet,” JB said, brushing off the dog hair as he made his way across the room, setting his hat on the bar.
JW ignored his family, focusing on the dogs, and the girl who had knocked down some of the wall he’d built over the last year. “King, a little love for the girl.”
King jumped on the sofa, sitting next to Kitty. He raised his paw, resting it on her shoulder before leaning in and licking her cheek.
“Aww. That’s so cute.” Kitty cupped the dog’s face, scratching his cheeks and behind his ears. “You’re a good dog.”
Kong moaned wildly on the floor, taking her pant leg into his mouth, and tugging.
“Down, King,” JW commanded. “Kong, a little love for the girl.”
Reluctantly, King jumped off the sofa, making room for Kong.
JW sat back, tossing his arm around the back of the sofa, watching Kitty and his dogs. She seemed to genuinely enjoy them, and they were certainly warming up to her.
“Thank you, Kong, now get down,” Kitty said.
“He has a hard time listening…” JW let the words trail off. The dogs took his commands, but often ignored others, unless there was a mutual respect.
Kong gave her one more lick, then jumped down, and both dogs went back to their bones, at her feet, not his.
Traitors.
“Since my brother is too busy showing off his dogs, let me introduce myself,” JD said, pouring himself a small glass of wine. Of his two brothers, JD was the more serious one, but both were brilliant when it came to numbers, and he trusted them to run the financial part of the ranch while his sister focused on the management of daily operations. Since he’d officially retired from bull riding, he worked on trying to get the bull riding school started.
“Sorry. That’s JD and the one getting another glass is JB, and they are both a pain in my ass.”
His brothers were what everyone called Irish twins at ten months apart, with JD being the older one and only two years younger than JW.
“Ma’am,” JB said, taking his Stetson off, tossing it on the bar. “How are you liking Whiskey Ranch?”
It had originally been called The Buhl Ranch, but when JW had turned eighteen, and was the highest paid cowboy on the circuit, Chuck had decided to change the name, knowing he’d leave the property, and his wealth, to the Whiskey family. The gesture had humbled his grandparents.
And terrified JW. He worried he wouldn’t be able to fill Chuck’s shoes and still didn’t believe he had. There was no one in this world like Chuck Holland. Not to mention, his ex-fiancé had tainted JW’s reputation, and he still hadn’t completely recovered from her lies.
“I haven’t seen much of it since we only got in a couple of hours ago,” she said, leaning against JW.
The heat from her body scorched his skin like a branding stick. The next half hour or so would be torture. Hopefully he could get rid of his siblings quickly.
“I’m going to get the full tour and then something about some famous ribs in town.”
“Ah, MacAster’s has the best ribs in the entire country,” JD said, sitting next to his brother on the other sofa.
JW tried not to think about the night he told his siblings he’d been secretly dating Bella for a few months, and she was going to move into the ranch house. His brothers had warned him that Bella wasn’t the woman for him, and his sister was concerned about what it would do to the relationship they had built with her father.
For good reason.
But JW hadn’t listened. He thought he was in love. Georgia Moon had just moved out, taking over the guest house while his two brothers had remolded the old manager’s cabin, where they’d grown up, putting on an addition, which included a game room. A true bachelor pad. He often wondered what would happen if one of his little brothers actually fell in love since they seemed to be glued together like Siamese twins, unable to do anything without the other.
“How long are you visiting?” JB asked, swirling his wine. While they all enjoyed Whiskey and beer, they’d developed a taste for red wine, something they all got from Chuck Holland, a man who’d been like a second father to all of them.
“I fly home Saturday,” Kitty said.
“Two days is barely enough time to see all of the ranch and have a girl’s night with me,” Georgia Moon said, winking in his direction. She meant well, but she could scare this one away if she came on too strong. “I’ve got so many good stories I can tell on my eldest brother.”
“Like the time he decided to shoot a pellet into a coil, and it came out the other side and nailed him in the shin,” JD said, shaking his head. “Even I knew that was stupid.:”
“I’m not sure I understand what happened,” Kitty crinkled her nose.
He wanted to reach out and bat it, but his brothers would absolutely say something about that, so he opted for letting his thumb and index finger get tangled in her silky hair that always smelled like strawberries. “There was a big hose, like what comes out of the back of dryer next to the barn. It was coiled like a snake, and I shoved the muzzle of my pellet gun in the top and pulled the trigger. We heard it go round and round—”
“The other end was next to his foot in a slight upward direction, where the pellet projected out. He fell to the ground, wailing like a pathetic pig,” JD said, grinning from ear to ear.
JW rolled his eyes, hiking up his pant leg, pointing to the scar the pellet had left after the ranch veterinarian dug it out of his body. “You have no idea how badly that hurt.”
“That had to be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, even Dad cracked up.” JD smiled.
JW’s heart thumped at the memory. His dad had been one of those men that had been larger than life. Tall, muscular build, and while a strict man when it came to his children, he had the heart of gold and the patience of a saint.
JW glanced in the direction of his sister, who often complained about how little she remembered of their parents and her early years, and this would be one of those cases. She was as tough as an ox, but no matter how many stories he’d told her over the years about their parents, most would never be a moving picture inside her head.
“How about the time the golf cart died? That was hysterical,” JD said.
“Let’s get the story straight. It didn’t die,” JW corrected. “One of those idiots over there sabotaged it.”
“What happened?” Kitty asked, every syllable laced with excitement like a kid waiting for the next chapter of a story. Her knee pushed into his thigh, sending his libido into overdrive. He shifted, adjusting his jeans, but no way could he ever get comfortable until he was in his bed, naked, with her body draped over his, drenched in lust.
“He got stuck in the pasture with Nelly, the craziest bull we have ever owned. Swear to God, the bull had mental problems.” JB twirled his index finger by the side of his head.
“What did the bull do to keep JW trapped?” Kitty asked.
“He was trying to hump the golf cart but every time JW tried to leave, the bull snarled, jumping down, staring at JW in attack mode.” JB took a large gulp of his wine. He might appreciate the sultry blend, but he’d never learned to sip and enjoy.
“I damn near met my maker, no thanks to you idiots.” JW had never feared a bull before until that day.
“It was a full hour before we could distract the bull enough to get JW out of there,” Georgia Moon said. “We’ve got video of that one somewhere.”
“I’m not sure I want a ride on the golf cart,” Kitty said.
“It’s not the cart you need to be worried about.” JW slipped his hand under her hair, fingers caressing the back of her neck. “Nor the bull,” he whispered in her ear.
She sucked in her lower lip, staring at him, batting her baby blues.
“I don’t know about you two.” Georgia Moon stood. “But I can take a hint.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have even shown up tonight at all,” JW said.
“Before we head out, I need to talk to you about one thing.” JB downed the rest of his wine and then rinsed the glass out in the bar sink.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” He leaned closer to Kitty, pressing his lips against her warm cheek. “Don’t move.” He stepped over the dogs and followed his family to the foyer. “What’s up?”
JB held out his phone, showing a national gossip mag. “Your ex is in Baltimore this week.”
“What the fuck?” He grabbed the phone, tapping the article, resizing it. “I thought she moved to Nashville to pursue her singing?”
“She’s not very good,” Georgia Moon said with venom dripping from her words.
What JW couldn’t understand was why she’d headed to Baltimore, about the same time he had. After the truth had come out, Bella had gone into hiding, only to resurface about three months ago a new woman. Of course, the tabloids still ran the story, calling him a wife beater, or her a lying hussy. No matter how they spun it, he never came out smelling like roses, and everyone felt bad for Bella.
“This guy she’s with, Eric Longstrum, is some sort of artist manager, though I can’t find a lot of information on him,” JB said.
“So, a coincidence.” JW continued to scan the article. “Well, fuck me.”
“What is it?” JB asked.
“Bella is scheduled to sing Friday night at Pat’s Irish Pub.” He tore his gaze from the phone. “That’s where Kitty works.”