Chapter Twelve
After a fitful night’s sleep, Parker woke up with a start. Sunlight beamed through the cracks in his curtains, signaling the worst of the storm was gone.
He rubbed his hand over his morning wood. It had been torture listening to Robyn’s little mewling sounds while Yukon fucked her down the hall. He’d gone to investigate when he’d heard banging in the old guest room. It only took a minute for him to realize exactly what was going on. Yukon was getting lucky with the city girl. It would only be worse for him now when she walked out of his life. But, fuck, he’d warned him numerous times.
He sat up in bed and scrubbed a hand over his face. That was when he heard the knocking on the main door. Parker pulled on a pair of jeans and bounded down the stairs. With the worst of the weather past, he’d have to get back to work. Everything could get back to normal, in addition to any damage control around the property.
Parker expected that little prick was back. He had thrown Ed out first thing in the morning when he went to check on the horses. He knew what went down the night before, and didn’t want him near Robyn today.
Before he hit the bottom step, Yukon was behind him. This would be the third unexpected visit in the last couple days. Something neither of them were used to. They were accustomed to their solitary life, one where everyone chose to keep away.
“Ed?”
“Long gone,” said Parker.
“Now what?”
“Guess we’ll find out.” Parker would wait until later to grill his brother about his night with Robyn. Little Miss Proper should have been in his bed, but he’d pushed her away for the sake of Yukon. If it wasn’t for Ed, maybe the three of them would have spent the night together by the fire. He’d never know what could have been.
Parker opened the door once his brother had a shotgun in hand. Standing on the other side of the door was a hot number in a long coat with a fancy-ass businessman carrying a briefcase. What in God’s name was going on? They didn’t ask for any of this damn attention.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I know Robyn’s in there. The woman at the diner sent us to this address,” said the blonde.
“Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t. Who the hell are you?” asked Parker.
She looked him less than discreetly up and down. They were both in their blue jeans and nothing more. Their visitor was lucky they’d put on that much, considering the early hour.
“I work with her. We were separated because of the storm. Do I need to get the police involved?”
“Sugar, do whatever the fuck you like.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, he’d wanted Robyn gone, knew she’d be a problem in their lives. But now, faced with the fact she’d soon be whisked away to the city, his hackles were up. A new territorial anger building up inside him.
“Shelly?”
Parker and Yukon turned at the same time. Robyn rushed over from the staircase, wearing one of their t-shirts.
Shelly pushed past them without apology and rushed toward Robyn. They embraced in the middle of the living room. “I’m so sorry, Robyn. Oh God, you have no idea how sorry I am.”
“Where the fuck were you? I’ve been stuck here for days.”
“Long story,” said Shelly. “But we’re here now. I have your stuff in the car, so you’ll be all set.”
“For what?”
“We got the papers signed this morning with Marla Winters. Now we have to head to a bigger town just north of here. We’ll be there about a week.”
Robyn shook her head. “No more. Look at me. I just want to go home. I never signed up for this shit.”
“Look around, I don’t see any Ubers waiting to take you back to the city. Calloway’s already pissed this deal is taking so long, storm or no storm.”
“Where’ve you been staying?”
Parker could feel Robyn’s anger and frustration. Her so-called friend had left to fend for herself. If Yukon hadn’t found her, she could have had a much different experience. When cowboys and drifters started drinking at night, bad shit happened.
“It doesn’t look like you’ve been too hard up,” Shelly said, turning to look at him and his brother. “You’re welcome.”
Robyn’s hands balled into fists. “Are you joking? This isn’t funny. I could have been dead for all you knew.”
Shelly shrugged. “Look, I’m sorry. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
The guy at the door stepped in. “Do you have anything I can carry?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t even have my purse. I came here with the clothes on my back.” Robyn practically spat the words. She looked hot when she was pissed off.
“I have a nice room reserved. You’ll love it,” said the asshole.
“Who the fuck are you?” asked Yukon.
The man took a step back. He was a fancy boy with manicured nails and salon hair. Probably hadn’t worked a man’s day in his life. Yukon towered over him.
“Peter Brighton. I’m working this case with Robyn and Shelly.” He reached out a hand, but Yukon only palmed his rifle.
“Robyn has a nice room here.”
Peter was smart and kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll get my clothes.” Robyn went back upstairs. Parker followed her.
He stood in the bedroom doorway as she bent down to pick up one of her things off the floor. When she turned and saw him, she froze.
“Time to run away?” he asked. “I knew you’d break my brother’s heart.”
“Just stop, please.”
“I heard you two fucking last night. You thought that would help? I asked you to keep your distance, but apparently that was too much to ask,” he said.
“I don’t have a choice. It’s my job. I’ll get fired if I don’t go.” She rushed around the room, collecting her things. “Besides, this was temporary. It’s not like anything can actually work with me and your brother. We’re from two different worlds.”
“That’s right, you’re more interested in men with high-priced degrees, no? Like the prick downstairs?”
“He’s not a prick. He’s a well-respected lawyer.”
“And your friend?”
She turned to look at him. “Where I’m from, it’s the best I’ll get.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You should have a higher bar for yourself, darlin’. You’re letting the world take you for a real shit ride.”
Once her arms were full, she approached the doorway. “Thank you for letting me stay. I’m sorry if I was any trouble.”
Something happened between all of them yesterday. He thought she’d changed, but he was wrong.
He wouldn’t let her pass. As much as he kept telling himself he was protecting Yukon, he was protecting himself, too. He liked her. Too much. A small part of him hoped she was different from other city girls, but he was a fool in love. Women from the city were narrowed-minded, lovers of money, and ready to cast people aside.
“It’s that simple, is it? Just keep running without looking back?”
“Nothing’s simple,” she said.
When she looked up at him, he saw the conflict in her eyes.
“Kiss me,” he said.
“What?”
“A goodbye kiss, then you can leave. No hard feelings.”
“Fine.”
He took a step into the room, cupping her face into his hands. “You can run all you want, but you’ll be running forever. No man will love you like Yukon. Remember that when you’re back in your real world.” No man would love her like him.
Parker bent down and kissed her on the lips. He’d been fantasizing about the softness of her kiss. She dropped her clothes and placed her hands on his chest, kissing him back. If only things were different, but they couldn’t be more complicated.
He pulled away. “About that tattoo. It says Courage is being scared to death … and saddling up anyway. I got the old Western bug from our dad. Seemed appropriate when I was riding bulls.” Parker moved to the side and opened his arm, inviting her to leave. “I’ll see you around.”
****
Robyn hadn’t expected Shelly to show up first thing in the morning—or ever. She expected to have more time to think, to decide what to do. She’d spent the hottest night of her life with Yukon, and he’d made it clear he wanted more than one night. The whole idea of commitment and security terrified her. It was out of her element, and real happiness just wasn’t meant for her. Sure, she’d tried to conform and fit in, but it was all an act. Real happiness was different, something unattainable for most people she knew, including her. That was what drugs and alcohol were for—getting through life with as little reflection as possible.
Parker stepped aside. He had the body of a god, his Wranglers low on his etched hips. His kiss confused her. So did his words.
She had to leave before she lost her mind … and her heart.
“I’m ready,” she said once downstairs again. Robyn needed to get out of this house. Seeing Shelly and Peter in the flesh brought back reality. Her stay with the brothers was a dream, a fantasy, and it was time to get back to real life.
She thrust her clothes in Shelly’s arms and her friend left the house with Peter. Friend was being used very loosely at this point. It seemed everyone in Robyn’s life would trade her for as little as a custom latte. Shelly chose sex with a lawyer over their friendship, but Robyn had to suck it up, internalize it, and play like nothing mattered. That was what she was good at.
“You’re leaving?” Yukon ran a hand through his tousled hair, betrayal in his blue eyes. She wanted to touch him, to throw herself into his strong, capable arms, but that wouldn’t help. Robyn had to be strong, had to close off her emotions if she wanted to survive the next couple hours.
“It’s just work. I have to finish this assignment.”
“And then what?”
She shrugged. “Then I go home, I guess.”
“Baby, I want you here. With me,” said Yukon. “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”
“Let her go,” said Parker, approaching them. “It’s time for our guest to get back to her real life. You can’t force someone to love you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, then she rushed out the door.
She jogged up the drive to Shelly’s SUV and slammed the door shut. “Let’s go. Hurry, please.”
Peter laughed. “She really wants to get away from here. What did those two heathens do to you?”
“Nothing. I just want to forget any of this ever happened.”
Yukon’s words kept playing in her head. He wanted her to stay—permanently. Another woman may be thrilled at the prospect of having a gorgeous, attentive man ready to commit. She believed him, too. The man was like an open book, his emotions hard to misunderstand. He’d be a great husband—patient, devoted, and amazing in bed.
That was why she was running. It was too good to be true. Bound to come crashing down around her. And she couldn’t commit to one man when she loved two.
Robyn had come from nothing, the very bottom. She’d been dropped off in a church foyer in the dead of night when she was one day old, discarded and unwanted. From that time on, she’d been shipped from foster home to foster home, never belonging, and told she’d never amount to anything. It was easy to believe.
She’d run away from the past and its plethora of dirty memories. Robyn had been determined to reinvent herself, to cast everything about her old life aside. It wasn’t easy trying to jump a class, her lowly roots trying to pull her back down.
Now she was falling for a cowboy, reminding her of the painful past she wanted to escape. The city, its fake people, and the never-ending struggle for perfection were the perfect backdrop for a woman broken inside.
“How’d you manage to land two smoking hot cowboys?” asked Shelley when the silence dragged on too long. Reflection was something to be avoided, and everything was coming back now.
“Lucky, I guess.” She stared out the window, watching the golden fields pass by. What she should have been doing was ripping Shelly and Peter a new one for abandoning her. She should have been demanding answers, asking where the fuck they’d been for so many days, and not bending over backward.
She’d sold her soul.
There was nothing left. Her adult life and her struggle to become more had been a joke. What good was status and knock-off Prada when she was the same terrified little girl on the inside? She was caught between two worlds, two women, never belonging fully to either.
“I bet you can’t wait to get showered and changed,” said Peter. “That house, if you can call that hovel a house, looked like it should be quarantined.”
She’d normally laugh and agree, but she couldn’t. Yukon and Parker were good men, living an honest simple life. When she’d been there, the rest of the world went away, along with the high expectations bearing down on her.
“It was better than sleeping on the streets,” she said, not hiding her resentment.
“We’ll go out to dinner tonight. On me.” He winked at her, but his looks and swagger no longer affected her. She’d been bitten by another bug. Robyn had two cowboys on her mind. It was just another reason why she couldn’t accept Yukon’s offer, not when she was just as attracted to his brother. It wouldn’t be fair to him. To any of them.
All her ideals were crumbling around her. She wanted to go back to the way things were—uncomplicated. But now that she’d been given a taste of heaven, things may never be the same.
About forty minutes later, they arrived in another small town. This one was much more developed than the last, and the streets were bustling due to the annual rodeo.
“What are we supposed to be doing here?” she asked, looking out the windows at the mix of tourists and locals. White tents were set up in the fields and horse trailers and RVs lined the roads.
“More boundary disputes. Shouldn’t take more than a few days,” said Peter. “We have a hotel booked. It’s not the Hilton, but it’s better than what you’ve had this week.”
She didn’t bother to speak her mind. Robyn just wanted this assignment to be done and over with. She wondered if she could go back to her regular, comfortable routine when she got back home to her apartment. Or would she forever wonder what could have been?