Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,21
no teams, man. We’re all Cavanaghs around here.”
His voice was so bland Adam wasn’t sure if he meant the words at face value or not. “Well, if you want to talk, you know where to find me.”
“Lip-locked.”
Adam grinned. “Not all the time. Take right now, for instance. I’m here, talking to my brother. No smooching in sight.”
“Look. You got nothing to brag on, okay? You come back here like twice a year, and suddenly you show up with a fiancée that none of us ever heard of. You want a brotherly chat by the campfire, maybe you should start by being a bit more upfront. I’ve been right here, working my butt off on the ranch, while you’ve been off amassing more belt buckles than any cowpoke can rightly wear in a lifetime. You can’t just walk in and be the big brother. It’s different now.”
“Different how? We’re still brothers.”
“Didn’t you hear a word I said? Blake’s my brother, too. And Ryder.” Adam noted he didn’t mention Travis. “Like Blake said, it’s been a long time.”
“She just up and ditched you?”
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “You old hound dog, you. Just won’t let up when you’ve caught a scent, huh?”
Adam shrugged. “I should’ve been here, sticking up for you.”
“Dude, can we get something straight? I’m twenty-six, not a kid who needs his big bro to beat up a playground bully. I thought me and Ainsley had a good thing going. I’d bought a ring to give her for her birthday. There was nothing to tell me she was gonna ghost right out of my life, okay? Not a single clue. Trust me, I’ve gone back over everything a thousand times.”
Adam leaned on the swinging gate and lowered his voice. “Were you sleeping with her?”
“None of your beeswax, bro.”
“So, yes.”
“Shut it.” Nathaniel swung the saddle off Kingpin and across the rack. He grabbed a brush then began currying his horse.
This was probably not the time to remind Nathaniel how they were raised. It’s not like Adam could brag about his purity, either, but after Chantelle, he’d cleaned up his act. Then Ace’s accident had offered strong reminders of possible negative consequences. “They say it’s guys who just want the conquest and then aren’t interested anymore. They’re wrong. It’s gender-neutral. Women can be just as bad.” Chantelle was a prime example there. At least, with Riley, Adam knew that’s all there was. They were open about using each other, and no one would be hurt when they went their separate ways.
“I don’t want to hear this.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” Adam hesitated. He wanted to tell Nathaniel that God had a plan and all that. Bad timing.
“Well, take care with Riley, then. Because something tells me she’s just after you for what she can get, same as your last girlfriend. She gets it, and she’s gone.”
Nathaniel couldn’t guess how close to home he’d struck, but Adam had an image to uphold. “Naw, not Riley. She loves me.” The lie sat bitterly on his tongue.
“Beware, is all I can say. I thought the same of Ainsley, and I was wrong. First chance, and she was gone without a trace.” Nathaniel laughed, a bitter sound. “The Cavanagh curse. Just look at Travis.”
Dakota’s car had disappeared in a cloud of dust as Adam rode into the ranch yard. At least she wasn’t around to overhear, and Travis was likely off with his son somewhere.
“We’re Andersons.”
“Tell yourself that, bro. That’s not what our legal paperwork says.”
Adam shrugged, and Jupiter bumped his shoulder. He should really get the gelding untacked, brushed, and fed so he could go find Riley. It was too bad they’d met under the circumstances they had. They could have hit it off and had a real thing going, but no. He was after Running Creek, and she was after money. At least it was up front.
Riley shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on the brothers’ conversation. She’d known it before she sidled closer. Then she found out for sure.
Women could be just as bad, huh? Taking a guy, using him, and then discarding him? Maybe sometimes. But not the way men used women. Even this farce of an engagement fit the pattern. Yes, Nathaniel was right — though how he’d guessed, she had no idea — in that she’d gain from this relationship. But it had been Adam’s idea, and he’d benefit much more if it worked. He’d gain an entire ranch, not a measly ten grand.
She should have asked for more.
But, no, she wasn’t really the