Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,40
out with the guys, Riley was sure quiet. Gone was the teasing between them. Gone was the kissing, too. Oh, she still allowed him, but her enthusiasm was down about nine notches.
Today she was riding with Travis. She hadn’t batted an eyelash at Declan’s assignment, but Travis had smirked at Adam. It had never occurred to him that bringing Riley out to Rockstead might result in her finding one of his brothers more attractive than him. Of course, just because they rode together today didn’t mean they were smooching behind a sweeping cedar. Riley had some principles.
Yeah, like she’d thrown herself at Adam in the Golden Grill. That had been principled. Not so much.
Nathaniel edged Kingpin up beside Jupiter. “You look like the dog barfed in your breakfast.”
“Funny.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.”
Adam shrugged. “Erickson is camped out at Running Creek, looking after the place for the renters.”
“He’s friends with the Samsons? Interesting.”
“He’s an idiot. Who’d want to be his friend?”
“Who cares?” Nathaniel shook his head. “He’s probably got a good quality or two somewhere.”
“I care. He threatened to call the cops on me just for sitting in the truck in the driveway.”
“He was trying to stick in your craw. And it worked.”
“He told Riley he’d help her get away from me.”
His brother’s eyebrows shot up. “Now we’re getting to it. Why would Riley escape, let alone need an accomplice? Trouble in paradise?”
Not compared to Nathaniel getting ghosted by his girlfriend. Riley wasn’t even Adam’s real fiancée. Everything was fake. “Just Erickson being stupid. His specialty.”
“Then why aren’t you laughing it off?”
Good question. Why wasn’t he? Because... females. “Ever notice women just use men to get what they want, then they ditch them?” Too late he remembered Nathaniel’s story about Ainsley.
Nathaniel’s brow furrowed. “Riley broke up with you?”
“No.” Not yet, anyway. And wasn’t Adam supposed to be in control of the demise of their relationship? Fake relationship. He didn’t have what he wanted yet, and that was Running Creek. After his parents’ ranch was in his hands — his and the twins’ — then Riley could do what she liked. Until then, they had a deal.
“I am so not following you.”
“Forget it. Just saying she shouldn’t be laughing and chatting it up with Travis. He’ll rub that in later.”
“Man, you are super insecure. Anyone can see Riley’s totally into you. And if she’s going to marry you and live here, isn’t it good if she gets along with the entire family?”
He’d thought Riley was totally into him, too, but that was last week, and this was now. He’d begun to actually fall for her.
First mistake, obviously.
Nathaniel huffed. “Listen to me. You’ve got to stop thinking about us versus them. Declan’s fair. He doesn’t favor his sons over us. We all get our share of the crap jobs. We all get the same pay and benefits.”
Adam turned a glare on his brother. “I don’t want his favor. I want Running Creek, free and clear, for you, Noah, and me. Declan wants to show me fair? That’s how. Not because Travis has cleaned the same number of stalls I have.” Which wasn’t true, anyway. Travis had mucked out way more stalls at Rockstead than Adam had. He’d been the steady firstborn, unlike Adam, who’d jaunted off to join the rodeo.
“Running Creek is small potatoes compared to Rockstead.”
“You’d sell out your soul for a bigger ranch divided more ways? I don’t get you.”
“Dude. I’m not selling my soul. Do I wish we could have grown up at Running Creek as a happy family without Dad’s cancer? Just been next-door neighbors to the Cavanaghs? Of course, I do. But these are the cards we’ve been dealt. Our dad died. Our mom married Declan. It’s how it is.”
“Our mom’s seriously depressed, and your girlfriend ghosted you. You’ll just sit back and take it?”
“Isn’t that biblical?”
“I don’t know where in your Bible you read that. A man sees injustice, he should meet it head on. Conquer it. Make the world a better place.” Was that what he’d been doing in rodeo? Or should he have stuck it out at Rockstead and challenged his stepfather head-on all those years ago? Nah. He’d been a kid, barely green-broke himself. He’d had to grow up, become a man, before he could do that, but he was here now.
Nathaniel shook his head. “Sometimes there’s just nothing a guy can do, bro. Sometimes you just have to get on your horse and do your job. You can’t solve the world’s problems, but you