Roped Tight (Ryker Ranch #4) - Kim Loraine Page 0,53

if it’s actually possible, but Ever called her connections at the network as soon as she saw him go down. They gave her a bunch of lawyer-speak to recite that made Greg look like he was about to lose his lunch.”

God, my brother had found himself one hell of a partner in Ever.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed Tucker’s number and stood there in the kitchen, willing him to answer. Instead, I got his voicemail almost immediately. He’d sent me to voicemail? I didn’t even rate a conversation?

“Hey, Tuck, it’s me. Uh…look, I don’t know what just went down out here between you and Greg, but I need to talk to you. Please?” I ran a hand over the back of my neck, gripping tightly and massaging tense muscles. “We can fix this. Don’t leave.”

My hand shook as I ended the call, and Mama’s warm, soft embrace was the first thing I felt. She pulled me tight into a bone-crushing hug. She may have been small, but she was the strongest woman I knew, physically and mentally.

“Don’t you dare wait for him to call, Sammy. That boy needs you to go get him. He needs to know he’s wanted.”

I held her for one more deep breath before letting her go and stepping away. “You’re right. He let me leave without telling me how he felt. I’m not doing the same this time. If he still wants to go after we talk, I’ll learn to live with it. But I won’t regret telling him.”

18

Sam

If Tucker was trying to hide from me, he wasn’t doing a very good job. His truck sat parked in his driveway, music pulsing inside the house. Intense, driving bass pounded through the walls of the one car garage. I knew exactly where I’d find him.

Using the key he’d given me only a week ago, I opened the front door and strode into the house, hanging my hat on the hook next to his.

“Tuck!” I shouted over the music, but I could barely hear myself.

Heading down the hall, I opened the door that led to the garage and stopped in my tracks at the sight of him. He was shirtless, covered in a sheen of sweat, and pummeling a punching bag like he had something to prove. I watched the way his muscles moved with each blow, the deep valley of his spine, the dimples on his lower back just over his ass. He was wearing low-slung sweatpants, and fuck me, my mouth ran dry. I forgot what I’d even come here for.

Until I thought about what I was gonna do without him on the ranch.

I strode to the speaker and turned it off, leaving the two of us in silence, the only sound his heavy breaths and the slight creak of the chain as the punching bag swayed.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He didn’t flinch. “Working out.”

“You quit.”

“I did.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Yeah, I can.”

“Why?”

He dragged a hand through his thick hair. “Don’t do this, Sammy. You know why.”

“I don’t think you understand. I need you to explain to me why you’d abandon us all. Why you’d leave me. I…I thought we were something special, that things were different.”

As he pivoted to face me, I saw fire in his eyes. I’d hit a nerve. Apparently, we were good at hurting each other.

“No. You don’t understand. That guy had it coming.”

“Sure, he did. We all knew it. We all wanted to do exactly what you did. Do you know how many times I wanted to deck him today alone? But I didn’t do it. I kept myself under control.”

Jaw clenched, he turned away and pulled off his gloves before tossing them on the mat. “He had a video, Sam. He was gonna out you. No one should be outed like that. You should get to make the choice when and if the world knows.”

I stood there like a fucking idiot. He’d done it for me. The damned fool thought he needed to protect me from something that wasn’t a real secret to begin with. “Tucker…” He was facing me again before I could even process that he’d rounded on me.

“So, yeah, I quit. Of course I did. I assaulted a guest. It’s all on camera. Maybe if I’m not a liability to the ranch, you guys won’t get sued.”

I closed the distance between us and grabbed him by the nape of the neck and kissed him hard enough my lips hurt from the pressure. “I’m in love with you