Allister, J. Rose - Disowned Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (21 page)

Aimee nodded and stood up, pressing a kiss to her mother’s shiny hair. “I love you, Mom. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

She wandered back inside on shaking legs. Her mother didn’t even know who she was. Aimee certainly shouldn’t read too much into her relationship advice.

Once at the business office, she stood at the counter and asked the clerk to pull up her mother’s account. The woman confirmed the credit of one hundred thousand dollars.

“But can you tell me who made the payment?” Aimee asked. “As delighted as I am to accept such a credit, it wouldn’t be honest if this is some kind of mistake.”

The skinny brunette behind the counter shook her head and scratched at what appeared to be an itchy knit sweater. The grassy shade reflected nicely into her eyes, making them appear an even more vibrant green. Still, the eyes regarded Aimee as though she were the one in need of medical treatment. “There was no mistake, ma’am. I can’t recall his name off the top of my head, but he wanted to make absolutely certain that he had the right Mrs. Stevens. He mentioned you specifically—Aimee Jo. I went over everything myself and processed the bank transfer.”

“You were the clerk who took the payment? So you saw him, then. What did he look like?”

The green eyes turned wistful. “Tall, blond, gorgeous beyond reason. Hot accent, too.”

Aimee’s breath caught. “Accent?”

“Yeah. You know, slang. Lots of cowboys in these parts, what with the ranches over in Hillerton and up the mountain.” The woman sighed. “I’d love to land me a rich, handsome ranch man.”

Every limb in Aimee’s body froze up. “He was a cowboy?”

“Yes,
ma’am
.” The woman giggled as she affected a western drawl on the last word. “Hat and manners and all.”

“Are you sure you can’t remember his name?” Although, Aimee was getting a fair idea who it might be. “Surely you had to get that information to make a bank transfer.”

“The payment came through a business account.” She went to her computer and punched some keys. “Here it is. West Ways Ranch.”

A ranch paid? An uneasy feeling fluttered in her stomach. “But what was the man’s
name
?”

The brunette scrunched up her face like she was deep in thought. “Darn. You’d think I’d remember, gorgeous as he was. Cain, maybe? Clark? He just said his ranch wanted to make a donation to your mother’s care and gave your name. Did you buy some horses recently or something?”

Aimee shook her head, dumbstruck. Tall, blond, cowboy twang. Only one man fit that description. But he didn’t own a ranch.

She hesitated. “The name wasn’t Kyle, was it?”

The woman’s face brightened. “Yes, that’s it! Kyle West.”

Aimee just stood there, staring.

“Ma’am?”

She blinked and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I understand now. Thank you for looking up the information.”

She rushed out of the office and climbed into her car, numb and reeling from this latest development. How could this be true? How could Kyle afford something like that? More important,
why
would he do something like that? Despite their night together, he was very reserved where she was concerned—almost the polar opposite of Dillon. He knew she was still thinking of marrying David. He had abandoned her without a word after climbing into her bed. To make such a monumental contribution in light of the whole picture made no sense. Was he trying to make a point about her assumption that he was destitute? That must be it.

Okay, so she’d presumed that neither of the cowboys had any means of support. What else was she supposed to deduce? They hadn’t given her reason to think otherwise. They made assumptions, too. They thought she should toss her life aside for men she didn’t even know. Then they accused her of being a money-grubber who only cared about getting a rich man, which wasn’t true at all.

Was it?

She revved her motor and glanced into the rearview mirror. Accusing eyes stared back. Honestly, what was the reason she’d clung to for refusing Kyle and Dillon? That reason hadn’t been enough to keep her out of their arms, but out of the running for a relationship. Okay, fine. Maybe she did place money above love where romance was concerned. Maybe if Kyle and Dillon had been forced to take over running a household while still in high school, they’d be worried about financial stability, too. They hadn’t wanted to accept that she couldn’t hand her life over to men she just met, regardless of the way they made her feel. Because of that, they’d left her bed without so much as a fare-thee-well. Loved and left.

Her mouth drew into a tight slash, and she looked away from the mirror. She’d been in such a mad panic since discovering she was late for work that she hadn’t let herself stop long enough to allow that ugly bit of reality sink in. Too bad it couldn’t have stayed that way. Instead, rejection crashed over her like thunder while she drove away from Applewood. How stupid she’d been.

She had been truly frightened when she’d thought Kyle had been seriously injured by the truck. Terrified, really. She thought she would lose him and had taken both men into her home without a thought. Kyle and Dillon had made love to her and made her feel things she never dreamed existed. They had offered to “claim” her, though she wasn’t clear on what sort of commitment that entailed. They had tried to get her to admit that what she felt for them couldn’t be denied, and as she turned onto the highway into the mountains, she realized that they were right. But sometime during the night, the men had disappeared without a word. No note and no explanation, except the one reason that played through her mind now.

They were tired of her rejection, of her giving into passion from arm’s length while making it clear that they weren’t good for her high-maintenance life. Had Kyle’s payment been a parting shot to punish her for being wrong about him? A this-is-what-you-gave-up statement to think about during long, desolate nights? Dillon stealing her engagement ring was no doubt his way of getting in a last blow on the way out the door. And maybe she deserved it. A woman seriously contemplating marriage to someone else wouldn’t be so brazen as to let two other men fuck her simultaneously in the shower. Not a woman who deserved to have her “I do” taken seriously.

She had to get real honest, real fast, and when she did, she knew she’d already made her decision back in the cave. That was why Kyle and Dillon could drive her to do things she had no right to do while wearing another man’s ring. Her finger might have worn that symbol of commitment, but her heart didn’t. Her heart belonged to them.

“Mom was right,” she whispered to her reflection in the rearview. “Love makes you find a way.” Just like Aimee had found a way to see to it her mother was cared for, no matter what. She’d been a high-school girl and had made it through out of sheer love for the woman who had raised her.

She didn’t deserve David, and she didn’t deserve Kyle or Dillon, either. She’d betrayed all three of them in different ways. Now she had to pay the consequences. She had to admit the truth, even if it was too late to get what she wanted. It would likely mean a broken heart and losing her job, but she couldn’t go on lying to herself or any of the others. It was time to set things right.

Chapter Nine

Aimee had felt quite pleased with herself for having the foresight to stop on the way up to purchase a sturdy battery-operated lantern and bottled water. Now, as every pebble poked at her feet through her low-heeled pumps while she walked through the cave tunnel, she cursed herself for lacking the brains to change into decent footwear as well. Maybe one of these days she’d get these trips to the mountains right. Assuming there would ever be one again.

She was already standing in the vacant cave room when she realized she hadn’t really expected either of the men to be there. Dillon hadn’t bothered to chain himself up during the previous night’s full moon, and tonight’s moon would be the weakest of the three. Besides, it wasn’t even nightfall yet. Nevertheless, she wondered whether he might have stashed the ring in the cave. She used the lantern and a flashlight from her car to search the dirt floor for it.

“Damn it,” she said when she came up empty handed. She set the lantern and flashlight down near the pile of chains against the far wall. A thought hit, and she carefully uncoiled the pile to check underneath. Nothing.

She dropped the chains with a rattle but held onto Dillon’s heavy metal collar while she sat down on the cave floor. She turned the collar over in her hands, trying to picture what it was like to be restrained that way. How did he feel, chained up all alone while waiting for Kyle and for the full moon to rise and trigger the curse?

Sitting the flashlight in her lap, she opened the hinge on the collar and slid it around her neck without clicking the lock in place. She hadn’t seen a key, so tethering herself to the wall didn’t seem like the greatest idea. The collar was big and hung over her collarbone colder and heavier than she expected. Still, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t feel the tiny trickle of pleasure at the sense of being so naughty and wanton. Chained like an animal, to restrain the wild thing she became whenever the two men who taught her the ways of lust put their hands on her.

“You know, I had that same idea myself.”

She jerked her head up to see Dillon standing just inside the tunnel, staring at her with an amused expression. A western-yoked tan shirt had been paired with today’s jeans, and his hat was in his hand. “What idea?” she asked.

He walked toward her, his boot steps echoing in the cave. “To chain you up right there so you couldn’t run away from me again.”

She shrugged and ran a finger along the rugged chain. “Instead, you decided to run away yourself. I suppose I deserved it.”

He stopped and squatted down in front of her. “I didn’t run away.”

Her eyes refused to meet his. “When I woke up this morning, you were gone.” She was surprised and a little annoyed at how small and girlish her voice sounded.

A warm finger slid under her chin and lifted her face to his. “I didn’t run away.” He said each word slower this time. “We left in the middle of the night. Kyle had to get back before the pack got suspicious.”

“You could have said something.”

A pang of guilt crossed his features. “Kyle wouldn’t let me wake you to say good-bye.”

Her heart skipped in frustration. “Why not?”

“He said we shouldn’t play with your emotions, what with you not wantin’ us and all. Said we needed to give you time and space to think on things, and then you’d be back.” His eyes searched hers. “I didn’t agree, but here I find you a few hours later. Guess he was right.”

“Where is Kyle? With the other pack?”

He nodded. “We split up at the foot of the mountain. Haven’t seen him since.”

“Are you expecting him later since it’s still a full moon?”

“He wasn’t plannin’ to come here tonight. He’s tryin’ to lie low with the pack since he’s been takin’ off so much lately.” Dillon arched a brow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were more interested in seein’ Kyle than you are me.”

She offered him a smile. “I confess that I came up here hoping to see you both. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

He reached out and fingered her collar. “No. It’s expected.”

“Expected?” She laughed. “Why, because you’re both so handsome and charming, even though one of you is intimidating as hell and the other annoyingly devious?”

His grin in return quickened her pulse. “Because the mate of a werewolf will be naturally attracted to the rest of his pack.”

Her smile faded. “But I’m not your mate. Not officially.”

His fingers slid from the collar along her shoulder, sending chills down her arm. “You’ll still feel the draw. But if you were to take Kyle’s mark as our mate, the need you feel for us already would grow much more intense.” His eyes threatened to consume her. “Much more difficult to resist.”

She wondered how her desire for them could possibly get any harder to resist while his words and touch wove a spell around her. “
Kyle’s
mark? You told me in the bar that you wanted to mark me.”