Rough Riders Bundle 1(books 1, 2, 3) (105 page)

That’s when Daddy-O reiterated that
had
been Sierra’s decision; she wanted nothing to do with me.

A reaction I’d shrugged off and blamed on her high fever.

Justification? Or cockiness on my part?

Both. But I knew in the marrow of my bones that an apathetic woman wouldn’t have made such an edict because she wouldn’t have cared. Sierra cared.

Being a determined bastard, I’d shown up at Sierra’s house every day.

Being a stubborn McKay, she refused to see me every day.

By the third day, I recognized that even Gavin and his wife Rielle were starting to feel sorry for me. I used that to my advantage when Gavin informed me on day four that Sierra had returned to Phoenix.

My demand for her phone number garnered a “fuck no” and the door slammed in my face.

My request for the name and address of the place she worked resulted in a detailed description of the legal definition of stalking.

My promise that I would willingly let every male member of the McKay family—notoriously bad-tempered cowboys—hog-tie me to the flagpole in the middle of town and take turns beating the ever-lovin’ fuck out of me if I harmed a single hair on Sierra’s beautiful head had finally convinced Gavin of my sincerity.

He provided the information I wanted… After I’d signed a binding legal contract.

In blood.

Okay. Not in blood, but the pen I’d used
had
contained red ink so it was a distinct possibility. But I’d gladly sign a deal with the devil himself if it meant I had a shot at making things right with the one woman I’d never forgotten.

So here I was, trying to implement a plan of attack on the fly.

The irony of this situation? I’d had meetings scheduled in Phoenix before Sierra and I had crossed paths.

That had to be a sign.

Had
to.

Maybe that was wishful thinking on my part. But no one has ever accused me of being an optimist—I’d lived with the “Brooding Boone” moniker since my third birthday.

Could Sierra see me beyond who I used to be? The borderline bad boy who’d left her after admitting I’d hidden my feelings for her from the start?

But you aren’t that kid anymore.

So I’d changed. Big deal. It’d be a sad situation if I hadn’t. I could thank the United States Army for the significant improvements in my life and the opportunities that joining the military had afforded me.

Way to sound like a recruitment poster, douche.

Fuck.

Where was my confidence? I was educated. I’d expanded my language skills. I’d become a team leader. I’d learned the art of compromise and negotiation. I’d effectively erased most of that punk I used to be.

But what if that’s the guy she wants?

Fuck that. I could offer her things now that I couldn’t before. I had a career. A pension. A nice car. A bright future.

She always had those things that you worked so hard to get. What can you give her no one else can? What makes you special?

My mind blanked.

I heard a crack and realized I’d been grinding my teeth so hard my jaw had popped.

All of this speculation meant squat.

My male pride assured me I’d come this far and she wouldn’t refuse to see me. It kept reminding me I’d had a connection with Sierra I hadn’t experienced with anyone else. Unfortunately, my pride also had a sadistic streak. It suggested I’d never gotten over Sierra because she’d never really been mine in the first place.

My pride was a total dickhead most of the time.

The GPS reminded me to turn right at the next intersection and my destination had been reached.

After I parked in the visitor’s lot, I bent down and peered through the bottom of the windshield so I could see the Daniels Development Group office building from the ground up.

I’d always known Sierra came from money. Yet I also knew that Gavin Daniels had been responsible for that financial success after expanding the business he’d inherited from his father. Did Sierra feel pressured to make an equal—or an even bigger mark—with her role in the family business? She had the brains to do it, but did she have the drive?

Thinking back, I didn’t remember that she’d been interested in carrying on the family legacy. Then again, who knows what they want out of life at age sixteen? Just because I’d known her then, didn’t mean I knew anything about her goals, aspirations and responsibilities now. And I couldn’t wait to find them out firsthand.

As I crossed the parking lot, I figured it was a good time to remind myself what I
did
know.

Sierra worked in Daniels Property Management on the tenth floor.

She wasn’t in a relationship.

My brain hit pause. What else?

When nothing came to mind, I realized that was all I knew about her.

Sort of pathetic, really.

But Sierra had roughly the same basic knowledge about me, so we’d be on equal ground.

The thought of getting this second chance with her quickened my stride as I entered the lobby.

As I rode the elevator, various scenarios ran through my mind of how this would play out.

In the movie version of our reunion, we’d be running toward each other in slow motion, through the rain. We’d kiss like mad, pausing only to tearfully confess our eternal love for each other as the scene fades to black.

In my version, after I promise to spend the rest of my life making up for the past seven years we were apart, we end up on the rain-soaked ground, so hot for each other we fuck right there in the mud. Or I’d fuck her up against a tree. Or I’d bend her over a park bench. Oh hell yeah. That one was really good. Especially when I imagined my hand twisted in that gorgeous dark hair of hers, pulling just hard enough to make her gasp as I’m whispering dirty, dirty promises in her ear.

Jesus man, get a fucking grip. You really want to stroll in sporting wood? And is sex all you really want from her?

Well, no. But I sure as hell wouldn’t pretend I wanted to be her friend either.

The elevator stopped on the tenth floor and the doors slid open.

For just a moment…I froze. Was I truly ready for this?

Don’t be a pussy. You’re a fucking soldier. You’ve dodged sniper fire and IEDs. This? This is cake.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my khakis before I strode to the receptionist’s desk. I bestowed my most charming smile on her. “I’m here to see Sierra McKay.”

*

I hope you enjoyed the preview and thank you for reading
Cowgirl Up and Ride
, the third installment in the McKay family saga! If you’re so inclined to spread the word and the love about the Rough Riders world, please leave a review at your favorite e-bookseller site.

Rough Riders, Book 4

Lorelei James

Copyright © 2015 LJLA, LLC

S
kylar Ellison hated
being naked in public.

Not that she was positioned on a bridge waving her hoo-hoos and va-jay-jay at passersby, but damn, wearing just her birthday suit made her oh-so conscious of the flaws in that aging suit. The paper covering the patient’s exam table crinkled beneath her sweaty thighs. A cold breeze from the air duct wafted across her bare butt exactly where the itsy bitsy cloth gown gapped.

That wasn’t as bad as having her lower half completely exposed, her knees spread wide, her feet in metal stirrups as she stared at the “Hang In There, Baby” poster plastered to the ceiling.

Skylar dreaded pelvic exams, pap smears, shots, and teeth cleanings—anything resembling a medical procedure. So far she’d been poked, prodded and they’d taken a sample of damn near every bodily fluid imaginable; blood, urine, saliva, a throat culture, earwax, toe-jam—not so much the last two, but it’d sure seemed like it.

She’d been cooling her heels in this sterile room for thirty minutes. Which gave her plenty of time to wonder: what the hell was wrong with her?

For the last month she’d experienced constant nausea. Not enough to make her barf, but wooziness, usually worse at night. She didn’t feel like eating, yet, according to the doctor’s scale, she’d managed to pack on five pounds since the last time she’d weighed herself at home.

She could attribute her physical changes to stress. Owning her own business was nerve-racking, even when her all-natural, made-in-Wyoming beauty products contained aromatherapy properties. Construction delays caused her extra anxiety, but she’d finally opened the retail store of Sky Blue in Sundance. The manufacturing plant outside of Moorcroft was in full swing filling holiday orders.

Still, stress wouldn’t make her skin hurt to the touch. Tension might push her to the edge of exhaustion, causing her to sleep for twelve hours straight. She’d missed two or three periods—who kept track? She’d always been irregular. But that didn’t explain the weird vaginal discharge. Plus, she was moody. She couldn’t regulate her body temp; she was either too hot or too cold. It was all so eerily familiar. She recognized the signs, though never on herself.

Cancer.

Skylar closed her eyes. Please. Not cancer. She couldn’t have cancer. The universe couldn’t be that damn cruel. Eight years ago her mother had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. Her mom believed she’d hit menopause. She’d exhibited all the signs—signs Skylar recognized because she’d been experiencing them herself recently.

A cancer diagnosis would decimate her sister, India. Ironically enough, their father had been a victim of prostate cancer eleven years ago. Sky’s thoughts flashed to the rounds of chemo and radiation. The endless trips to the hospital. If anything would send India back to the shady world of booze, drugs and random sexual encounters, it’d be dealing with another cancer-stricken family member.

The door made a metallic snick and Skylar’s stomach lurched. She peeled her eyes open to look at the doctor, a striking petite redhead.

“The tests are back,” Doctor Monroe said.

“And? Do I have cancer?”

Doctor Monroe frowned and studied the pages inside the file folder. “Why on earth would you think…oh, I see. A family history of cancer. Huh. A lot of cancer. But no. It’s not cancer.”

Skylar stifled the urge to weep with relief. “Then what on earth is wrong with me? Is it a bug or something I picked up someplace? Is it contagious?” For some reason the impulsive event from a few months back clicked front and center in her mind.

Contagious.

Kade McKay. That rat bastard. He’d given her the clap.

“I have to say, Skylar, I’m not particularly surprised.”

Skylar’s mouth dropped open. “Not surprised that I have an STD? I have unprotected sex one time, one freakin’ time in all the years I’ve been sexually active and you’re not surprised that the jerk I slept with gave me crotch crud?”

Doctor Monroe smiled—grinned actually. “Oh, he didn’t give you an STD. He gave you a baby.”

“WHAT?” Skylar shrieked. “I’m…I’m… Omigod. I’m pregnant?”

“Three months, does that sound right?”

Skylar nodded dumbly. Numbly.

Pregnant. Good God. She hadn’t seen Kade since that blow up at Ziggy’s three and a half months ago. The night they’d done the deed in his pickup in the parking lot of a honky-tonk. Immediately after that romp she’d found out he’d tricked her. She’d cut him out of her life, dodged his phone calls and eventually he’d stopped calling.

Yet, recently she’d found herself thinking of patient, sexy-as-sin Kade McKay at the oddest times, wondering if she hadn’t gone off half-cocked. Although he’d never corrected her assumption he was pretending to be his identical twin brother, the time they’d spent together never seemed like a trick or a joke, or forced but something promising. Something real.

Right. It didn’t get any more real than a baby.

A baby. Jesus.

“Any excessive drinking or other substances I should be worried about that might’ve affected this pregnancy?”

“No. My sister is a recovering alcoholic and she’s been living with me, so I haven’t had a drop of alcohol for months.”

“Good.” Doctor Monroe scooted forward and clasped Skylar’s hands in her own. “A surprise pregnancy isn’t always a pleasant surprise. You understand as your physician there is no judgment on my part on the decision you make. You’re a healthy thirty-four-year-old woman. Pregnancy and childbirth isn’t a risk to you healthwise.

“That said, if this pregnancy isn’t something you want, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with the clinic in Billings or one in Denver within the next week to terminate it. After that, you’re starting the second trimester and the health risks to you double.”

“So I’m a third of the way through?”

Dr. Monroe nodded.

A baby. Growing inside her. How weird. How…cool.

And suddenly Sky wanted this baby fiercely. “Well, Doc, I’m looking at this as a good surprise.”

“I thought you might say that.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re the same age and if I had the same surprise, I’d be over the moon.”

Sky definitely felt as if she’d been launched into another galaxy, spawning a new life form inside her. “Guess I’d better bone up on Mr. Spock’s pregnancy and childbirth books.”