“Hey, sexy. Did you have a good ride?” I asked as he pushed his sunglasses onto the top of his head.
“It was pretty good. They’re predicting a storm in a few days, so I wanted to get some ride time in before the roads turn to shit,” he reasoned, and I nodded my understanding.
Growing up around the Royal Bastards, I was used to the crass talk and rough edges, and with Trent, it just made me love him more. I knew the first time I saw him, when I was barely ten years old, that I was going to be his ol’ lady. Seeing him flirt with other girls just about broke me, but the night he finally recognized me and we started talking was the first time my heart felt full.
The last decade had its share of problems, and losing Nitro the way we did was probably the hardest. Overnight, my mangrew harder, and I fought to keep him opened up to me, knowing every good man needed a ride or die woman to always have his back. I had to be his soft spot to land when the crown he wore became too heavy. I had to be there for him, in whatever capacity he needed me to be.
“Do you want to ride to the clubhouse for dinner together?” I asked, hoping we could have a nice ride tonight before we lost the good weather.
“I need to speak with Rocky about the next few weeks, then I’ve got a meeting with the officers before dinner. Can you get one of the ranch hands to run you over in the truck and you can ride back with me tonight?”
I didn’t let the smile fall from my face, but I was disappointed with his response. Over the last couple months, between him looking for the person responsible for Nitro’s death, me going to class five days a week and having homework and labs every afternoon as well as having to go north to see my grandmother on the reservation, we hadn’t had any real alone time together.
Sure, we slept in the same bed and still had an amazing sex life, but I missed the quiet moments on the back of his bike, where it’s just the two of us with the wind whipping through our hair and nothing but open road in front of us.
“I’ll take the side-by-side over, and we can pick it up tomorrow. I don’t want to bother the ranch hands since they’ve been so busy lately.” I leaned over and kissed him softly. “I need to get over to the clubhouse so I can help get dinner finished. Will you let me know when you’re starting over?”
“It’ll be about half an hour. Are you sure you want to ride over alone?”
I knew where he was going with this, and I refused to allow him to push me into being monitored every minute of every day. Since Nitro was attacked on the very steps we were standing on, Trent’s been uber-protective of me, wanting someone to be my shadow. I’d had to stand up for myself, and even agreed to carry a weapon whenever I had to be alone or in class, but it didn’t seem like enough for him.
Having never met my mother, since she’d passed away two days after I was born, then losing my father shortly before my fifteenth birthday, I’d been on my own. Trent and I had been together for a decade but didn’t start living together until just under five years ago. The time in between was split between various married members of the Bastards, and spending summers and holidays on the reservation with my grandmother. I was a member of the tribe, like my mother and grandmother before me, but I wasn’t a part of the community.
My father wasn’t accepted since he wasn’t a tribal member, and losing my mother caused the elders to believe I was born with a dark mark on my spirit, making it easier for them to shun me. Granny fought for my membership and the rights I was born with, and when I turned eighteen, I was reluctantly welcomed into the tribe. I didn’t know many of my extended family members, and most of the time, I liked it that way.
“I’m sure, babe. I’ll be fine. It’s only a few miles up the road, and I’m a big girl, remember?” I joked, but he didn’t even crack a smile.
“Until we know—” I softly placed my fingers over his lips, not needing to hear the same speech again.
“How about I call and see if one of the ladies can come pick me up? Would that make you feel better?”
The snark was clear in my tone, and he pinched his lips together, showing his disdain for my attitude. I only ever showed it to him, and never in front of any of the club brothers or ranch hands. I was respectful, even if I was a pain in the ass.
“Just be careful, please, and let me know when you’re at the clubhouse,” he returned, and I felt badly for my attitude.
He’s just worried about me, and I needed to remember the kind of pressure he’s under. Not just from the club, but from the ranch and the personal demons he fought daily. I placed my hand onto his shoulder, and he brought his eyes to mine. I saw the love looking back at me and, slowly, I kissed him, keeping it chaste since the ranch hands were close by at the barn.
I never gave anyone a show when it came to my affection with Trent, and I certainly wasn’t going to do that in front of the men who lived and worked on the property.
Pulling back from the kiss, I whispered, “I love you,” and he gave me his million-watt smile back before he pecked me on the lips again.
He turned and walked down the stairs before moving swiftly across the yard, on his way to the barn. This was where he housed his prize horses, and it was also where the ranch hands finished their day. The horses brought us respect where the cattle brought us money. Watching him disappear through the wide-open door, I smiled, loving the life he and I were building with each other.
As I returned to the house to call one of the ladies to drive me over to the clubhouse, I imagined what life would be like when we finally started having kids. Not today, or even next year, but sometime in the future. I could see a little cowboywith his daddy’s smile, playing with his pretend bucking bronco and practicing being a rodeo star.
I wish I would’ve known how close to destruction Roughstock and I would be before we’d find our happiness
Chapter 3
Roughstock
3 weeks later
Ispoke with Adam’s friend, the one everyone called a madman, and after telling him my problem, he requested that I immediately overnight the cell phone to him. When he had it in his hands, he called and informed me it would take about two weeks to crack the code, and when we reached eighteen days, I called him, wanting a progress report.
“I’ll send everything to you in an email, and the phone is on the way back to you now. I’m not sure if what you’re looking for is on there, but if there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know,” Devlin said when we video chatted, and I thanked him for his discretion and expertise.
Opening the email, I read what he was able to decipher from the phone, along with a list of passwords for each app, email, and social media account. There was a note at the bottom of the report.
