Page 42 of Auctioned to the Cowboys

“You do your best.” Barb rests her hand on her husband’s forearm, and I momentarily lose concentration. When my eyes flick back up to Jesse and Taylor, he’s walking with her to the table with his hand on the small of her back. I’m not the only one to glance up at that moment.

Beth’s suspicious eyes linger on Jesse’s soft expression, then Clint’s almost religious focus on the plate in front of him, finally meeting my panicked gaze.

“Right. That’s it,” she says, lowering her silverware. “Will someone tell me what’s going on here?”

Jesse stops abruptly, and so does Taylor. Clint glances up, confused. The conversation slowly dies off around the table like it would in my house when the front door would slam like a gunshot, announcing my father was home.

“What are you talking about?” Jesse asks. He hasn’t realized that his voice sounds too high, which is a dead giveaway. Jesus. The shit’s about to hit the fan.

“I mean, why do you and Maverick look like you’re cozier with Clint’s new wife than he is? You both touch her like she’s your girlfriend, and he can’t even look at her.”

“Beth.” Jesse shoots his sister a warning look. The two of them share the same bullheadedness and the same inability to choose appropriate moments for confrontation.

“Don’t Beth me. I know you, Jesse McGraw. What are you up to?”

“Beth,” Duncan says, widening his eyes at his wife. “Just leave it. We’re in company.”

“Mitch and Barb aren’t company, they’re family, and I’m sure they’ll be just as interested in the truth as I am. Where’s Taylor living?”

Clint and I keep our mouths shut for fear of saying the wrong thing. This is Jesse’s house, and it’s Jesse’s idea. If anyone’s going to face Beth’s wrath, it’s going to be him.

“Here,” Jesse admits.

“Why?” Beth glances around. “Wouldn’t it be better for them to move out and be alone? What kind of couple wants to live in a house with two single men?”

Taylor’s eyes are riveted to her food, and I get why. Beth has a bite like Mindy. That same self-confidence and belief that they’re in the right. It’s intimidating at the best of times.

“She’s helping us around the house,” Jesse says, and Beth rolls her eyes.

“Helping you? With what? Conjugal duties.”

“Beth!” Barb gasps, shocked.

“Stop,” Duncan warns again. He focuses on Taylor as though he’s worried she’s going to cry.

I’m aware of the exact moment when Jesse gives up the charade. His left shoulder jerks like a shrug, and he places his plate on the table next to Taylor. “Taylor’s living with all of us because she’s with all of us.”

Mitch’s spine straightens. Barb presses her napkin to her lips slowly, like she’s stopping herself from speaking. The kids’ eyes are wide, not because they understand what’s going on, but because the tension in the room is overwhelming.

“We should have this conversation another time,” I say, hating to witness the same innocent fear in Katherine and Holt as I felt myself all those years ago. “It’s Jesse’s birthday. It’s a time for celebration, and the kids—”

I add the last part, hoping that Beth will see sense, but it’s like a red rag to a bull.

“Where did you find her?”

Jesse shakes his head. “I’m not doing this with you now, Beth.”

“This ranch is mine, too, Jesse. I might not live here or help you run it, but I’m damned well not going to sit back while you risk it because of some infatuation with a girl young enough to be your daughter.”

The silence that lingers after that statement is like a fog of toxic gas, drifting over the celebration and settling in between every person seated at the table.

“The ranch isn’t in danger,” Taylor says softly. “I’m not interested in the ranch, and anyway, I’m married to Clint, not Jesse.”

“So that part is true?”

Taylor nods, and Jesse drapes his arm around her shoulder protectively. “Taylor’s a good woman, and this grilling you’re giving us isn’t fair, Beth.”

“I don’t like being lied to, Jesse. When people lie, it’s usually because they’re doing something shady, and I’m not having you risk what our family has grafted for generations to build. Your last marriage nearly cost us everything.”

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