Page 165 of Ride a Cowboy

Daniel gritted his teeth.

Sienna’s smile dimmed a bit, but she put her present down and rose anyway. “I guess I should take this.”

She said, “Merry Christmas, Josh,” as she started to leave the living room. “How’s Florida?”

“It’s great, but I sure do miss Compton Pass and you. Feels weird working on a tan in December. You’d love it here, See. There’s a huge pool in the hotel that…”

Sienna hastily left the room before Daniel could hear any more of the conversation. She cast an uncomfortable glance at him over her shoulder.

Daniel’s hands clenched in a fist as a wave of pure, unadulterated jealousy rumbled through him. Why the fuck was Josh calling? He thought they were on a goddamn break.

Seth’s words mirrored Daniel’s thoughts. “Damn. I wish that boy would stop stringing her along.”

Daniel agreed, then something in Seth’s comment tweaked him. “Has Josh been calling her since Thanksgiving?”

Seth nodded. “Just a few times, but it’s enough to put Sienna in a funk for a few hours.”

Josh had been calling? Why hadn’t Sienna told him that?

Daniel didn’t reply, but Seth appeared to be very good at reading faces.

Seth lifted his chin toward the package Sienna had abandoned. “Nice gift. Didn’t realize you and Sienna had become such close friends.”

Silas glanced at his brother, then Daniel, but he didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. He was the one brother who intimidated the fuck out of Daniel. Silas was a fair man, but damn if his large stance and dark scowl didn’t feel like the blinding, bright lights of an interrogation at times.

Daniel needed to tread lightly. He’d been dreading this conversation with Seth. There was no way in hell he could survive it with all four Compass brothers glowering at him. “She’s a nice girl. She’s made me feel welcome here.” He picked every word with care. While he hoped to eventually come clean about his feelings for Sienna, he wasn’t going to discuss them with these men until he’d sorted them out with her. Regardless of his desire to date See, he suspected it wasn’t wise to mention he’d been fucking Seth’s daughter six ways from Sunday, especially since they’d all just shared Christmas dinner.

Seth leaned back in his chair, but the relaxed posture didn’t fool Daniel for a minute. “She’s a very nice girl. And she’s going through a rough patch right now. I’d like to see her avoid sticky entanglements until she sorts out all this shit with Josh. She’s still young and inexperienced as far as relationships go. I’d like to see her hang on to that innocence for a while longer. If you catch my drift.”

Daniel nodded. Sienna had been inexperienced…a month ago. Now…

Shit. It took all of Daniel’s energy simply to school his features. If Seth expected an intelligent response, he was going to be disappointed.

Sawyer broke the awkward silence by chuckling. “Careful there, Seth. You’re starting to sound just like Thomas Kirkland.”

Seth shot his brother a dirty look.

“Who’s that?” Daniel asked.

“Jody’s father. Seth’s old boss,” Sawyer answered.

When he failed to elaborate on the comparison, Sam continued the conversation. “Thomas spent quite a few years warning Seth to stay away from Jody.”

Daniel frowned. “Why?”

Seth sat straighter. “She was a few years younger than me and heading off to college. Thomas was determined she get her degree. I took heed.”

Silas laughed. “The fuck you did. You bided your time, I’ll give you that, but the second that girl came home from graduation, you kidnapped her ass and tied her to your bed. If I recall correctly, Jody was about the same age Sienna is right now.”

Daniel struggled to figure out if Silas was joking. It was impossible to read the man’s humor. “Kidnapped her?”

Seth didn’t appear to be happy with the direction of their conversation. He’d obviously intended to warn Daniel to stay away from Sienna, but his brothers were turning into Daniel’s unexpected allies—whether they realized it or not.

Sawyer leaned forward, happy to share the juicy story with Daniel. “Jody didn’t just come home with a diploma. She had a fiancé in tow too. Seth had listened to Thomas’ warnings to stay away, but Jody didn’t take too kindly to being put off. So she moved on.”

Seth crossed his arms. “I’d hardly call Paul moving on.”

Daniel tilted his head. “Paul? You mean the Paul that’s out there in the kitchen helping the women get dessert ready? The one who’s here with Chase? Didn’t he realize he was gay back then?”

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