Page 24 of Cowboy Triplets Next Door

I stood up and calmly pulled on one of my oversized sleep shirts. Walking past him, I pretended like he wasn’t going to hurt me as soon as he figured his words out. Wrapping my arms around myself once I was on the porch, I stared out at the property as the sound of cows greeting the morning filled the air. It was a perfect start. The weather was getting chillier and a light mist coated everything in sight, creating an almost magical feeling, like I’d fallen asleep in the normal world and woken up somewhere a little bit nicer.

“I fucked up.” There it was. The train that crashed into my chest without a conscience. Owen spoke from just behind me but he’d made sure no part of him touched any part of me. “I shouldn’t have…Fuck. You’re so fucking young, B. I just woke up in a pink bed with a stuffed cat staring at me. I should’ve walked away last night. I shouldn’t have come over in the first place.”

I kept my eyes on Turtle as he circled a frog, sniffing at it and jumping back when it moved. I didn’t have anything to say back to Owen so I just let him talk.

“I fucked up.”

I let out a bored sounding sigh. “You said that already.”

“Well, it’s true, B. I shouldn’t have been the first man in you. I’m too old for you.”

I let an ironic smile twist my lips. “Technically, you weren’t the first man in me. Your brother was. You can go about your day without any guilt, Owen, because you weren’t the first one.”

He gripped my arm but I yanked it away. “Billie. I’m right about this. I just woke up feeling like a fucking pervert. You’re practically still a teenager.”

“What do you want me to say, Owen? You’re right. You are a pervert and I am practically a teenager.” I turned to face him then and I liked that he flinched when he saw the anger on my face. “The funny part of all of this is that one of us is acting like an immature child about this and it’s not the teenager.”

“I’m sorry, Bumble B. I messed up and I feel like shit over it. I shouldn’t have been the way I was with you. You deserve a boyfriend who brought flowers and shit.” He swallowed and looked towards the main house like he couldn’t wait to get away from me.

“Go.”

His eyes flicked back to mine. “What?”

“Go.” I put as much hate as I could into my stare as I watched him. “Get off my porch and run home, Owen. Save your apologies and ho-humming for someone who needs to be let down easily.”

“Just listen to—”

“Oh, my god, Owen!” I threw my hands up. “I have been listening to you. All you do is talk! I’ve heard how sorry you are that you fucked me. I’ve heard how it was a mistake and you regret it. I’ve heard it all and I’m over it. So, do me a favor, and get the fuck out of my face.”

Turtle had finished his business and had run inside for his breakfast so I shoved past Owen and grabbed the door. His foot was in the way so I glared at it and made a shooing motion with my other hand. As soon as he moved his foot, I slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Alright, Turtle. You want breakfast, boy?” I forced myself to walk away from the door and get to the kitchen. I stayed strong as I scooped his food into his bowl and refilled his water. I even managed to make sure the shower was hot before I stepped in and lost it.

It wasn’t as if I expected him to propose to me, but I hadn’t expected him to say he regretted it, as if screwing me was the worst thing he’d ever done. My feelings were crushed. Anything would’ve been better than him apologizing and acting like I was some innocent little girl he had his way with. I’d seen them take women around my age up to their rooms before. They’d even been okay with taking me all together until my virginity came up. Somehow, my hymen had created a divide in their stupid little lizard brains.

I thought I hated them when they took the ranch from me but I realized that hate was nothing. What I felt while leaning against the cold tile wall in my shower was real hate.

I wasn’t a mistake. I wasn’t something to feel guilt over. And they weren’t worth my tears.

By the time I shut off the water I felt better. The hurt had shifted into anger and anger was so much easier to handle. I dressed for the day with shaking hands and a surge of energy I needed to burn. I left my house with Turtle and spotted the back of a Hellstone triplet disappearing into the new barn. Since I’d become a scorned woman, I let a smile slip over my lips as I decided to hit them back. If they wanted to mess with me, I would mess with them right back.

CHAPTER 21

Billie

Keaton was looking for something in the old barn. I stood in the doorway for a minute, watching him as he moved around, his big body graceful in even the smallest of movements. It just made me hate him even more. When he turned and spotted me, his eyes crinkled in the corners and his lips tugged up in a sexy smile. “Bumble B. What’s up?”

I moved closer to him. “Nothing. I just saw you come in here and thought I’d catch you while you’re alone for a moment.”

His dark blue eyes looked almost purple in the lighting of the barn. “You’re up to something.”

I smiled at his statement and made sure to put an extra sway to my hips as I closed the gap between us. “Why do you think that?”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed and his smile faded into something suspicious. “Bumble B…what are you doing?”

It would’ve been a lie to say I wasn’t turned on by how unsteady he seemed. I had power over him, power I’d never realized. He was scared of me, scared of my next move. It made me feel like they didn’t have all the control, after all. “I just want to chat.”

He groaned as his back pressed into the solid wood of one of the barn stalls and I leaned into his space. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

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