Page 5 of Cowboy Triplets Next Door

Music came on and drifted across the yard to us. Whatever she was listening to, it sounded angry. “I’ve never seen her blast her music in the pitch-black dark before. She’s definitely thinking about something.”

“This week’s meeting should be fun.” Gray stretched his arms over his head. “If she’s not coming back out, I’m going inside. I barely got any shit done today. Too bad we didn’t need anything nailed because my dick could’ve handled the job after what I overheard.”

“Wait. Where did we end up on the idea of making Billie’s dreams come true?” My mouth watered and I knew I was going to try, no matter what my brothers wanted.

“Let’s just think about it for a couple of days. There’s a lot at stake if it does end poorly. She won’t leave this property and I’m not sure I want to deal with that shit if it goes south.” Owen opened the sliding glass door to his room. “I think it could be worth it, though, having said that.”

Gray nodded. “I’m on board with waiting a few days to think things through.”

“Have we ever had to do so much thinking before trying to fuck a woman?” I followed both of them into Owen’s room. “It’s normally a lot easier than this.”

“The women we fuck aren’t usually smart-mouthed little pains who live beside us.” Gray shot one last look over his shoulder at the carriage house. “They aren’t usually so young, either. They typically know the score and have experience with men like us.”

I just shrugged. Billie wasn’t a kid. She was a grown woman. While I didn’t exactly want to be responsible for defiling an innocent, I definitely wanted to defile Billie. If she was having dreams about the three of us taking her, maybe she wasn’t as innocent as we’d assumed.

CHAPTER 5

Billie

I’d nursed my big box of muffins and managed to avoid the Hellstone triplets for a few days. I knew it wouldn’t last, though. One of my demands when they took over the ranch was that I wanted to stay involved for the first year. I wanted to make sure things didn’t deviate too far from what my parents wanted. The men had agreed and set up weekly meetings with me to run things by me. I knew they didn’t have to do that, but it was still hard to give them an ounce of credit when they’d stolen my family’s ranch.

The morning of our meeting I’d been cleaning stalls in the big barn when I heard a few of the farmhands who’d came with the Hellstones joking around. I’d ignored them at first, until I heard Betsy’s name.

“Nah, man, they’re going to kill that fucking cow soon. She treats it like a dog. Nearly thirty pounds of food a day going to a cow that just exists. The upkeep on the old barn alone is costing them.” The guy, Mike, snorted. “What Princess wants, Princess gets, though.”

“For now. I bet we end up with Betsy jerky before long,” Ken replied and they both laughed.

My heart raced in my chest and I didn’t bother keeping quiet to hide my presence. I threw down the pitchfork I’d been using and charged out of the stall. Nothing was going to happen to Betsy. I wouldn’t allow it. I shoved past the two surprised men and headed straight toward the house I’d grown up in.

The mornings of the weekly meetings with them were spent in meetings with other people. They handled all the business stuff in one half day and the rest of the week they focused on the ranch part of the business. I knew they’d be in the front of the house so I stormed around the main house and spotted them sitting on the front porch with one of their younger brothers.

I didn’t care who else heard me as I climbed the front steps I’d played on with my parents and our family dog, Jonas. I wasn’t going to let them hurt Betsy. I watched their eyes widen slightly at the sight of me and felt a surge of power at being able to surprise them. “You’re not going to hurt Betsy. I won’t let you.”

Gray looked at Kyle, their little brother, and nodded his head towards the house. He waited until Kyle was inside to respond to me. “What’s wrong now, Bumble B? Why do you think we want to hurt Betsy?”

Embarrassingly, tears pricked the back of my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry in front of them, though, so I bit my lip hard to distract my emotions. “I heard a couple of your guys in the barn talking about it. If you think I’m going to suddenly stop fighting to protect her, you’re nuts. I won’t let you touch her. She’s healthy and happy. There’s no reason to kill her.”

Owen stood up and walked closer. “I don’t know what you heard, but we’re not going to touch Betsy. We understand she’s important to you and none of us want to hurt you. Betsy’s safe, Bumble B.”

“They said you’re going to make Betsy jerky.” I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned. “I’ll pay for her feed myself if it comes down to it. I’m already growing part of it.”

“Betsy jerky?” Keaton rolled his eyes. “We’re not going to eat your cow, B. She’s your pet. Just like the raccoon who rides on your head.”

Gray scowled. “No. Betsy is one thing. That raccoon is another beast entirely. They’re dangerous. I watched that thing run out of the barn with chunks of your hair in its little paws.”

“Brutus isn’t dangerous. He freaked out because some giant human stomped into his space.” I ran my hand over my hair self-consciously and frowned. “And he didn’t take chunks. It was just a few strands.”

“It was chunks.” Gray stood then and walked over to me, only stopping when he was only inches in front of me. My body instantly flared with heat but he didn’t seem bothered at all. “You don’t have anything to worry about with Betsy. The raccoon is a marked beast, though.”

I stood up taller but I was still so short compared to him I had to tip my head back to stare him in the eyes. “If you touch that raccoon, I’ll make you regret it.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he chuckled. I’d never seen his eyes look so happy and it threw me off. It was like Gray knew it threw me off, too. He took another step closer and smirked. “You okay, Bumble B? You look a little flushed.”

I pressed my hand to his stomach and tried to push him away but the feeling of his abs flexing under my hand made me pause. I glanced down at his simple black t-shirt and then back up at his eyes. He was hiding a lot of muscle under that shirt. A lot.

“Actually, you look a lot flushed. Are you feeling okay?” He reached out and pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You’re really hot.”

I licked my lips and then slammed them together when his eyes tracked the motion. Yanking my hand away from his body, I turned away from them and made it down two steps before I stopped and turned back around. “Brutus is safe. Don’t touch him.”

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