Page 30 of Hooking Up

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Quint settled on the edge of a new motel bed in a new town and let his shoulders slump. After a long drive west to Arkansas,he was bone-weary. Carter’s brooding silence hadn’t helped ease the tension in the truck either.

Neither of them had seen or heard from Bella. Theyhadsighted Jeb alone at the last rest stop, which fueled the only happiness Quint had felt in a long, dismal day.

This was all about Bella having the last say. She didn’t want to be left vulnerable for even a minute, but didn’t she know that sometimes more strength came from leaning on someone?

Or two someones, in this case.

Carter tossed his bag on the other bed and stood there for a long minute, staring at it.

“We should go look for her,” Quint said.

“Yeah. If she’s here, she’ll be parked on the grounds.” They exchanged a look. “This time we meet her on her turf.”

Quint’s chest welled with affection for his friend. His lover. They hadn’t touched each other since Bella was between them, but it had definitely added a new dimension to their relationship. Neither of them spoke of it, but he didn’t feel a hint of strain. They’d always worked things out with few words. This was no different.

“Let me wash my face, and then we’ll go out and see if we can find this naughty little cowgirl.” Quint got up.

When he came out of the bathroom, Carter was changing into a fresh shirt, his back muscles flexing as he slid his arms into the sleeves. Quint came up behind him and hooked an arm around his middle. They stood that way for a long minute.

Breaking apart, Carter shot him a crooked grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Then he buttoned his shirt. When the ends were tucked in and his hat straight, they set out.

“Who do you think hurt her? That asshole she was with years ago? That bull rider from Oshkosh?” Carter asked.

“Yeah, I think it starts with him.”

“Should we hunt his ass down and stick straw under his fingernails until he tells us what he did to her to make her so afraid of getting close to anyone?”

Quint shot him a wry look. “The idea has merit, but we should probably try to coax the information from Bella first. Though I don’t think she’s hung up on someone so much as a little wild.”

“Mm. Yeah.” Carter climbed behind the wheel of the truck. Their trailer had been offloaded and their horses tucked up in the nearby stables, being pampered with fresh hay and water.

Once they were on the road toward the fairgrounds where the next rodeo was held, Quint said, “So we have to lure the wild horse close enough to pet without breaking her spirit.”

“I like the way you think.” Carter took a left turn.

“What if we can’t figure out how?”

“I think we already did—she likes having both of us. Two of us can chase her down better than one.”

Turned out they didn’t need to search far. She came to the door of her trailer on the first knock. And damn if she didn’t open her arms to them.

Heart thumping with joy, Quint launched into the trailer, lifted her and bore her inside. She made a sound of surrender as he claimed her mouth. The long strokes of her tongue against his said she’d suffered without them as much as they had.

When he broke free of the kiss and let her slide all the way down his body, Carter picked her up and seated her on the small tabletop. As he tipped her face back for his kiss, Quint watched through hooded eyes. Damn, they looked beautiful together.

“I see you wasted no time in finding me.” Her voice was reedy and her lips thoroughly swollen from the last five minutes of their attentions.

“We shouldn’t have to come find you, darlin’.” Quint crowded closer to her and Carter. “You know where you belong.”

She met his gaze and for a solid heartbeat, he awaited her protest—her smart comeback. But none came.

Wrapping an arm around each of them, she brought them down to her level. Her forehead pressed against his, and Carter rested his jaw to the place they touched.

“Why’d you run, Bella?” he asked after a moment.

He felt the change in her. Stiffening, she pushed away and got to her feet. The trailer was too small to put much distance between them, but she managed. With her arms folded and several pieces of furniture separating them, she was doing a damn good job of showing her position on the subject.

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