Page 34 of Property of Rio

“I know. I miss being able to run her through her paces, but I wasn’t willing to risk her since it can be such a hard sport on a horse who’s older. She’s been a faithful companion all these years, Rafe, so when I let her run the barrels, it’s more for fun than anything.”

“Issy, you don’t have to explain to me, I completely understand,” he says. “How about we get these two settled into their stalls and then go for a ride with some of the brothers?”

“Can we go get some barbecue?” I ask. “Actually, I kind of want one of those huge baked potatoes that’s got butter, sour cream, cheese, green onion, chopped beef brisket, and barbecue sauce.”

“What about banana pudding?” he queries.

“That’s a given, honey,” I reply, grinning up at him. “Let’s ride, Rafe!”

“God, I love this place,” I mumble, patting my belly, feeling so bloated and full that I worry I’m going to explode at any given second.

We have a lot of barbecue places around, from franchise chains to hole in the wall dives, but the one that’s my absolute favorite is Woodstone’s BBQ. It’s family-owned and operated and they have giant smokers outside that are constantly going, so the smells teased me for the last few miles before we arrived. All the sides are made from scratch, and the portions are massive to the point that your plate is filled all the way around.

“No kidding,” BamBam mumbles, pulling the bowl of macaroni and cheese toward him to fill up his plate. Again. For the third time. Where the fuck he puts all the food he’s eaten today is beyond me.

“You sharing that with the rest of us?” Doc asks. “I mean, it’s a good thing old man Woodstone knows us, because you can bet that most other patrons don’t get refills.”

“You know we’ll take care of the staff,” Rafe states. “Kings pay their way. Always.”

I grin because I’ve noticed in the past, that whoever waits on us as a group is always well-compensated. The men have no problem tossing down large amounts of cash for tips but considering they typically run the waitress ragged, the person taking care of them deserves and has earned every last penny.

“So, how’s Stargazer doing?” Abyss suddenly asks as he dishes up some fried okra.

“Her times are on par with being in the race for the overall buckle this year,” Rafe proudly announces. “Pokey’s working on putting together rodeo sounds from past events at the ranch so we can run them through the sound system. We figure that she’ll shave off some time hearing the crowd noise.”

BamBam nods. “That makes sense to me. I’ve noticed she’s somewhat of a diva when it comes to attention. It’s like a switch turns on when she hears cheering.”

I start laughing because Gazerisprima donna on rodeo days. I know there are people out there who think that animals have no personality because they don’t cogitate the way humans do, but both of my girls are able to show what they’re feeling. Hell, Starlight will wrinkle her muzzle when she’s displeased, which cracks me up. Then there’s Stargazer, who neighs when I’m talking to her as if she understands exactly what I’m saying to her.

“You’ve done a good job training them, Issy,” Gopher praises. “Hell, I think between Pancho, Luis, and you, y’all are the reason so many bring their horses to the Triple R for training, to be honest. Y’all are genuine horse whisperers or some shit.”

Laughter rings out around the table while I blush at his compliments. “Paps and Pancho trained me well,” I finally state. “I think it was either that or ban me from the barns.”

“Paps would’ve never done that to you, especially not with the way your fucking father was,” BamBam rumbles.

I shrug because I can’t change the past. My father probably should’ve never had children at all because he was a classicnarcissist. He was only about himself and I only mattered when it furthered his cause.

“I’m grateful I had Paps, Pancho, Constance, and Rafe,” I confess. “Gage too once Paps brought him to the ranch.” Low angry grumbles come from the brothers, so I hold my hand up to stop them. “Listen, I get that y’all aren’t happy with how he handled things. Your feelings are all valid and understandable. Believe me, I was angry as well. But at the end of the day, it happened tome. I was the one who was beaten and abducted. However, y’all,allof y’all, taught me how to take care of myself. I got home, I’m safe, the horses are both safe, and y’all were able to recover the vehicle and trailer. Not only that, but Gage threw himself in front of Rafe and saved his life at the expense of his own. I don’t think he was thinking clearly when he found out he had a sister, y’all. Should he have come to Rafe? Absolutely without a doubt. However, in the grand scheme of things, if he had lived, I suspect he would’ve redeemed himself to all of us.”

“She’s right,” Rafe states. “He wasn’t proud of what he did that put Issy in danger, but good grief, he was pushed into a corner and because he was loyal to us, but not an actual brother, he might not have thought we could or would help him.”

“Still pisses me off,” BamBam retorts. “He should’ve known we would’ve helped him. He was still fucking family, even if he wasn’t a King.”

I hide my smile because my intent in bringing up Gage’s name was to help clear the air a little bit. I know that most of the brothers are still beyond livid at his actions, but they need to sort their shit since Cherise is living with Constance and Pancho. We don’t need her hearing anything negative about her brother, especially since we don’t know if she was aware he even existedor had the knowledge that she was a pawn that was used against him to bring him to the dark side.

“Well, in a few weeks or whenever he’s next down here, Riptide will be bringing us Gage’s ashes. I want us to celebratehim, not his desperate actions, and feel we should have a memorial to honor him. When we have our next rodeo, we’re going to spread his ashes in the corral where he rode his beloved bulls.”

“I kind of like that send off for him,” Abyss muses. “And maybe you’re right, if he’d have been a brother in reality, he would’ve known he could bring it to the table if he needed help.”

I’m glad to see and hear the guys’ attitudes shifting and softening a bit toward Gage. Because I remember the sick look on his face when he handed me the bottle of water. It was like he hated what he was about to do. And when that guy hit me with the gun, Gage was almost putrid in his coloring. I don’t think he expected that to happen. Still, I don’t bring it up since I don’t want their attention going back to how angry and rage-filled they all were that day.

“Everyone finished eating? We’ve got church, Brothers,” Rafe states.

I know I’ll likely be soaking in the tub and reading while they talk about whatever it is that falls under the title of club business. I’m aware that Rafe probably shares a good deal with me because he’s well aware that I’ll never utter a peep. But I also know that there are things I’ll never be told because not everything they do is on the up and up.

“Let’s ride, Brothers,” Q-Ball advises. “We’ll see if we catch the prospects misbehaving.”

I can’t help snickering because the prospect time is definitely not for the faint of heart. They’re given tasks that range from washing the brothers’ bikes until they shine to scrubbing the bathrooms in the main clubhouse with a toothbrush. Oh, and they better memorize what everyone drinksandmake sure the beer is frosty at all times.

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