Page 10 of Rope Me

As soon as she’s out of earshot, I lose my restraint. I lunge forward and put a hand on Randolph’s shoulder. “Here’s what’s going to happen now. I’ll bring Connor out when he’s said goodbye to his mom and is good and ready. That's nonnegotiable. But I’m not an unreasonable man, so I’m going to give you a choice in this next part. You can walk to your car now or one of my brothers can help you walk out.”

“Please! Whoo, damn please choose B.” Callum’s mocking tone echoes behind me.

“Hell no, you got to take out the last asshole. It’s my turn.” Holden’s voice breaks through.

Randolph jerks his arms away from my grasp and he straightens. “I don’t have a problem with you. I don’t even know you and I’ll have you remember that you don’t know anything about my son.”

The barn doors open and Cassidy reappears with Conor.

“He’s ready, I’ll see you on Monday.” Cassidy’s voice is clipped as Connor disappears through the gate toward the parking lot.

Randolph nods. But before he leaves, he turns back, offering his hand. I take it with caution. As we shake, Randolph leans into me and lowers his voice so only I can hear. “I don’t have a problem with you, in fact, I’m envious. When she was young ittook some getting used to, but now she’s older and I’ve trained her well… She likes it rough.”

I don’t even feel myself move before I grab his throat in a blind rage. My brothers spring into action beside me.

Cassidy’s voice shrieks like broken glass in the night behind me. “Alex, what the hell are you doing?”

The sound stops me cold and I back away from Randolph. He straightens his collar and purses his lips. Then he turns to Cassidy saying, “Classy.” Before he disappears through the gate.

CHAPTER 7

CASSIDY

My heart poundslike a runaway horse. Even with Randolph and Connor gone, the energy outside the barn seems to be climbing higher, not simmering down.

“Hell no, why do you thinkyou’realways the one who can close the deal?” Callum pulls up his shirt sleeve and flexes. It’s hardly impressive—nothing compared to Alex’s broad, rugged strength when he’d rolled up his sleeves just the other day.

“You don’t haveshitcompared to this. Look at it!” Bowen barks back, flexing his own arms. “You think you can outmatch this? What a fucking joke.”

“Bowen, you’re old as hell now. You can’t be fifty and still think you’re throwing punches in a barn fight,” Holden quips, tying the horse’s lead to the fence.

“Fuck off. I’m thirty-five,” Bowen fires back, his face reddening. “If you want to see what thirty-five can do, let’s go. You couldn’t even beat me at calf roping the other night. Seven seconds flat. Seven, bitch.”

The Kingridge brothers gather like it’s the old days, voices rising as they bicker and taunt each other. It’s a little like watching a movie from twenty years ago when they used to throw horseshoes at each other or wrestle over Monopoly rules.Everything was a competition back then, and judging by the heat in their voices now, nothing’s changed. I half expect someone to pull the Kingridge Cup—a dusty, engraved beer stein that was the source of a million arguments—out of a back pocket and hold it over their head.

Under different circumstances, I might find it funny, even endearing. But tonight, I can’t shake the gnawing worry in my chest about the fallout from this chaos. Randolph won’t let this go. He’s not the kind of man who loses gracefully. I know exactly how far his bitterness can reach, and I can already see the courtroom drama that might come next. Would he twist this into a custody battle? Use it to paint me as unfit? I can’t put anything past him at this point.

My gaze drifts to Alex. He stands at the edge of the group, hands clenched into tight fists, his face flushed with anger. His silence speaks volumes. He scared me to death when he lost control. But there isn’t any doubt that his heart was in the right place.

There’s an unreachable glaze over his eyes as I approach him. But I reach for his hand anyway and tug him away from the chaos. “Come on.”

His brow furrows, but he lets me pull him down the trail until we’re away from the noise. The barn fades into the distance as we wind through the mesquite trees. His chest still heaves up and down and his skin is hot to the touch.

“Alex, what the hell were you thinking back there?” I demand, keeping my voice low but firm. “What if Connor had seen that? You can’t let Randolph bait you like that. It won’t end. He knows he got to you tonight, and now you’ve made yourself a target.”

Alex’s jaw tightens. “Fuck that guy. He wants to be a bully. Well, he can take his best shot at me. Iwelcomeit.”

My chest aches at the tension in his voice, at how fiercely he’s carrying my burdens. “Stop. Alex, if you’re going to be in my life, you need to understand something—I come as a package deal, okay? The good and the bad. That means Connor and, unfortunately, Randolph too.”

We step into a clearing, and the sprawling ranch comes into view, bathed in moonlight. It’s breathtaking, like something out of a dream. Alex halts, turning to face me. His eyes are dark and intense, searching mine.

“You want me in your life?” he asks softly.

I look away and then back up at him. “Of course I do.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “Alex, you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever known. Who wouldn’t want you in their life?” As soon as the confession leaves my lips, I realize my mistake.

The hurt flashes across his face before he can hide it. He doesn’t need to say anything. I can see it in the tight lines around his mouth. A beat of silence passes, heavy with things unsaid.

“Can we walk to your house?” I ask, my voice gentler now.

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