Page 6 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

Linc had long ago learned to distance himself from his feelings. Special Forces training left no room for hot heads or emotions. But if he ever saw Emmett Wilder again…

He consciously relaxed his fingers that had curled into fists at the thought of his slimy cousin usinghismilitary photos for fake online dating profiles he’d used to catfish and steal from women. He tamped down the simmering rage.

Time to go. He loved his brothers but for now he’d had his fill of sibling sharing.

“I’m heading home.” He opened the drawer and tucked the key inside, thinking he wished Wyatt would find a better—meaningsaferplace for it. But his was just one opinion. And why should they listen to him?

“You don’t want to stay?” Ethan asked.

With Olivia laid up, there wouldn’t be a tasty dinner to tempt him so no. He could eat frozen food or microwave leftovers back at his cabin where it was nice and quiet.

“I do not,” he said, feeling grumpy.

The comment had Wyatt smiling. “Let him go. Linc can onlypeoplefor so long before he needs a break.”

Linc shot Wyatt a glance. At least one brothergothim. “See you in the morning.”

“Try not to be a piss—uh, poopy head when I do,” Ethan said.

“Uncle Ethan said poopy head,” Darcy reported.

Wyatt chuckled. “Yes, he did, sweetie.”

Ethan getting reprimanded by their niece cheered Linc, as did the thought of the peace and quiet waiting for him in his cabin.

Hell, maybe he’d do some research of his own on the key and put Eva in her place. She wasn’t the only one who knew their way around a computer. He had skills too. It was about time he put them to use.

And maybe if he worked hard enough and late enough on the mystery of the key, he’d actually sleep through the damn night. Without the dreams. Without the nightmares. Without the memories that had his heart racing and his stomach twisting and feeling as if he had to crawl out of his own skin.

He could only hope.

ChapterThree

“Asummons? Really? Why?” Eva asked as she strode into Rosie’s at the obscenely early hour of nine a.m..

She’d been awake and working already that morning. But being in PJs in bed with her laptop was very different than being dressed and in public.

The aroma of bacon and fresh brewed coffee and some sort of sweet cinnamon-scented baked goods helped. Seeing all of the Wilders and Wilder adjacent already seated in the family booth did not.

“How can you be last to arrive? You live here.” Ethan snorted.

She cocked her head to shoot him a glare she hoped conveyed the death threat in her mind and pulled her sweater closer around her, covering one of her favorite T-Shirts which was also perfect for this occasion.

Coffee before talkie.If she weren’t so cold from running from the apartment to the restaurant in December without a coat, she would have flashed the sentiment at Ethan and everyone else who dared converse with her at this ungodly hour.

Rosie, God bless her, slid a cup of coffee in front of Eva. “I’m making you a cappuccino but I figured this will hold you over for now.”

This was a woman who understood her.

“Thank you, Rosie. You might be the only civilized person here.” As she stirred in a generous amount of cream and a good long pour from the sugar dispenser, she let her gaze sweep the crowd. There were far too many of them for this hour. Especially since she’d been up working until past one last night.

Ethan let out a sniff. “Linc and I were in the barn at dawn.”

“Which is exactly why I didn’t choose farming as my vocation,” she countered.

“We did come to you, rather than making you drive to us,” Poppy the peacemaker pointed out. “We should get some credit for that.”

Eva raised a brow. “One, with Livvie laid up, you needed to come here because there’s no one to cook breakfast. And two, I’m sure she’s not at all happy about being excluded from this little gathering—“ Suddenly it hit her. The last minute meeting. The fact it was at Rosie’s and not the house so Olivia couldn’t be here because she was on bed rest.

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