Page 42 of Claimed By the Cowboys
“Caroline, it’s Montana—why the hell are you callin’ the ranch, when we all know that you’ve already gotten your money? There’s nothing for you here,” I growled into the receiver.
“Oh, Montana, hush. You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” She let out a venomous laugh.
“Clay eventually told us, you know.” I gripped the edge of the desk, my knuckles cracking as I held tighter and tighter. “How you came creeping back, asking for money right around Maisie’s first birthday, after you took off at six fucking weeks.” I eased off, worried I might turn the edge of the desk to splinters.
“Yeah? Did he tell you he only made a down payment on ruining my fucking body and my life?” Caroline snorted, unimpressed by my pain, my anger.
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
“I mean that he still owes me money for all the damage that Pack Blackwood did to my perfect body, all the prospects that I lost because of pregnancy and exclusivity,” Caroline explained matter-of-factly. “Of course, there’s also the matter of my daughter, Daisy,” she added snootily.
That was what finally sent me over the edge.
“Her name isMaisie, and you can get royally fucked, Caroline. You don’t have any power over us anymore,” I barked, my lips curling back from my teeth as I snarled into the phone to make my point.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Monty, honey.” Her voice was sickly sweet, almost a whisper. “I’ve got a whole pack of high-powered businessmen with the best legal teams money can buy behind me. If you don’t give me what I want, I’m going to make things very, very difficult for you and the rest of the boys.”
I felt a little relief in that moment that Caroline wasn’t aware of Piper’s recent installation at the ranch—or the fact that all of us were smitten with Miss Collins.
“And what is it that you want, Caroline? Or should I say,how muchdo you want?” I cut straight to the chase.
“I want the ranch, along with its crown jewel.” Caroline’s words dripped with venom as she added, “And if that means Ineed to go through the little girl, then so help me, Montana—I will use the little girl to get what I want.”
I didn’t need to ask Caroline what she meant by crown jewel… I knew that she meant Clay.
The two of them were like oil and water, but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t tried to mix it up—often with sexually explosive results. It never lasted long, though. The two of them could never see eye to eye long enough to build a deeper connection.
After Caroline left, Clay only hardened his heart more, closing himself off and burying his feelings in our increasing workload.
The fact that Piper had already started to melt some of his icy, gruff exterior in the short amount of time that she’d been here, only highlighted how clearly Clayton and Caroline were never meant to be.
“Caroline, with all due respect, you’re dreamin’ if you think you’re ever getting anywherenearthis ranch, much less that you’d ever be gettingthis ranch,” I laughed good-naturedly, as if I had never heard a funnier joke in my life.
“We’ll see who’s dreaming when I see you in court with my insanely prestigious legal team. You’ll be begging me for scraps!” she shouts through the phone.
There was nothing more for me to say. Anything else would have devolved into name-calling and mudslinging, and I wasn’t about to lower myself to Caroline’s level.
“Serve us with papers if you’re going to do it, Caroline. Otherwise, fuck off and please never contact me or any of the rest of my family again.”
And that was when the dial tone sounded.
Chapter 21
Clayton
We sat outside surrounding the old firepit, every one of us sleepy and full. Zeke and I had done most of the barbecuing, but Piper made a selection of sides that paired beautifully. The result had been several very full, very happy cowboys.
It was past Maisie's bedtime, but she had been so happy making s’mores with Dakota that I couldn't tell her no when she looked up at me with that adorable face and begged to stay up for a few more minutes.
After her third toasted treat, she had clambered into Zeke’s arms and dozed off snuggled up to him. Piper was next to them, regularly checking on Maisie.
Even I had to admit she was a natural with her. Piper was always keeping careful watch over our daughter without hovering or being overbearing. She allowed Maisie to explore at her own pace and would only step in when she needed help.
Some of the nannies we’d hired in the past had hovered so painfully, and micromanaged everything Maisie did. She’d been miserable. Then there had been a nanny or two who hadn't reallycared about Maisie and had been so hands-off, it bordered on neglect.
Piper seemed to be the perfect balance.
In fact, at times, she felt a littletooperfect. And that familiar nagging in my gut was tugging at me, saying that things couldn’t stay so good.
