Page 91 of Claimed By the Cowboys
“I didn’t really mean for this to be up for debate,” Clay grumbled as he looked over the united front against him. “But since I’m so outnumbered, I’m at least going to set down a couple of ground rules…”
Clay had set the following ground rules before he and the other boys dropped me off at the line dance bar.
One, I wouldn’t approach Caroline alone. Both Emmy and her friend Jordana who worked the bar, would be keeping eyes on me at all times, their phones at the ready to call the boys out in the parking lot if the meeting started to go sideways.
Two, I would continue to hide my belly and my bites to keep Caroline in the dark. It was easy hiding under the table with the large fluffy dress and my hair down. Plus, with mocktails served by the waitress, I was covered.
Three, the second anything started to feeloff, I prioritized getting out safely above keeping up any kind of ruse or getting information. Easy.
Caroline arrived in time to catch me ordering a drink from Jordana, along with some chips and queso to munch on.
“I’ll have a margarita, with whatever your best silver tequila is and Grand Marnier,” she snipped out impatiently as she sat down, not even bothering to look Jordana in the face. “On the rocks—no salt.”
She was prettier in person than on the grainy webcam. About as tall as me, with a pinched little waist that made her look fashionable as could be in her short white and blue gingham eyelet dress.
“Oh my god, Piper, I am so glad we got a chance to sit down and chat, just us girls!” she gushed through her fake smile as she batted her expensive eyelash extensions at me.
“Me too!” I lied through my teeth, gently tapping my hands against the table as if Iwastruly excited to be there.
“It’ssucha small world. Imagine my surprise when I found out the ex-girlfriend of my…” She trailed off, clearly unsure of how to address Pack Adamar in the situation. “...Friendsin Pack Adamar was working as a nanny for my former pack.”
Caroline leaned across the table as if sharing a secret. “So, I’m sure you’ve heard a little gossip about me while you’ve been watching sweet Maisie.”
“Oh, they don’t talk about you at all,” I chirped, unable to pass up an opportunity to get in one little jab before I continued. “Not to me, at least.” I shrugged, turning to Jordana as she arrived with our drinks.
“Not even that asshole Monty says nasty things about me anymore? They must really miss me,” she laughed, wildly pleased with herself.
“Mister Flint?” I asked innocently, as if I hadn’t gotten to know Montanaas way more than my employer.
Caroline’s pink lip gloss, Cheshire cat grin curled larger and larger as I played dumb. “That’s fair, I guess they wouldn’t wantto air that kind of dirty laundry in front ofthe help.” Caroline reached forward and patted the back of my hand.
I had to resist the urge to pull away, returning her hollow smile. “So what was it that you wanted to talk about?” I asked sweetly, leaning forward to purse my straw between my lips and take a slug of my drink.
Caroline looked over each shoulder before she confessed in a lowered voice, “You didn’t hear this from me, okay? And you shouldn’t repeat it to anyone.” She waited soberly for me to acknowledge her.
“Oh, of course not!” I waved my hands through the air and leaned in close so Caroline could see I was hanging on every word.
“Well, I don’t know if the boys have mentioned it, but there’s a good chance of them losing the ranch soon.”
I didn’t have to fake my jaw dropping, though I was more shocked by Caroline’s detachment from reality than I was devastated, but luckily enough, she interpreted my slackened jaw as shocked dismay.
“I know, and I know how rotten they are—they probably haven’t even told you. They’ll wait until the last minute and then put you out on the street. Trust me, I know!” She shook her head with solemn disappointment.
“How do you know they’re gonna lose the ranch? If that happens, I lose my job and the place I’m renting!” I stammered.
The two of us were forced to sit in a moment of awkward silence as Jordana came back with the chips and dip, setting them down on the table before she asked us if we wanted anything else, then disappeared back into the crowded bar after Caroline snippily dismissed her.
“Well, like I said, you didn’t hear it from me, but Clay is stillmadly in love with me.” Caroline almost whispered the last fewwords, and I had to curl my lips over my teeth to keep from laughing out loud.
“Uh-huh,” I prompted her to continue with a series of wobbly nods.
“I was in a really bad place right after the baby was born.” Caroline sighed sadly, and for the briefest moment, I felt the icy wash of panic, wondering if there was any chance that Caroline wasn’t the horrible person I’d been made to think, that she really loved Maisie, Clay, and the others. That Clay and Pack Blackwood still loved her.
“I had a few years on the road, trying hard to survive, and I kept thinking about how things would have been different if I hadn’t left the ranch and sweet little Daisy.”
“Maisie,” I corrected as evenly as I could manage, but that was all I needed to kill any pity for Caroline. It crushed any remaining worry I had that she might be for real.
“Right, right.” Caroline glossed over the offensive mistake as if it were nothing. “Now that I’m back, it’s only a matter of time before Clay and I are bonded. Even if the boys don’t want to take me back, I know my baby.” She grinned, and I thought I might actually be sick.
