Page 41 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
“You think I haven’t imagined this? Fuck, I’ve dreamed about finding my match since I was old enough to understand what it meant. But never once did I think she’d fall into my lap like this. But here she is. And she’s real. She’s unsure and confused.”
My voice drops. “But I saw it. The gasps. Her breathing all hitched up. The way her eyes went wide like a deer, but she didn’t run. And that sweet Omega slick just starting to bloom. How long before her heat comes?” We all know the truth: Alphas bring out heat in Omegas a lot quicker, another reason they tend to be kept away from us.
Ridge exhales, low and hard, his voice quieterwhen he speaks. “So, what… we each take a shot? One at a time?”
“It’s not a fucking competition,” I growl. “We’re not here to fight over her. This isn’t about ego. If this bond is real, then we give her reasons to believe it.”
“Without pushing,” Cash echoes.
“Exactly.”
Ridge leans his arms on the top rail, staring out past the paddock. “And what if she doesn’t want it? What if she doesn’t want any of us?”
I don’t say anything for a moment. That thought has been lodged in my chest since the second I caught her scent.
“Then we let her go,” I say eventually. “Even if it kills us.”
Cash mutters, “You always gotta be so dramatic? I ain’t letting her go.”
I shoot him a look.
He smirks, then kicks a boot at the dirt. “All right. This is happening, then.”
“Yep,” I say, dead serious. “You want her? You act like it. Earn her.”
Cash nods.
“Looks like it,” Ridge says quietly.
“God help us,” Cash mutters.
“No,” I say, voice flat. “God helpanyonewho tries to get between us and her.”
They’re on board, even if Ridge is still fighting it. All three of us, pursuing one Omega. Itshould feel wrong. Complicated. Instead, it feels like pieces clicking into place.
“Oh, and tonight,” I start.
Ridge frowns. “What’s tonight?”
“Five fifteen. Be at Maggie’s Diner,” I repeat, voice firm. “Don’t be late.”
Cash arches a brow. “You setting curfews now, Daddy?”
“Fuck you. She’s having dinner with June,” I say. “Thought it’d be a good time to see how she is without us breathing down her neck. Just… watch her. Get a read.”
“Jesus,” Ridge mutters. “Youarestalking her.”
“I’m observing,” I snap. “There’s a difference.”
“Yeah. One’s got a restraining order,” Cash says under his breath, grinning.
I roll my shoulders, jaw ticking. “You two wanna sit around here and pretend we aren’t already circling her like wolves, be my guest. But I’m going. Not saying we sit with her. She has her dinner. We have ours. But I want to see how she holds herself when she’s relaxed. If she laughs. What she looks like when she’s not worrying about the ranch or her damn inheritance.”
Ridge eyes me. “You planning to take notes? Build a fucking psychological profile?”
I smirk. “Nope. Just watching my scent match in the wild.”
“Creepy,” Cash deadpans.
