Page 22 of Knot Her Cowboys
“Youdidn’t. Maybe this will teach you not to play around with animals like some wild child. Quit milking this and be an adult. You’re causing a scene and you know I hate that.” He reached for me, trying to drag me right off the horse until Dakota nudged his horse away and brought his heel down against Bruce’s chest.
Levi tried to intervene but had no time at all to react before Bruce swung and connected. Dakota tensed like he wanted to leap down and help, but I was blocking the way, being in his lap. Levi was quicker the next time, nimbly dodging another punch before landing his own directly into Bruce’s gut, leaving my alpha wheezing.
Bryan dug his fingers into Bruce’s arm. “Stop.”
All he earned for his attempt was Bruce’s fist in his face too, Bryan reeling backward with his hand clutched to his cheek.
My growl surprised all of us, Dakota’s horse twitching beneath us. “Fuck you. Don’t hurt Bryan. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Anne,” Bruce hissed. “I don’t know what the hell has happened to you since we got here, but this is not appropriate behavior. Get your shit together. Oskar and Karl aren’t going to tolerate this kind of bullshit.”
“Start walking,” Dakota demanded, cutting off Bruce’s tirade. “Follow the trail back to the lodge.”
“You’re sending me off by myself?”
“If you stay here for one more second spouting that shit, I’m going to get off this horse and knock your teeth out.”
“I’d sue you if you did.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second. I’d do it anyway.”
With an angry huff, Bruce turned down the trail, marching away.
Bryan looked helplessly between me and Bruce, eyes full of anguish. “Let me go see if I can calm him down.” He dashed after Bruce, keeping a healthy distance between them on the trail.
Half the riders had safely crossed the river and were waiting in a tidy line for Dakota to take the lead again.
“Thank you.” I whimpered, tucking my face tighter against his chest.
“No one gets to talk to you like that, petal. You’re safe here with me.”
That got my tears spilling like crazy all over again.
Once everyone had crossed, we started up again, Dakota at the lead with Bruce’s horse walking next to us, Levi at the back of the group, walking Starlight and Bryan’s horse.
Dakota purred the whole way back to help me calm down, holding me tightly to lend me the heat of his body. Once we entered the corral, Dakota was quick to alert the staff Bruce was no longer welcome. Two of the hefty alphas dashed down the trail so they could escort him back. We stayed on horseback, slipping out the other side of the corral and heading to the reception building, where Dakota quickly caught Cash’s attention through the window.
He burst out the door, immediately collecting me from Dakota. I locked every limb around him. “Holy shit, you’re soaking wet. What happened?”
“Bruce—” I gasped out.
“Kicked his horse, spooked hers, and she got bucked right into the river. Take her up to the big house. I don’t want her around her alphas while we’re getting them out of their cabin.”
“Got it.” Cash set off at a brisk walk. “He’s fucking pissed. Been a long time since we had to kick someone out. Are you okay?”
I shook my head and buried my face against his throat, huffing his earthy cedar and sage scent like it could fix all of my problems.
Cash kicked open the door of a gorgeous farmhouse, taking me straight upstairs to a huge bathroom that boasted a built-in tub with a view of the trees, and a blue tiled standup shower stall.
“All right, let’s get you warmed up.” He awkwardly got the shower running without putting me down, stepping in, both of us fully clothed.
It was probably barely above tepid, but each droplet was like lava striking my skin.
Cash sank right to the floor, where he tossed my hat and shoes out, peeled my socks off, and rubbed his hands over my arms. “There we go. You’ll toast right up in no time.”
I cuddled harder against him. God, I’d missed him.
“Cash,” I croaked out. “Don’t let go.”
