Page 128 of Knot Her Cowboys
Grizzy trotted excitedly up next to Big Jack when we left the trees and hit the open plains.
“You happy to be almost home, Grizzy girl?”
Two figures waved in the distance.
“I can’t tell which one is Cash and which is Cooper from here. Go on ahead, sweet girl. Your dads are waiting,” I told Grizzy.
I was never sure how much English animals understood, but Grizzy took off, bolting in the direction of my alphas waiting to greet us.
Dakota took the opportunity to walk next to us with Sky, though he was significantly closer to the ground than we were up on Big Jack.
“I’m going to take a very long, hot shower when we get back,” I announced. “Just putting that out there because I might get a little lonely in there.”
Levi’s laugh rumbled through me. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”
“Ithink I’m finally figuring out a proper groove here.” I snuggled down between Cash and Dakota on the couch with a hot chocolate, my brain mellow and my body exhausted after a long day in the kitchen. “I wouldn’t say no to a couple of sous chefs to help me out, though.”
“I already talked to the staff and put up a job listing for someone with a little more experience,” Cash told me. “We’ll getyou as much help as you need, and in the meantime I’ll be your kitchen buddy.”
My purr erupted. Cash might be a distraction in the kitchen, but he was a cute one, and when he could wrangle himself into focusing, he was very helpful.
Cooper arrived with our popcorn but frowned when he saw where I was sitting. He passed the popcorn to Cash and my hot chocolate to Dakota before scooping me up, spinning, and sitting back down with me on his lap. If Cooper wanted me close, he was going to get me close. I wedged myself right under his shirt while he squawked, trying to keep me from getting anywhere near ticklish spots.
“Riley, what the fuck is happening?” He laughed, grabbing hold of my hands through the fabric.
“Extra special cuddles.”
“Pass me the food and drinks,” Levi ordered. “You guys are going to spill on Riley’s couch.”
Cash and Dakota adjusted Cooper’s shirt so I could wedge myself deeper. “It feels criminal I can’t do this to all four of you at once. Whoever designed omegas should’ve allowed for replication by mitosis as needed and let us come back into one body the rest of the time.”
“You think we could survive that many Rileys?” Cash asked with a laugh. “You’re already a force of nature. Could you imagine four of you?”
“I could run my own kitchen all by myself if I wanted to, but that would probably get boring.”
I closed my eyes, happily nestled, but then tension shot through the alphas around me. I blinked, trying to get a sense of what was wrong, but everything was dark.
“Power outage?” Levi asked. “There’s no storm. I wonder if someone hit the pole? Is it out on the whole property?”
I wiggled free from Cooper’s shirt, trying to get my bearings. It wasn’t fully dark yet, but it was close. Dakota opened the curtains, letting the dim light of evening into the space.
“Holy shit,” Dakota gasped. “One of the barns is on fire!”
I flung myself toward the window, seeing the small barn where I’d helped Levi with Bluebell’s birth being consumed by a blaze. “Bluebell and Buttons!”
I bolted. My only concern was to make sure the horses got out safely. My pack thundered down the stairs after me and I sprinted out the door without even pausing for shoes.
Seconds counted in situations like this.
An alarm cracked through the air. The whole ranch looked dark as I ran except for the faint glow of emergency lights in the guest properties, and the solar lights lining the paths.
Cooper and Levi got ahead of me, slamming through the barn door, and Dakota jumped the fence, wrenching open the larger door for the horses to flee into the corral. I was just about to cross the threshold when an arm wrapped around my waist, and I assumed it was Cash stopping me from entering a burning building, at least until the acrid smell of sweat and lawn clippings filled my nose.
Not my alpha.
Darrell fucking Decker.
A leathery hand clapped over my mouth. I kicked, struggling hard, and arms wrapped around my legs too. Wildberry and cigarettes overwhelmed Darrell’s alpha scent.
