Page 1 of Never Fear (Whiskey Ridge)
Chapter 1
McKenna
Ipopped a piece of strawberry gum in my mouth and steeled myself for the delivery of my death threat. Well, actually, it was more like a strongly worded hate letter. Or a promise of vengeance? Either way I wanted to phrase it, my best friend wasn’t going to be happy about it. Herandher three protective cowboys. Well, technically only one washers, but she’d told me their little secrets. She’d had a taste of each of them. How she’d been able to keep food down since then, I wasn’t sure. They were overbearing, broody, and way too fucking protective—something my careless personality didn’t have the time or patience for.
One of them in particular I could be okay with castrating.
All that aside, I tried to ignore the fact that I had a crumpled note in my jacket pocket that basically held the receipt for my casket. It was endearing that someone was thoughtful enough to resort to handwriting with a good ol’ pen and paper rather than leaving an ominous text or a breath-filled phone call, but the sentiment didn’t mean thatmuch when all it basically said was that I had a target on my back.
I liked menlookingat my ass, not wanting it six feet underground. Maybe I was giving mixed messages to the patrons at the diner.
The comforting taste of strawberry coated my tongue as I slipped out of my SUV and closed the door behind me. I didn’t bother locking it, being on a big ranch in the middle of nowhere and all. As if the property needed the emphasis, the crisp smell of fresh hay and fall rain washed over me. I inhaled deeply, wishing that sense of peace everyone talked about would work on me too.
The attempt proved futile when not an ounce of pressure eased off my chest. Rolling my shoulders back, I crossed the driveway and climbed the few steps to the large front door, having to crane my neck back to see the pitch of the roof before it disappeared from sight with the overhang. The size of Booker, Henley, and Austin’s house was a bit…daunting. What men needed a place to live that was this big?
I chewed quicker, harder, my jaw working overtime as I knocked. I already knew Brynne, my best friend, would be furious, but the gum was doing little to ease my nerves like it typically did. Booker, her boyfriend, would want to put a bullet in someone’s skull for upsetting his girl. Henley, one of Booker’s best friends, would offer outlandish advice, and Austin, his other, more annoying friend, would?—
“Nightmare!” Brynne shouted right as an awkward, lanky black dog darted out the door, nearly taking me out with him. His too-big-for-his-body paws landed right above my hip as he immediately went to gnaw on my fingers.His tail thumped wildly against the wooden beam on the porch as Brynne reached forward and pulled him back by his collar. “No jumping!”
I smiled at the six-month-old black lab, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth now. “Still working on that one, I see.”
The dog’s tail moved at a more rapid rate with my recognition. Booker had promised Brynne a puppy after the shit show they went through weeks ago, and he delivered. He’d surprised her with him, and they’d been nearly inseparable since.
“We’re still working on a lot of things,” Brynne explained, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. She was a natural brunette, but she’d bleached her tips years ago and had been doing it ever since. I, on the other hand, had near-white blonde hair.
Brynne turned to the puppy, who was now sitting and staring up at me with barely-contained excitement. “Go potty, weirdo.”
With a high-pitched bark, he took off, almost face-planting after leaping off the porch.
“Are you here to talk about Thanksgiving?” Brynne asked, tucking her hands into her sweatshirt and moving to one of the wooden chairs on the porch. “Because I have thoughts.”
I let out a small laugh as I took the seat next to her. “I’m sure you do.”
Her eyes shot to mine. “What was that?”
“What was what?” I asked innocently, sitting back in the chair and chewing quicker.
“That laugh tells me you’re hiding something.” Shegasped, shooting forward. “Did you go on a date and not tell me?”
“No! No. I didnotgo on a date. If I had, you’d have been the first to know.”
“Good.” She sat back, crossing her arms. “Now talk.”
Pursing my lips together because my best friend was too damn good at reading me, I dug through my wool jacket pocket and internally flinched when my fingers brushed the crumpled paper. I held it out to Brynne, and she quickly took it, eyes scanning the few words on the paper.
“‘They took from us, so we’ll take from them.’ What the fuck does that even mean?”
I sat back in the chair, tucking my hands in my pockets as if this was a casual conversation and not speculation around a handwritten threat. “I’d love to know.”
Brynne folded her feet onto the chair, facing me. “Where did you find this?”
“On my driver’s seat.”
She opened her mouth to speak before her eyes widened. “Wait.Inyour car?”
I nodded. “They somehow opened it without setting off the alarm while I was working.”
Brynne flopped back on the chair, blowing out a breath that caused a stray strand of hair to fly upwards. “Well, fuck.”
