Page 14 of Mad About Her Cowboys

Connor shrugged. “It’s something from family, I guess. My mom and dad might have sucked, but my Gram was awesome. And it seemed like a perfect opportunity to start a vacation adventures business.”

Even with great reasons, she could tell he was hedging.

“He gets feelings,” Neal said quietly. “Knowing. He and Franklin both did three years of college, and Eds and I were about to start. Then Connor got his inheritance and sensed he should be here and had a vision of what it could become.”

Her brows drew together. “You got a sense you were supposed to start a ranch-adventure business.” She held up her hand. “I’m not mocking that. Just trying to get clear.”

“Yeah, I guess. I can’t really explain it. Like Neal said, I get feelings—”

“And so far, they’ve never been wrong,” Edison put in. “If Connor says it’s so, we believe him.”

“Okay. Like what?”

“Sometimes, he knows when something bad is going to happen. He knew the land here would be good but that we shouldn’t ranch, that we’d be better off having a guest operation. He knew Neal and I were gonna show up at the Quists on the day we did. He started getting things ready before the state had even called Bethany to ask if the Quists could take us.”

“It’s more than that,” Connor added. “It’s being able to anticipate things—good and bad—and be ready for them. Not everything but plenty of important stuff. It’s seeing something and knowing I need to move in that direction. Sometimes, I can see a whole future lain out on that path.” He made a face. “I know it sounds crazy.”

“Actually, I get it. My grandma had the sight—that’s what she called it. I didn’t get to see her much. My parents thought she was too crazy to muddy up their blue-blood lives. I just figured she had really strong intuition.” She spread her hands. “So Daly is pretty far from where you’re from. I can’t imagine your parents—the Quists, I mean—were thrilled.”

“No. No, they weren’t, but they understood. Kind of. They made Franklin and me promise we’d finish school—which we did. And Neal and Eds had to promise to take classes, too. They have been, and they’re actually going back to Cranston next semester and enrolling full-time at the nearby university. Education’s a big deal to our mom and dads, as you can probably guess. They also made us promise to come home, no shame, no regrets, if things don’t work out. Dad-Man is friends with Robert Daly, so I’m sure he gets reports on us. Of course, we go home on the regular. If we didn’t Mom would be down here kicking our asses.”

“Language,” Neal muttered at Connor.

Madison chuckled. Realizing she’d finished the last of her food while they’d been talking, she wiped her hands on her napkin, dabbed her lips then put it beside her plate. She didn’t want to rush from the table. No, she wanted to sit here and learn more about these men—not because of her attraction but because they fascinated her.

“More,” Franklin asked.

“Goodness, no. I think I might burst. It was so good. Thank you all of you for having me over.”

“We’re glad you’re here,” he replied.

“So,” Connor said, leaning forward on his elbows, “tell us how you ended up in Daly.”

Chapter Eight

Wasn’t that a long, sordid story?

“River asked me,” Madison hedged. “I mean…she needed a replacement, you know, because of her illness. Of course, I came when she called.”

“And…”

“What do you mean?” She knew exactly what Connor meant but didn’t want to tell him everything. Hell, that wasn’t fair of her. They’d been open with her about their past, so she could—should—do the same.

“No one just drops their life and moves across country to take a job, even for a friend—not unless they’re unhappy with where they are,” he said.

“You’re right. I wasn’t happy. Until six months ago, I was in a relationship—engaged, actually. He cheated on me, and we broke up. It was a stupid situation because I’d done something I never should have—got involved with a coworker. Afterward, we still worked in the same office. It was…difficult. Outside of the relationship, I could clearly see what an ass he is. I really dodged a bullet, and I am so over him. Not kidding. Over. Him. But…” She trailed off, the pain and fear behind her move stalking close to her. She’d tell them the sanitized, undetailed version. Talking about any of it was hard, but these cowboys needed to know they had no chance with her. “Well, one night, something happened.”

Something. Fuck, that was an understatement. Martin had been living with Flora, the girl he’d cheated on Madison with. When he’d come to Madison’s apartment a few months ago, out of the blue, he’d been drunk. He’d been violent, too. “No” hadn’t meant a thing to him, and he’d taken anyway. She’d quit her job the next day. She’d had to get away from Martin, zero question in the matter.

She closed her eyes, wishing again she’d pressed charges. She’d been humiliated and confused. She understood what had happened and that it wasn’t her fault, but had she fought hard enough. Was it her fault? She knew him. Had there been something else she could have done? Most mortifying had been that she’d just lain there, head turned away, when it had been evident she could break from his hold, and that alone made her question everything.

Sure, she was a nurse and she knew there was evidence to be collected, but she knew him. She’d been engaged to him. It would be far too easy for insinuations to be made that she’d wanted it, that she wanted revenge.

The only revenge she wanted was living a good life and not letting him ruin her. It was what gave her the courage to be here, to give people a fair shot and not paint them with the “Asshole Martin” brush.

“Madison?” Neal asked, stroking his hand over her arm, and she realized she’d gotten lost in the past. Unshed tears burned in her eyes.

“I’m pregnant,” she said bluntly. “He…doesn’t know about it—he refuses to believe it’s his, anyway.” She’d never chance him getting his hands on her child. “And my family will never accept it, me being a single mother and all, so I wanted to come here and be with people who care about me. River is my best friend, though I have to say, she kept a really big secret from me about Daly—what did she call it? The Daly Way?”

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