Page 6 of Mad About Her Cowboys

Madison’s hand stole to her stomach as she imagined raising her baby here. What River described of the conditions sounded perfect. It might be lonely, but Mads was used to being alone. And when the baby came, she’d have that focus. The little one would be her everything. And that was okay, too. No man would want her with her baggage. The Daly cowboys wouldn’t want a woman and a baby.

“Rayna is trying to change things around here. Bring in more people,” River when on, unaware of the direction of Madison’s thoughts. Rayna was one of the owners of the B&B where Madison was staying until Riv vacated the apartment upstairs.

“She’s nice and so in love with her husband, Jamie. He’s kinda shy, isn’t he?”

“It’s the scars. He believes people will think he’s some kind of freak, but he’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. Rayna saw that in him right away. Anyway, when she decided to move here a couple years ago, she appointed herself as head of our tourism—a position she created because there was no such thing before her arrival. Her plans have taken time and run into some roadblocks, but she’s starting to make headway. But that’s another story. You wanted to know about my guys. My boyfriends.”

“Both of them.” Though Madison was loath to admit it, the idea sounded appealing. Really appealing. Maybe, it was her hormones. She’d heard pregnancy made some women horny. That could be the case here.

“Right…the Daly Way. It’s not an official motto or anything. That’s just what people have taken to calling it because it’s the way around here. Because there are so few women, relationships in this town are usually of the polygamous variety. Trinogamous, even. Sometimes more.”

“You just made up that word.”

River laughed. “Maybe, but anyway… Even if relationships or marriages end up being one guy and one woman, like Rayna and Jamie or my sister, Moon, and her husband, Pete, generally, they started out as ménage relationships. Sometimes, like with my sister, Paisley—or Jamie’s brother, Patrick and his partners—it stays as a ménage.”

It stays a ménage… What would that be like? Ménage. The word and idea stuck with Madison through the rest of the workday, evening and into the next day. Every patient who came in, she wondered if they were in a situation like that. Had they tried ménage? Were they looking? By Friday afternoon, it became apparent that many were and they’d heard all about the new nurse at Doc Walker’s.

“I should be insulted,” River laughed as yet another pair of men sauntered into the office to see her friend—the tenth pair of non-patient visitors since the practice opened that morning. These two bore wildflowers and chocolate.

“It’s so sweet,” Madison whispered, overcome by it all.

“Aw, Miss River,” one of the guys said, having overheard her comment. “You know we’re all sweet on you, and we’re right tore up over…” He paused, apparently unsure whether he should mention her sickness. “Over you leaving Doc’s,” he finished. “But we all know you belong to those assholes—excuse my language—Cauldwell and Danielson. They slapped ‘claimed’ on you as soon as you stepped into town.”

“Um-hmm,” River replied.

“Is that so?” Madison tapped her fingers on the desk, pinning the men with a stare. “Nobody better be marking me claimed.”

Even if it intrigued her, she was no one’s property. She could date and explore as she wanted. Or not. Thinking of her pregnancy, or not seemed a very real possibility.

“Aw, Miss Madison,” the same one placated her—apparently, he was the talker of the pair. “It ain’t like that. We all knew Miss River was into them, too. No one just says claimed.”

“I don’t know about that,” a new voice interrupted. Madison looked up to see four men entering. It was as if an immediate tsunami of attraction slammed into her. Holy God, she’d never felt anything so powerful, not even with her ex. More confusing, she couldn’t discern which of the four men it came from. Her thighs tightened, pressing together as she regarded the quartet if rugged cowboys. Whoa! If a woman were confronted by this, no wonder she’d think the Daly Way was a good idea.

Unlike with Riv’s men, these four devoured Madison with their eyes as they stood behind the two boys, who’d come in before them. The tallest of the new group leaned forward and said to them, “Claimed.”

“Well, fuck,” the quiet one said.

“Spread that shit wide,” he told them.

“Language…” one of his companions muttered with a snicker. The one who’d declared her “claimed” glared at him, dark brown eyes flashing fire.

“Oh my God,” Madison exclaimed as the first cowboys dropped their gifts on the counter and took off as if they’d been burned. “What the hell was that?”

The spokesman for the new cowboys smiled at her as if he hadn’t just told those others she belonged to him. She shivered at the intensity in his gaze as he studied her. His grin might be affable, but his stare was hungry, predatory…claiming.

“Afternoon, Madison,” he said, her name on his tongue like a sensual caress. “I’m Connor, and that there is Edison, Franklin and Neal. Franklin has an appointment with Dr. Walker.”

“And you all needed to come in?” River interrupted in a no-nonsense tone while Madison glanced at the schedule, trying to gather her wits.

“Oh, right.” She tapped the computer screen with the end of her pen. “Franklin Quist for a diabetic consultation. You’re a little over an hour early. We’re not busy, so let me check with the doctor to see if he can see you early.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary, darlin’,” Connor said, leaning on the counter. “We can wait. We’d love to chat with the new girl in town. You know, since you’re not busy.”

River stepped between them, forcing Madison to push back her chair a bit. Madison leaned sideways to take in the group. All four were tall and well-built. Rugged and tanned, looking as if they spent a lot of time outdoors. They all had dark hair, as well, but they all had different eyes. Connor had chocolate-brown eyes while one of the others, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, had eyes that appeared golden-amber. Of the two slightly behind them, one had silvery-gray while the other man’s were a light, almost-gray blue.

Of all the cowboys who’d come in here today, Madison wanted to know these four. Why they drew her while the others hadn’t, she had no idea. Maybe, she was tired and being hit hard with baby hormones.

Baby.

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