Page 21 of The Cowboy Hitch

“Ridge.” Mama looks like a rabid animal, with her teeth bared in an aggressive snarl. “The terms of your father’s will—”

“I don’t give a damn about that either,” I say, cutting her off. “If I’m going to be head of this ranch, then I say his last wishes were exactly that, Mama.Wishes.”

Blood pumps hard through my veins as I meet her feral stare with my own. “What we’re talking about now are facts. And the fact is that I will not abandon my child or its mother. You know Chastity won’t have any part of me once she hears that.”

“Besides,” I continue, dropping my voice to ensure she’s listening close. “Do you really think Pa would want a Kincaide baby to be raised without the influence of this family? Without its father?”

Her eyes grow wide, and she sits back in her seat, visibly shaken. She nods absently but doesn’t utter a word, her mouth pinched into a hard line.

“So, if Chastity isn’t the mother, then who is?” Laken asks, her voice as uncertain as the look on her beautiful young face.

Slowly, I scan the room, my measured gaze meeting each of those around me, silently daring someone to argue, before coming back to Mama’s hollow stare.

With my head held high, I tell them, “Lacy Hallman.”

No one has much to say after that.

Scarlett asks a few more questions—all of them tied to shopping somehow—and Cole dares to wonder aloud if Chastity might be open to dating, but without Mama leading the conversation, it’s soon over.

She stands, brushing invisible wrinkles from her clothes, and without another word, leaves the room.

My siblings all quickly follow.

“Ridge,” Addie calls, her voice soft but steady.

I turn to the doorway where she lingers with Brooks, who seems amiable. They’re the only two left in the room.

“Congratulations,” she says with a pretty smile. “To Lacy too.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, unsure what else to say.

These two should hate me after everything I helped Mama put them through. Yet, of all my family, they’re the only ones that seem to give a damn.

But that’s just fine by me.

If Pa taught me anything about running this place, it’s that I don’t need my family’s love to do it. All I need is for them to understand that I’m the one in charge.

The fan overhead continues its soft rotation, just like the earth under my feet.

I told them. What could’ve been a dirty little secret is now out in the open, and nothing fell apart. Even Mama seemed resigned to the idea by the end. Maybe this thing isn’t as big or scary as I first thought.

Or maybe this is just the calm before the storm.

With Lacy, a squall seems inevitable. But some weird part of me looks forward to it. To her wildness. Her intensity.

Fuck. I need to get the hell out of this house. Away from the stifling conditioned air and beige walls. Away from my overbearing family and the expectations that come along with them. Somewhere private, where I can talk to my woman.

Because whether Lacy knows it yet or not, she is mine. At least, I’m aiming to make her mine—sooner than fucking later, I hope.

I stalk outside and hop in my truck. My foot is heavy on the accelerator as I tear away from the house, but I don’t go far.

Only a few miles away, I pull off the road and bump along a dusty old path until I reach the thick copse of trees and the open, somewhat hidden valley beyond it.

I love this spot. My brother Brooks thinks it’s his little secret, but it isn’t—I followed him here one night and have been sneaking off to it on my own ever since.

With the windows down, I shut off the engine of my truck, but don’t bother getting out. This place is private, yet something about the added security of the steel cage around me gives me the courage to do what comes next.

I fish my phone from my pocket and dial Lacy’s number. It’s amazing the information I can round up, all because my last name’s Kincaide.

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