Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“Yeah, see, you look at Rach and see nothing more than a gorgeous woman,” Max began.
Brooke shook her head. “No, I do not.”
She was well aware Rachel Harper was a force of nature. Her sister-in-law was the single most competent woman she’d ever met.
“But there’s more to her than beauty.” Max was good at ignoring anything and anyone when he wanted to make a point. That he didn’t need to make. Her brother was incredibly dramatic for a cowboy. They tended to be known for their stoicism, but not Max Harper. He was a rebel. “There’s a ruthless will to that woman that will not be denied.”
“His balls just met up with her ruthless streak,” Rye quipped.
Oh, she loved her brothers, but she was with her sister on this one. “Four kids in seven years, Max. Four. If she had taken your balls herself and hung them like a trophy on the wall, I would have helped her design the case for them.”
Max shrank back a little. “I think Rachel might be a bad influence on you, sister.”
Rye grinned. “Nah, she’s taught Brooke how to stand up for herself. And don’t tell her you taught her how to do that. You taught her to knee a dick if one got too close to her.”
She hadn’t had one get close to her in forever. Not since she’d broken it off with that guy from down the hall when she found out exactly how many friends with benefits he had.
“Well, she had to protect herself because she was so pretty,” Max argued. “Still is, and that is one thing I need to talk to you about.”
Rye sighed as though they’d already had this argument. “They’re out on the G. I scarcely think they’re going to try to run our sister down. She told them a polite no at Christmas. Stef swears they’re good kids.”
A flash of heat went through Brooke. “Are you talking about the Kent brothers?”
They were the only cowboys who hit on her at Christmastime, and it wasn’t some sleazy thing. Bay had asked nicely if she would join them for a drink at Trio or to have some dinner or lunch while she was in town. His brother had stood behind him, watching her with hooded eyes like she was a treat and he was sure he would be denied.
Now that she thought about it, only their words had been polite. Everything else about their demeanor had reminded her of a couple of hungry predators desperate to eat her up. She’d stood there in the beautifully decorated town hall with all the happy families around her. The wholesome atmosphere should have had her backing away, and yet all she could think about was how nice it would be if they made a meal of her. She’d had a vision of one of them feeding her his cock while the other ate her pussy like a starving man.
And she’d said no. That woman in her vision wasn’t the woman who took Manhattan. She was too old to run around having wild nights with cowboys. By the time her mother was her age she’d had two kids and been married for a long time. To a dick, but married.
She’d told herself that no came from a place of logic and reason. She was leaving, so it would be nothing more than a one-night stand. They didn’t have a place in her life, and it was so obvious they were looking for something more. They needed. She’d felt it, and it called to her and… Damn it. She’d said no because she felt something for them and it scared her.
Max growled. “Little fuckers called me old.”
“They called you vintage,” Rye corrected.
“They asked me if I remember when JR was shot.” Max’s jaw tightened. “I wasn’t born then. I don’t even think our momma was born then.”
So the Kent brothers were having fun with hers. She wondered if they knew she was their sister. Likely not. They probably thought she was a tourist having fun for the night. Or a relative visiting, which she had been. That feeling she got from them had probably been nothing more than her own projection. She read way too many romance novels. “Mom was born, but she would have been a baby. So the Kent brothers are back in town? I know they were here for the holidays, but I assumed they would go back to whatever ranch they were working. I think the older one mentioned they were between jobs and would be working again after the new year.”
“They decided to hang around,” Max said with a frown. “Stef talked to Jamie and McNamara, and now they are living and working on the G.”
They were here? Not here here. But here in town. Not in town since the Circle G was absolutely outside of town, but here.