Not that he cared about age or race or size for that matter. Keegan was an equal-opportunity lover and he welcomed any and all. Except for married women. No sense mixing it up with those who were tied down. Relationships might not be his thing, but he still considered them sacred. Do unto others and all that jazz.
Right now any and all included the six women circling him and Kaden, asking question after question, all hanging on their every word. They were almost enough of a distraction for him not to notice the one woman moving through the space, ignoring him like he had the plague.
Keyword beingalmost.
Yeah, he had noticed Bristol as soon as she approached, talking to one of the women she was usually hanging out with at Moonshiners. Kayla, he thought her name was. They had their heads together. Every so often Bristol would gesture toward something or someone. No matter what, she always kept her back to them. A protective instinct, maybe? Afraid if she looked at them even once she’d end up naked and writhing between them again?
The memory of Thursday night continued to play in his head, most notably when Bristol had run out of the room like her ass was on fire and they were the flames threatening to come for her.
It hadn’t surprised him one fucking bit. In fact, he had expected it.
Granted, he hadn’t been exactly nice when he’d made the comment about what the parents of her students would think. In his defense, it had been about self-preservation. No way was he going to allow himself to fantasize about anything more with this woman. Hell no. Not when she was the queen of distance where they were concerned.
So, yeah, he had said it in hopes she would do exactly what she’d done. Run.
Still, he found himself watching her as she spoke animatedly to a man who had approached her after her friend left to tackle whatever she was tasked with. While the chatter droned on around him, Keegan smiled when appropriate but continued to observe Bristol despite his reservations.
It was as though he was a magnet and her gaze was drawn to his, because it wasn’t long before Bristol turned, her eyes searching as though she sensed someone was watching. When she met his eyes across the way, she instantly looked away and not subtly, either.
It pissed him off that he cared that she wasn’t paying any attention to them, hadn’t except for those brief few seconds. So much so, he turned his attention to the women surrounding him, tried to figure out which of them would be the one sandwiched between them tonight.
Because damn it all to hell, he would fuck Bristol Newton right out of his head if he had to.
*
Curtis Walker strolled up to Jeremiah Tucker’s front porch, smiled as he glanced around.
From where he stood, he could just make out the house his nephew Brantley had bought. If Kaden and Keegan bought this place, they’d be next-door neighbors. For some reason, he liked the idea of that. He could see them having cookouts from time to time, maybe Brantley and Reese pitching in and vice versa. Not a bad setup this would be.
Curtis couldn’t remember when his brother Gerald had given this plot of land to ol’ Tuck. Probably a good fifty years, maybe. Whenever it was, it felt like yesterday. He still remembered the view of the rolling hills out beyond the back pasture. At the time, it had been unused land. Land that was ripe for running cattle, something they’d heard Tuck was eager to do but had never had the means to do at the time. So, with their siblings’ permission, Gerald had gone to Tuck with an opportunity, one that had benefited them all at the time.
Now here they were, many decades later, and Tuck was gearing up for the next phase of his life, which evidently didn’t involve a stay in Coyote Ridge.
Curtis hated to see him leave, but he couldn’t imagine spending his days away from his own family, so he understood.
As he stepped up onto the porch, he noticed the front door was open, the flimsy screen door the only thing between him and the indoors.
He rapped his knuckles on the worn wood. “Hey, Tuck. You in there?”
“It’s open,” the old grisly voice called out. “Come on in, Walker.”
Smiling, Curtis opened the door and stepped inside. Aside from the underlying stench of cigarettes, the house smelled like dust and mildew, as though it had been closed up for some time. He knew that wasn’t the case. Tuck spent all his time here these days, rarely venturing out even on the nights Curtis and his old buddies met up at Moonshiners to shoot the shit and catch up. Health issues, Tuck had told him a while back.
“What brings you by, Walker?” Tuck asked, his gnarled hand curled around a wooden cane as he hobbled toward the kitchen.
“Thought I’d let you know I’ve got some buyers for your ranch.”
Bushy white eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “More than one?”
“Have a seat, Tuck,” Curtis told him.
“Got some tea in the fridge,” Tuck replied as he detoured to the table. “Maybe you could pour us some.”
Curtis nodded, headed for the refrigerator. He noticed a couple of cardboard boxes sitting on the counter. They hadn’t been closed up yet, and he could see dishes inside.
“Packin’ up, are ya?” he said as he grabbed the glass pitcher, closed the refrigerator door.
“That was Lizzy’s doin’.”
