Page 2 of Knot Her Cowboys (Big Sky Omegas #2)

“ O h my god! Cashy?” I dropped my bag, bolting toward him as he came around the desk and swept me into his arms, my feet leaving the ground while he spun us.

He was such a long way from the little string bean I remembered in high school.

I might not have recognized him at all if he hadn’t figured out who I was first.

“Should I be offended that you didn’t know who I was? Been gone for so long you don’t even recognize your bestie?” He put me back on my feet and clutched my face in both hands. “Don’t make me bust out a shame, shame, double shame.”

I burst out laughing, hugging him tightly, steadfastly trying to ignore how fucking good he smelled. “I’m sorry. You’ve filled out a lot since high school. You can’t blame a girl for taking a minute.”

Loud throat clearing had me stiffening and turning back to my alphas.

“I’ll thank you to take your hands off our fiancée,” Bruce snapped.

Cash raised both hands into the air, but I was slower to react to the order.

“You guys, it’s fine. Cash and I are old friends.”

“ Fiancée ?” Cash whispered.

I lifted my hand, flashing the absolute rock on my finger. “Yep.”

“You got engaged to city slickers ?”

“We’re right here.” Bryan glared at Cash.

“Statement still stands. How about I help you folks get checked in?”

I was forced to let go of him when he swept back around the counter.

“What name?”

“Anne Harris.” My cheeks burst into flames as Cash stared me down shrewdly.

“All right, then. Ms. Harris , y’all will be in cabin four. I’ll walk you down.” He fetched three keys off the hooks behind the counter, passing one to each of us before motioning for everyone to follow. “Welcome to Rowdy Rock. We hope your stay will be very comfortable.”

His flight attendant tone had me on the edge of laughter as he waved his arms around, showing off the property.

“Internet is available at reception and in the building we’re passing on the left just now, and?—”

Bruce immediately turned off, heading inside. Bryan stared helplessly between me and the door Bruce had gone through before following after him with a sigh.

“Um, what?” Cash looked at me for some explanation.

“They’re workaholics,” I said, as if that excused their behavior.

Cash frowned. “I see. There’s no Internet in the cabins, at least not that’s reliable. They’ll have to sit next to the booster.”

“I know. I guess, show me the rest and I’ll go back for them after.”

Cash swung his arm over my shoulders, tucking me close to his side.

“You got it. You’ll be meeting for the trail ride you booked just up ahead, and dinner is around the campfire on the good weather nights.

That’s just over here next to the corral.

On shitty nights we eat in the community building where your fiancés are right now. ”

I turned questions over in my head, trying to work up the will to actually ask them out loud.

Cash got brave enough first. “So…you’re an omega?”

My stomach flipped. “Yeah, I presented late, not until my junior year of university.” I gave myself an experimental sniff, relieved that the neutralizer I’d spritzed on myself before getting on the plane still seemed to be working.

All Cash could smell was the general omega sweetness, not my true scent beneath the chemicals.

New York had so many people, often packed into tight quarters, so it was way more common for people there to mute their scents for the comfort of people around them.

“Looks like the East Coast treated you well.”

I couldn’t quite tell if he was serious or not. “I’m sor?—”

He playfully cupped his hand over my mouth, a bolt of lust shooting down my spine. That was not an allowed feeling. Cash was my friend and I was engaged .

“None of that,” Cash said quietly. “I’m happy to see you and we don’t have to talk about the past. You left for your reasons, and we stayed for ours. No sense getting twisted up about it.”

I nudged his hand free with a playful nip. “Okay. How’s Carter and your parents?”

“Parents are still enjoying themselves pretending to be ranchers. And Carter is actually a rancher now.”

“I’m sorry, how did Carter become a rancher? He was the shiest little bookworm I’ve ever met back in the day.”

Cash shrugged. “He really grew into himself when he got a pack that understood him.”

“I’m glad. He was a good kid and I’m happy to hear he turned into a good man too.” I chewed my lip, desperate to ask my next question, but not wanting Cash to know exactly how desperate. “Do you still talk to Cooper and Morgan?”

Yes. Cool and casual. Just asking about the love of my life I’d left behind to restart my existence in New York, like I was asking if he enjoyed the newspaper this morning.

Cash didn’t seem to hate me for disappearing, but he’d always been more easygoing than Cooper. The chances of Cooper hating my guts weren’t as slim as I’d like, and the longer the silence had gone on, the harder it was to consider changing that.

“Every damn day for Coop. Not as often for Morgan, but often enough. She lives a couple of hours south with her pack.”

I choked. “ Morgan has a pack?”

Cash laughed. “I know. I was shocked when I found out too. Our little prickly pear grew up into a cuddle bug. She runs a hunting lodge with her alphas and she’s happy as a clam out there doing education tours and photography.”

“Good.” My throat swelled with emotion, making my next words thick. “She deserves it.”

I swallowed hard and Cash pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “What’s wrong, Riles?”

“Just wasn’t expecting to see you, or anyone really. It’s dredging up a lot. I know you said not to say anything, but I am sorry. I missed you guys, even if it doesn’t seem like it because I stayed away.”

“Hey!” Bruce appeared on the trail behind us. “We just told you not to touch her.”

“Why are you crying? ” Bryan jogged over, snatching me right out of Cash’s arms, face like murder. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing!” I tried to pull away from Bryan, but he held fast. “You guys, I was just overwhelmed. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Bruce countered. “You’re obviously not happy here. We’re not happy here, either. Let’s pay the cancellation fee and book a hotel.”

“No, I want to stay.”

I wasn’t stubborn about a lot of things with Bruce and Bryan, but I was going to be damn fucking stubborn about this.

Cash didn’t deserve me bolting because I got a little up in my feelings.

I wanted my fiancés to experience the place where I’d grown up and they weren’t getting out of that because of a few tears.

“Anne—” Bruce began.

“No. We’re staying and I’m going to keep talking to Cash whenever I want because I’m a grown-ass woman and he’s my friend. Deal with it.”

My alphas stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Bryan asked quietly, searching my face. “You hardly ever cry. I worry.”

“I’m okay,” I promised.

“I don’t like what this place does to you,” Bruce said after a beat. “You’re not yourself.”

Cash watched our exchange with wide, concerned eyes.

“We’re not in New York. When in Rome and all that bullshit.” I shrugged.

“How refreshing to know your values are location-based.” Bruce huffed.

“I can only imagine what personality we’ll end up with when we’ve moved abroad if that’s the case.

I’m disappointed in you, Anne.” He turned to Cash.

“Show us the cabin so we can get back to our pocket of civilization and Internet access.”

“Sure thing. It’s just up here.”

I fell into step between Bruce and Bryan, guilt a heavy weight in my chest. They weren’t wrong. New York Anne and Montana Riley were different people, and right now the Montana girl in me was slipping out. They didn’t have to like it, but they did have to accept she was part of me.

Cash dropped us off at our cabin, giving us a quick rundown of the local amenities.

“Dinner is in two hours. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.

It’s just over there.” He pointed to a charming cabin-like building with haphazard stone facing.

“Our regular chef went on parental leave, so I’m filling in. ”

I perked up. “I could help while I’m here.”

“You were just harping on us about not working this weekend,” Bruce pointed out.

“And we both know you weren’t going to listen to me, so what’s the problem?”

“I’m not going to say no to help,” Cash said. “Obviously your stay would be free if you did.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said before either of my alphas could protest. “You two can work as much as you want as long as you do at least one activity, and I’ll help out Cash in the kitchen.”

Neither of my alphas looked particularly happy about that. They’d have been fine if it was just permission for them to work, but they had a bee in their bonnets about Cash for some reason.

“Wait here and I’ll get changed,” I told Cash.

I dipped inside, locking myself in the bathroom. I hastily freshened up and changed into a tank top and jean shorts, pulling my dark hair up into a ponytail before re-emerging and slipping on some sneakers.

“What on earth are you wearing?” Bruce asked. “Did you buy those specifically for here?”

“Yep. I wanted to be comfortable. See you guys at dinner.”

I kissed each of their cheeks and dashed back out, sprinting up the path, forcing Cash to run after me until we were out of the line of sight of the cabin.

“Your alphas seem like real peaches.”

“They’re out of their element,” I defended. “Not great with change, you know?”

“So terrible with change they’re moving to Europe?”

“That’s for business. They’re very adaptable when it comes to that.”

“I’d rather they be adaptable for you , but I’ll let you handle your own affairs.”

I slung my arm through Cash’s. “A wise choice. Also, I wasn’t offering to help for shits and giggles. I’m trained as a chef and know how to run a kitchen.”

“Thank god.” Cash laughed. “I’ve been meticulously following recipes, but it’s stressful as hell and I’m never one hundred percent sure if it’s gonna turn out right. We’ve been rotating through the staff who want to give it a go.”

“You didn’t have a plan in place, knowing your chef was gonna go on parental leave?”

“He didn’t tell us his omega was pregnant, so we didn’t know it was going to be a thing when we hired him. I think he worried we’d say no since he’d only have been here for a couple of months.”

“Would you have?”

“Help is help, for however long it’s here. Our last cook before him was amazing, but she retired unexpectedly for her health so it was all a bit chaotic for a while. We’re muddling through, though.”

“Well, you won’t have to muddle for the weekend, at least.”

“I’ll take it.” Cash grinned, leading me into the beautiful commercial kitchen. “If you weren’t fixing to move far away, I’d say you should come back here and be our permanent chef.”

“Cashy, I can’t face Cooper. I can’t be somewhere I can run into him, and that means I can’t stay in Montana. I don’t know where he’s ended up, but I fucked up with him. I just can’t do it right now.”

Cash was quiet for a long moment.

“That probably sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? I shouldn’t think Cooper gives a flying fuck when it’s been over a decade. He probably forgot about me long ago.”

Instead of replying to that, Cash swung open the cooler. “Steak and baked potatoes for tonight, I think.”

Noted. That was not a conversation we were going to have.

I despised the idea that Cooper had forgotten me because as much as I’d tried to move on with my life, he was impossible to forget.

First loves were like that, or so I’d been told.

No matter how sweet Bryan could be, or how generous Bruce was, Cooper was an ever-looming specter of my past. From the outside, it probably looked like I had successfully moved on—given my engagement—but a piece of my heart had never left Montana.

No point in dwelling.

“How many people are we feeding?”

“Almost a hundred, including the staff.”

“All right. Let’s get a move on.” After washing up, I got Cash helping me oil and foil the potatoes, arranging them on the gigantic baking sheets to head into the oven a bit later.

I loved the familiar rhythm of the kitchen, and this one was even easier because everyone was getting the same thing.

I didn’t have to contend with fifty different orders at a time, which made the work more meditative than anything else.

I missed kitchens. I’d had to scale back a lot over the years because the long, unsociable hours conflicted with Bruce and Bryan’s schedules, but it wasn’t so bad.

Mostly. I’d always figured I’d be a working gal, though I could see the allure of being a kept omega when I still had my own money.

Cash told me all about the ranch while we worked, ignoring any mention of Cooper even when prompted.

I shouldn’t have been prodding for information about Cooper, but seeing Cash again had made the curiosity insatiable.

Was he okay? Was he happy? Cash was, and Morgan had a pack.

Had Cooper’s life gone the way he’d wanted?

I got the spice rub onto the steaks and popped them back in the fridge while I worked on the side dishes and dietary restriction options.

“You’re a wizard at this,” Cash commented.

“A lot of practice.”

“I always hoped you’d get to be a big fancy chef.”

“Really?” Had I let him down by giving up on that dream of mine?

“Do you not remember me crying as hard as you when you got your acceptance letter and your scholarship? I wanted the world for you and I knew you wouldn’t get that here.”

“I don’t love that I had to leave, but I can’t deny that I had to.”

“None of us were ever mad at you for going. We just missed you. We loved you a whole fucking lot. I can’t lie and say the no-contact thing didn’t hurt like a bitch, but I promise I understand. We all knew what you were running from.”

“Darlene made it impossible to stay. I didn’t know what to do when she?—”

“I know, Riles. You wouldn’t have gotten a day of peace if you hadn’t gone. I saw how she treated you, and I remember the bruises.”

I swallowed hard, staring up at the overhead lights, trying to suck back my tears. “Life isn’t very fair.”

“That’s for damn sure. I’m glad to have you back, though, even if it’s only for a couple of days.”

“Want to be pen pals when I’m in Germany?”

“Fuck yeah.” Cash beamed at me. “I’ll take any opportunity to get off that no-contact list.”

“Good. You’re stuck with me now.”

“A tragedy I shall never recover from.”