Page 43 of Knot Her Cowboys (Big Sky Omegas #2)

“ H e’s settling in well?” I asked Carter over our phone call. It was weird as fuck he’d taken in Riley’s ex, but I was trying not to question it too hard. Carter had his own ideas about things, and if he wanted to take in a stray, that was up to him and his alphas.

“ Well might be generous,” Carter replied with a sigh. “He’s trying to hire a company in Berlin to get his and Riley’s stuff back, but he doesn’t speak German very well, and the guys he was staying with are being dicks about everything.”

“If they were anything like the other jackass, I’m not surprised. I’m thinking at this point we’ll just buy anything Riley needs. Doubtful any of her stuff will actually make it back here.”

“That’s what I’m thinking for Bryan, too.” I couldn’t see Carter, but I could imagine his face pinching just from the particular silence that came across the line. “Bryan updated his family. We could hear them yelling all the way upstairs and he wasn’t even on speaker.”

“Jeez. Whole bushel of peaches in that family.”

Carter snorted. “Yep.”

“You doing okay with him out there?”

“Yeah…um, about that. I think…” Carter whispered. “Cash, I think he might be my scent match.”

“You think ?”

What the fuck?

Carter groaned. “I feel so bad because he’s so stressed out and scared of everything right now, and I don’t want to overwhelm him.

Plus, I’m not even sure because he’s so committed to scent neutralizers.

Sometimes I catch a hint of something amazing, but it’s not like I can just throw him in a horse trough to actually get to his scent underneath. ”

“I mean…you could . I vote horse trough. Do it for me so I can imagine the abject horror of him getting his Italian leather shoes wet.”

“Be nice,” Carter admonished. “His parents probably gave him the verbal equivalent of a belt to the ass for scuffing his shoes as a kid if this is how they talk to him as an adult.”

“Okay, fair . He upset my girl, so I don’t have the fondest feelings for him, but I can concede he was dealing with a shit situation and struggling to get through it. I’ll learn to love him if you’re going to add him to your pack one day.”

“That’s ’cause you’re the best brother in the world.”

“You’re so correct, and I still have the trophy you bought me in sixth grade to prove it.”

Riley’s anxiety flooded the bond, making my chest ache.

“I’m gonna have to talk to you later. My lady needs a de-stress.”

“That had better not be code for middle-of-the-day fucking.”

“Code for hugs, you perv,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll talk to you later. Good luck with your stray pup.”

“Hilarious.” I could practically hear Carter’s eye roll. “Later, gator.”

“After a while, crocodile.”

I ended the call and sprinted my way over to the kitchen so I could pop in on Riley while she was preparing dinner. She was on speakerphone with Morgan, updating her on the recent drama with the exes.

“Hey, Morgie! I need to borrow Riley.”

“That’s cool. Pumpkin has been staring at me, begging for a walk, anyway. Talk to you later, Riley. Bye, Cash!”

“Bye, Morg! Talk to you soon.” Riley ended the call and turned to me with a smile.

“Hey there, cowgirl. Can I steal you this afternoon?”

“Always. What for?”

“Your stress is gonna give me an ulcer,” I said, patting my chest where the tumultuous ball of Riley was nestled in the bond. “If it’s this bad for me, I can only imagine the torment in your poor tummy. Plus, I figure it’s about time you had a trail ride where you don’t almost die.”

“Big fan of not plunging to my potential death in a river.”

“What do you still have to prep? I’ll help.”

“Everything is done except wrapping the corn in foil.”

It was going to be another beautiful evening so dinner would be around the campfires, the corn and potatoes baked on the coals, the burgers grilled in the flames.

“Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” I washed up and slipped on an apron before portioning out sheets of aluminum foil for the corn cobs. “I’d ask if you’re feeling better about everything, but I know you’re not.”

“Hard to be with so many people being stupid at once.”

“Too true. In better news, the new security gates and cameras are installed. Levi is handing out fobs to the staff so they can put them in their vehicles, and we’re distributing custom codes to the guests.”

“You’re sure it won’t be too annoying?”

I shook my head. “Safety first. They also put in a new fence that blocks guests from driving the same routes as staff vehicles, so even if Darlene or the Deckers did get in here, short of wrecking their vehicles driving through metal fences, they won’t go far.

Rigged up an alarm for that too just in case.

Anyone who goes plowing through them will set off a siren to let the whole place know. ”

Guilt and gratitude swirled down the bond from her. “You’re doing so much to make this place safer.”

“In fairness, we probably should’ve been doing these things from the start for everyone’s safety. Your arrival just put it into pretty sharp clarity how lacking we’ve been on that.”

Riley was silent for a minute, tucking pats of butter beneath the corn leaves before wrapping them in the foil. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not,” I promised. “We wouldn’t want all those assholes on our land even if you weren’t here. It’s good for us to boost safety for the sake of everyone that lives and stays here. You might’ve prompted us on it, but it should’ve been done anyway.”

She seemed satisfied with that. I loaded the wrapped corn into bins and set them in the cooler next to the foiled potatoes and numerous salads.

“Ready to rock?”

“You’re sure they can handle dinner?”

“Pretty confident, yeah.”

“And what are we having for dinner? Or are we coming back in time to eat here?”

“Dakota already has a cooler packed, and Cooper is saddling the horses.”

“Thorough,” she said with a laugh. “Okay. Let’s take me out into the wilderness.”

“Do you want to ride your own horse, or do you want to ride with me? Big Jack hasn’t been out for a while and he’s perfect for two people.”

“How big is Big Jack?” Riley asked, eyebrows raised.

“He’s a Clydesdale, so he’s pretty fucking big. We rescued him a few years ago, got him back to full health, and now he loves life here.”

“Do you ever take Grizzy out?”

“No one rides her, but we bring her with us sometimes. Do you want her to come along today?”

“I think she deserves an evening out as much as I do. I’ll ride with you on Big Jack.”

We went out to the stables together. Cooper had Ranger, Sky, Big Jack, and Betsy Boo all ready to go. “We’re adding Grizzy to the list too,” I informed him.

He frowned. “She doesn’t take riders anymore.”

“Just for a walk. No one is gonna ride our old girl.” I grabbed a halter from the tack room and went to go fetch her. “Grizzy girl!”

She came trotting over, looking at me suspiciously, until she saw the halter and thrust her head over the fence for me to put it on.

“Are you excited to go on walkies? I know, it’s been a while since you’ve been up in the hills. Say thank you to Riley, okay?”

Grizzy raced over to the gate and I let her free, leading her back to the stable, where everyone except Riley was ready and mounted.

“Hello there, beautiful girl,” Riley cooed. Grizzy melted into her attention.

“Come on, you two. The hills await.”

“Cash.” Riley laughed, moving to stand next to Big Jack. “How am I supposed to get up on this fucking mountain of a horse? I can’t even see over him.”

I tutted softly, passing Grizzy’s halter rope to Dakota. “BJ is a gentleman. Try to grab the saddle and see what he does.”

Riley reached overhead and Big Jack curled his foot, offering it to her for a step. “Oh my god. Shut up! That’s so cute.”

She scaled the horse and settled onto the saddle, leaning instantly against me once I joined her up there.

We set off into the sunshine. Grizzy didn’t actually need the rope or halter, sticking close to her new favorite person. When we hit the open plain, Grizzy and the horses broke into a smooth pace, gliding over the dusty ground and up into the hills.

Riley relaxed a little more with each hoofbeat.

Good.

I loved it when a plan came together.

No one talked much as we rode, opting to soak in our surroundings.

Riley was cozy in my arms, the birds were singing in the trees, and the horses were pleased as punch to get out for the day.

Poor BJ didn’t get to go on too many trail rides since his size was pretty fucking intimidating for people unused to horses.

It was always a good day for him when we took him for a ride ourselves.

Grizzy, our ancient guard-mule, took her job very seriously. She kept one eye on Riley and one on the surroundings.

“Where are we going?” Riley whispered.

“To the lake.”

“You guys have a lake?”

“We do, but it’s pretty far out. We’ve been discussing developing a road out to it so we could have canoe rides and paddleboarding, but it’s a huge job, and I kind of like it staying wild.”

“I’m not going to say no to a secret, private lake.”

It took two hours of riding into the hills before we got there, Riley squeaking with delight as we turned around a bend in the trail and the sparkling blue waters spilled in front of us.

The lakeshore was wide, rocky in some places, but overall pretty comfortable.

Dakota and Levi hopped down and began setting up our lunch spot.

Cooper led the horses to get some water and I slid down BJ, helping Riley to the ground when I had my feet under me.

It took hardly any time removing the bridles and replacing them with halters so I could hitch each horse to their own tree while we ate.

I passed Riley a bag of apples, her excitement bubbling up in the bond. “One for each. Don’t let any of them guilt you into extra. The rest are for when we’re heading back.”

She nodded dutifully and passed out the sweet treat to each of the horses, giving every single one of them some attention.

“She’s really fucking cute with them,” Levi said quietly to me.

“Why do you think I packed treats?”

He laughed, propping his hands on his hips, watching Riley fuss over Grizzy. “I know a lot of things are a mess, but she makes it really easy to love her.”

“Don’t I know it?”

She smiled at Cooper when she trotted over to give Ranger his snack, and it almost knocked my bestie on his ass.

“He still doesn’t look used to it,” Levi commented.

“He’ll get there. I’m really fucking glad they made up.”

“Me too. They both deserve to be happy.”

“A lot of assholes in this world would disagree with that. It’s our job to make sure those fuckers never win.”

Levi nodded. “I’ll take that solemn duty. Fuck Darlene and all of the Deckers and Harrises, except Morgan, obviously.”

“Come on, honey bun,” I called out. “Let’s get a bit of food into you before I throw you in the lake.”

“Aren’t you not supposed to eat before you swim?”

“I will personally ensure you don’t drown. Good excuse for you to hang all over me.” I beamed at her and she beamed right back.

Dakota waved us all over, laying out the drinks, snacks, and sandwiches he had packed. Riley parked herself on Cooper’s lap. Seeing them like that, out in the woods, was a nostalgic punch to the chest.

She inhaled a turkey on rye, following it with a juice she sipped more slowly, happy as a clam with Cooper’s arm around her waist. He struggled a bit with his own food one-handed, so she took over, peeling back the wrapping and holding it for him to bite.

It felt fucking good to be out here like this, with her, with my pack, and nothing but nature around us.

Cooper’s cheeks were pink as hell while he ate with Riley’s assistance, locking both of his arms around her as he gave in to the experience.

I fed her potato chips and scooted closer so I could lay her legs over mine. “You want to go into that water clothed or naked?”

“You’re giving me the option?”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t? I don’t know how long you want to be a soggy princess for and it’s hot out.”

She caught Cooper in a searing kiss before reaching out to me to get to her feet, her shirt coming off a moment later.

My mouth went dry as I watched her shimmy out of her clothing, frozen for a few glorious seconds before my brain caught up with me.

I popped to my feet and hastily stripped down too.

Riley grinned and took off into the shallows.

Her spell broke on the others and they started stripping too. I caught Riley when she was knee-deep, tackling both of us into the water. It was freezing cold, but she was warm against me, so I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Riley laughed when we surfaced, clinging to me. Goosebumps cascaded over her gorgeous sun-kissed skin. “Holy shit.”

Her joy was a spotlight in the bond, and desire thundered through as well when she caught sight of the others wading toward us.

She squirmed in my arms, her little nails digging into my shoulders. “Cashy, my suppressants are working really fucking hard right now.”

“You could go off them,” I suggested, and was rewarded by another burst of her desire. I nuzzled her cheek. “You know we would take care of you.”

Cooper pressed up against her back, dropping a kiss to her damp shoulder. “Better? You looked cold.”

“My day is always better when you’re touching me.”

“Playing favorites?” I asked cheekily.

She shook her head. “I’m just a happy girl getting cozy with all of you.”

“Is that so? How cozy do you want to get?”

“Is that your very subtle way of asking if I want to get railed by four alphas in the middle of the woods?”

“Hey, you said it, not me.”

Her mouth was hot and sweet against mine, her legs gliding up to wrap around my hips. “Cashy, I think we all know the answer.”