Page 30 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)
CALLUM
H ayden tosses his bag in the back of my truck and slams the tailgate like he's pissed. "You sure this is a good idea? What does your cousin want with Chapel Sterling, anyway? That girl seems like the type to rig a bear snare."
I snort and twist the key in the ignition of my old truck.
"You're not wrong, and that’s exactly why it’s probably going to take all three of us to get her out to his truck.
" It’s funny to think about because Hayden and my cousin are well over six feet, just like I am, and Chapel Sterling is around Lilac’s height.
But I’ve seen her wrangle horses and bulls that grown men are afraid to get near.
She has them eating out of her hand, and I don’t feel like getting hog-tied and fed alfalfa cubes tonight.
We’re going to have to be strategic about this, because as much as I look up to my cousin Caiden, I think he’s got this all wrong. I don’t think he can reason with her.
Hayden grunts, buckling his seatbelt like he’s preparing for war. “Why doesn’t he just chloroform her and get it over with?"
I shoot him a look. "Because Caiden’s a fucking terror, but he plays fair. He'd rather be gutted by her than take the easy way out."
"Still don’t know why I had to be dragged into this,” Hayden huffs and it’s then that I notice what’s in my floorboard by Hayden’s feet.
“Why did you bring Tristan’s helmet?” It’s the black one with the visor he only wears when riding his bike because Winter insists.
“She’s not above throwing shit, and I’m trying to get back to Madi in one piece,” Hayden says, picking the helmet up and putting it on. He lifts the visor and says, “You know I don’t fucking like being away from her.”
I can’t help but laugh, but I can’t argue with him. It’s been less than twenty minutes and I already miss the warmth of Lilac curled up against my chest. I say instead, "Tristan doesn’t sleep. He’s keeping an eye on the girls."
Hayden opts to stay silent and flip me off instead.
We hit the student lot and I spot Caiden leaning against his truck like he owns the whole school. He’s in worn jeans, boots that’ve seen better days, a black tee, and of course his goddamn cowboy hat.
“Jesus Christ, that belt buckle is bigger than my fucking head,” Hayden says as I park next to my cousin’s truck.
“Shut up, you have no room to talk,” I say, reaching over to flick the visor on his helmet down before I get out of the truck.
Caiden nods when he sees us and I see the look of confusion on his face when he sees Hayden’s headgear.
“He’s afraid of Chapel,” I say casually, and Hayden groans.
“I’m not afraid of anything, but she’s like a rabid hyena ready to claw your face off,” Hayden says, crossing his arms.
Caiden smirks, but doesn’t defend Chapel because he knows what Hayden said is true.
Instead, my cousin does what he does best. He tells us how this is going to go.
“I’ll handle Chapel. You don’t touch her.
Just make sure no one from any of the other rooms gets in my way if she throws a fit… and we know she will."
We follow him up the back stairwell of Lilac’s old dorm, and I’m fucking glad she doesn’t live here anymore.
I eye Caiden as we reach her door. "Did you get a key off someone?
" It's not hard because Castlebrook has more dirty staff than clean ones. And there’s always Ramsey who can jimmy even the most intricate of locks.
Caiden doesn’t answer. Just glances down the hall, then steps back, plants his boot, and kicks the door with such force that the whole frame shakes and splinters, cracking open instantly.
"Jesus," Hayden mutters as Caiden finds the sweet spot on the door, kicking it one more time.
The door swings open and Chapel bolts upright in her bed.
Her eyes are wild and despite being confused, she’s already pissed.
Her hair is all over the place and she’s wearing a shirt that I recognize from the collection Madi has been putting together.
What are the fucking odd?. It’s dark grey and in white letters it says Bows & Bull Riders with a light pink bow embroidered beneath the text.
I see Hayden see the shirt and elbow him before he says anything stupid that is going to make her more mad than she already is.
"What the actual fuck," she snaps. "Get out of my room and I won’t call your grandmother and tell her you barged in my room while I was indecent." She has pink shorts on and socks, so it’s not like she’s naked, but from what I remember of Grandma Grey, she will not be happy with Caiden for this. That’s one thing about my cousin.
He literally runs the entire mountain he lives on.
Everyone fears him, but our grandmother is the only one he’d never speak a word of disrespect to.
Caiden steps into her room slowly, and it dawns on me that I don’t even know why he wants to take her back to the mountain with him. I guess it doesn’t matter. He’s going to win one way or another. "Chapel, I’m not here to negotiate. You’re coming with me, end of story."
She lets out a sharp laugh. "I’m sure as shit not."
"Yes, you are. You’re gonna put on some boots and walk out to my truck like a fucking lady. No screaming. No fighting."
Chapel folds her arms and plants herself back on the mattress like a queen settling into her throne. Her chin tips up, defiance in every inch of her.
"You’re going to have to make me."
I exchange a glance with Hayden, and he’s still got that stupid helmet on. "Next time your cousin needs a favor, it’s Tristan’s turn."
Chapel sneers at Hayden and me, crossing her arms like she’s already bored with this whole thing.
It’s an act, I’m sure she’s panicking inside trying to figure out how she’s going to get Caiden to leave.
He’s not going to. He’s locked in on her, which is weird, because her older brother is Caiden’s biggest fucking rival.
They butt heads and have never liked each other.
“You look dopey in that helmet,” she says, scrunching her nose up.
She really does not like Hayden and it’s the funniest fucking thing to me because clearly she’s still friends with Madi.
I huff a laugh, but Hayden snaps, “I could be home with my WIFE, but instead I’m here, but you don’t know how to follow directions.”
That makes me chuckle. Not because it’s funny, but because Hayden says it like it’s legally binding. Madi’s just his fiancée, but he doesn’t even blink calling her his wife like it’s already done. I approve of that kind of energy.
“She’s your fiancée, and she still has time to correct her lapse in judgment,” Chapel says, and I move to keep Hayden from reacting because the two of them could verbally spar the entire night, and I really just wanna get back to my girl.
Caiden steps forward and I think for a moment that he’s just going to grab Chapel and we’re going to have to make a run for the truck while she screams bloody murder.
Instead, he pulls off his cowboy hat with a rare flash of softness and stoops in front of Chapel like he’s offering her a prayer.
“You’re coming to Castlebrook Falls with me,” he says, voice even.
“If I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you the entire way, I will.”
He rests a hand gently on her shin, but she recoils like he scorched her, yanking her legs up and tucking them beneath her.
“Why would I do that, Caiden?” Her tone is sharp, unforgiving. “I haven’t heard a peep from you since you decided to embarrass me in front of the whole town.”
I…don’t know what she’s talking about, but the way his jaw sets, I know he does.
Caiden flinches. Actually flinches. My cousin doesn’t flinch at anything. He’s been stepped on by bulls and kept a blank expression. If you ask me Chapel’s words gut him.
“Because you need protection,” he says, standing now, “and I need a wife. Your brother is missing, and I think you could be in danger.” He threw that little tidbit about needing a wife like it’s nothing.
“What the fuck is happening?” Hayden blurts out and I level him with a look. This is just getting good. I wanna see it through.
Chapel’s face goes pale, but no one is saying anything. That fight she had in her eyes dims for half a second before I blurt, “You need a wife? For what? You’re the bachelor of Castlebrook Falls.”
Caiden glares at me like I just spit in his whiskey and Hayden is looking triumphant that I’m the one who pissed Caiden off.
Chapel’s voice is small, unlike I’ve ever heard her before. “My brother is missing?”
Caiden nods. “Suspected dead, from what I hear. But your family doesn’t know that yet. You know I have my fingers on the pulse of The Falls, Chapel. You might hate me, but you need to give me the benefit of the doubt. Come with me.”
She stares at him, eyes searching for any sign that he’s lying.
After a tense beat, she pushes herself up from the bed and grabs the bottom hem of her t-shirt like she’s going to whip it up over her head.
“Fine,” she says. “But you and your little tagalongs wait in the hall, unless you want them to see what only you have seen before.”
Caiden’s jaw ticks. Hayden rips the visor of the helmet down over his eyes. “I don’t wanna see!” he shouts, backing up and slamming into her dresser with a loud thud.
I laugh and glance at Chapel. “If you’re going with him, we’ll head out. Honestly, we thought you’d be screaming and throwing shit.”
Without missing a beat, she grabs a pink cowboy boot from the floor and hurls it straight at my head. I duck, laughing as it bounces off of Hayden’s helmet.
“Message received,” I say, flicking my hand at Caiden in a goodbye before stepping into the hall with Hayden who I’m sure is going to lecture me the whole way home about how the helmet was necessary.