"Nope. Still a little p.i.s.sy if you want to know the truth."

"Should I trot my little self downstairs?"

"Funny. But if you expect me to be charming and witty? Probably."

"Mmm." She ran her hand over his short, bristly hair. "Sometimes I like a broody man. It's a different kind of s.e.xy."

He expelled a disbelieving snort.

"You could drag me into your bedroom, using terse commands while having your wicked way with me. No talking. Just intense s.e.x. Fast and demanding."

"You trying to get me hard, Ree? 'Cause it's working."

She angled her head to place a soft, sucking kiss on the skin below his ear. "I'm not busy now, Mr. Hot Brooding Man."

Sierra's music drifted down the hallway. Rielle shifted back so Sierra didn't see her mauling her father.

Seconds later, Sierra appeared. "I'm starved, Dad. What's for supper?"

"Hadn't thought about it. I could heat some soup. Or there's lunch meat for sandwiches."

"I was hoping for something like pork chops."

"We'll fix that tomorrow night." Gavin lifted a box off the floor. "Must be your day to get presents. This came from your mom while you were shopping with Grams Grams."

A snarky remark from Gavin? He was p.i.s.sy.

"Yay!" Sierra grabbed a pocketknife from the bar. She carefully slid the tip of the knife along the airmail tape covering the box. As soon as she opened the flaps, a heavy perfume poured out.

Rielle sneezed.

Sierra offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Mom loves spritzing perfume on everything." She excitedly pulled out wrinkled sheets of white tissue paper dotted with black images of the Eiffel Tower. Then she stopped. A bewildered look settled on her face.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Gavin asked.

Rielle watched the girl struggle to get control. Sierra tipped her head down but not fast enough; Rielle saw two tears plop onto the tissue paper.

Then she reached into the box and angrily threw a handful of material on the coffee table.

Upon seeing the contents, Rielle's stomach dropped and she shot Gavin a sideways glance.

He appeared calm, but the air around him vibrated with fury.

Sierra handled each piece of lingerie. A black peignoir, sheer except for the lace edging and the tiny, strategically placed pink bows. A pair of matching G-string panties. The next piece she held up was a short white bustier with what looked like padded cups. Another pair of panties to match.

No one said anything. Rielle expected Sierra to explode with the drama sixteen-year-olds were p.r.o.ne to. But she just shoved the lingerie back in the box.

"Sierra, sweetheart. Can you look at me, please?" Gavin said gently.

She glanced up. "Mom doesn't know me at all, does she? This is what she sends me from Paris? Not perfume or chocolates or even something tacky like a plastic Eiffel Tower, but something she she likes?" likes?"

Gavin was on his feet, pulling Sierra to hers, hugging her. He murmured to her, comforting her as he led her downstairs.

As bad as she felt for Sierra, this was another reminder that Gavin had a higher priority than spending his free time with his live-in girlfriend. He needed to stay focused on raising his daughter. He also needed to deal with his hot and cold att.i.tude toward Vi. That att.i.tude didn't extend to Charlie, as far as she'd seen.

Rielle realized she'd been lax in keeping in contact with Rory since the incident a few weeks back. She returned to her room and called her, expecting to settle in for a chat, only to have that parental gut wrenching worry as her level-headed daughter sobbed hysterically. School stressed her out. Her landlord was a p.r.i.c.k. Her best friend in the Ag program was taking a job in Brazil. They'd overscheduled her at the bar. After Rielle calmed her down, she promised she'd spend the weekend in Laramie. She packed, made last minute phone calls and forced herself to sit at her spinning wheel and finish a few odd projects rather than pace and fret about her daughter.

A few hours later Gavin knocked on her door. She let him in only after she'd promised herself to resist the heated way he looked at her that always made her clothes fly off.

But there wasn't any sign of her insistent lover. He dropped into the chair next to the bed. "Sorry I bailed on you before."

"No worries. Sierra is your priority, as it should be. She had upheaval in her life today so it's natural she'd need her dad. I a.s.sume she's okay?"

"Yeah." He dry-washed his face. "I don't know what the f.u.c.k Ellen was thinking, giving a sixteen-year-old f.u.c.k-me lingerie. Jesus. How oblivious is she?"

Rielle didn't comment, just let him ramble and started winding loose yarn into skeins.

"Plus, there wasn't a note, or anything personal." He slumped back in the chair. "Sierra hasn't talked to her mom since that phone call, what...? Last month? I mean yeah, half the time I think Ellen is psychotic and she's manipulative and Sierra is better off. But Sierra misses her and it's cruel how Ellen just cut Sierra out of her life."

He wouldn't see the parallels to his relationship with Vi, so she kept her mouth shut.

"I told Sierra she didn't have to write her mother a thank you note for an inappropriate gift. But now I'm thinking if we let it slide, Ellen will see it as acceptable and send her more of the same-or worse."

She pulled more yarn.

"So I'll have Sierra call her tomorrow from my office so I can hear what she says." He paused. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Sierra is your kid, Gavin. You know what's best for her, not me."

"Are you p.i.s.sed off at me too?" He released a deep sigh. "I'm sorry I left you with Vi."

"I like Vi. I always have."

"What'd she say?"

"Don't you think it'd be better if you asked her?"

"Jesus. You are are mad. Are you so d.a.m.n busy fussing with your knitting you can't even look at me?" mad. Are you so d.a.m.n busy fussing with your knitting you can't even look at me?"

Rielle glanced up. "A, I'm not knitting. B, I'm not mad at you. How you handle your family business is your business, not mine."

"Meaning I f.u.c.ked up with Vi today."

"No, meaning I don't want to get involved. I've been neighbors with the McKays for years, and that hasn't always been easy, but I won't jeopardize that because I'll still be neighbors with them when I build my new place."

That reminder angered him. "So you have no opinion?"

"If I did I'd keep it to myself. Look, we're roommates and lovers. It's not my place to offer you advice or suggestions on how to deal with your family or to play referee when things don't go your way."

His mouth flattened. "Thanks for letting me know where I stand with you."

"Huh-uh. You don't don't get to get p.i.s.sy with me. I like you. I like spending time with you, naked or not." get to get p.i.s.sy with me. I like you. I like spending time with you, naked or not."

"But?"

"No buts. We agreed to continue to lead our separate lives. We agreed that if we each had free time, we'd try and spend it together."

Gavin stood and started unb.u.t.toning his shirt. "Fine. I'm free right now. Let's f.u.c.k."

"Don't be a jacka.s.s."

"What's the problem? Didn't you just tell me this is all we are? f.u.c.k buddies? So come on."

She'd never seen this side of him and she didn't like it. "Not interested. Now get out of my room."

His shirt fell open. "Oh, so you can proposition me, like you did upstairs three hours ago? But I can't proposition you?"

"Let's f.u.c.k is not a proposition. It's a demand, said in anger, just to be a d.i.c.k." She tossed the yarn winder aside. "Know what? I don't have to put up with this s.h.i.t. Get out." is not a proposition. It's a demand, said in anger, just to be a d.i.c.k." She tossed the yarn winder aside. "Know what? I don't have to put up with this s.h.i.t. Get out."

"Why? This approach has worked for you in the past. No pretty words, no foreplay, just ripping our clothes off and f.u.c.king on the floor like animals. What's different now, Rielle?"

"You're different now. And f.u.c.k you for coming in here and taking out your s.h.i.tty day on me. And double f.u.c.k you for taking something that's good between us and twisting it into something ugly."

The stark realization of how asinine he'd acted hit him. "G.o.d. Rielle. I'm sorry-"

When he moved toward her, she recoiled. "Get out."

"Can't we talk...?"

She vehemently shook her head. "It's best if we take a break. I'm leaving for Laramie tomorrow to see Rory anyway."

"You are? Since when?"

When she didn't respond, he sighed.

"All right. Please drive safe and I'll see you when you get home." He walked out and quietly shut the door.

After living in each other's pockets for the last couple months, a cooling off period would do them both good.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gavin hung over the top of the wooden corral, watching Quinn drive cows into a semi-truck as Dalton and Tell pushed the cattle into the loading chute. Ben was on horseback culling from the corralled herd, while Brandt-also on horseback-chased down the runaways and drove them back to the penned area.

He'd been surprised when Charlie had called, inviting him to watch them loading cattle to take to auction. He'd been curious about how the auction process worked differently than sending cattle to a feedlot.

With temps in the low teens and the gray skies spitting snow, he bundled up, figuring this weather wouldn't faze hardcore ranchers like the McKays.

But Gavin also wondered if Charlie had issued the invite to chastise Gavin for the argument he'd had with Vi. An argument they hadn't resolved.

During a lull in the action, Quinn wandered over to the corral. The man was sweating despite the frigid air temp. "Dad, I might need a hand in a bit."

"No problem."

Quinn flashed Gavin one of his rare grins. "Ever ridden in a fully loaded cattle truck?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I need someone to ride with me. And since the old man is retired, he's no help, sitting at home with his feet propped on the coffee table having Mom wait on him."

"I done my share of cattle sale runs, boy."

"I'll be back from the sale barn tonight?"

"Yep, but it'll be late. And the weather and road conditions are flat out gonna suck." Quinn crossed his arms over his chest as if expecting Gavin to refuse. "You up for it?"

"Sure. Do I have to help unload cattle?"

"Nope. Ben and Tell will be in the truck behind us."

"d.a.m.n. I was hoping I'd get my own cattle prod."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." Quinn wandered back to his post when Dalton yelled for him.

"So it looks like all the McKays help each other throughout the year?" Gavin asked Charlie.

"Carson has enough hands with his boys that he hasn't needed much help. Same with Cal's twins. None of them wanted to deal with Casper so he made his boys do everything on their own. Same with me'n Quinn and Ben and Chase if he was around. Brandt, Tell and Dalton increased the size of their herd and bought more land after Luke died so Quinn and Ben have been helping them and they help us." He shrugged. "It works out."

"Can I ask about the bad history between Casper and your brothers?"

Charlie remained quiet for so long Gavin suspected he was dodging the question. Then he scratched his chin with the back of his gloved hand. "I wish I could say there was some defining moment when it all fell apart, but it ain't that simple. As twins, Carson and Calvin have always been two peas in a pod-no one was surprised when they married sisters." A ghost of a smile appeared. "My dad wasn't happy they were West sisters but that's another story. Anyway, I think Casper had middle child syndrome. Dad had high expectations for his oldest boys and Mom doted on me as the youngest because I was a sickly kid. Casper got lost in the shuffle. He became a wild man and took h.e.l.l raisin' to a new level. Hard to look at him now and see it, but Casper had the type of good looks and charm the ladies loved.

"We were all shocked when he married Joan Tellman. I'll admit I wasn't a supportive brother to Casper then, because that was right around the time Vi moved away. I moped for a few months. Then I thought; screw it, I'm the last single McKay and I'm gonna cut loose. I screwed any woman who'd have me, figuring that'd erase Vi from my mind, but it never did.

"Then my dad had a heart attack. He recovered but couldn't head up the ranch. He put my oldest brothers in charge, moved out of the ranch house, giving it to Carson and Carolyn-and we set him up in a trailer between Carson's and Calvin's place."

"Wait a second. Were you living in the house with your dad when he had the heart attack?"

Charlie nodded. "I was the one who found him out in the yard. At first he refused to go to the hospital. Swore he'd rather die on McKay land. I called Casper and we got Dad loaded up and hauled to town."