Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(29)

“Except for some reason we cannot understand, she seems to like you,” Anton said.

“Fuck off, McKay.”

“That’s the thanks we get for playing the love doctors between you two?” Hayden made obnoxious kissing noises.

I ignored him and stood. “Seriously, guys, I appreciate it. This thing between me and Sierra…it’s important. See you Sunday.”





My favorite thing about fall wasn’t the break from the brutal summer temperatures.

It was that fall meant football season.

I loved football—a love my dad passed down to me. Since he had custody of me on the weekends growing up, he’d usually tape the games so it wouldn’t interfere in our limited time together. So when I became a cheerleader in high school and knew little about the gridiron, Dad insisted watching games would be the best way for me to learn. I fell in love with the sport. From that moment on, we plunked ourselves on the couch for college games on Saturday. Pro games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. We were both Cardinals fans and over the years we’ve attended as many live games together as we could fit into our schedules. Sometimes we even talked on the phone during the games.

With tonight being Meat-topia and a family Sunday Night Football event, I’d spent the day watching other games in between bouts of baking. Since Lu wasn’t around and I didn’t need to gorge on cookies and cupcakes, I froze all the goodies to take to the PCE meeting Tuesday night.

Bull. You’re hiding the evidence of your manic baking spree because Lu would know something was up with you.

So what? Putting all thoughts of Mr. Liar Liar out of my head had required lots of egg cracking, butter whipping and dough punching.

I rang the doorbell to my cousins’ house with my elbow since my hands were full.

Ky opened the door and grabbed the top two containers. “Sorry. I would’ve helped you carry this from the car.”

“I thought I had it under control.” Story of my life. I followed Ky into the kitchen.

After I set the containers on the counter Ky hugged me. “Thanks for coming over.” Then he scowled at my Cardinals T-shirt. “Good thing I know your taste in brownies is better than in football teams.”

“Hilarious.” I eyed his Broncos jersey. “We could cut up your shirt and use it for extra napkins if we run out,” I suggested sweetly. “Or better yet, toilet paper.”

“Ooh, I felt the burn of that one all the way over here, Kyler,” Hayden said from the stool at the end of the counter. He held out his arms, expecting his hug. “Gimme some sugar and no lip about my wearing of the orange.”

That’s one of the things I loved about my family; the open affection. I noticed Hayden had his leg propped up. “How’s the ankle?”

“The swelling is down, but it’s still sore.”

“You probably shouldn’t have gone to the game yesterday. We were on our feet for the entire thing,” I pointed out.

Hayden grinned. “It was worth it to see Ky kicking ass.”

“True dat.” ASU had lost the game after the defense had f*cked up, but Ky had great stats. I lowered my voice. “QB is okay today?”

“I’m fine,” Kyler said. “It sucked to lose but that means we’re more focused on preparing for this week’s game against OSU.”

I scanned the dining and living room. “Where’s Anton?”

“Out manning the grill, obsessing about the smoke to sweetness ratio of his ribs,” Hayden said.

“Just as long as he doesn’t obsess to the point we don’t get to eat the damn ribs. I am starving.” Mase lumbered in. At least he was wearing a Cardinals jersey. At six foot five, with shoulders as wide as the doorframe, his big body threw a shadow across the kitchen counter. He had shaggy reddish-brown hair and a baby face—a face that sported a black eye and a swollen lip from last night’s hockey game. According to my cousins, Mase’s baby face disappeared the second he laced up his hockey skates. I didn’t see that side of him, just the shy guy who let his housemates do most of the talking.

“Thanks for letting me hang out, Mase. This is the second time this weekend.”

“Love having you here, Nevada. And is that what I think it is?” He leaned over the foil-covered glass baking dish.

“Yep. I figured you all burned extra calories so you deserved a treat.”

“You are the best woman on the planet,” Hayden declared. “Why can’t I find someone like you?”

“Because you’re not looking?”

“Got me there.”

“He’s auditioning,” Ky said with a snort. “Very few of them get a call back.”

“Damn straight.” Mase and Hayden bumped fists.

I glanced out the patio and saw Anton headed in with a huge foil-covered pan. I rushed to open the door.

“Thanks, darlin’. Happy to see your pretty face, because you always add class to our meals.”

Cowboy to the core. Charmer to the core. Deadly combination for a lot of women. For me, it was just fun to sit back and watch these boys come into their own as men.

“Knock knock,” sounded from the foyer.

Speaking of men…of course Boone was here.

You’d better get used to seeing him at family events since he’s, oh…f*cking living in Phoenix now.