Branded as Trouble (Rough Riders #6)(109)

Or are you givin’ me back some of what I gave to you? I said I was sorry.”


The blindfold was ripped from his eyes. He blinked until Bert’s face came into view.


“Bert? What are you doing here? Where’s India?”


“The time has come for you to face your fears.”


“But I have faced them. I haven’t had a drink in years!”


Colt looked around. He was in the middle of a circle. The circle of trust, just like the A.A. meetings. Except this circle was composed of his family, Cord, Colby, Carter, Keely, his mother, his father, his uncle Harland, his cousins Dag West, Quinn and Bennett McKay, not his fellow A.A. members.


He looked at Dag. Then Uncle Harland. “But you’re both dead.”


They just stared at him with vacant eyes.


“You ready, Colton West McKay?”


“Ready for what?”


“To let go.”


His gaze zoomed around the circle. Where was Kade? Cam?


Chassie? Trevor? Edgard? Buck? The people he counted on?


Where the hell was India? The one person he trusted most in the whole world?


She’s not here when you need her. She’s just like the rest of them. She will let you down.


“He’s not ready yet.”


Colt’s head whipped around because every other part of his body was immobilized.


Blake West grinned at him. “But I’ll give you a little push in the right direction, cuz, to get you started.”


“No.”


“Trust me.”


“I don’t trust any of you!”


Blake shoved him hard.


Without the use of his arms or legs, Colt braced for impact, knowing not one person in the circle would jump to catch him.


They’d just let him fall. Like they always had.


He jackknifed up, throwing his hands in front of his face to protect himself and connected with nothing but air.


His eyes opened. He was in his bedroom. The alarm clock read four a.m.


It took a second for him to get his heart rate back to normal and realize it’d just been a dream. A weird f*cking dream, but a dream nevertheless.


Rather than dwell on all the hidden meanings any counselor would have a field day with, Colt focused on one thing: India. She was missing from the dream, missing from his life and he missed her something fierce. He needed to talk to her as soon as possible.


Chapter Twenty-two


The next day, India’s Ink had a customer. Not India’s favorite person by any stretch, but she was so bored and lonely she welcomed the diversion.


“So where’ve you been, Cat? I haven’t seen you around.” India lined up the ink cups and wiped an alcohol pad across the faded pink rose tattoo on Cat’s ankle.


“Oh, I had family stuff in Denver. Then I worked in Canyon River while Macie was flitting off to another one of Carter’s art shows. I can’t believe she’s pregnant again. Three kids in five years is crazy.”


India didn’t point out her sister had three kids in three years and she didn’t find it crazy in the least.


“Sometimes I wonder if Carter doesn’t keep her pregnant because Macie will wake up and leave his poor artist’s ass if she wasn’t tied to him in some permanent way.”


Not a flattering comment for Cat to voice about her friend and boss. “It’s a good thing Domini fills in for you.”