Gone Country (Rough Riders #14)(64)

But the way Gavin had kissed her mom—her mom!—yesterday afternoon had caused her jaw to drop. Not only the passion between them, but the familiarity. Rory realized she didn’t know that part of her mother at all.


And when she’d demanded an explanation, she hadn’t gotten one. Which again, wasn’t how her mom usually acted. She couldn’t believe her mother hadn’t told her about one of the biggest changes in her life…well, ever.


Rory knew she was being a brat. Maybe it wasn’t Gavin specifically that she had a problem with. Maybe she was bugged by the idea of her mom being with any guy—and that was stupid and childish and she didn’t know what the f*ck was wrong with her. She was just so…mad.


“I’m pretty sure the fiery looks of hatred you’re sending my dad won’t start his hair on fire from up here,” Sierra said from behind her.


“You’re a f*cking laugh riot a minute.”


“You’re still pissed off about this?”


“Yep.” Especially after Sierra told her she’d accidentally seen them making out weeks ago.


“Come on. Can’t you at least admit they look happy?”


Rory didn’t answer.


“Or don’t you want your mom to be happy?”


“Of course I do.”


“Doesn’t seem like it.”


“Why? Because I’m not teary-eyed that she’s making out with your dad in the clearing while snow falls around them?”



Sierra snorted. “No. Because you picked a fight with her first thing this morning.”


Rory turned around, startled that Sierra nearly looked her in the eye—few women were her height. “No, I tried to have a discussion with her. But she won’t talk to me about this, when we talk about everything else.”


“You talk about everything with her?” Sierra asked skeptically.


“Yes. Why?”


“Because I call bullshit on that.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “In fact, I know it’s bullshit.”


“How?” Rory folded her arms over her chest, her posture equally argumentative.


“I was there last night, remember? Listening to your drunken rant.”


Ah f*ck. Goddamn Jaegermeister.


Sierra wore a smug look. “Rielle doesn’t know what happened between you and Dalton, does she?”


Rory felt her cheeks heat up. “That’s different.”


“How? Did you tell your mom how many guys you’ve slept with in college? Or their names? Or whether you went into the date expecting it’d be the start of a relationship and not just a one-night stand?”


She opened her mouth. Closed it. How the hell was Sierra so freakin’ observant? She was a spoiled sixteen-year-old kid.


“You can talk to your mom about a lot of things, Rory. But you draw a line with her.”


“So?”


“So why are you so pissed off that she’s doing the same thing with you? Do you really want explicit details about what sex is like between her and my dad?”


“Eww. No!”


“Then what is your f*cking problem?”


“My f*cking problem is him,” she lied, embarrassed to tell her the real issue. “He’s going to hurt her.”


Sierra rolled her eyes. “Assume much? And don’t give me that crap about him being a—” she made quotes in the air around the word, “—McKay.”


“He is what he is.”


“You’d think you were a West with the big chip you’ve got on your shoulder about the McKays.”


Rory’s eyes turned shrewd. “Maybe there’s validity in the Wests’ point of view. Seems the McKays screw everyone over.”


“The point is, you assume that my dad will screw your mom over. But you know what? I’ve never thought for a single second that your mom might be a gold digger.”


“Why would you even say that?”


“Because my dad has money. Your mom doesn’t. Maybe she seduced him.”


This girl was on some serious crack. “That’s bullshit. My mom is not like that.”


“Yeah? And my dad is not some * heartbreaker.”


They stared at each other.


“So much for our agreement last night to stay out of it,” Rory said.


“I tried to, but you won’t let it go.”


“Fine. I’m done. So is that why you’re following me around this morning? To be all smug and shit?”


“Following you around?” Sierra snorted. “As if. I tracked you down to make sure you were still gonna bring up that thing before you left.”


Rory played dumb. “What thing?”


“That thing we discussed last night where you tell my dad that he’s retarding my social development in Sundance by not letting me drive? Remember?”


“Vaguely.”


Sierra looked annoyed. “Don’t be a dick, Rory.”