Rode Hard, Put Up Wet (Rough Riders #2)(65)

“Fine. I’ll shut up now.”


“Good. Besides, that thing is not one of them wussy bulls they use in cowboy bars and charge you five bucks to try. That one of Colby’s is a nasty piece of machinery and the closest to getting on the back of a real bull. It’s dangerous.”


“Told ya so,” Amy Jo said.


“Why don’t you try to stay out of trouble and see if Cash’s daughter needs any help in the kitchen?”


“Her name’s Macie, right?” Amy Jo inquired politely. “She seems nice.”


“She seems young.” Keely demanded, “Hey, are you using her as free slave labor just because she’s too young to know better and because Cash is working for you?”


“No. She’s a professional cook and she’s older than you, smarty.” Gemma debated on mentioning Macie’s relationship with Carter, but Keely would find out soon enough.


“No way. How old is she?”


“Twenty-two.”


Keely and Amy Jo exchanged a look. And a grin. Then they ran to the house.


Gemma yelled, “No askin’ her to buy you guys booze. You ain’t old enough to drink!”


“Well, I am. Let’s get shitfaced.”


Gemma turned and smiled at Channing. “Macie’s camper is empty and I know she’s got beer.”


“You’re on.”


Once they each had a cold one, Gemma said, “Married life agrees with you, Mrs.


McKay.”


“Does it ever. Colby makes me ecstatically happy. I thank my lucky stars every day that we found each other.”


“You should. How you getting along with the McKays?”


Channing swigged her beer. “Great. Carolyn is awesome. Don’t see much of Cord or Colt. You know what Keely is like. Carson would like me more if I was knocked up. And before you ask, no, I’m not pregnant, and since we’ve been married less than a year, no, we aren’t actively trying to populate the world with more wild McKay boys.” She smirked. “We are practicing a lot though.”


“Some things never change.”


“Speaking of pregnant…how is it that I never knew Cash had a daughter?”


“No one knew.” Gemma shared what she’d learned. “So, he’s workin’ for me, but he’s also tryin’ to have a relationship with Macie.”


“What’s she like?”


“She’s a good kid. Hard worker. Sweet, but not a pushover. Wise beyond her years.”


Gemma shot Channing a sly look. “And she’s doin’ some serious practicin’ with your brother-in-law Carter.”


“No way.”


“Yep. Though they pretty much keep to themselves.”


“Colby is so going to pay for not telling me that bit of family gossip.” She paused.


“Cash doesn’t have a problem with Carter and Macie doing the nasty right under his nose?”


“He has a big problem with it. Not a lot he can do; they’re both adults.”


“True. So, tell me about you and Cash doing the nasty. He finally wear you down?”


“Nope. I finally swallowed my pride and tracked him down.”


“And?”


Gemma downed her Coors. “And I am so in love with that man it’s not funny.”


“’Bout damn time you realized that.”


“But it didn’t start out that way. I’ve always liked him even when that weird connection between us scared me to death. When he agreed to take over the Bar 9


foreman duties with certain personal stipulations, I didn’t know what to expect. Cash has always been a loner. He’s set in his ways. He can be a little ornery. A little distant.”


“Now why does that sound so familiar? Hmm. Do I know anyone else who fits that description?”


Gemma swatted at Channing. “Smarty pants.”


“I couldn’t resist.”


“Then he introduced me to Macie and I saw a side of him that broke my heart. He feels so much emotion, the only way he can contain it is to fall back on what he knows and act the part of a stoic Indian. But again, when he’s with me, whether we’re workingor playin’, he lets his guard down, and I see the true Cash Big Crow. The great, humble man who’s been knocked around by life, who’s learning from his mistakes and is still standing proud and tall. He wants to be a better father, a better worker, a better lover, a better man. He ain’t got no quit in him, Channing. And it makes me love him even more.”


“Does he know how you feel?”


Gemma shook her head.


“Why not? You aren’t still worried about your age difference?”


“No.”


“Then why haven’t you told him?”


“It’s complicated. There’s Macie and his guilt about her. He works for me. And I don’t want to do anything that will put a damper on the sex that absolutely blows my f*cking mind.”