Rodeo Christmas at Evergreen Ranch (Gold Valley #13)(58)

Boone looked at her, then at him. “I want to know what’s going on,” he said.

“Nothing,” Callie said. “I married him.”

“I was at the bar. So cut the shit, Callie. Why were you trying to pick up some other guy if you’re married to him?”

“You can’t tell,” Callie said, her expression going fierce. “You should understand, Boone. I need you to understand. You have to. Please. Just don’t tell Dad.”

Jake groaned. Because this was going to get him killed. She might not be aware of how clear it was that something had happened between them last night, but Boone sure as hell was. And now she was about to admit the marriage wasn’t real.

“What?” Boone asked.

“I need my trust fund,” Callie said.

“Oh, dammit, Callie, are you serious?”

“I want to ride saddle bronc, Boone. I need to. You know that. You know how it is. You know what it’s like when it’s in your blood. I know you do. And Dad was putting up barriers. Making it so that I couldn’t... That I couldn’t do it. So I asked Jake to marry me. I asked him to help me out.”

“Dad is going to kill you,” Boone said. “To say nothing of what he’s going to do to you.” He directed that last part right at Jake.

“Yeah, I figure I’ll be back in Gold Valley by then,” Jake said. “Though don’t think I didn’t think about that. But she is my friend. And she asked for help.”

“Why couldn’t you just talk to them?” he asked his sister.

“He wouldn’t listen. I did talk to him. I’m not going to be able to have what I want unless I’m free. I can’t be free without that money.”

“That’s some stunt,” he said. “Really.”

“Have you ever had to fight Dad to get what you want?”

Boone just looked at her for a long moment. “No.”

“Then you can’t judge me. Not for this. I’m trusting you, Boone. I’m trusting you to please be on my side.”

“I’m on your side,” he said. “I am. I promise. And if you want to I can even do better at talking to Dad on your behalf. But you’re going to have to be more careful. Because it was obvious to me something wasn’t right when I saw you in the bar. And you’re really lucky Kit or Jace wasn’t there. Or any of the others. Because I don’t know that they would land on your side here. They don’t particularly want you putting yourself in danger like that. And I can’t say that I do. But I know how important it is to you. And I respect that you’re good. That you work hard to make it as safe as possible.

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Boone said. “I promise.”

She shifted uncomfortably, and he could feel the exact moment she started to feel exposed standing out there in her pajamas.

“I just need... Coffee,” she said, turning and going back into the house.

Boone’s eyes locked on him. “I’m not going to embarrass my sister. I won’t. She’s one of the most important people in the world to me. And she hasn’t had it easy. But I can tell something is going on between the two of you. Not just because I saw you grab her and kiss her last night outside the bar. So you can’t pretend that this is just platonic. If you’re sleeping with my sister, I swear to God, you’d better not hurt her.”

“I won’t.” That was a vow. He was going to make this right with her. He would.

“It wasn’t necessary, though, was it? She needed your help, and now you’re...”

Even feeling as pissed as he did at himself, he couldn’t let that go. He’d never, ever taken advantage of Callie, and he never would.

“Give me more credit than that, Boone. I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you know that I care about her. Hell, I wouldn’t put myself in this position if I didn’t. It’s for her. It’s not for my benefit. I’m not going to be able to offer anything beyond this. But this is what she wanted. She needed someone to marry her, and I stepped up to do it. And I submitted myself to being at this family Christmas nonsense, when I’d frankly rather stick my dick in an anthill. So, you should know that whatever I do, she’s at the center of it. You can’t actually be a hell of a lot more protective of her than I am.”

“I’m her older brother,” he said. “I assure you I am more protective of her than you’ll ever be. And if my sister cries for any reason at all, I’m going to be there to make sure that whoever caused those tears is punished. Don’t be the object of my punishment, Daniels. Because you won’t like it.”

“Noted. But just so we’re clear, your brand of protection doesn’t seem to be what she wants. At all. In fact, the whole lot of you seem to be protecting her as long as it’s on your terms. You may not like what I’m doing here, but everything I’ve done, she’s asked me to do. Everything I’ve done, she’s wanted.”

Boone frowned. “I mean, good. But I don’t need to know about the intimate details of your time with my sister.”

“No, I don’t suppose. Because then you’d have to acknowledge that she’s a grown woman and a whole person, not any different than you. She should get what she wants, because she’s worked for it. And she should sleep with whoever she wants—God knows why it’s me, but it is. I respect that—you should work on that.”