Rough, Raw, and Ready (Rough Riders #5)(4)

After months of hot looks and evocative comments getting him nowhere, Trevor figured he’d have to make the first move. It’d taken him a pint of Jim Beam to act on the attraction and even then he’d made a clumsy pass at Edgard. Kissing him sloppily.

Groping him between the legs.

But Edgard refused his advances, saying he wouldn’t let alcohol be an excuse for them becoming lovers. Trevor would either come to Edgard completely sober or not at all.

So Trevor swallowed his pride, his fear, and practically begged. Edgard remained leery. Until that first explosive touch. In the two and a half years they were together, the heat between them never cooled, yet Trevor wondered if the urgency and secrecy contributed to the appeal.

Is that why Edgard was here? To rekindle that flame? To tempt Trevor away from Chassie? Or had Edgard found a new love and needed to prove there was nothing left between them but molten memories and deep regret?

Only one way to find out.

Trevor trudged from the barn and headed for the house.

Chapter Two


By the time Trevor finished scrubbing the machine oil from his hands, Chassie and Edgard had returned to the kitchen.

Chassie said, “Who wants coffee?”


“Sounds great, Chass.”


“There’s cookies, unless Trev ate them all. The man has a serious sweet tooth.”


“Then I oughta munch on you, darlin’, since you’re so durn sweet.” Trevor nibbled the side of her jaw and Chassie squealed. He reached above her head for the coffee cups on the pegs.

Trevor turned and saw Edgard staring at them. Not with jealousy, but with longing.

Simple affectionate moments had been rare between them and Trevor remembered it was one of the things Edgard had needed that Trevor hadn’t been able to offer him. Why did he feel just as guilty about that shortcoming now as he had back then?

Chassie poured the coffee. Trevor automatically grabbed the milk jug from the fridge and set it next to Edgard. He snagged a spoon from the dish rack, passing it and the sugar canister to Edgard, ignoring Chassie’s questioning stare.

Didn’t mean a damn thing he remembered exactly how Edgard liked his coffee. Not a damn thing.

“So, Edgard, what are you doin’ in our neck of the woods?”


“Reliving some old memories. I drove past my grandparents’ place yesterday. With the shabby way it’s looking I’m wishing I would’ve bought it when I had the chance.” He smiled wryly. “I’m kicking myself for letting another thing slip through my fingers.”


“Grandparents?” Chassie repeated, not noticing Trevor’s rigid posture after Edgard’s comment. “You from around here?”


“Yes. And no.” Edgard relayed the story about his mother. Getting pregnant as a foreign exchange student, giving birth to Edgard before his biological father, a young cowboy, died in an accident. She’d returned home to Brazil and married Edgard’s stepfather.

“Whoa. That’s kind of soap-operaish, isn’t it?”


“Mmm-hmm.” Edgard blew across his coffee. “But it does make me an American citizen so I can come and go as I please in the good ol’ U.S. of A.”


Trevor listened as Chassie asked a million questions about Edgard’s life and Brazil.

They finished off the pot of coffee and the time passed pleasantly. He even managed to meet Edgard’s gaze a couple of times.

The phone rang and Chassie excused herself to answer it.

Silence hung between them as heavy as snow clouds in a winter sky.

Eventually, Edgard said, “She doesn’t know anything about me. Not even that we were roping partners. Not that we were…” He looked at Trevor expectantly.


“No.” Trevor quickly glanced at the living room where Chassie was chattering away.

“You surprised?”


“Maybe that she isn’t aware of our official association as roping partners. There was no shame in that. We were damn good together, Trev.”


The word shame echoed like a slap. As good as they were together, it’d never been enough, in an official capacity or behind closed doors. “What are you really doin’ here?”


Edgard didn’t answer right away. “I don’t know. Feeling restless. Had the urge to travel.”


“Wyoming ain’t exactly an exotic port of call.”


“You think I don’t realize that? You think I wouldn’t rather be someplace else? But something…” Edgard lowered his voice. “Ah, f*ck it.”


“What?”


“Want the truth? Or would you rather I lie?”


“The truth.”


“Truth between us? That’s refreshing.” Edgard’s gaze trapped his. “I’m here because of you.”


Trevor’s heart alternately stopped and soared, even when his answer was an indiscernible growl. “For Christsake, Ed. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?

With my wife in the next room?”


“You’re making a big deal out of this. She thinks we’re friends, which ain’t a lie. We were partners before we were…” Edgard gestured distractedly. “If she gets the wrong idea, it won’t be from me.”