Rough, Raw, and Ready (Rough Riders #5)(75)

Carolyn sagged into the couch, crying silently as she stroked Keely’s hair. Keely sat on the floor with her head in her mother’s lap, arms wrapped around her mother’s calves.

Her eyes were closed through the tears falling to the floor.

Carson’s voice drifted from the dining room. Chassie leaned against the wall, waiting for the right moment to ask what’d happened. Her heart ached. God. She wished Trevor and Edgard were with her.

Colt swore and turned around. When he noticed Chassie, he shot a questioning look at his mother, and she slowly nodded at him. “They found Cam.”


“Oh thank God. Is he okay?”


“No. He’s…fu—screwed up. Bad. Seriously bad. Cam had surgery two days ago, right after they found him, barely alive. Somehow the army misplaced our number and were just now able to let us know what’s goin’ on.”


“Surgery? For what?”


Colt swore again and balled his hands into fists at his sides. His jaw was clenched so tightly Chassie didn’t know whether he’d be able to speak.

“Surgery to amputate his mangled left leg. They cut it off below the knee. Evidently he lost the pinky finger on his left hand. He suffered from shrapnel wounds over the lower half of his body, burns to his chest and something…with his face, I didn’t catch all of that part. Far as the doctors could tell, he’d sustained no brain damage in the week he was MIA. Luckily none of his internal organs were hit.”


She was as dismayed as she was relieved. At least he was alive. “Are they sendin’ him home?”


Colt nodded. “As soon as he’s stable they’re transporting him to Walter Reed. He’ll be there for some time before he’s discharged. They don’t know when.”


Carson slipped back into the room and dropped next to Carolyn on the sofa. He put his big hand on Keely’s head and stroked her hair. “Carter sends his love. He can’t come home with Macie set to go any time…”


Carolyn patted his thigh. “Did you tell him it’s all right to stay there and focus on his wife? And Thane?”


“Yeah. Cord and AJ are on their way over. Same for Colby and Channing. And the kids.”


“Good.”


“Listen, sugar—”


“Did you call Cal and Kimi?” Carolyn interrupted. “Or your other brothers? What about Kade? Kane?”


Chassie wondered if they’d remember to call the West side of the family, but chose not to point it out.

“No.”


Colt said, “I’ll do it. It’ll give me something to do besides think about gettin’ drunk.”


As much as Chassie wanted to go home to hear what’d happened with Trevor and his family, she knew she’d stay with the McKays. Someone needed to fix meals, wash dishes and watch Gib and Ky so the adults could talk without distractions or interruptions.

Chassie said, “I’ll see about fixin’ some lunch,” and disappeared into the kitchen to call home so Edgard knew not to expect her.

Chapter Twenty-nine


Trevor was halfway home when Chassie called and told him about Cam McKay. Her subdued tone and distraction was a sign for him not to tell her what’d gone down with his family. He owed her a full explanation, face-to-face, not another half-assed deflection of intent. Not another bald-faced lie.

It’d been a shitty test to see how she’d react to moving to the Glanzer ranch. Making her think he was considering it, even when he hadn’t been. Because Trevor had passed his own test, and finally understood how perfect his life was. He’d married a wonderful woman he loved with his whole heart. He was able to spend his daytime hours outside working land he owned and loved. He finally acknowledged that he could fill the empty part he’d resigned to remaining empty. The part of him that’d belonged to Edgard; the part of him that’d always loved Edgard.

Even as the words repeated in his head he felt foolish. Loving another man. But he did. What Trevor felt for Edgard went beyond simple lust and sexual experimentation.

Friendship, companionship, shared interests, rockin’ sex—exactly what he and Chassie shared, which near as he could figure, was love.

Could Edgard live with Trevor’s affection only in private? Could Chassie deal with sharing Trevor with Edgard? Could Trevor handle both Chassie and Edgard’s demands?

Could he let a relationship develop between them without jealousy?

Most importantly, could he convince Edgard that it didn’t matter if people outside their household knew they loved each other, just as long as they knew? It wasn’t hiding the truth. It wasn’t giving into outdated societal morals. What passed between the three of them was private. Not boasting near and far about their sexual preferences and dynamics wasn’t unusual, it was normal.

Let it go. Your brain is fixin’ to explode.

Soon as Chassie came home they’d address the questions and concerns reasonably, like rational adults, because he’d be damned if he’d let Edgard walk out of his life again.

Edgard’s pickup was parked by the barn. The woodpile had been split and stacked.

The driveway cleared after a day’s worth of snow. A light shone in the kitchen. Smoke curled against the purplish twilight sky, making the little farmhouse tucked among the trees postcard worthy.