Tied Up, Tied Down (Rough Riders #4)(72)

“If the shitkicker fits…”


Kade snorted. “Sky still doesn’t know about your threatening little chat with me that day, does she?”


“No. You think she’s gonna get pissed off that I was doing my sisterly duty? Wrong.

But it was damn shocking to learn that Eliza’s father is not only a cowboy, but one of the notorious McKay cowboys.”


“Yeah, that’s me, one of the damned.” He sighed. “I’d crash someplace else tonight if I could, but everything I own is at her place.”


“What’s going on with you two?”


“Who the hell knows? She’s mad. Thinks I overstepped my bounds today.”


“Did you?”


Kade explained as neutrally as possible.

A full minute passed before India responded. “Lemme ask you this: do you know the real reason why she’s so upset?”


“Because I bucked up and pointed out the security issues with her business and she thinks it’s none of my business to be worryin’ about hers?”


“Close. But no cigar.”


“Then what?”


“Let’s break it down and see if you can’t put it back together correctly.” She offered Kade an impish smile. “As an A.A. and N.A. counselor, I’m big on folks finding their own solutions. The answer means more if they figure it out themselves.

“Now, I’m sure my sister has told you about Ted, and how he used her and robbed her blind. Once he’d gotten what he’d wanted from her—most of Sky’s money—then he divorced her.”


“But see, that’s where what happened today don’t fit. I don’t want anything from her.” Immediately after he voiced the denial, he made the connection. His queasy feeling multiplied. “Goddammit, I threatened to take Eliza from her.”


“Ding ding ding! Give the man a prize for guessing the correct answer.”


“Christ. How could I be such a f*ckin’ idiot? I’d never take Eliza from her. Never. I just wanted Sky to see how seriously she oughta take the safety issues at the plant. I’ve been tryin’ my damndest to make the three of us be a real family, not tear us apart. To show her I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”


“You can talk until you’re blue in the face and she won’t believe you.”


“Why the hell not?”


“Because she’s the type who needs what she calls ‘tangible proof’.”


“I asked her to marry me so I could put a damn ring on her finger. What kinda concrete proof could be better than that?”


“There is one thing that you could do…never mind.” She shrugged. “You thought I was joking around with the no pain, no gain comment? I wasn’t. Come talk to me when you’ve figured it out.”


Great. More games. More puzzles. More reasons for him to take his cousin’s advice and lay low for a while.

India didn’t speak further until she pulled into the driveway and parked. “I knew you were a different kind of man when you barged into her life and offered her everything she never thought she’d have. After I figured out the McKay family connection, I asked Colt about you. He told me you’re the most honest, kind, and forthright man he’s ever known.

He says you cared enough to save him when no one else did.”


Embarrassed, Kade looked away.


“Skylar doesn’t need saving in the same way, but she needs you. Don’t let her fears chase you away, Kade. Fight for her.”


“I’m a little tired of fightin’ at the moment.”


“I can imagine.”


Kade stared at Skylar’s front door before he faced India. “You ever heard the phrase


‘nice guys finish last’? It’s true. Been true my whole life. So, maybe it’d be nice for me for a change, if someone thought I was worth fightin’ for.”


He climbed out of the car leaving India in stunned silence.

Chapter Twenty-five


Heeding Kade’s advice about her impetuous behavior, Skylar didn’t race down the porch steps when a set of headlights appeared at the end of the driveway. She paused in the doorway until she recognized India’s car. What was her sister doing here at eleven o’clock at night? Then Kade’s truck pulled up, but Kade didn’t jump from the cab. Colt McKay did.

What the heck?

The sight of Colt helping Kade out of the passenger’s side of India’s car finally spurred Sky into action.

“What’s going on? Omigod, Kade, you’re bleeding!” Her heart rate kicked up, her stomach lurched as she looked at his battered face. “What happened?”


“Can we get him inside first?”


“Oh. Right.” She held open the door.

Kade shrugged off Colt’s help. “I can walk.”


He passed by without looking at her and headed to the kitchen.

She followed him, even when it was apparent he didn’t want her to.

Colt said, “If you’ve got a first aid kit, please get it.”


“Okay.” She turned but India snagged her arm. India’s eyes searched Sky’s face.