Tied Up, Tied Down (Rough Riders #4)(9)

His cell phone trilled in his shirt pocket. No big mystery who was pestering him.

“Hiya, Grama. Look, I know you wanna see Eliza, but you hafta give Skylar and me time to work some things out first.” He held the phone away to keep it from blistering his ear.

“No, I don’t know how long. I’ll be drivin’ to and from the ranch everyday startin’ on Monday. Absolutely not. Kane and Dad can handle it for a couple days without me.

Because I’ve been gone a year and they’ve done fine. Three more days ain’t gonna make a difference. I’ll keep in touch.” He clicked the phone off. She’d be too busy bragging about her granddaughter to everyone in Crook County to call him back, for at least a day, and sad to say, few others had his new number.

He glanced at the grandfather clock. Skylar and Eliza would be home in roughly two hours. Picking up a stray blanket, he returned to the kitchen.

Kade unfolded the blanket on the table and placed the twenty-pound bag of russet potatoes in the center. He stared at it for a good long time before he sighed and wrapped the fleece around it. “Goddamn I hope nobody sees me doin’ this.”


The potato baby didn’t answer.

Gently, Kade picked up the bundle and tucked it in the crook of his arm. He paced the first floor from room to room, keeping hold of the spud baby, bouncing it, rocking it.

Performing all the motions he’d seen women doing with their infants—short of crooning a lullaby. He felt like a darn fool, slinking around, hugging a plastic bag that smelled like dirt, but he was determined Skylar wouldn’t know just how much of a greenhorn he was when it came to holding babies.

A loud crash out by the barn startled him. He tripped on the rug in the foyer and right before he hit the ground, his “baby” squirted out of his arms like a slippery bar of soap.

The bag busted open and potatoes flew everywhere.

Damn. That didn’t bode well. His face burned with shame as he gathered up the potatoes. First thing he’d do was confess his ineptitude in the baby arena rather than risk hurting Eliza because of his stupid pride.

An hour later the front door slammed. Thundering footsteps echoed down the hallway. Before he turned around, an angry female voice demanded, “What the f*ck are you doing in my sister’s house?”


Kade tossed in a can of beans in the enamel pot. “I’m makin’ supper.”


“You think that’s funny?”


He shrugged.

“Who the hell are you?”


Kade spun, giving his accuser a once over. Definitely a stunning woman, despite her unnaturally colored scarlet-tipped black hair. Despite her irate posture and angrily tapping a combat-booted foot. The motion rattled the chains attached to her purple leather mini-skirt. His gaze swept her colorful arms. Whoa. Was that tattoo circling her wrist a flesh-colored snake? Or a very large, very erect cock?

“Eyes off the ink, buddy. Who are you?”


He met her angry gaze head-on. “I’m Kade McKay.”


She actually stumbled back a step. “Holy shit. You’re Eliza’s father.”


He nodded, noticing the woman’s arched eyebrow was pierced, as was her nose and her lower lip. Both ears were weighted with a variety of sparkly stones and shiny hoop earrings.

“She looks just like you.”


“I know. I saw her today for the first time.”


“For the first time? She’s over three months old!”


“Yeah, I heard.”


“You heard? How could you abandon my pregnant sister, you worthless piece of shit?”


“First off, no more name callin’.” He soldiered on despite the woman’s mulish look.

“Secondly, who are you?”


“Skylar’s sister, India.” India crossed her arms over her chest. “Sky knows you’re here?”


“Who do you think gave me a key?” Kade’s eyes narrowed. “Do you live here?”


“Not anymore. I did while Sky was expecting, since the jerk-off loser who impregnated her vanished and someone needed to keep an eye on her out here in the middle of nowhere.”


“Before you keep rippin’ on my character, let me assure you that I didn’t know Skylar was pregnant. If I had known, no way would I’ve left her. No. Way.”


“So where’ve you been that she couldn’t call you up and tell you the news about her bun in the oven?” With mock sweetness, she asked, “Prison?”


“Funny.”


“No, really, what were you doing?”


India was a nosy thing, but Kade appreciated she was protecting Skylar. “Ranchin’.

We bought new grazin’ lands about forty miles northwest of our place. Rugged country.

No phone, no Internet, no satellite TV. Don’t have electricity in the cabin half the time.

Closest town is sixty miles further north up into the mountains, and the road leadin’ to it is damn near impassable from the end of October to the end of March. I volunteered to stay to see if it was viable to keep a year-round cattle operation up there. I returned home two days ago after havin’ been gone for a year. Today I find out that Skylar and me have a baby girl.”