––––––––
Riley watched his friend drive away. Sam was wrong. There were the bad memories that would always keep him away. Sam was right about one thing though, Clifton wasn't to blame. Once he got older, he’d realized it was a nice little town but this ranch was nothing but a place filled with hateful memories. The old man would surely haunt the place. Riley laughed at the thought. On second thought, he probably wouldn’t. Hell, he couldn’t even live in the house. No, the old man was rotting in hell where he belonged.
Turning away from his truck, he walked back into the barn. Going to the back room, he pushed the door open and halted in the doorway. An old cot with a sleeping bag on it sat against one wall. The wood burning stove sat on the opposite wall. A small desk hugged the space next to the doorway. Riley's eyes scanned the room, landing on the empty whiskey bottles lying all over the floor. Rubbing his hand over his jaw, he saw it didn't look like things had changed since the old man had kicked him off the ranch.
Spinning on his heel, he practically ran out of the barn. Climbing into his truck, he tore out of the driveway, his tires spitting dust into the air. He had no idea where he was going but he had to get away from here. His truck left the ranch behind in the rearview mirror and ate up the miles distancing him from the memories. When he pulled into the cemetery, he stopped the truck so fast it slid sideways, dust blowing up from the gravel road around it.
Riley threw the door open, not sure why he was here. Dust settled on his boots and the gravel crunched under them as he walked up the gravel road. Weaving through the headstones, he looked for the marker. His breath caught in his chest when he found it. Roscoe Leroy Madison.
Squatting down beside it, he stared at it, his chest tightening and anger spilling from his pores. “I hope you're burning in hell...Dad.”
He stood, turning to leave but something made him stop, and glance back. Gulping air into his lungs, he tried to stop the burning in his chest. Swallowing hard, he thought about how much he hated the old man so there was no way he was feeling pain over losing a man who had taken his frustration with life out on his son. Riley wanted to roar at the tears filling his eyes, because the man didn’t deserve them. Blinking them away, he stalked to his truck. Once inside the cab, he slammed the door and sped off down the gravel road. It was a good thing Sam wasn't around this time because he'd haul him in for reckless driving for sure.
Riley pulled onto the blacktop road hard and quick, causing the truck to fishtail. Taking a deep breath, he let up on the gas. His fist hit the dash several times, as he tried to clear his head. As he drove down the road, he lowered the windows. Although the heat from the day swirled around the interior of the truck, Riley needed it to take his mind off the bitter thoughts filling his brain.
As he drove over a crest, he spotted a vehicle on the opposite side of the road with the hood up, steam pouring out in a cloud above the small SUV. At first, he drove past it but then turned around, driving back to pull up behind it. Before getting out, he put the windows up then turned the air conditioning on, and then walked toward the steaming vehicle.
Stepping around the vehicle, Riley stopped short when he saw the woman he'd had a shouting match with in town, staring at the engine. She glanced over at him then closed her eyes as she turned her head back toward the engine. He hid a smile when he heard her sigh.
“Do you have any idea what could be wrong here?” She didn’t look at him as she asked him with hope in her voice.
Riley leaned over and peered into the engine compartment. “It looks like you blew a hose.”
“Is that bad or good?”
Thinking she wasn’t going to be happy either way, Riley ran his hand over his mouth. “Both. It's good because it's not expensive. It's bad because you're going to need to have it towed back to town.”
“I can't go back to town. I have orders to deliver,” she exclaimed throwing her hands in the air in obvious frustration.
“Orders?” Riley frowned, wondering what kind of orders and hoping it wasn’t something perishable like food because it wasn’t going to make it.
“I own the local florist shop and greenhouse. I have three more deliveries to make.”
Nodding, Riley glanced around and then back to her. “You need to call a tow truck then. You can't drive it like this.”
“Why not?” She placed her hands on her slim hips and glared at him.
Riley glared back. “Because it's overheating and if you keep going, it will lock up the engine.”
****
Kaitlyn growled and swallowed a curse. This could not be happening. She narrowed her eyes at the tall, attractive, sexy man standing in front of her. Stop thinking of him like that! Her heart skipped a beat just as it used to when she’d been close to him. Feeling defeated, she headed back to the driver's door, retrieved her cell phone from her purse, and called for a tow truck. As she explained where she was, her eyes traveled over him, and she wanted to groan when he leaned against the fender, folded his arms across his broad chest, and crossed his booted feet at the ankles. His jeans could’ve been made just for him. The way they hugged his thighs, and his crotch, made her mouth suddenly go as dry as the Mojave Desert. Shifting her gaze away from the area below his belt, she zeroed in on his face. The man was just too sexy and he needed a damn shave. His eyebrow lifted as she stared at him.
Finished with her call, she hung up and tossed her phone back into her purse. Folding her arms, she gazed down the road. Seeing the heat rising off it, Kaitlyn blew out a breath, ruffling her bangs. Damn, it was hot. So hot, her shirt was sticking to her. She glanced over her shoulder at one of the causes for her overheated body. His shirt was sticking to him too. God! Just what she needed, seeing how it outlined his muscles. His pecs looked as if carved from stone. Glancing away, she told herself to ignore him but the vision of his rippled stomach muscles had burned into her eyelids.
“I’m Riley Madison, by the way.”
Sighing, she glanced back to him. “I know who you are.”
Straightening up at her response, he cocked an eyebrow at her. “You do? How?”
“I’m Kaitlyn Garrett, well, Parker now.”
“Katie?” Riley stared at her. “You’re Sam’s sister, Katie?”
Chuckling, she nodded. “I was fourteen the last time you saw me, three years before you left.” Then she shrugged. “I grew up.”
He mumbled something that sounded like no shit but she ignored it. Riley had never known she had a crush on him and she prayed he never would.
“Where’s the squirt?”
Kaitlyn smiled as she always did when someone asked about her daughter. “Back at the shop, thank goodness, with Madilyn.”
“Brody’s Madilyn?”
“Yes.”
Nodding, Riley motioned toward his truck. “Do you want to sit in my truck until the tow truck gets here? It's awfully hot to stand out here.”
Hesitating for less than a second, Kaitlyn practically ran to his truck. The sweat was trickling down between her breasts and shoulder blades. Pulling open the passenger door, she climbed in and sighed as the air conditioning hit her. Pulling out the collar of her T-shirt, she blew a cooling breath down between her breasts. Thank heavens he’d left his truck running. She watched as he closed the hood on her vehicle and took the keys from it. He sauntered to the truck with a typical cowboy swagger. Kaitlyn groaned. Riley Madison may have left Clifton but Clifton hadn’t left him. He was still every inch a Montana cowboy.
Oh, Kaitlyn knew all about him and his success. After he left ten years ago, he’d purchased an old house in Texas that was falling down, and fixed it up. He’d sold it for three times what he paid for it. It set a pattern for him and he’d made millions doing it. The last item she could find out about him was that he had quit doing it two years ago. How pathetic was she? She’d never forgotten him and had surfed the Internet at night looking for any tidbit she could find while her husband, Kevin lay in another woman’s bed. Stupid! Kevin had never been there for her, so she was always dreaming of this tall, dark-haired man.
After her brother, Sam left for college, Kaitlyn only caught glimpses of Riley in town. The last time she saw him was at her parents’ ranch when Sam came home for Thanksgiving, and had invited Riley. She was fourteen, Riley was twenty, and he was the hottest thing she’d ever seen. Her hormones had gone crazy and she’d squirmed in her seat so much that her mother had told her to sit still. Riley had turned those whiskey colored eyes on her. He hadn’t smiled but just stared at her until she tore her eyes from his, and had asked to be excused. It was the best and worst Thanksgiving of her life.
Now, she stared straight ahead when he opened the door and slid into the seat next to her. Kaitlyn had to bite her lip to keep from groaning. He smelled so good—his aftershave mixed with sweat. She started to squirm in her seat.
****
Gripping the steering wheel in his hands, Riley tried to remember that the gorgeous woman sitting beside him was his best friend’s little sister. Damn, he remembered her as a tall, skinny girl with kind of frizzy dark brown hair and braces. She had in no way looked anything like the beauty beside him. Clearing his throat, he glanced over to her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, Katie. You’ve uh...changed.” Riley stumbled over the words while his knuckles turned white.
“I grew up...” Kaitlyn started to say.
Unintentionally, Riley blew out a laugh. “You certainly did.” Shifting his gaze to her, he grinned. “You grew into a beautiful woman, Kaitlyn.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
“What happened to your husband?” Riley was never one to mince words.
“I told you...he’s dead.”
“How?” Turning toward her, he laid his arm along the top of the seat, and leaned back against the door. He knew he’d pissed her off by the look on her face and he tried not to smile.
“In a car accident.”
“When?” Tipping his head down, he hid his grin when she glared at him.
“Are you writing a book, Riley?” she asked through clenched teeth.
Riley shook his head. “Nope. Just making conversation is all.”
“Well, make it about something else.”
“Touchy subject, huh?” Grinning, he watched her fold her arms across her chest. Then he sobered as he stared at her chest. The woman could certainly fill out a T-shirt. Stacked was the word that first came to mind. What had once been a tall, gawky teenager was now a tall, built like a brick shithouse, gorgeous woman. He wanted to reach out and touch her soft looking hair. He liked how it flowed past her shoulders.
“Do you curl your hair?”
She turned in the seat to stare at him as if he’d just asked the dumbest question ever. Perhaps he had, but his filter seemed to be off around her. “Yes. Why?”
Riley shrugged. “I thought maybe you did since Sam’s hair is straight and if I remember correctly, yours was straight way back when too.” He was about to say more but thankfully, he was prevented from making a bigger fool of himself because he saw the tow truck coming up behind them. Shifting to open his door, he glanced back, and then to Kaitlyn. “Tow truck’s here. Stay here where it’s cool. I’ll take care of it.”
Moving to stand by her vehicle, he waited as the tow truck pulled in front of it and backed up. The driver jumped down from the cab and headed toward him, then came to a halt when his eyes landed on Riley.
“Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence.” The driver strolled toward him.
Riley narrowed his eyes taking in the man’s appearance. “Chuck? Chuck Sampson?”
“Yep...in the flesh. Have I changed so much that you don’t recognize me, Madison?”
Had the man changed? Hell yes, he’d changed. The man before him was about fifty pounds overweight with thinning blond hair. His fat cheeks looked like he was storing nuts in preparation for the winter. Years ago, Chuck Sampson had had all the young women panting after him. Now, he was probably the one doing the panting just from getting in and out of his tow truck. They’d been friends back then.
“Not at all, Chuck.” Riley couldn’t stop the grin.
Chuck laughed. “It’s good to see you again, man.” He put his hand out to Riley.
Riley put his hand into Chuck’s meaty palm. Shock was all that could describe his reaction when Chuck pulled him into a bear hug. Then he laughed when Chuck lifted him off his feet.
“Put me the hell down,” Riley shouted still chuckling. Chuck dropped him to his feet. They do build ‘em strong in Montana.
****
Shaking her head, Kaitlyn sat in the truck watching the exchange. Men. They stood there talking like old home week while her plants and flowers were wilting in the back of her vehicle. Opening the door, she hopped out and stalked toward them.
“I hate to interrupt this lovely reunion but I have plants in my vehicle, and I need to get them to my customers.” Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at the two men.
Turning to face her, Riley frowned at her. “How do you plan on delivering them when your vehicle isn’t running?”
Kaitlyn shuffled her feet. “Well, I was hoping you...” She stopped when Riley started shaking his head. “What?”
“I can’t. I have things to do.”
“Yeah? Like what?” Kaitlyn challenged.
Riley’s lips flattened as he glared at her. “Things.”
Snorting, she recognized that as a typical male response to a request for help. “It won’t take more than an hour or two.” When he started shaking his head again, she pleaded. “I don’t have any other way, Riley.”
“Call your brother,” he growled.
Kaitlyn gasped. “Fine. I will.”
Retrieving her purse, she took her cell phone out. While glaring at Riley, she called her brother. After explaining what happened, she hung up. “He’ll meet me at the garage.” She turned to Chuck, who’d been watching the two of them argue. “If you could work on this as soon as possible, Chuck, I’d really appreciate it.” Smiling at the big man, she watched him blush as he nodded. Some men knew how to respond to a woman.
“I’ll have it for you before I close today, Katie.” He promised with a nod.
Kaitlyn glared at Riley. “Thank you for stopping. I’ll ride back with Chuck.”
“Uh, I don’t have air conditioning, Katie. You’d be more comfortable with Riley,” Chuck informed her.
“I seriously doubt it,” she muttered, as she strolled around the big truck and opened the passenger door. Probably not looking very graceful, she had to climb up into the cab but once inside, she put the seatbelt on and waited for Chuck to load her car. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Riley staring up at her through the open window from beside the truck.
“I can take you back to town, Katie,” he said to her, shifting his hat back off his forehead.
Kaitlyn gazed down at him. Damn! Those eyes were so beautiful. “No, thank you. Go do your...things.”
Turning away from him with a huff, she phoned her shop, asked Madilyn to call the customers about her incident, and to let them know the orders would be there soon. In the side mirror, she watched Riley striding away muttering under his breath. Kaitlyn grinned as she watched him walking back to his truck then couldn’t contain a sigh when she gazed at his butt. Yep, those jeans looked as if they’d been specially made just for him. They cupped his butt just right. Chuckling, she remembered what a friend loved to say—cowboy butts drive me nuts. His looked amazing even in plain old jeans, no designer label, although with his money he could afford the designer labels.
The sound of the truck door opening jerked Kaitlyn from her musings. Chuck pulled himself into the cab, smiled at her, and steered the truck and its tow onto the road.
****
Damn hardheaded woman. Riley grumbled all the way to town. She could’ve ridden with him. Yes, he did have things to do, such as finding a place to stay while he was here. Driving through, he glanced around the town taking in the crowds. He realized that might be more difficult than he thought. If the B and B brought this many people in, it must be a hell of place.
Parking in the lot of the diner, he climbed from the truck only to have the heat slam into him. His thoughts went to Katie sitting in the front seat of a hot tow truck and he shook his head. She was one stubborn woman...just like her brother. Opening the door to the diner, he stepped inside and sighed at the feel of the air conditioning on his hot skin. The patrons filling every available seat seemed to go quiet as he stood there glancing around for a place to sit. The thought of going somewhere else had just crossed his mind, when Riley saw a hand go up in the back and a familiar face smiled at him. Grinning, he wove his way past tables and servers toward the booth in the back. He smiled as Jake Stone stood and put his hand out to him. Riley shook it.
“Hey, Jake. It’s great to see you again.”
“I heard you were back. You can’t keep a secret in this town.” Jake grinned.
“So, what you’re saying is that nothing’s changed?” Riley laughed and glanced to the booth where he saw Becca Stone smiling up at him.
“You remember my wife, Becca?” Jake asked him.
Becca started to slide out of the booth but Riley held his hand up. “Of course, I remember Becca. I never forget a beautiful woman.” Giving her a wink and making her laugh, he waved her back. “Don’t get up. I’ll slide in beside you.”
“The hell you will, you can sit on the other side, Madison. I’ll sit by my wife,” Jake growled as Becca slid over.
Riley burst out laughing. “No way. You just sit over there across from us.” Sliding in next to Becca, he grinned at her. “Unless you have a problem with me sitting here, Becca.”
Becca laughed. “None at all. Why wouldn’t I want a gorgeous man to sit next to me?”
Glancing over to Jake, he raised an eyebrow at him. “See? Your wife thinks I’m gorgeous.”
“Fuck you, Madison.” Becca and Riley burst out laughing while Jake clenched his jaw.
“You know I love you, Stone,” Becca told her husband.
“She calls you Stone?” Riley laughed. “You didn’t tell me that.”
Jake nodded. “From the day we met.”
They ordered lunch and each told Becca stories of the childhood they’d had together. Jake’s brothers, Gabe and Wyatt were part of the group, along with Ryder Wolfe, Brody Morgan, Trick Dillon, and Sam Garrett.
“I bet you boys raised some real hell, didn’t you?” Becca asked.
Riley and Jake glanced at each other and laughed. “You could say that. I’ll tell you all about some of the good stuff sometime,” Riley told her.
They’d finished eating so Jake paid the tab, and slid out of the booth. “I’ll tell her. You back the hell off.”
“I hope I get a chance to see you both again before I leave,” Riley said with a grin.
Jake grinned back. “We do too, Riley.”
Becca laughed. “You should stay in Clifton, Riley. Love seems to be contagious the way it’s going around.”
“Oh, no thanks...I’m not looking for that.”
“You think any of us were?” Jake laughed as he looked at his wife.
Sliding out, Riley moved to allow Becca out of the booth. As she reached the edge, he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it before pulling her to her feet making her blush at the action. Riley heard Jake grumble something before taking her arm to lead her through the diner, stopping occasionally to speak with someone here and there. Riley followed them. Several people recognized him, stopping him also. It was good to be back. Living here wouldn’t be so bad, if the bad memories would just go away. Once they stepped outside, Jake asked Riley about staying at the old man’s ranch.
“No. It’s just so rundown that it’s just not possible right now. I’ll get a room in a motel.”
“There may be a cabin you can have at the B and B,” Becca told him.
“I thought with all these people, you’d be full,” Riley said.
“There was a last minute cancellation and if it hasn’t been taken yet, you’re more than welcome to it.”
Riley smiled. “Great, I’ll take it if it’s available.” He watched as she pulled out her cell phone and called someone about it. A few minutes later, Becca returned the phone to her pocket.
“It’s still available so it’s yours. They’ll get it ready for you. Ask for Trisha. Do you know where the place is?”
“Hattie’s old place right? I heard all about it.” Riley hugged Becca and shook Jake’s hand. “I really appreciate this. What do I owe you for it?”
Becca shook her head so Jake told him, “Nothing. Welcome home, Riley.” Then he led Becca away, his arm around her possessively.
Watching the couple move away along the sidewalk, he decided Jake Stone was one lucky man. Becca was not only stunning but she was also a very giving person. Riley strode to his truck and headed for the Clifton Bed and Breakfast.