Stealing Hearts (Wild at Heart #1)(33)

“Well, that’s not true. Besides, we don’t call people names in my house.”

“Yes, sir.”

“But there’s no need to worry. Paige is a sweetheart. She’s not gonna change anything around here.” My ex-wife is something else. I have never called her boyfriends names in front of our kids. “Your mom is just stressed out about her job. How did her commercial go?”

He shrugs again, and I’m starting to wonder if she had a gig at all. Amber models sometimes, but I think she uses it as an excuse to run off whenever she wants to.

“It’s good to have you two back. I’m thinking maybe we need to go fishing now that you’re home. Since you didn’t have a chance to do that on your vacation.”

Gabriel’s eyes light up, but Austin is too tired to do more than snuggle against me.

“Are you hungry or did you eat dinner?” It’s late, but sometimes Amber loses track of time.

The boys want a snack, so I get them fed, clean them up, and tuck them into bed. An hour later, I’m ready to pass out, but I wanna check in with Paige. I feel bad I ditched her like that, but I didn’t want to put her in front of Amber’s firing squad.

But when I call, she doesn’t pick up. No surprise there. The woman never answers when I call. “Paige, it’s me. Just wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ll be back in the morning to pick you up. Hope you had a nice night.”

A nice night? After I left her naked in the hot tub? I roll my eyes at myself. Messages aren’t my strong suit, so I try to never leave them.

I flip on the baby monitor and crawl into bed. Gabriel’s big enough to ask for help if he needs it, but Austin’s barely out of nighttime pull-ups. If he has an accident, he’ll start crying.

As I stare at the ceiling, my mind wanders to Paige. I’ve never been as turned on as I was in that hot tub with her insane body pressed against mine.

The memory of her hot mouth around my cock instantly makes me rock hard. She looked like a water nymph with all that red hair. I was in the middle of an existential experience when I got that damn phone call.

Reaching into my shorts, I’m ready to replay that incredible blow job, to imagine what it would feel like to sink my dick into her tight, warm heat, when Austin yells out through the monitor.

I leap out of bed. By the time I reach his room, he’s vomiting.

But it gets worse.

A few hours later, I get a call that our fences have been cut again.

Fuck my life.





15





PAIGE




When I hear a truck pull up in front of the cabin, I let out a sigh of relief. We were supposed to be out of here hours ago. Rhett said he’d be back in the morning to get me, and it’s almost three in the afternoon.

I’m trying really hard not to feel forgotten right now. I couldn’t even call him because I barely have a signal.

Every bit of me wants to run and hide because I’m so mortified about last night, but I know I need to be a big girl and not avoid Rhett like I want to.

But seriously, who takes off and leaves their new wife alone in a cabin, naked as the day she was born, in a hot tub? Rhett Walker, that’s who.

Yes, I realize this isn’t a real marriage, but we were being intimate, for fuck’s sake. Not bailing is just good manners.

I take a deep breath to steel myself. Except when I peek out the window, it’s not Rhett.

“You asshole,” I whisper. “Why do you always twist me up in knots?”

He fucking sent Beau to pick me up.

At the realization Rhett didn’t come, my eyes sting and my throat gets tight. I blink rapidly and wave at my face so it doesn’t turn red. I don’t want Beau to know I’d rather crawl into a bin of bees than return to the ranch.

“Knock, knock,” he yells. “Hey, Paige. It’s your favorite brother-in-law.”

I glance at the rear of the cabin. Unfortunately, there’s only one entrance, so I can’t run out the back door. Though that window in the bedroom is starting to have more appeal.

“Paige! You there?”

Quickly, I back away from the door. “Yeah. Hold on!” I run to the bathroom and splash my face with water.

When I don’t think I’ll start bawling, I unlock the front door.

Beau’s smile falls when he sees me. “You okay?”

“Yup. Great. Never better.” I tuck my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. “Are you here to take me to the ranch?”

“Actually, Rhett asked me to pay for another few days here for you.”

I’m going to kill him with my bare hands. “Really? Why’s that?”

“We have a situation back at the ranch. The boys had a rough night, and someone cut our fences again. It’s a mess. He thought you might be more comfortable here.”

“You mean where I don’t have a phone signal, a TV, or any transportation?” As I found this morning, I can send texts if I stand on my toes and hold my phone in the air, but my calls don’t go through. “I could be murdered in my sleep, and no one would know for days. How thoughtful.”

Beau winces. “I know this isn’t ideal, but—”

“Are the kids okay now or are they sick?”

“They’re, uh, they’re doing better.”