Heroes of Horseshoe Creek Collection, Volume 1: Lock, Stock and McCullen ; McCullen's Secret Son ; Roping Ray McCullen by Rita Herron

Author:Rita Herron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Brett waited until the rancher showed up to guard Valeria and her daughter.

“Is she running from a husband?” Ron asked.

Brett shrugged, not wanting to explain. “Something like that.”

“I’ll make sure no one bothers her tonight.”

“Thanks.” Brett shook the man’s hand. One thing he could always count on was that Maddox hired good men.

He met Willow at the truck. His phone buzzed again as he drove toward Gates’s ranch. Kitty. He ignored the call.

Why couldn’t she take the hint? A second later, his phone rang again.

“Aren’t you going to answer that, Brett?”

“No, it’s no one important.”

Willow’s brows lifted. “It’s your girlfriend, isn’t it?”

Brett’s pulse clamored. He didn’t want to discuss the women in his past with Willow. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Willow released a sardonic laugh. “Oh, that’s right. You have a different woman in every city.”

He hated that she was right. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Pictures of you and your lovers are plastered all over the rodeo magazines. How could I not know? Let’s see. There was Bethany in Laredo, Aurora in Austin, then Carly in Houston, Pauline in El Paso—”

Brett held up a hand. “Okay, so I’ve dated a few women. You got married.” And had a child with another man. And within a year after his last visit home. A visit that had made him think they might have a future.

But she’d squashed that with her wedding.

“You’re right. I guess we both moved on.”

Had they? Or had he just been biding time, hoping one day to reconcile with Willow?

The rain fell harder, slashing the windshield and roof, forcing him to drive slower through the rocky terrain.

“By the way, congratulations on all your success, Brett.” Willow looked out the window as she spoke. “You followed your dreams and became exactly what you always wanted to be.”

Brett gripped the steering wheel as he sped around a curve and headed down the long road toward Gates’s spread, the Circle T. Willow’s words taunted him.

He had achieved success on the circuit. And he didn’t have to go without a woman. There were plenty of groupies out there. But they wanted the same thing—the fame, the money, the cameras…

All carbon copies. Shallow.

None of them wanted the real Brett or cared to know about his family. Or that sometimes he regretted leaving Pistol Whip and the chasm between him and his brothers. That when his mother died, he’d fallen apart and missed her so much that he’d cried himself to sleep every night.

That he wanted to be as perfect as Maddox, but he hadn’t been, so he’d joked his way through life. That the only thing he’d been good at was riding.

He’d certainly screwed up with Willow.

Willow gestured toward the turnoff for the ranch. “There’s the sign for the Circle T.”

He’d read about Gates’s operation. He owned thousands of acres, raised crops and had made a name for himself in the cattle business.

At one time, Brett’s father had wanted to make Horseshoe Creek just as big. He’d wanted him and Ray to help Maddox—with the three of them working together, it might have been possible.

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