Cowgirl
The barb hit its intended mark, and she had to force herself not
to wince. Was this the way it would be between them from here on
out? Unable to resist slinging snarky comments at each other just to
inflict pain?
“Anyway, I just wanted to say hello since you didn’t come to
dinner.”
“Hello,” he said, pointedly ignoring the rest of her statement.
She waited, half hoping he’d say something more, but when he
just stood there, she sighed and turned away. It took everything she
had inside to put one foot in front of the other and make her way
upstairs, leaving him behind. If he didn’t want her around, she wasn’t
going to waste her time.
Exhaustion hit her as she collected her bath products and headed
for the bathroom closest to her room. There were only two bathrooms
for all six bedrooms to share, outside of the one in the master
bedroom, but thankfully, the rest of the upstairs was blissfully empty
of guests for the time being. She could take a long soak in the tub,
followed by a steamy shower and just unwind. It was the perfect way
to greet her old stomping grounds.
Water rose to her chin as she sunk into the tub with a sigh, and
she thought about how the day had gone. Everyone was genuinely
happy to have her there, except for the one person whose opinion
mattered the most. Vin had looked like a deer in the headlights when
she popped in on him. Was he that uncomfortable around her?
Focusing her mind, she thought about her other foster brothers.
Drannon and Roman both seemed to have found their soul mates. She
was happy for them, and she liked Franki and Lacy already. Lacy
reminded her a lot of Seraphina. They shared some of the same
mannerisms, and she even wore her hair in a braid the way the former
mistress of Crawley Creek did. It was slightly unnerving, and yet it
made total sense to Lauren. Drannon admired Sera so much when he
was young; it only seemed fitting he would find a woman just like
her eventually.
Franki, on the other hand, was an absolute riot. One moment she
was talking about her motorcycle, Hal, and the next she was arguing
49
Lori King
with Roman about her fear of horses. Apparently even after over a
month on the ranch, he was still unable to ease her past her phobia.
Lauren also heard more details about the traumatic events that
led to Franki’s move to North Dakota. It was bone-chilling to know
that there were people in the world who cared so little for others that
they would inflict that kind of harm. And to hear that a human
trafficking ring was working out of this part of the country was
downright shocking.
Franki seemed to be both mourning and moving on in her grief,
considering how recently it had occurred. At one point, Lauren had
wondered if she was doing more avoiding than grieving, but it wasn’t
her place to question the other woman.
All in all, it felt good to be home for a few days. She knew the
night would bring vivid heartbreaking memories in the form of
nightmares—as it always did when she was forced to relive her
childhood—but hopefully, she’d find closure while she was here. It
was time she let go of her feelings for Vin for good.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Damn it, Lauren!”
Her mother’s voice rang through the tiny two bedroom trailer
home, echoing off the walls. Lauren cowered in the corner of her
closet under her favorite blanket. Rainbows and grinning bears
dotted the material, but instead of smiling back at them, silent tears
slipped down her cheeks. If Joss was drunk enough she would pass
out before she tracked her daughter down. If not, Lauren would be
dodging her heavy-handed swings.
“Lauren Nicole Kensington, you’d better get your ass out here
now. I know it was you who hid my bottle. Eddie hasn’t been here for
three or four days.”
Eddie Wayland was Joss’s on again off again boyfriend. He
hated dealing with her drunk almost as much as Lauren did, and the
drinking kept the couple from
The barb hit its intended mark, and she had to force herself not
to wince. Was this the way it would be between them from here on
out? Unable to resist slinging snarky comments at each other just to
inflict pain?
“Anyway, I just wanted to say hello since you didn’t come to
dinner.”
“Hello,” he said, pointedly ignoring the rest of her statement.
She waited, half hoping he’d say something more, but when he
just stood there, she sighed and turned away. It took everything she
had inside to put one foot in front of the other and make her way
upstairs, leaving him behind. If he didn’t want her around, she wasn’t
going to waste her time.
Exhaustion hit her as she collected her bath products and headed
for the bathroom closest to her room. There were only two bathrooms
for all six bedrooms to share, outside of the one in the master
bedroom, but thankfully, the rest of the upstairs was blissfully empty
of guests for the time being. She could take a long soak in the tub,
followed by a steamy shower and just unwind. It was the perfect way
to greet her old stomping grounds.
Water rose to her chin as she sunk into the tub with a sigh, and
she thought about how the day had gone. Everyone was genuinely
happy to have her there, except for the one person whose opinion
mattered the most. Vin had looked like a deer in the headlights when
she popped in on him. Was he that uncomfortable around her?
Focusing her mind, she thought about her other foster brothers.
Drannon and Roman both seemed to have found their soul mates. She
was happy for them, and she liked Franki and Lacy already. Lacy
reminded her a lot of Seraphina. They shared some of the same
mannerisms, and she even wore her hair in a braid the way the former
mistress of Crawley Creek did. It was slightly unnerving, and yet it
made total sense to Lauren. Drannon admired Sera so much when he
was young; it only seemed fitting he would find a woman just like
her eventually.
Franki, on the other hand, was an absolute riot. One moment she
was talking about her motorcycle, Hal, and the next she was arguing
49
Lori King
with Roman about her fear of horses. Apparently even after over a
month on the ranch, he was still unable to ease her past her phobia.
Lauren also heard more details about the traumatic events that
led to Franki’s move to North Dakota. It was bone-chilling to know
that there were people in the world who cared so little for others that
they would inflict that kind of harm. And to hear that a human
trafficking ring was working out of this part of the country was
downright shocking.
Franki seemed to be both mourning and moving on in her grief,
considering how recently it had occurred. At one point, Lauren had
wondered if she was doing more avoiding than grieving, but it wasn’t
her place to question the other woman.
All in all, it felt good to be home for a few days. She knew the
night would bring vivid heartbreaking memories in the form of
nightmares—as it always did when she was forced to relive her
childhood—but hopefully, she’d find closure while she was here. It
was time she let go of her feelings for Vin for good.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Damn it, Lauren!”
Her mother’s voice rang through the tiny two bedroom trailer
home, echoing off the walls. Lauren cowered in the corner of her
closet under her favorite blanket. Rainbows and grinning bears
dotted the material, but instead of smiling back at them, silent tears
slipped down her cheeks. If Joss was drunk enough she would pass
out before she tracked her daughter down. If not, Lauren would be
dodging her heavy-handed swings.
“Lauren Nicole Kensington, you’d better get your ass out here
now. I know it was you who hid my bottle. Eddie hasn’t been here for
three or four days.”
Eddie Wayland was Joss’s on again off again boyfriend. He
hated dealing with her drunk almost as much as Lauren did, and the
drinking kept the couple from
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