Sunset Ridge by Carol Lynne Page A

for Gray to hang up before saying anything. “What’d she do now?”
    Gray tossed his phone to the bed and zipped his jeans. “The police picked her up in the park, drinking and making out with some asshole. I have to go into town before they’ll release her.”
    “You should leave her there for the night. Maybe it’d teach her a lesson.” Ram moved off the bed and started gathering his clothes.
    “I guess Raleigh’s lucky you aren’t me then,” Gray mumbled, picking up his phone. “You don’t have to go back with me. Stay here and get some sleep.”
    Ram shook his head. “If I’m not going to be with you I might as well go back to the hospital.”
    Gray gave Ram a quick kiss. “I’m sorry about this.”
    “Whatever. You have to do what you have to.”
      Gray stared at Ram for several moments before stepping back. “I’ll get the horses saddled while you finish getting dressed.”
    After Gray made a quick trip to the bathroom, Ram was left alone in the cabin that had held so much promise. Maybe he was getting too far ahead of himself. Sure the explosive moments he’d enjoyed with Gray were memorable, but were they enough to pin his dreams on? The longer Ram thought about it, the madder he became. He’d left a damn good job to follow his cock. Maybe he was a bigger fool than he’d ever given himself credit for.

    * * * *

    By the time Gray left the police station, it was nearly three in the morning. He was tired, out of sorts and aching to be in Ram’s arms. He glanced at Raleigh and shook his head. She was sound asleep. “Wake up.”
    When Gray tried to nudge her shoulder, Raleigh groaned and swatted at his hand. “Leave me alone.”
    “I don’t think so. We can either do this now or when we get home, but you’re not going to bed until we get a few things settled.” Gray waited, his patience at an all-time low.
    Raleigh finally opened her eyes. “I had a couple of beers with my boyfriend. If the cops hadn’t been nosing around you wouldn’t even have known it.”
    Gray’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. The man they’d arrested was six years older than his niece. “What the hell are you doing going out with a twenty-three-year-old? I’ll be surprised if they don’t charge him with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
    Raleigh crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you really want to know, or is all this leading up to a speech about how you don’t want me to end up like my mother?”
    Gray glanced at Raleigh’s profile for several seconds before looking back at the road. He knew Rebecca’s abandonment had been hard on Raleigh, but the girl was starting to use it as an excuse whenever she got out of line. Although Gray felt bad about the way his sister had treated her daughter, he was tired of paying for Rebecca’s mistakes.
    “I’m sorry you were given a crappy mother, but I’m tired of you using it to get what you want. I’ve been right here for most of your life, and I’ve done everything in my power to make up for my sister. But don’t you think it’s time you started taking responsibility for your actions?”
    “My actions? Are you talking about Todd or what I do with every other man who steps foot on Sunset Ridge?”
    Gray pulled under the ornate ranch sign and stopped the truck. He turned off the engine. “I want names.”
    It was obvious by the wide smile on Raleigh’s face that she was enjoying herself. Gray only ever talked to her about the basics of sex. If Raleigh was trying to embarrass him into dropping the subject, she was about to be sorely disappointed. “Did you hear me?”
    “I heard you,” Raleigh replied. “Would you like the names of your employees or your customers?” As she asked the question, Raleigh looked over Gray’s shoulder.
    Gotcha. “You’ve never been a good liar,” Gray told her.
    “I’m not lying. I’m the biggest slut in Pulaski County next to my mother. Just ask your new manager.”
    Telling lies about herself