Cowboy Take Me Away Part 22

"Who was she?" the woman cooed.

"n.o.body."

The f.u.c.k she was. She was everything.

Let it go. Let her go. You planned to do this, remember?

That was the last f.u.c.king thing he wanted to do. p.i.s.sed off-mostly at himself and his G.o.dd.a.m.n cowardice-he took another long pull from his flask. Waited a minute for the booze to quell the burning inside him. No help. He still wanted to punch someone.

Good thing there was an abundance of drunken a.s.sholes who'd jump into a fight without much prompting.

The brunette's hand slithered up his torso from his belt buckle, stopping on his chest. "Where were we? You mentioned something about going back to your place."

The thought of having this woman in his bed-the bed he'd had Carolyn in just two nights ago-caused a sick churning in his gut. "Sorry. Not in the cards tonight."

"But you said..."

"I changed my mind." Carson walked off.

She shouted something at him but he didn't care.

He kept a spare bottle in his truck. After several mouthfuls of Windsor, he went looking for trouble.

Immediately he saw his target. Bob Delray. Big-mouth, know-it-all a.s.shole. And he had a couple of his loser buddies backing him. Even better. With any luck, all four of them would jump in.

He'd barely reached the edge of the group when he heard "McKay" and then snide laughter. He marched up to Bob, who had an inch on Carson's six-foot-two frame. Bob outweighed him by a good fifty pounds, but all of that was fat.

"Heard my name," Carson said, getting right in Bob's business. "Got something to say to me?"

"Don't recall speaking directly to you, McKay, so just keep walkin'."

"How about I don't. How about I stay right f.u.c.kin' here until you prove you can keep that fat trap of yours shut."

Bob stepped forward, his gut leading the way. "How about you make me."

Carson's answer was an uppercut to Bob's jaw. Before Bob recovered, Carson nailed him in the sternum.

Since Bob was still swinging as he went down, Carson connected with a right cross to Bob's ear and another one to his jaw.

That was the last punch he got in before Bob's buddies jumped him.

f.u.c.kers had him pinned down so he couldn't fight back-but he sure as f.u.c.k wasn't letting these p.u.s.s.ies get the best of him. He managed to crack one guy in the nose with his head and the guy dropped to his knees, yelling about his busted face.

He didn't know how many hits and kicks he'd sustained-his head had gone woozy from the booze and the pain-when the guys pounding on him went flying.

Someone hauled him upright to his feet by his biceps.

Carson wiped the blood from his eye and spit a mouthful of red goo on the ground. He swayed and someone tried to bolster him, but he jerked away. He was on his G.o.dd.a.m.n feet. He didn't need any help staying there.

A loud roar sounded. He glanced over to see Cal, Casper and Charlie doling out punishment to Bob's friends and a couple of other guys who'd stupidly tangled with them.

A crowd had gathered to watch the show.

Carson rested his hands on his knees, trying to breathe through the pain. f.u.c.k. His ribs, his back, his head all throbbed. When he looked up, he saw three more guys rolling in the dirt and Cal and Charlie looming above them.

Then Casper took an elbow to the gut, which spurred him to tackle the guy and whale on him until Charlie tapped him on the shoulder.

"Anyone else?" Cal shouted, spinning in a circle.

"The McKays starting fights," someone yelled from the back. "Big surprise."

"And we always finish fights," Charlie snapped back. "Come up here and say it to our face, coward."

No one stepped forward.

"Anyone else wanna have a go at us? We're ready."

For a moment Carson thought the entire crowd might rush them. But then they slowly backed away.

"Not that it matters, but you wanna tell us what the f.u.c.k that was about?" Cal asked.

Carson bent down and picked up his hat. "I was walkin' by Bob and he made a crack about the McKays. Couldn't let it slide."

Charlie said, "Dad is gonna rip into us when he hears about this."

"Let him." Casper sneered. "Wasn't like we had a choice. He'd yell at us just as bad if he found out we let the number one son get a beatin' and we didn't step in to save him."

"f.u.c.k you, Casper," Carson said. Even when Casper wasn't being an a.s.shole, he somehow managed to turn into one.

"How bad you hurt this time?" Cal asked.

"I'm fine. I just need to walk it off." Sleep it off would be better. But even in his boozed and beaten state Carson knew the second he closed his eyes, he'd see Carolyn's face. The torment in her eyes when she noticed he had his arm around another woman. The way she seemed to shrink into herself when she believed he'd used her and was discarding her.

Rage roared inside him again. His fist might've connected with the metal hood of the car behind him if not for Cal lunging and knocking him sideways. "What the h.e.l.l, Ca.r.s.e?"

"He's drunk," Casper said.

Not drunk enough. He didn't know if there was enough booze in the world to numb the pain.

"Leave him alone," Charlie said. "Let's go back into the dance. See if any of the ladies wanna get with us."

"Fine, but you ain't drinkin', pup."

They disappeared.

Cal positioned himself across from Carson as they leaned against the doors of somebody's cars. "You wanna tell me what's really goin' on?"

"I can help with that."

Carson faced the guy, recognizing him as another one of Carolyn's f.u.c.kin' brothers. "If you're gonna hit me, you'd better make sure you knock me the f.u.c.k out with the first shot. 'Cause I ain't goin' down easy." Especially not for a West again.

"Yeah. I saw that."

"Who're you? Cal demanded.

"Thomas West. Carolyn's brother."

Cal snarled, "What the f.u.c.k do you want, West?"

"To talk to Carson."

"You gonna talk to me like your brothers talked to me?"

Thomas stepped closer. "What'd they do?"

"Harland slammed me up against the barn and tried to choke me. Darren stopped by and said he'd drop a couple of diseased sheep into my cattle herd. Marshall said sparks from the railroad are known to start gra.s.s fires in prime grazin' land. Stuart was the least creative but the most to the point. He said he'd beat me to death with a hammer if I ever came near Carolyn again."

"Jesus."

"When the h.e.l.l did this happen?" Cal asked, dumbfounded.

"Last two days." Carson reached for his flask, but remembering he'd left it in his truck, he dropped his hand. "Don't bother warnin' me off your sister. I'm done with her."

Thomas roared and grabbed the front of Carson's s.h.i.+rt. Then they were nose to nose. "Just like that? You walk-h.e.l.l, you f.u.c.king ran away from my sister because they told you to?"

Carson pushed him back. "Shut up."

"I saw what you did to her tonight. Acting like you were with someone else. I just hope she made it home okay because she was crying so d.a.m.n hard-"

"I said shut up." Carson stared at him, seething, thoughts of Carolyn driving into a ditch flas.h.i.+ng in his brain.

"So it is true. What my dad has always said. The McKays are scared of the Wests."

Cal got in Thomas's face. "Bulls.h.i.+t."

"There's your proof." Thomas pointed to Carson. "Your brother is running scared. Being a jacka.s.s to my sister, breaking her heart because that's what my older brothers want. What about what you want?" He gave Carson a sneering once-over. "I saw you beat the c.r.a.p out of five guys tonight, McKay. Because you thought some guy insulted you. But you're just gonna lay down like a whipped dog for my brothers after they gave you the ultimate insult? They told you that you aren't good enough for Carolyn? So you're going to prove it? You won't take them on and fight for my sister?"

"Why do you care? I thought you'd be happy. Ain't you the one tryin' to get her to move to Denver or Chicago instead of bein' stuck livin' here?"

"I never wanted to make that decision for her; I just made sure she knew she had options."

"So I'm an option?"

Thomas stared at him. "You were."

f.u.c.k this "were" s.h.i.+t.

"You screwed up bad tonight," Thomas said. "You hurt her. I wanted to bust your b.a.l.l.s for that alone. But I'm not like my brothers. Beating the c.r.a.p out of you and threatening you...that's not what Carolyn would want. And I'm only doing this for her."

"Doin' what?"

"Helping you. And before you get that 'f.u.c.k you I don't need your help, you piece of s.h.i.+t West' look, listen up: you do need my help. You want to be with her, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it. You'll have to grovel, bare your heart and soul and all that embarra.s.sing, romantic c.r.a.p women love, and f.u.c.king mean it for her to even talk to you. Words can only go so far."

Probably not a good idea to say that getting her naked would be the best way to prove it.

Cal said, "So he's supposed to march up to your front door and say, 'f.u.c.k you all, I don't give a s.h.i.+t what threats you made or what you think, I'm takin' Carolyn out on a date and you'd better get used to seein' me around'?"

"Yes."

"No way," Cal said hotly. "He'll have to show up armed with your brothers gunning for him."

"That's your solution? He walks into my G.o.dd.a.m.ned house armed?" Thomas shot back.

"There's no other way I'm letting my brother walk into a roomful of Wests."

"I'll do it," Carson said softly.

"Ca.r.s.e-"

"Cal. I'm not walkin' away from her." He looked at his brother. "Thomas is right. I'm actin' like a p.u.s.s.y. I backed down because I thought..." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "That's the problem. I wasn't thinkin' straight. I am now." He locked his gaze to Thomas's. "Think your dad sent his sons after me instead of comin' for me himself?"

"No. I don't think my brothers have told our dad about you or I doubt Carolyn would've been allowed to leave the house tonight."

"She's an adult. She's been responsible for herself since she was twelve."

"It's screwed up, okay? Our mom sent her away because she wanted something more for her. Yet when Carolyn comes home, things go back to her doing everything for us. I guarantee our father won't be happy when a McKay shows up for his daughter." Thomas's eyes searched his. "Did you know that my dad and your dad crossed paths years ago?"

"No. What happened?"

"Words were exchanged, fists were involved and my dad put your dad in the hospital."

"Christ. I didn't know about that."

Thomas shrugged. "I wouldn't have known either if I hadn't asked my dad's friend Roscoe about it. My dad goes ballistic whenever the McKay name is mentioned."

"Any idea what prompted the fight between your old man and mine?"

"Word is it doesn't take much for the McKays to get p.i.s.sed off and come out swinging. So I'm guessing, like father like sons-no offense."

"f.u.c.k you. I am offended because I didn't start this one; your brothers did. Who's to say your dad didn't jump my dad back then?" Carson demanded.

"Seems like attack and retreat is the Wests' style," Cal said with a sneer.

"You wanna stand here and speculate about s.h.i.+t that happened before any of us were born?"