Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume VIII. Kimberly Raye

struggling, and so he’d given them a place to stay and a chance to make something of themselves. They were now the hottest riders on the circuit and the family he’d never had.

      J.R. didn’t see it that way. He despised the Lost Boys, and Pete even more for being their leader.

      Rightly so. The whole town knew that Pete went out of his way to yank the sheriff’s chain. Partly because J.R. was a pompous ass who thought he was better than everyone, but mostly because it was just so much fun.

      Why, he would have ridden DeeDee down Main Street tonight if she’d been in any kind of shape.

      Pete held tight to the thought, ignored the crying in his shoulder that told him he wasn’t going anywhere except into another hot shower and arched an eyebrow at his brother. “Does J.R. know his pride and joy is coming out to our place tonight?”

      Wade frowned and handed Pete a blanket for DeeDee. “Probably not, but it doesn’t matter. Ginny’s almost eighteen. She can do what she wants. And James will be here.”

      James was J.R.’s oldest son, Ginny’s older brother and a once-upon-a-time bull rider. Pete had trained with him way back when and they’d actually forged a friendship based on mutual respect. A fact which made J.R. hate Pete that much more.

      “Besides,” Wade went on, “the sheriff might not like me now, but that’ll change. Once Ginny and I get married and have kids—”

      “Wait a second,” Pete cut in. “You’re not telling me—”

      “No, no. We’re not getting married now, and we sure as shootin’ ain’t having a kid. But after she graduates college and I win the PBR finals, it’ll be time. We won’t let anyone stop us then.”

      “After you go to college and then win the PBR finals,” Pete added, relief washing through him.

      “Ain’t that what I said?”

      “No, you said Ginny was going to college and you were going to the PBR finals.”

      Wade shrugged. “What difference does it make?”

      “It makes all the difference in the world. I already told you, you’re not climbing onto a bull in a professional arena unless you’ve got a degree under your belt. That was our agreement. I’ll teach you everything I know while you go to school, but you’re not hitting the circuit until you graduate.”

      “About that …” Wade started and Pete shook his head.

      “There’s no ‘about that.’ You’re going to college, Wade. We already talked about this.”

      “I’m much better with bulls than I am with calculus.”

      “All the more reason to stick it out. Just because something’s tough doesn’t mean you quit.” Their mother had quit on them by drowning herself in a bottle, an example Pete never intended to follow. “We don’t quit.” He eyed his brother. “You and me, we never quit.” Not back when he’d been dirt-poor with a six-year-old depending on him, and not now that he had his own spread and a great career.

      When his little brother didn’t look half as certain as Pete felt, he added, “I bet Hooker would be even more inclined to come around if his daughter was settling down with a college-educated bull rider.” Not that J.R. would ever come around as long as Wade’s last name was Gunner, but Pete didn’t want to say that. Not when Wade looked so hopeful.

      “You think so?” Wade asked.

      “It’s worth a shot. That is, if you really like this girl.”

      “I don’t like her, Pete. I love her.” Wade said the words with such conviction that Pete almost believed him. Except that Wade was young, his hormones raging, and it was too damned easy at his age to mistake lust for love.

      What’s more, Pete didn’t necessarily believe in love. Not the give-it-all-up, do-anything-and-everything-to-hold-on-to-it kind that people wrote about in books and bad country songs.

      Lust?

      Now that he believed in.

      He pictured a certain stubborn marketing executive and his groin tightened. Okay, so maybe he was lusting after her. How could he help himself? They had chemistry. Fierce. Immediate. Inexplicable.

      While he couldn’t begin to understand the pull, it was still there. Burning him up from the inside out and making him want to forget everyone and everything and take her to bed right here and now.

      If only Wendy was a here-and-now kind of hookup. She’d watched her father live in the fast lane, however, and so she’d put the brakes on in her own life. She was settled now, and he wasn’t. Settling down meant slowing down in Pete’s book, and that was the last thing he ever intended to do.

      Even if his aching shoulder had other ideas.

      No, as much as he wanted to, he wasn’t sleeping with Wendy Darlington.

      “We’ll talk about all this later,” he announced, eager to get out of his own head and forget the damned heat licking at his nerve endings. He finished covering DeeDee with the blanket and pushed to his feet. “Right now we need to get cleaned up.” He grinned and winked at his younger brother. “It’s time to party.”