Page 37 of The Cowboy's Downfall
“Why’s Remi being clingy?” Shauna asked. “Did you give him a reason to think you and he are a couple?”
“A couple,” Taryn sneered, her voice dripping sarcasm. “You let a guy slide into home plate once or twice and he thinks he owns you.”
“Taryn,” Shauna breathed, sounding so horrified that Nix was amused. She had a naked man hiding in her bedroom. He wondered if she saw the hypocrisy, or if she believed the rules for teenagers were somehow different. He and Peg had been going at it like rabbits at Taryn’s age. He and Shauna just had sex twice, and he was revved up for a third.
“What?” He heard a cupboard door open and close, then the fridge. “Mind if I grab a beer?”
Say yes.That might put her to sleep.
“Go ahead.” Shauna sounded as if she’d given up.
Come on, Shauna. Lighten up. Your sister might be out of control, but she’s also normal. She’s trying to put herself on equal footing with you.
He heard the crack and a hiss as Taryn popped the tab on a can.
“Remi can’t handle competition,” she said.
“Who’s the competition?”
That question spiked Nix’s interest. If Taryn was sleeping with two different guys in the clinic, he needed to know.
“He heard a rumor, that’s all. He’s making a big deal out of nothing.”
Nix relaxed. He wasn’t going to have two teenaged boys trying to kill each other—as long as there was no truth to the rumor.
“Is this the same rumor Nora’s mother told me about?” Shauna asked.
“Did Nora blab?” Now Taryn was outraged. Man. Girls swung moods like pro ball players swung bats. This was better drama thanThe Bachelorette.
“I don’t care where her mother heard it. It started with you, and we both know it’s not true,” Shauna said.
The hair on Nix’s arms stood straight up. He sat up straight in bed.No.
No, no, no.
The rumor had better not be about him.
“How do you know it’s not true?” Taryn demanded.
“Because I know Dan. I also know the other owners of the Endeavour. They aren’t about to let anyone on the ranch do anything that reflects poorly on them.”
Dammit.
It was about him. Shauna’s carefully worded response told him as much—she knew he could hear. She’d wanted to talk to him about Taryn when he arrived, he remembered, and he’d asked if it could wait. Next time she wanted to talk, he’d ask for more details before setting a conversation aside.
“Don’t be such a drama queen. It’s a little spilt tea for the old ladies. No one cares what Nix does. Or who,” Taryn said nastily, adding the last bit in an obvious attempt to rub her sister the wrong way.
And that was when Nix thought he knew what her hostility toward Shauna was really about.
Taryn was jealous of her big sister.
Not over him. But because Shauna was beautiful and polished and smart, and in Taryn’s eyes, she came close to perfect. She’d likely been held up as the family’s gold standard. And everyone made sure that Taryn knew she was not.
He was collateral damage in a war that Shauna didn’t even know was in progress.
“Turn the lights out before you go to bed,” Shauna said to Taryn. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
A few moments later, she closed the bedroom door. She held up a finger for him to stay quiet and pressed her ear to the door. There was a long stretch of silence, then the television came on.
