Page 27 of Bray
She swallowed. “Not Chase. I know his father, Conrad. He, um, wants to buy my ranch.”
That was news to me. “I didn’t know you were interested in selling.”
“Yeah, Kat, you love that ranch,” Lainey added, then took a nibble from a sauce covered rib she held in her hand.
Kitten blushed and grabbed the bowl of green beans from Shep who sat on her other side. I now knew that pretty pink color matched the color of her nipples.
“I don’t want to sell,” she admitted. “I told him no.”
“And?” Colt prodded, knowing there had to be more to it with that fucker.
“And he’s… persistent.”
Colt’s gaze flicked to mine and I knew what the look meant.Persistent, how?
“Did he hurt you?” I asked, my voice low and even, trying not to scare my girl. I had eight brothers at this table all ready to go to the state prison and deal with Trout if she said yes. “Is he forcingyouinto marriage now?”
The Camden property was smaller than the Mann ranch, but equally valuable. Water access, grazing, views.
She shook her head. “Nothing like that. Only threats. He blocked the creek above my property line. Cut a fence, although I have no proof it was him who did either. It’s not like I have cameras or can watch every section of my ranch.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. No one threatenedmy girl. I’d have to deal with him, but seeing Colt’s gaze, I knew that wasn’t going to happen in an illegal manner.
Kitten looked my way. “Why would I?”
I clenched my teeth. “Because you’re mine.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m Lainey’s friend. I can take care of myself, Bray.”
“Of course, you can,” Pops piped in, buttering one of Ma’s famous homemade rolls. I looked at him and he arched a brow.
I had no idea what the fuck that look meant. Back off? Toss her over my shoulder and show her she didn’t need to take care of herself any longer, that I was there to protect her from now on?
If dinner wasn’t hot and I needed to ensure Kitten ate something, I might do just that. She needed to eat. Something filling and healthy. She needed to feel like she wasn’t alone any longer. As mine, she got all the Wilders.
Colt pushed on. “Well, the man from the bar last night, the nephew, he left this morning with his two friends and are back in Boise where they live.”
“You sure?” I asked, even though I knew he was. Colt was good at his job and wouldn’t have left anything to chance, especially if it came to someone fucking with our family.
And Kitten was family.
“I went to the Trout place. Conrad Trout’s in Aruba.” He added the first name to keep all the people in that family straight. The two sons who were close in age to Shep and Zeb and a daughter I didn’t know much about. I didn’t know about the nephew either and had no idea if there were any other members of that family. I wondered if they were all assholes.
“While I believed the housekeeper, I checked flight records, which confirm it,” he continued. “As for the nephew and friends, their plane’s manifest had them on the nine a.m. flight, which means–”
“None of them could have tossed that rock,” I finished for him.
“What happened?” Beau asked.
“Someone threw a rock through the front window of my house,” Kitten told him.
“What a mess!” Lainey added. “I want to find that guy and–”
“You were there?” Beau directed his question directly to Lainey. His voice went deeper and he had a glint in his eye I recognized. Possessiveness.
Lainey bit her lip and nodded.
“Maybe they paid someone to do it?” I asked Colt, tossing a possibility out there. I wanted whoever did this found. I needed Kitten to know she was safe in her own home. Hell,Ineeded to know she wassafe.
