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Her father just needed time to heal. Her sister was in the wind, but maybe Colton could pull some strings there and find her. He had a lot of contacts in Europe.
The beat of a fast tune blasted out as the bouncer admitted them to Badlands. As soon as Colton stepped inside, he began casing the joint, examining every man bellied up to the bar and in every corner.
Then he spotted Gabby—the one who’d clung to him far too much for his liking. He let out a groan.
Webb’s hand came down on his shoulder. “Don’t let her hang on you tonight. You’ll never get a man to talk to you if she’s within a dozen steps.”
He glanced at Webb, surprised by the sudden show of camaraderie. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
Webb thumped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry—I got you. I’ll tell her you’re gay.”
Despite himself, Colton felt a chuckle rumble in his throat. Though it was definitely unexpected, for the first time in a long time, he felt like someone had his six.
* * * * *
Meadow woke to the lamp burning on her nightstand. A glance at the windows showed deep darkness.
Disoriented, she scrubbed a hand over her face to clear away the haze of sleep and sat up in bed.
She glanced down at herself and saw she’d fallen into bed fully clothed. What day was it? What time? Where was Colton?
After returning from a day spent at her father’s bedside, she’d come home exhausted from doing nothing for days on end. Since Colton was busy with ranch chores, she climbed into bed and immediately passed out.
Now her mouth felt dry and sticky, her mind fuzzy, and a slight headache throbbed in her temples.
She couldn’t even recall when she’d last eaten a meal. Colton made her a sandwich—but that was the day before.
Moving to the edge of the bed, she reached for her phone, thinking to text him. A notification popped up.
She had new emails.
Rattled, she hastily threw her long hair over her shoulder and opened her email.
Seeing Ivy’s name had her heart leaping and her mouth even drier. She skimmed the message. Her sister’s voice came through loud and clear in her mind as she read how sorry she was that she hadn’t received the messages—she lost her phone swimming in a pond in Germany and hadn’t bought a new one yet. She only checked her email at a cyber café in the South of France.
Meadow plastered her hand over her face. That was just like Ivy.
She read the note over again, slower this time, taking in all the details. She told Meadow she was coming home. She would catch a flight out at the beginning of the week and asked her to pick her up at the airport.
When she read Ivy’s sadness over their father, tears blurred Meadow’s vision. She set aside her phone and dug her thumb and forefinger into her eyes to stave off the emotion.
She did not want to cry. The past few days had left her nose sore from wiping. She had to collect herself. It would be great to have Ivy around, but Meadow was always the strong one. She would have to keep her sister on track.
Excitement burned in her. She had to tell Colton the good news.
A glance at the time told her it was close to midnight. Colton hadn’t come to bed. Where was he?
It was Friday night—at least she thought it was. The guys would either be at Badlands or sitting around the campfire.
She raked her fingers through her messy locks before leaving her room in search of Colton. The old truck he drove sat in the same spot in front of the garage. So he hadn’t gone to the bar with the others. It was unlikely he would have ridden with any of them. He was too much of a loner for that.
That meant he had to be sitting by the fire.
But as soon as she walked out of the house, she sniffed the air and found it absent of the sweet scent of burning wood that always drifted to her when the guys had a fire.
Damn him. That meant he did go to the bar. Without her.
And that horrible woman Gabby would be there trying to sink her claws into him.
