Nash: A Rough Romance by Piper Stone (book series for 12 year olds txt) 📕

I felt a sigh of relief coming on. Taking a couple of steps back, I opened the door wider. “That will take more than just a few seconds. Come in. I don’t belong here.”

I didn’t bother waiting to close the door behind her. Her heated gaze followed me as I moved toward the fire, the sound of the latch engaging forcing me to jump.

“Mitch. That’s a guy’s name.”

I almost laughed at her words. How many times had I explained the reason why? “Short for Michelle.”

“Well, Mitch, short for Michelle. I know you have a story. We all do.”

There was a lilt in her voice that intrigued me. “All?”

Her smile was genuine as she walked closer. “Heroes. Monsters. Sinner and saints. You haven’t heard that yet?”

I shook my head. “No. Does it mean something?”

“You haven’t been with Reaper long. Have you?”

A smile crept across my face. “I’m actually not with him.”

“But I thought you said…” Caroline shifted her gaze around the room, another round of apprehension settling in.

“Not exactly.”

“Girl. That’s what I said the first two times I met Cooper. I mean Scorpion. I’m not certain he’d like me telling you his real name.”

I found myself relaxing around her, as if we’d been friends for a very long time. “Okay. Reaper doesn’t like the name Nash. There has to be a reason.”

A smile curled on the side of her mouth. “That’s what I mean. I didn’t know Reaper’s name was Nash. All five of them have nicknames. That’s pretty much all I’ve ever heard.”

“Why?” Now I was genuinely curious.

She did another glance around the room. Maybe she was looking to see if I’d broken into Scorpion’s house. That would make sense after what I’d put her through.

“What they had to go through together changed them. They lost someone who was dear to all of them.” She finally turned toward me, lifting a single eyebrow. “But you should know that, unless Reaper doesn’t trust you.”

“He has no reason to trust me. And if you want to know why, it’s because I broke into a part of his house in the mountains and almost shot him.”

Caroline’s mouth twisted before breaking into nervous laughter. After a few seconds, her entire face sagged. “Well, if that’s the case then I think we might need a drink, even this early in the morning. Why don’t you follow me to the kitchen? I’ll see if I can wrangle up a Bloody Mary or maybe a mimosa. I think both of us might need it.”

Reaper

“You like her,” Scorpion said in his usual assertive manner, a grin slicing across his face.

“Can’t stand her.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why you couldn’t stop looking at her earlier, buddy.”

“I couldn’t stop looking at her because you never know when she’s going to strike.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes. “That’s the way it starts.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that the only women who can tolerate us have a mind and a will of their own. It also means that when you fall, you fall like a freaking ton of bricks slamming against a sidewalk.”

While Scorpion’s words actually made me chuckle, I knew there was some truth to them. Why? Because that’s the damn way I felt.

And I hated it.

Not because of the woman but because there was no way we could share a life together.

“Who is she?” I finally asked.

“Caroline Walker. One feisty, opinionated country girl from Nashville who appeared at Raunchy Ride.”

“So, you did take over your uncle’s bar.”

“It’s not just a bar, my friend. It’s a destination.”

“You love her?” It was none of my business, but I wanted to know. As if I would ever fall in love with a pigheaded northern chick.

I watched as he rubbed his jaw, pointing toward the glove compartment. “Open it up for me.”

Eyeing him for a few seconds, I did what he asked, finding a small black velvet box inside. The second I pulled it into my hands, I could swear I felt it burn. “This isn’t what I think it is.”

“Open it. Let me know what you think.”

Maybe I hesitated because it would remind me what a freaking fuckup I was, not worthy of finding anyone special. When I did, I couldn’t help but whistle. “You do have good taste, my friend. Big rock.”

“Caroline deserves it. She’s been the only one to tame the demons.”

Demons. I wasn’t certain if that would ever happen. “Then she’s one amazing lady.”

“Yeah. I need to call her and let her know what’s going on.”

“She keeps you on a tight leash.”

Scorpion snorted. “Actually, it’s the other way around, my friend. She obeys me.”

“Said like the big he-man. Funny how you need to call her.”

He lifted his middle finger, growling as if the sound would faze me. At least he’d found someone who could ease the pain.

“Mitch seems nice,” he said, his tone reserved.

“Nice. That means she’s not the one for me. The truth is, she’s one woman who refuses to take shit, even after all she’s been through. She’s tough, argumentative, nasty as well as rude, and refuses to follow orders, but damn if she isn’t one gorgeous lady.”

“Yup.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“That means you’re in love.”

“Bullshit! That’s never going to happen to me. Fucking never.”

Scorpion slowly turned his head, the big grin on his face one I wanted to wipe off. “Never say never, dude. It’ll cost ya.”

He shook his head as he made a turn onto a gravel road, the ornate sign indicating Big Meadow Ranch.

I don’t know why I bristled, but the thought of seeing Hawk again gave me mixed feelings. I’d had words with both Scorpion as well as Hawk before I’d left basecamp for anywhere other than Afghanistan or the United States. That had been just a day before Hawk had left for Montana after receiving news of the death of his brother. In truth, I was shocked that he’d agreed to take over the ranch. He’d never given a shit about it, at least after the day the six of us