Three Words (Whiskey River Road Book 3) Read online

  Three Words

  Whiskey River Road Book 3

  Kelly Moore

  Title

  Copyright © 2020 by Kelly Moore

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Sneak Peek at Kentucky Rain

  Chapter One

  About the Author

  Also by Kelly Moore

  Chapter One

  Ellie

  “Why, pray tell, are you all fire mad? You look angrier than our old mule chewing on bumblebees.” Wyatt slams his door and shoves the truck into drive.

  I reach over and smack him in the back of the head. “You knew Ian Daughtry was back in town, and you didn’t have the balls to tell me! It dills my pickle that my own flesh and blood wouldn’t warn me!” His name is sour against my tongue, sharp and jagged.

  “First of all, you don’t have a pickle. Secondly, I was hoping he’d stay clear of you so you wouldn’t find out he was temporarily back in Salt Lick. Watkins hired him to design his ranch-themed housing project.”

  “How the hell does he even know Watkins? He ain’t from around here.” I roll down the window to get fresh air blowing on my heated face.

  “No, but I’m sure Watkins asked around as to who would be the best man for the job. As much as you have it in for Ian, the man knows how to build.”

  “I never said I had it in for Ian.” I cut my eyes to him.

  “Oh really,” he snickers. “Then why was the last thing I heard you hollering at him as you shoved him out of your house was his mother should’ve swallowed?”

  I gnaw at the inside of my cheek. “He made me mad. Doesn’t mean I hate him.”

  “You two didn’t mesh well from the beginning. All you ever did was fight.”

  “And knock boots,” I add. “We did plenty of that.”

  Wyatt rolls his eyes. “I don’t care to hear about it. I walked in on enough of your shenanigans with your legs in the air.”

  I square my body toward his. “When’s the last time you banged a girl? Or maybe you’re into men.”

  His icy gaze stumbles to me as the truck bounces on the rutted dirt road. “Why is it you and Clem think I like men?”

  “It’s okay if you do. I’m not one to judge.” I blink owlishly in his direction.

  “I love women. Not men,” he says, bushy eyebrows knitted in a frown.

  “I think you protest too much.” A giggle is tucked into my words. I know he likes women. I just enjoy getting a rise out of him. He’s always so damn serious. “You and Margret got a thing going?”

  “What?” He jerks his gaze off the road. “No. We’re friends. Nothing more.”

  “You sure she knows that?” I twist my mouth into a smirk.

  “I’m positive.” His hands fidget on the steering wheel as if he’s hiding something.

  “You did the dirty with Margret, didn’t you?” I can’t hold back my laughter.

  He squints and presses his lips tight in a firm line. “That is none of your business.”

  “Get the June bug out of your ass already. I think you’d make a great pair. You in your stuffy white button-down shirts, and Margret with her fluffy dresses and froufrou hair. You’d be the talk of the town.” I love teasing him. His squared chin turns into a point, and his cheeks get all flustered.

  “Shut the hell up.”

  “I think Mr. Mayor had himself a romp in the hay.”

  He slams on the brakes. “So what if I did? It ain’t like you haven’t slept with every ranch hand in Salt Lick. Speaking of which, what the hell are you doing dating Watkins? He’s almost old enough to be your daddy. Besides the fact that he’s the enemy!”

  “Are you too blind to see I’m using him? He’s giving me his books to manage. I can keep a close eye on his land dealings, and we can get ahead of him.”

  “You’re playing with fire, Ellie. That man has friends in really low places.”

  “I ain’t afraid of him.” I shrug.

  “Please tell me you aren’t sleeping with him?” His eyes widen, either struggling to comprehend or with empathy. I can’t tell which.

  “No. I’m not. But I’m not sure how much longer I can play hard to get.”

  He pulls the truck back onto the dirt road, headed for Whiskey River Road. “That’s one thing you’ve never been accused of,” he mumbles clear enough for me to understand.

  I know that’s what the people in this town think of me, probably because it’s true. After Ian left, I needed comfort in the arms of someone else. That someone else turned out to be anyone I wanted. Too bad none of them could kill the fire in my heart I had with Ian. I may have screwed half the town, but I never let one of them put their mouth on mine. I couldn’t bear the thought of kissing another man. Ian’s sweet, full bottom lip had a dimple on it I loved to rub my tongue against. He kissed me like no boy ever had. He was all man who had me tingly with desire from one long, single kiss. It was all hot and breathy, not as if he were trying to win a battle with my tongue. More like he was seeking to soak me in the passion he felt for me. It was more sensual than sexual. Our breaths became one as our hearts played in tandem and synced together to sing a beautiful melody. I was frozen in time with our lips locked together. Some kisses just stay with you forever. His did that for me.

  “You okay?” Wyatt’s voice breaks my train of thoughts.

  I’m surprised when I glance around to see we’re parked in front of 104.

  “Didn’t you want me to bring you home?” He points to my house.

  “I’m fine,” I finally respond, hopping out of his truck. My boots hit the wooden porch hard as I race for the door. Rushing inside, I slam the door behind me and slide down onto the floor, resting my back against the grain of the wood.

  I can’t keep the stream of tears from flowing down my face. “Damn you, Ian Daughtry. You should’ve stayed gone.” I try to shake off my thoughts of him, but his handsome face fills in behind my eyelids. Dark coppery-brown hair, short in the back with a wisp of bangs that always fell on his broad forehead. And his eyes—lord help me—one blue, one brown, both saw right through me. He hated the dueling colors, but I found them sexy as sin. I never could convince him that his smoldering looks and unique eyes drew me to him in the first place. Not that the rest of his body wasn’t gorgeous. His chin was always covered in a two-day-old stubble he used to love to rub against the pale skin of my neck. His weather-darkened, well-muscled forearms were my favorite. Every time he’d flex, so would my lady parts. Not to mention his fingers. They were downright lethal between my legs. His chest was built like armor from long hours of handwork. Even though I loved him bare-chested, I found him even more arousing when his t-shirt strained over his muscles. The best
part besides his one-eyed dragon was his incredible back door. My mouth waters just thinking about how tight it was and how much I loved having my hands on his ass.

  Mother of all things glorious that make me wet and horny, I miss him. I beat the back of my head on the door, trying like hell to stave off my memories. “I mean, I hate you, Ian!” I shout. “I hate you for leaving me!”

  Getting off the floor, I run into my bathroom, opening every cabinet. When I find what I’m searching for, I hightail it over to Clem’s house and pound on her door.

  Boone opens it and looks past me. “Did you walk over here?” His brows furrow together.

  “Ran,” I say, out of breath.

  “I’ve never known you to run. Was something chasing you?” He puts his hand on my shoulder.

  I shake my head when I can finally stand tall. “Is Clem home?”

  “Yep.” He opens the door wider for me to step inside. “Clem, your sister is here,” he yells as he takes his cowboy hat off the hook by the door. “I was just leaving.”

  Clem comes out of the kitchen, holding a glass of iced tea. “I didn’t hear you pull up.”

  “She ran,” Boone says, placing a kiss on her cheek.

  “Good lord, what from?” She appears concerned.

  Boone snorts. “I said the same thing. I’ll be home as soon as I’m done with Missy’s riding lesson,” he says, closing the door behind him.

  Clem places her glass on the coffee table. “What has your mascara running down your pretty face,” she says as she walks over to me.

  “Nothing important.” I hold out a box of hair color. “I need you to help me dye my hair.”

  “Really? Your gold locks are so pretty. Why would you want to change it?”

  Before I can answer her, Boone walks back inside. “I forgot my keys,” he says, but his words slow when he sees the hair dye. “You found out he’s back in town, didn’t you?”

  I whirl in his direction. “You knew too!”

  He bites his bottom lip.

  “Knew what?” Clem’s confused.

  “I always knew Wyatt didn’t have balls, but I expected way more from you!” My hand firmly finds its place on my hip.

  “What’s she talking about?” Clem steps up beside me.

  “I gotta go.” Boone picks up his keys off the table and moves faster than I’ve ever seen getting out the front door.

  “Bastard,” I yell.

  “Ellie! Tell me what’s going on?”

  “Nothing I want to discuss. Are you going to help me or not?” I can’t bear the thought of talking about Ian.

  She yanks the box from my hand. “I’m always being left in the dark.” She marches into the kitchen and pulls out a chair from the table, and points for me to sit.

  I do, and she disappears into the bathroom, coming out holding towels. “So help me god, if you say if I wouldn’t have left, I’d know things, your hair is going to come out the color of Daddy’s prized pig.”

  I crinkle my nose. “Maybe I should go into town and have it professionally colored.” I rise from my chair, and Clem pushes me back down with a hand on my shoulder.

  “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me why your panties are in such a wad with my husband.”

  “Trust me, it’s not only him,” I snort.

  She mixes the ingredients together, and I drape a towel around my neck.

  “Who is he?”

  “Did you hear there was a guy at the Magnolia showing a picture of Daddy, trying to locate him?” I think quickly to change the subject.

  “No. Another thing no one tells me.” She slaps the brush of color on my hair.

  “Margret lied about knowing him. She’s going to try to find out what he’s up to. She said he’s staying at the Magnolia for an indefinite period of time.”

  “Does Daddy know?”

  “Not unless Wyatt told him.”

  “Since when have you become friendly with Margret?”

  “I’m helping her with her books.”

  “I’m glad the two of you are becoming friends. She’s not as terrible as everyone thought. She was very misguided by her father.”

  “I didn’t say we were friends. I said she hired me for my accounting skills. You’re way more forgiving than I am. If she’d of bonked my husband, law enforcement would still be searching for her body.”

  “Boone wasn’t mine at the time. I can’t hold that against her forever. Back to this guy. Who do you think he is, and what did Daddy do to him?”

  I shrug. “Not a clue.”

  “I hope it doesn’t mean more trouble for this ranch. We’ve had our share with Margret’s father and Watkins. Speaking of Watkins, you need to stay clear of him. Boone says he’s a dangerous man.”

  “You let me worry about Watkins.”

  She stops putting color in my hair and moves in front of me. “You changed the subject on purpose, didn’t you?” Her eyes narrow. “Your hair is going to remain half auburn if you don’t spill the beans.”

  “Fine!” I snap.

  She looks at the brush in her hand. “Why am I dying your hair this color anyway?”

  “Ian Daughtry.”

  Color drops on the floor as she waves the brush in the air. “A little more information is needed.”

  “He’s the man that broke my heart when he skipped town.”

  Clem can’t contain her gasp. “You’ve never told me about any such person.” Her righteousness comes out when she props her wrists on her hips. “And neither has Boone. Bastard!”

  “Oh, you can call him names, but when I do, my panties are in a wad.” I can’t hold back my snort of laughter.

  “He’s mine. I can call him whatever I want. You, on the other hand, can’t. Are you going to tell me more about this man that broke your heart, or do I toss the rest of this color in the garbage?” Her gaze goes back and forth between me and the trash can.

  “I can’t dredge it all up again.” My words get caught, tangled in a sob threatening to rain down.

  Clem blows out a sigh and starts painting my hair again. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”

  Chapter Two

  Bear

  “Don’t give Uncle Boone a hard time today,” I yell out my truck window as Missy runs toward Moonshine, not bothering to look back. My seven-year-old is going on twenty. She’s determined to one day ride her own horse in the Kentucky Derby. She’s become totally obsessed, thinking she’s ready now, and Boone tries to rein Missy in, teaching her slowly.

  I feel for him. She can be a handful at times. Since Nita’s been gone, she seems to think it’s her job to take care of me. I know I moped around for several months. I thought for sure, given a little space and time, Nita would find her way back to us. At some point, I let my anger take over and decided enough was enough. Her actions, or non-actions, made her decision pretty darn clear. The only thing is, she ruined me for other women. Not that I haven’t had the ladies throwing themselves at me on stage, but I just haven’t been interested. She stole my heart and, evidently, my ability to have casual sex. I tried with a pretty gal who was doing her best to get in my jeans, but my dipstick wouldn’t cooperate. I wasn’t too disappointed. She wasn’t my type. Pretty, but she only had one oar in the water. Damsels in distress aren’t my thing anymore. They are too much trouble, which is something I steer away from for Missy’s sake. I don’t want her heart broken again.

  Parking outside the diner, I see Ian Daughtry walking out with Watkins. I wonder if he knows what he’s getting himself into with his new boss.

  “Hey, Bear!” he says, moseying toward me.

  “Ellie know you’re back in town?” I’m none too friendly with Watkins at his side.

  His gaze slides to Watkins, then back at me. “I’m here on business, nothing more.”

  Watkins squares his body toward Ian. “You know Ellie Calhoun?”

  The way he says it, I have a feeling he’s toying with Ian. He knows damn good and well they know each other. I
’d bet my life on it.

  “We’re old acquaintances.”

  “Is that what you call it?” I can’t help but out him. He left Ellie brokenhearted.

  “Whatever your relationship with her in the past was, is over. She and I are together.” Watkins tugs up his dress slacks under his gut as if he’s a proud rooster.

  “I think you’re reading too much into your working relationship with my sister.”

  “She works for you?” Ian seems genuinely surprised.

  “Is it an issue?” Watkins puffs out his chest. “I’m paying you handsomely to design my housing project. Any issues you have with her will not get in my way.” He storms off toward his expensive sports car.

  “Good luck working with him, man. The ranchers in this town don’t much care for the likes of Watkins.”

  Ian takes his cowboy hat off and wipes his brow. “I can’t help what he’s already done. I can only protect the land he’s building on and keeping the natural resources he has on it so it won’t hurt the people in this town.”

  “He raped them of their properties.”

  “I hear he paid top dollar for their land.”

  I shove my finger in his shoulder. “Maybe you should check out the devil before you get in bed with him.” I bump his shoulder with mine as I walk into the diner.

  Taking my usual booth, which is where I first saw Nita, I sit. I’ve been coming here every Friday since she left. I should give up the notion she’ll show up, but it’s one I haven’t been able to let go of so easily.

  Mildred comes from behind the counter with a white mug of coffee. “Do you want today’s special?”