Rough Stock by Dahlia West Page A

picked up the phone instead of Walker. They aren’t back yet from the campsite, but they should be here any minute.”
    So Sawyer had spoken to Edith.
    “And you told him?” Seth accused his younger brother.
    Sawyer rubbed his chin and grimaced. “Not exactly, no. I mean, I was surprised , when she said she didn’t know you had a little girl.”
    Seth snorted.
    “And I couldn’t think what she’d be on about, but then when she asked me about Mac Archer’s order, I put two and two together.” Sawyer shot a surreptitious look at Court, who was still pacing. “I had the office door open. I didn’t know Court was in the living room.” Sawyer searched Seth’s face for a moment before muttering a curse of his own. “So, old Edith had it mostly right, huh?” he mused. “Right family. Wrong daddy.”
    Seth blew out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
    “Well,” Sawyer continued, “he’s been dialing and redialing for about ten minutes now, working himself up to a decent lather because no one at the Archer place will pick up the damn phone.”
    “You know her Dad’s in the hospital,” Seth reminded Sawyer. “Heart attack.”
    Sawyer winced. “I think I could imagine better timing in all this.”
    “And we both know Court’s not the type to sit on this for a few days, if only to let Rowan get things with her Dad settled.”
    A sardonic grin spread across Sawyer’s face. “Now that would require Court to think about someone other than Court. And we can hope in one hand and sh—”
    “Yeah, I got it. There’s no way,” Seth snapped.
    Court finally disconnected the phone, spotted Seth, and stalked across the circular driveway toward them. “Is it true?” he demanded before he even reached them.
    Seth sighed. “I…don’t know exactly what the situation is,” he replied carefully.
    The secret to keeping Court calm was keeping yourself calm. He seemed to feed off bad energy like some kind of sickly vampire sometimes. It didn’t seem to be a winning strategy today, though.
    Court jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t fuck with me, Seth. Does Rowan have a little girl? One who looks like me?”
    Seth didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
    “ God damn it! ” Court spat. “This is unreal. Unbelievable! ”
    “Court,” Seth said evenly. “She’s going through a rough time right now and—”
    “To hell with that!” Court snapped. “A rough time? Oh, I’m going to give her a rough fucking time!”
    Even Sawyer, normally lighthearted, frowned intensely.
    For all his faults, Court would never hit a woman. Never. Not once. But he could be a cutting bastard when he got going, and Rowan was in no state right now to handle that side of him.
    Court turned and headed straight for his truck.
    Seth lunged for him and grabbed his arm. “Now wait a minute! You need to think about what you’re going to do.”
    “I know exactly what I’m going to do! I’m going over there!” Court insisted. “And I’m going to make her look me in the eye and tell me what in the hell she’s been thinking all these years!”
    “Court,” Seth replied, “there’s a little girl here.”
    Court glared at him, eyes slitted like a rattler. He even hissed like one. “That would be the fucking point.”
    “You know what I mean,” Seth argued. “You need to calm down and realize that this isn’t about you. Or Rowan. It’s about that little girl and what she needs. She’s just a kid, Court. Okay? And Rowan is, too. Or, at least, she was when she made this decision.”
    “A decision she made without me !” Court growled.
    “So it really doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” Seth continued. “Or who did what to whom five years ago.”
    Court didn’t look like any of this was getting through, but Seth kept trying anyway. For Rowan, for the little girl, and for Court, too, if he’d put aside his rage long enough to realize it.
    “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” Seth repeated. “You and