My mom picks up with a hum as she sings the word hello. She seems extremely unbothered, and then I remember that today is Thursday. Mom loves Thursdays, she spends them with her group of girlfriends and has brunch, she always comes home tipsy and I swear a bit high at the same time.
“Have you heard from Sybilla or Liv?” I ask, almost demanding and harshly so.
There is a pause and she clears her throat. “Oh, you know your sisters,” she sings.
Um. I do, which is why I’m asking her. If it were Dru, I could buy that, but this isn’t Dru, these are my annoyingly responsible older sisters. She doesn’t sound like she’s as worried as Dru made it out to seem.
“I do, which is why I’m concerned. Dru said she hasn’t heard from Sybilla and that you haven’t either. Then she said she sent Liv on a mission to find her and she hasn’t heard from Liv now either. I’m concerned, Mom.”
“I was worried, but now I feel in my gut that they’re fine. I had a dream about them.”
I blink, unbelieving that my mother is claiming that a dream made her feel all better about the fact that they’re gone. That they are missing.
“What did you dream?” I ask with a heavy sigh.
There is a moment of silence and I hear fabric rustling around. “I’m getting comfy with my blanket. This dream was spectacular,” she says, then begins to tell me this fantastical story about knights, kings, queens, flying horses, dragons, and Vikings.
“Mom,” I say with a warning.
“Oh, and Liv is pregnant and Sybilla has just had a baby. It’s just so wondrous. I know they’re perfectly fine, Birdie, I wouldn’t have had such a warm and beautiful dream if they weren’t.”
My mom has to be high as a kite. “Is Dad there?” I ask.
“He’s not, but I’m telling you, Birdie, they are safe and happy. I am not worried about them at all. Not anymore.”
I end the call shortly after, feeling defeated. I don’t know what to do and my stomach keeps twisting and cramping. Something is wrong, no matter what my mom thinks, her silly dream doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy at all. In fact, I feel the exact opposite after hearing about it.
I just want my sisters back.
Wherever they are, they need to just come home.
Chapter One
TWO MONTHS LATER
COLT
I don’t know her name, though I don’t need to. She’s here for one purpose only, she is here to provide a service. She sinks to her knees, her white long undergarment covering her nakedness, except for the expanse of her chest, the ties open just enough, her corset pushing everything up for my viewing pleasure.
She opens her mouth, taking me inside of her, something that not many women or soiled doves do, in fact, she is the first that I’ve found who provides this service. Lifting my hand, I bury my fingers in her curls and gently tug her forward.
I happily pay extra for this right here.
Once I’ve spent down her throat, I take a step back and give her a wink as I pull up my wool pants and fasten the waist. Dipping my chin, I look down at her with a grin. She has a bit of sweat forming on her brow as she wipes the corners of her lips.
“I’ll see you again soon,” I announce before turning and walking out of the room.
Bessie is standing on the other side, a little too involved in my comings and goings at the Blue Bird Theatre. She gives me a coy smile and I have no doubt that she has business she would like to discuss with me.
“I hear they’re pressuring you to take a wife,” she practically purrs.
Arching a brow, I place my hands on my hips and wait for her punchline. If she asks me to marry her, I don’t think that I could keep my decorum. I might just laugh straight in her face.
I need her just as much as she needs me, and not just for the ladies that live beneath her bordello’s roof, but also because she is a pillar of our community and an asset—financially. Her lips curve up into a grin as she takes a step toward me.
“You need a wife and I have a whole house full of eligible maidens. Pick one, let’s forge an empire, Colton.”
I almost laugh in her face. If she weren’t completely serious, I think that I might have. But Bessie is being serious and I’m wondering just what she has in mind.
“I could procure an unused one for you, Colton,” she offers.
Without a word, I turn my back to her and leave the bordello, her watching after me. I don’t want a wife and I certainly don’t want a soiled dove to share my personal bed, my name, or bear my children.
Jogging down the stairs, through the bar and the men who are piled in, shoulder to shoulder. They’re drinking, gambling, and enjoying the women onstage just as much as the ones milling around looking for someone to take them up on a few hours of fun.
Lonesable is waiting for me in the same spot I tied him off. Though I don’t really need to tie him off, he’s the most loyal animal I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
“Hey fella, you miss me?”
He neighs, but I hear his voice crisp and clear in my head. You have your fun?
Chuckling, I swing up into the saddle, and click my tongue against my teeth and give him a light tap to signal him to move. He jerks his head with another neigh, then begins to trot back toward home. I don’t live in town, choosing to have my home built on the land that I was awarded with my position.
I have two-hundred thousand acres in my personal name. Something that can never be taken from me,
