Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Twenty minutes prior, Roth had been certain he'd end the night at exactly nine p.m. and take his ass back to the ranch to the peace and quiet he loved. It had taken a long ride and some stall mucking meditation to get his mind right to even attend. The bonus was having his long-time friend, Nick Daley, there to keep him from having to make small talk all evening. Roth nearly shuddered at the thought of engaging in inane conversation with the hoity toity elites of Lone Star Ridge.

If he wasn't such a damn mama's boy, he would be in his chair right now. Hell, even with his mama's boy ways, he'd still have ditched the event early if it wasn't for Autumn strolling over in those fuck-me heels and rip-me-off dress. The fight he'd put up to not participate in the bidding process had nothing to do with not wanting to be involved with the auction and everything to do with him not trusting himself. Not with her.

It had been that way since she'd almost married that walking pile of shit more than ten years ago. Roth leaned against the wall as the Ladies' Auxiliary milled around murmuring in an effort to assemble their bachelorettes. Roth's eyes never left Autumn as he let his mind drift back to the day he'd realized little Tummy wasn't so little anymore.

Past

Roth fought the urge to tug at the collar of the tuxedo. It was a perfect fit, but it still didn't feel as natural to him as wearing his dress blues. Not that being in anything outside of his normal gear or jeans with cowboy boots felt natural. But at least in his military issued gear, he had a purpose. Just like being in his jeans and boots meant he was hard at work on his grandfather's ranch.

Nick wasn't normally a talkative guy. It was part of the reason he and Roth had been friends for so long. They both knew when to shut up. Today, however, Nick was more chatty than usual. He was also filled with ideas which had started out sounding borderline insane to Roth, but were looking better and better the longer they waited to receive the signal to get into position for Autumn's wedding. Like him, Nick's gut said the douchebag Autumn was supposed to marry wasn't worthy of her.

While not many men were, Russell Shack wasn't even in the fifty percentile of possible matches. In Roth's opinion. He'd only admit to himself that his opinion was heavily biased. He and Nick had been best friends ever since they met at the creek serving as the natural border between their grandparents' properties as pre-teens. So, he'd known Autumn for more than half her life.

Her kindness and loyalty shouldn't be wasted on a cow patty like Russell. Roth had zero proof to substantiate his feelings. But, he trusted his gut. To the point he almost agreed to Nick's plan to shove him into a rucksack and drop him off in the desert. The second he saw Mr. Daley approaching with Autumn at his side, the plan didn't sound the least bit crazy.

Autumn's beautiful face held red splotches to match the puffy redness surrounding her normally sparkling brown eyes. Instantly, Roth was on alert. Halting Nick's most recent suggestion, he alerted him to their presence. Somehow, Roth managed to camouflage the relief he felt when Mr. Daley said the wedding was off.

Nick beat Roth in asking what the fucker had done to her. There was no question Russell was at fault. Autumn was what he'd heard her mother describe as nose-wide-open in love with Russell. If she'd decided to call off the wedding the day of, he'd done something majorly fucked up.

As he listened to Mr. Daley, Roth's anger grew. He watched Autumn, seeing the hurt bordering on devastation in her demeanor. Even if he was hearing the reasons his immediate dislike of her former fiancé was justified, Roth didn't revel in the knowledge. It brought her pain, which made it wholly unacceptable.

His fingers flexed as he exchanged a glance with Nick as they followed Mr. Daley and Autumn to the room where Russell and his groomsmen were waiting before the wedding. Both he and Nick had avoided the room since their dislike of Russell wasn't a secret.

The second they stepped into the room Roth began assessing the potential skill of the other men present. Most weren't the physical type and were more likely to pull out their cellphones to record or call for help than they were to jump into the fray. After Autumn told the douche the wedding was off, Roth's muscles coiled in preparation for action.

Technically, he could land in the brig for even half of the things he'd considered doing to Russell, but potential punishment didn't matter when the asshole opened his mouth and insulted Autumn. Whatever he'd planned to say after calling her dumb and disparaging her weight was silenced by Roth's hand at his collar cutting off his oxygen supply.

A cacophony of yells and expletives hit the air as Roth rammed his fist into Russell's pretty face, loosening at least two of his teeth. The other man batted at Roth's arms trying to regain the ability to breathe freely, but Roth wasn't inclined to oblige.

"Please, man."

"Now you know manners?" Roth growled. "No. You don't deserve oxygen if all you know to do with it is run your mouth. Who the fuck do you think you are talking to her like that?"

Roth didn't actually want an answer, and Russell couldn't give him one because he was otherwise occupied with turning blue. The hold Roth had on Russell's collar was only relinquished so he could gain the appropriate leverage to punch him in the stomach, causing the asshole to bend at the waist. At which point, Roth promptly kneed him in the face, knocking him into unconsciousness.

When he finally looked up, there were a couple of other groaning bodies on the floor with the asshole's, and Nick was standing at Roth's back. Mr. Daley was on the opposite side of the small room collecting the cellphones of the non-combative members of the douchebag's little entourage.

Looking down at Russell's prone body, Roth resisted the urge to kick him for good measure. Instead, he met Nick's extended fist, bumping his knuckles. Once he was done with his phone collecting, Mr. Daley joined them. Gesturing to the moaning and unconscious dung piles on the floor, he glanced at the groomsmen.

"You boys clean up this mess, and get them out of here."

"What about our phones, sir?" The bravest in the group ventured to ask, earning himself a glare from Mr. Daley.

"What phones?" Mr. Daley's reply was clear.

When it looked like the guy was going to say something else, one of the others elbowed him in the side.

"Yessir. We'll get this cleaned up."

"Make sure that you do." Mr. Daley placed a hand on Roth and Nick's shoulders. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Present

Roth was snapped back into the present by his mother's voice. Reluctantly, he swung his gaze from Autumn to the woman who birthed him. The one who'd also coerced him into a suit and a room full of people when he'd rather be on his front porch listening to the calming sounds the ranch made at night.

"Okay, everyone. Thank you for your patience. Also, please join me in a round of applause to thank the lovely bachelorettes who've agreed to participate in tonight's event."

Roth kept his eyes on his mother as Nick rejoined him at the stand-up table. Shit . In all the back and forth with Autumn, he'd allowed himself to forget about what his friend might think of his agreement to buy his sister. Roth still winced at the term in relation to Autumn.

"She talked you into getting her out of this mess, didn't she?" Roth's head snapped around at Nick's statement.

"You knew?"

"Nope. I guessed. She tried to get me to talk to Mama to get her out of it altogether. When she walked over, I figured it didn't work, and she was gonna try to get one of us to throw her a lifeline."

Roth stared at his friend in disbelief. "It doesn't bother you?"

Nick shrugged. "Why would you helping Autumn avoid going on a date with some rando bother me? Besides, it's for charity right? We're both gonna donate to help out either way."

Roth wasn't sure if he should be in awe of Nick's confidence in him or check his latest cognitive eval to see if he was still in peak condition. It took Roth a moment for understanding to smack him in the head like a bucking bull after it kicked him into the air. Nick thought he would simply bid on Autumn without following through with all of the conditions of the auction.

Once the thought was rooted in his mind. He wondered about it himself. What did he plan to do once he won the privilege of sharing a few hours with Autumn Daley? Could he simply let the opportunity slip through his fingers? Should he? A lot had changed over the years. He hadn't seen her in more than a passing fashion since before he left the army. She'd moved away for law school after the wedding debacle, and had decided to make Las Vegas her new home when she graduated and passed the bar.

He was so fucked up after he got out of the military, he'd been next to useless until he heard about the Silver Creek Ranch. The time in South Dakota with Andy and the other soldiers going through similar struggles had been what he'd needed. It healed him in a way talking to his VA shrink hadn't. But, it kept him away from family and friends for a long time. When his grandfather's trusted foreman said he couldn't handle the day to day of the ranch anymore, Roth came home. The place was technically his anyway.

Neither Ryker nor Rhine were interested in ranching life. Knowing that, his grandpa had willed the majority ownership to him, giving his brothers small shares. Not enough to overrule his decisions, but enough for them to receive dividends.

Roth realized he hadn't actually responded to Nick's question about Autumn. However, the start of the actual auction saved him from having to continue the conversation. The first young woman was strutting across the stage like she was vying for Miss Texas. His mother aided the woman's pageant presentation by starting the bidding.

"First we have the lovely Miss Scarlett Monroe. Miss Monroe is a recent Longhorn graduate looking to enter post graduate studies in the fall. That is unless some lucky fella snatches her up first and gets her mind on home-making instead."

Roth leaned against the wall and folded his arms once more as he waited for Autumn's number to be called. At present, she stood in the line with a circular badge attached to the bodice of her dress boasting her number in the lineup. Six. He had to sit through this process five more times before he could put them both out of their misery.

"What happened to feminism?" Nick grumbled as he took his place next to him.

Cocking an eyebrow, Roth shot him a glance. "Since when are you a feminist?"

Shrugging, Nick kept his gaze on the stage. "I've always been in favor of women's rights. Having a female soldier pull my ass out of a sling more than once just helped the case."

Roth had to agree with him there. Some of the best soldiers he knew were women. Still, he didn't think his mother had completely gotten the memo about marriage not being every woman's ultimate goal.

"Are you gonna go tell my mama she should encourage Miss Monroe to forget about a ring and go on to graduate school?"

"Fuck no. I'm hoping both of our mothers forget I'm even here."

Roth's chuckle sounded more like a grunt as he returned to watching Autumn. Only this time, when he looked in her direction, she was staring back at him.