Contents

  Warning

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  The Beef Game Playlist

  Nikki’s Links

  Copyright © Nikki Ashton 2021 All Rights Reserved ©

  The Beef Game

  Published by Bubble Books Ltd

  The right of Nikki Ashton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A reviewer may quote brief passages for review purposes only

  This book may not be resold or given away to other people for resale. Please purchase this book from a recognised retailer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  The Beef Game

  First published September 2021 All Rights Reserved ©

  Cover design – LJ Stock of LJ Designs

  Edited by – Anna Bloom

  Proof Read by - Flora Burgos

  Formatted by – LJ Stock of LJ Designs

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Warning

  This book contains a hot silver fox

  who really knows how to treat a woman!

  Please be warned that not all men have the sexual prowess to hold said woman against a wall without using their hands…

  if you know what I mean!

  This book is for you Kitty Barlow, my beautiful niece

  Please don’t ever stop making us laugh and being incredible

  Acknowledgments

  I know I keep saying it, but this gets harder with each book. The list gets bigger with each one, so this time I’m going to acknowledge a specific group of people.

  My sincerest of thanks goes to those men over forty, who have aged well, treat their woman like a princess and as Kitty would say, ‘look tastier than a corn dog at the Spring Fayre’. You gentlemen were my inspiration for Jefferson Delaney and are responsible for his awesomeness.

  Thank you for everything!

  p.s. thank you to Anna Bloom, Lou J Stock, Flora Burgos, Donna Wright, Lynn Newman, Sarah Dale, Michelle Hennessy, Robyn Corcoran and Janice Hart. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  There’d only been two women in my life who’d owned my heart or any part of it. The main one was Sondra, my wife. I loved her pretty much right from setting eyes on her, up until she died. She’d been just thirty-nine years of age and that heart of mine that she’d possessed had shattered into tiny pieces. I’d lost the love of my life and all my hopes and dreams went with her.

  The other woman, or girl as she was back then, had been my teenage girlfriend. When her family moved away just before we turned sixteen, my heart had been pretty damaged for a while. Now, here she was, in my den, helping my son to plan his wedding.

  Kitty Carmichael. A blast from the past, and what a damn pleasant one she was too. Boy, had she blossomed. She’d had assets at fifteen, but at forty-eight, she had curves that would make a grown man weep.

  “Pop,” Hunter hissed in my ear. “You want to stop eye fucking my wedding planner’s cleavage?”

  “I’m not.” I totally was. “I just can’t get over the fact that it’s Kitty.”

  “Well, whatever,” Hunter replied. “Push your eyes back in and keep them above chin level. Ellie has been desperate for her, she’s the best in the business. I do not want her quitting on us because you pumped and dumped.”

  I was a little affronted. He knew I never did that. I’d had plenty of one-night stands and maybe a few inappropriate quickies, but I’d never done the walk of shame. I was on great terms with the women I’d had sex with—okay, so my last ex, Jojo, was pissed at me, and of course Pamela Watkins and I weren’t on good terms. She’d had an affair with Ellie’s boyfriend before Hunter and… whatever, the point remained, I was mostly on good terms with my sexploit partners.

  “I’ll behave appropriately, son, don’t you worry.”

  As Hunter let out a sigh of relief, Kitty looked over at us and chewed the corner of her bottom lip. I shifted as I felt a stirring in my pants and Hunter groaned.

  “Shit, Pop, you’re gonna do it aren’t you? Ellie will kill you and then me if we lose her, just remember that.”

  “Trust me,” I replied, taking in a long breath as Kitty’s gaze wandered to my dick. “You won’t lose her.”

  With my eyes firmly on Kitty, Hunter nudged me hard in the ribs and then walked over to Ellie who was discussing swatches of silky fabric with her mom and dad. As he reached her and swung an arm over her shoulder, Kitty left the group and sashayed across to me.

  With each step there was a swing to her hips that I’d never seen the like of before. It had to be said, I’d never had a type. Sondra, my wife had been just plain old beautiful with her dark brown eyes, thick chestnut colored hair and ass to die for. For a while I’d steered clear of women that had the same coloring as her, but I’d soon realized that being with a woman with even a faint resemblance to her didn’t make me miss her any more or less. No, I’d had sex with blondes, brunettes, redheads and once on a trip to Australia to visit my sister and her family, I’d even spent the night with a woman with pink hair. Thing was, I was beginning to think that curvy women who sounded like they smoked twenty a day could become my type.

  “Wow, Kitty,” I breathed out as she reached me. “I can’t actually believe it’s you. It’s been what—”

  “About thirty-three years, give or take a month.” She smiled and pure white teeth gleamed against the bright red of her lipstick.

  She was as pretty as I remembered with huge brandy colored eyes which, even at fifteen, she’d known how to use to get her own way. I still remembered that she had twelve freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, l was kind of disappointed that her makeup now hid them from view.

  “You grew up,” she said, appraising me up and down. “Love the tattoos by the way.”

  She could only see a few of them, seeing as I’d worn a dress shirt and only had the cuffs rolled back a little and the top two buttons open. The idea that she might get to see all the others that covered my chest and back got me a little excited—but I’d promised Hunter and…

  “Fancy meeting up later?” I asked. “A few beers and chew the fat over old times. Ellie tells me you’re moving back here, right?”

  “Yes I am. I was only going to be staying for the weekend, to see Ellie and Hunter, but it seemed silly when the house is close to finalizing, well according to my realtor.”

  “Who’s acting on your behalf?” I asked. “Duncan Peters or Bobby Patrick?”

  Kitty rolled her eyes. “Bobby. Although, to be honest I’ve dealt with his assistant Evie more. Bobby seems to enjoy spending time at his country club at Middleton Ridge more than getting my house sale through.”

  I laughed. She had Bobby banged to rights. “So, where you staying in the meantime? Where do I pick you up from?”

  “The Wrigley Ridge hotel.” She raised a perfectly plucked brow and smirked. “You don’t waste much time do you.”

  “Life’s too short, honey,” I replied, my voice falling a little flat.

  A shadow passed over Kitty’s face. “Yeah, Uncle Norm told me about your wife. I’m so sorry, Jefferson.”

  I shrugged and cleared the emotion that talking of Sondra always created.

  “Is Norm why you came back?”

  Kitty shrugged. “Partly. Mainly I needed a change of scenery, you know?”

  Raising my brows, I laughed. “Can’t say as I do. You know me, I’m a Dayton boy through and through.”

  Kitty gave me a cute little smile, with the tip of her tongue poking out between her teeth, and I had to shift in my seat.

  “You been to see Norm at Sunny Days then?” I asked, desperately trying not to think of that tongue running up and down my dick.

  “Yeah. He loves it there,” she replied. “I came back here thinking I’d be able to help take care of him, but to be honest he doesn’t need me. I love how they all have their own littl
e apartments but also the option to eat or visit together. It’s a great little set up, they all seem happy there.”

  “Don’t I know it. I’m forever having to go over there and drag Janice-Ann and Lynn-Ann home from a poker game at some stupid hour of the night. In fact, they’re over there now. They took Primrose their dog over to see Muriel Beckett as she’s not been well. Muriel, I mean, not Primrose, who I should tell you is a boy.” I laughed. “But I guess you remember what my sisters are like.”

  Kitty’s eyes lit up. “Oh my God, they still live here on the ranch with you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, they did move out for a while, but moved home again a few years back.”

  “I’d love to see them. They were so sweet to me when we were kids.”

  “Don’t tell me you still have the sweater and skirt they knitted for you.” I laughed as I remembered the red and white striped outfit that my sisters made for Kitty.

  “No,” she said tilting her head and smiling. “I did love that sweater though. The skirt not so much.”

  “It gave you hives on your thighs if I remember rightly.”

  She nodded and sighed contentedly. “Happy days. And then you grow up.”

  That shadow was back but this time her eyes were narrowed, and I couldn’t help but notice how hard she swallowed.

  “So?” I asked. “Do you want to meet up later, or you busy?”

  She glanced toward Hunter and Ellie who were laughing with Melinda and Henry about something. “Let me see what time we finish here and then I need to call my daughter and check on her.”

  “You have a daughter?”

  “And a son. My daughter, Lily, well she’s staying with her dad until I get settled. My boy Tate, he’s a lawyer in San Francisco. Lives there with his wife.”

  Her eyes brightened as she spoke of her kids, and when I glanced over at Hunter, I knew exactly what she was feeling. Your kids filled your heart in a way no one else ever could; not even the love of your life.

  “That explains the Hallahan,” I replied, thinking about how surprised I’d been that Katherine Hallahan, Ellie and Hunter’s wedding planner was my teenage girlfriend, Kitty Carmichael.

  “Yeah, but only for professional purposes. Officially, I’m Carmichael again.”

  “You and your husband aren’t together then?” I held my breath for a second as I anticipated her answer.

  Kitty shook her head and the shadow was back but this time her eyes were mean.

  “No. He’s a dick but my daughter seems to think the sun shines out of his big, fat, spotty, ass.”

  Laughter burst up from my lungs, and at that moment I wanted to hug her. For making me laugh and for reminding me of a time before my damn heart broke into tiny pieces.

  “Pop,” Hunter called.

  I turned to see him looking at me. His face was hard and his eyes staring. It was exactly the look I used on him as a kid when he’d trailed mud over his mom’s clean floor, or he’d broken a window with his ball for the fifth time in a week.

  “What is it, son?” I asked with a grin.

  “You want to come look at the invite samples?” He nodded his head toward the table with a whole host of things laid out on it.

  I glanced at Kitty and when she dropped her head, I noticed her shoulders shake.

  “Yep,” I replied. “Would love to, son.”

  “I think he may be trying to protect your honor,” she whispered.

  “No, Kitty,” I replied, leaning closer to her. “I think he’s worried about yours.”

  At the end of another hour of talking fabrics, invites, table centerpieces and venues, I was more than ready for a beer. Henry and I had been zoning out for a while, so I figured we wouldn’t be missed if I went and replaced the cups of coffee with beers.

  I stood and nodded to the door, indicating for him to follow me. Once we were in the kitchen, he pulled me into a headlock and gave me a noogie like we were sixteen again.

  “Fucking Kitty Carmichael,” Henry said, once I grappled free of him. “Who’d have thought it.”

  I smoothed back my hair, and then ran a hand over my beard. “Yeah, who would have thought it.”

  “Shit, you had a thing for her cousin, Louisa, too. When we were around thirteen. Remember?”

  “Yeah, I remember. Like you said we were thirteen. My balls hadn’t even dropped.”

  “So, what’re you thinking?” he asked as he opened up my refrigerator and pulled out some beers and a bottle of white wine.

  I reached into the cupboard took out wine glasses and then turned to see he was staring at me, wide eyed and expectant.

  “About what?” I replied as I placed the glasses on the kitchen island and leaned against it.

  “Kitty. What’re you thinking?”

  He really didn’t want to know what I was thinking. To be fair, I was too much of a gentleman to tell him anyway. The fact that I wanted to bend her over my couch and push that tight dress of hers up her thighs and then rip off her panties, was not for Henry’s ears. That would be my fantasy alone.

  “I asked her for a drink,” I said with a shrug.

  “And?”

  “She said it depended on what time we get finished here. She also needs to call her daughter.”

  Henry’s mouth dropped open. “She has a daughter. It’s not yours, is it?”

  There were times when I could see why he only got into college because of his football playing skills and not his brain.

  “We were fifteen, you idiot.”

  “Yeah, but you did it, right?” He grinned like the horny teenager I remembered him being from years before. “She was your first. You told me she was.”

  “I know and we were careful. I’m not stupid.”

  “You think that,” he replied, “but look at Carter. He’s a clever guy and he got Bronte pregnant.”

  Carter, Henry’s son, did indeed have brains, he was the local veterinarian. While the whole pregnancy thing didn’t start off well for him and Ellie’s best friend, Bronte, now they were both as happy as hogs in mud. As for baby Rett, well he was doted on by everyone. At just over eight months old he was a real bruiser of a kid, with the cutest grin, bright blue eyes and blond curls. He was going to be a heartbreaker.

  “Okay,” I sighed out. “We’ll forget you suggested Kitty’s kid might be mine. Anyway, I figure she can’t be much more than a teenager because she’s staying with her dad for the summer.”

  “There’s an ex.” Henry exclaimed, putting a hand to his cheek. “Shit.”

  I leaned forward to look at him—just to make sure he was indeed my friend of over forty-five years.

  “Aliens didn’t come down and put an eighty-year-old woman in your body, did they?”

  He curled his lip and moved toward the door. “If showing an interest in my best friend’s love life is a crime, then I’m guilty as charged, Judge Dickhead.”

  “There’s nothing to be interested in,” I replied. “I asked her for a drink for old time’s sake that’s all. Her ex isn’t of importance and neither of her kids are mine, so chill your boots.”

  “You have gone so mean,” he pouted and stormed out of the room. I watched him go and laughed, but also wondered if maybe the alien thing really had happened.

  Making my way back to the den with the glasses, I heard a throaty laugh and I had to admit I’d lied to Henry. There was most definitely something to be interested in. My heart rate had picked up a little, my mood felt lighter and suddenly my self-inflicted period of celibacy of the last few months seemed like it was ready to be over.

  Watching Jefferson with his son and his friends, and I couldn’t help but wonder what if. Yes, we’d only been kids when we were together, but I knew even then we could have been something special. These people adored him, he adored them, and I was pretty sure he’d have treated me like a princess.