“Thanks, asshole.” I laugh as I swat his arm. “I am a girl.”
“But now you look like it.”
Somewhere along the way, our friendship blossomed into big brother, little sister. We poke fun and laugh. There is absolutely nothing sexual or romantic about it. And although they don’t speak of it, I know both Manny and Eric are painfully aware of where my heart lies. Manny is hopeful, excited even, but when I look at Eric, I see in his eyes the same heartache I catch in my own when I look in the mirror. He is painfully aware that sometimes you love and you lose.
“Thanks, I think.” I smile at him so he knows there are no hard feelings.
“Shall we?” he asks, holding out his arm for me, and I take it.
“Yes! I can’t wait to meet Marisol,” I admit. “There’s too much testosterone around here. I need another girl in the ranks.”
“She’s a gem,” he says. “You’re going to love her.”
And then my luck holds out and the door next to mine opens as King steps out in jeans and a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing the taut lines of his forearms. I try not to drool over the veins that pop and slither over the muscles there. He has cowboy boots that have seen their fair share of wear on his feet, and a matching leather belt around his waist.
But it’s the white Stetson on his head that takes my breath away.
There’s always been a fair hint of Texas twang in his voice. There was no doubt that he and Manny are from the Lone Star State. But seeing him dressed like this and not the way he normally does when he’s protecting me… it reminds me there is a lot about this man that I don’t know, and I also won’t ever get the chance to know it, and that stings just a bit.
He takes one look at my arm looped through Eric’s, and his eyes narrow on us. I feel the smile slide right off my face and apprehension coat my skin.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asks, and his voice vibrates with quiet menace.
“No,” I blurt out.
“Then you mind stepping away from my boy?”
I roll my eyes and let go of Eric. “We were just going to head to the tavern for the night.”
“I see that,” King says, and Eric remains watchful and silent.
“Are… umm… are you coming too?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, okay.”
The three of us stand there for I don’t know how long until King finally breaks the silence. “Mind coming over here?”
“I don’t know,” I reply before nibbling on my lip.
“What don’t you know?”
“If you’re mad or not.”
“I will be if you don’t bring your ass to me right now,” he growls, and I startle before taking the three quick strides over to his side. King grabs my hand and pulls me into his arms before his mouth crushes mine. I gasp at the brutality of it, and he seizes the opportunity to lick into my mouth, possessing me in front of Eric and anyone else who may pass through the hall. He ends the kiss just as quickly as he started it. “Now we can go.”
And then he leads me out to the parking lot and loads me into the SUV with Eric trailing behind us.
What I did not know, because I didn’t turn back to see, is that Eric followed us out to the parking lot with a happy smile on his face and the thought that maybe sometimes you can love and win.
The tavern in a small town in East Texas called Our Father’s Flag is everything my dad said it was years ago. Family owned for generations and passed down, Father’s thrives in the sleepy town of Tall Pines. It doesn’t help that former professional football player, Cody Reynolds, lives here and that the president’s aide-de-camp, Captain Ryan Black, is also from the small town.
There’s a band playing and a cute brunette with sad eyes running the bar. I know the feeling.
I see our party. Dad is in the back corner of the bar with Bobby and the rest of the DHR crowd. He’s in jeans and a T-shirt like always and holds a beer bottle loosely in his hands. Bobby could be him twenty years ago. They are so similar it’s no wonder Bobby always looked up to Dad. But then again, Dad would not treat someone as callously as Bobby treated me. Or at least I hope he wouldn’t. But as I watch the two men, I can’t help but wonder,How well do I really know them after all?I’m not quite sure I know anyone or anything.
In a crowd of people, I’m all alone, and I’m okay with it. This is the life I have chosen, and I’m at peace with it. Do I want more? Yes. But if that never happens, I will be all right.
