Oh, okay.I remind myself not to panic. Not to make a big deal about it.Definitelynot to cry, because God knows he’d bully me relentlessly about it.
Alex has always been consistent like a bad rash. He pops up to wreak havoc and fuck with Jonas’s routine, then after some treatment—in the form of Whit telling him where to go and how to get there—he fades into the shadows again. Unfortunately, it’s been the same shit with Fern and the little boy they share together.Fortunately,Fern turned out to be pretty cool, and that relieved Whit’s fear of Jonas never getting to be around his sibling. In fact, during the school year he babysits three evenings a week.
My fingers find the back of Jonas’s neck, and I give a squeeze to acknowledge his words, adjusting my cowboy hat with my other hand.
“Well, keep up the good work, kid.” The old man takes one last look at the steer before carrying on to the next animal.
Jonas turns to me with bunched eyebrows. “Are you going to cry over that?”
See? Bully.
“No.” I make a disgusted face, blinking away the burning behind my eyeballs. “You just smell so much like cowshit it was making my eyes water.”
He brushes his hands over his clean jeans. “Rich, coming from you.”
I pinch my T-shirt in the middle of my chest, drawing the fabric toward my nose to take a quick sniff. I’ve definitely smelled better before, but that’s what you get for loading and transporting and getting cattle ready to show.
“I got clean clothes back at the truck. We should probably change, or Whit’s gonna act like she doesn’t know us.”
“Better be fast, ’cause we’ll be murdered if we miss Odessa’s showtime.”
“Shit.Okay, let’s get going.” I’m already moving, and thankfully he’s quick to catch up. We weave through the crowd inside the barn, then step into the harsh sun. Sweat’s beading along my hairline within seconds.
I look over at Jonas. “Bet that steer is going to bring in three times as much money as every other animal at the auction. You’ve done a great job.”
He snorts. “You might want to lower your expectations a bit.”
“Too late, kid. You’ve already got them sky high.” I nudge his shoulder with mine, willfully ignoring the way my vision is glassy again. “We really are proud of you, in case you didn’t know.”
“I know.” His Adam’s apple bobs—when the hell did this kid get an Adam’s apple?“Thank you…by the way. For everything.”
“Bud, you don’t gotta thank me.” I hook my arm around his neck. “This is what I’m here for. But…if youreallyfeel compelled to thank me, you could shave this creepy little ’stache you got going on.”
I drag a finger over his upper lip, and he shoves me away with a laugh. “Screw you.”
“You used to give meso muchshit for mine. It’s only fair.”
Once we get to the truck, it turns out I’m the only one who thought to bring spare clothes to a cattle show. Somehow Jonas seemed to think he would stay perfectly clean, apparently.
I toss Jonas a shirt, and he groans when he looks at the front of it. “Anything but the silly goose on the loose,please.”
A grin sweeps my face. “Okay, okay. I also have…a capybara shirt, the one that says ‘Dilfin’ Ain’t Easy,’ and…” I rummage through the pile of clothes. “That’s it.”
“What’s a capybara?”
I hold up the light gray shirt. “It’s this. The world’s largest rodent.”
He grimaces, shaking his head with annoyance. “Guess I’m being a silly goose.”
With one hand, I pull my dirty shirt over my head and slip into my DILF shirt—a gift from Whit that makes Jonas cringe every time I wear it. Because he’s fifteen and perpetually annoyed with us, I like to wear it often. One of these days, I’m sure it’llaccidentallygo missing and turn up in the trash.
Heading back into the fairgrounds, Jonas crosses his arms over his chest, attempting to cover as much of the design as he can. “Well, if I’m single forever, this is why.”
“That’s my shirt, and I owned it long before even meeting Whit.”
“That’s—you were almostthirtybefore you started dating. Your argument isn’t doing what you think it’s doing.” He dodges my backhanded swat. “Besides, you’re both weird as hell.”
Whit’s voice rings out through the crowd. “Who’s weird as hell?”
