My eyes followAubree as she heads up the stairs to her room so she can change into some cleaner clothes. The worn jeans cup her ass cheeks as she moves, and I have to shake my head to clear the thoughts.
Denver and Austin come crashing through the front door, Carson not far behind. “Y’all go clean up before we have a seat.” My voice is harsher than I mean for it to be. “We’ve got a woman here now.”
All of them look at me with their eyebrows raised, like they know something I don’t, but I glare right back at them. It’s a battle of wills as we face off, but it’s always been me against these three, unless someone’s giving the shit, then it’s us against the world.
“Hell…” Carson sighs before turning on his heel and heading toward the downstairs bathroom. The other two follow.
Happy that they did as I asked, I head into the kitchen to wash up, bumping into Cookie. “Whoa…” I reach out, steadying him.
“Shewwww, that was almost the plate of steak.” He holds up a platter, showing me what he was talking about. “Thanks for saving it.”
“It was almost my fault it got lost.” My boots scuff against the hardwood as I walk over to the sink, a laugh in my voice. “There’d be a revolt, and I’m not sure I could handle that today.” Not after having to be as close as I was to Aubree and not lose my mind in the process.
Truett comes down the stairs. He glances up at me. “I’ve gotta go do some business tonight. Aubree mentioned she and Nora would be heading to the Rusty Spur tonight. Any chance you can go and make sure they don’t get into trouble?”
Wonder when she found out she was doing that? She hasn’t mentioned it to me all day, and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but it’s something I can do without much issue. “Yeah, I’ll drive, and I’ll sit there like a fucking mafia boss, daring others to step up to them. Sound good?”
He laughs, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up. “Exactly what I was thinking of.”
“Truett, I don’t need a babysitter,” Aubree complains, making an apppearance.
She’s completely refreshed and gorgeous in a clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that hugs her curves.
“That may be true, but the cowboys in this town need one.”
Her mouth curls up, and she flips him the finger. “Fine.”
The tension in the room shifts as we all gather around the dining table. Cookie’s outdone himself tonight, with thick steaks, loaded baked potatoes, and green beans that actually taste like something other than mush. The kind of meal that should have us all talking and laughing, but instead, I find myself sitting back, watching.
And what I’m watching is making my blood simmer.
Denver’s telling some story about a bull that nearly took his head off last week, but his eyes keep drifting to Aubree. The way she laughs, throwing her head back, exposing that elegant line of her throat. The bastard’s eating it up.
“You should’ve seen this thing,” Denver continues, gesturing wildly with his fork. “Fifteen hundred pounds of pure attitude, and prettier than most women I know.” He shoots Aubree a look. “Present company excluded, of course.”
She grins, and I want to punch him. “Of course. I’d hate to think I was losing to a bull in the looks department.”
Austin jumps in, not to be outdone. “Speaking of pretty, that shirt’s a good color on you, Aubree. Brings out your eyes.”
My grip tightens on my knife until my knuckles go white. These assholes are flirting with her right in front of me, and she’s flirting right back. The easy way she smiles at them, how she leans forward when they talk, the little touches she gives their arms when they make her laugh—it’s all innocent enough, but it’s driving me fucking crazy.
Carson, never one to be left out, decides to join the Aubree appreciation society. “Remember that time you convinced us to go skinny dipping in the creek when we were teenagers? You were always the brave one.”
“I was also the stupid one,” she laughs, and the sound goes straight through me. “Truett nearly killed me when he found out.”
“Worth it though,” Carson says with a wink that makes me want to throw my steak knife at his head.
I cut into my meat with more force than necessary, the sound of the knife hitting the plate sharp enough to make everyone glance my way. But I don’t say anything. I just chew and watch and let the anger build in my chest like a storm gathering strength.
Truett, oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around his dining table, is busy planning out tomorrow’s work. “We need to move the cattle from the south pasture before this weather hits. Austin, I want you and Carson on the four-wheelers, pushing them north. Denver, you and Jesse can take the horses and work the stragglers.”
“Sounds good, boss,” Denver says, but his attention is still on Aubree. “Maybe Aubree can come help. She always was better on a horse than half of us.”
The suggestion hits me like a physical blow. The thought of spending hours in the saddle with her, working side by side, her body moving in rhythm with her horse…I push the image away before it can take root.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I say, my voice coming out rougher than I intended.
All eyes turn to me, and I realize I’ve just revealed more than I meant to. Aubree’s looking at me with those deep brown eyes, a question forming on her lips that I don’t want to answer.
