Mack ignored me completely, turning to Cole. “Heard you boys have been getting cozy since Jesse came back. Spending all your time together instead of with real folks in town.”
Something in his tone made my skin prickle. I glanced at Cole, saw the slight stiffening of his shoulders.
“We’re business partners,” Cole replied, his voice carefully neutral. “Running a ranch takes work. You know that.”
Mack snorted, spitting a stream of tobacco juice onto the ground near my boot. “That what you call it? ‘Business’?”
Cole took a half-step forward, his stance shifting subtly. “What exactly are you implying, Mack?”
The older man’s face twisted into something ugly. “I ain’t implying nothin’. I’m saying I saw you two at New Year’s. Out on the Whitakers’ deck.”
My blood ran cold. Evelyn wasn’t the only one who’d seen us that night. The realization hit me like a physical blow.
“I don’t know what you think you saw—” Cole began, but Mack cut him off.
“I know what I saw,” he snarled. “Two men kissing like a couple ofqueers. Jack Nelson’s son and hisstepbrother, no less. It’s disgusting.”
Cole went completely still beside me, the color draining from his face. I could practically feel the panic radiating off him in waves.
“You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, stepping forward, trying to draw Mack’s attention away from Cole. “Maybe you had too much to drink that night. Everyone in this town knows how you like to favor a bottle.”
“I know what I saw,” Mack repeated, his eyes hard as flint. “And I ain’t the only one who needs to know about it. Mr. Whitaker ought to hear what’s really going on at this ranch. The whole town should know what kind of perverted business they’re supporting. Bet your daddy’s rollin’ in his fuckin’ grave because of you twofaggots.”
“Get off my property,” Cole said, his voice deadly quiet. “Now.”
Mack smirked, clearly pleased at the reaction he’d provoked. “Truth hurts, don’t it? What would your daddy say if he could see you now? His son, rolling around with his stepbrother like some kind of animal?”
The words hit like physical blows. I watched Cole’s face transform, all the color draining away as his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack. His hands curled into fists at his sides.
“I said get off my property,” Cole repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mack took a step forward, getting right in Cole’s face. “Or what? You gonna make me, boy? Maybe I should call the sheriff instead. Let him know what kind of perverted?—”
I didn’t think. I just moved. My fist connected with Mack’s jaw before I even realized I’d swung. Pain exploded across my knuckles as the older man staggered backward, more from surprise than the force of my blow.
“You little shit!” Mack bellowed, recovering quickly. He lunged at me, but Cole stepped between us, shoving Mack back hard enough to send him stumbling into his truck.
“I won’t tell you again,” Cole growled. “Get off my land before I send you out in a fuckin’ coffin.”
Blood trickled from the corner of Mack’s mouth as he straightened up, his face contorted with rage and disgust. “This ain’t over,” he spat, yanking open his truck door. “The whole town’s gonna hear about this. About both of you.”
He climbed into his truck, engine roaring to life. Gravel sprayed as he reversed, then tore down our driveway, dust billowing behind him.
For several long moments, we stood frozen, watching until his truck disappeared from view. My hand throbbed, knuckles already swelling. The silence between us stretched, heavy with all the things we weren’t saying.
“Cole—” I started, reaching for him.
He flinched away from my touch, his face a mask I couldn’t read. “Don’t.”
That single word, spoken so quietly, cut deeper than any of Mack’s slurs. I let my hand fall back to my side, the ache in my chest worse than the pain in my knuckles.
“He can’t prove anything,” I said, desperate to fix this, to erase the hollow look in Cole’s eyes. “It’s his word against ours.”
Cole didn’t respond. He just stood there, staring down the empty driveway, his shoulders rigid with tension.
“Cole, please. Say something.”
He finally turned to look at me, and the devastation in his eyes made my stomach drop. “You should have let me handle it,” he said, his voice flat. “You just made it worse.”
