Thankfully, I’m still in shape from working the ranch, and I catch his elbow right before he can scan his card and escape inside. He turns to face me, tipping his nose in the air like he’s got no beef with me. Smug little bastard.
“Where you goin’ in such a hurry, Conover?” I drawl, plastering a grin on my face. I point at his hand, the one that’s wrapped in white gauze. “Hurt yourself?”
Several of his coworkers give us looks as they scan in and head to work, but none stick around to have his back. That says a lot about a man. As they flow around us, Shane lowers his voice, his dark eyes shifty and nervous.
“What are you doing here, Gamble?”
My arms fold across my chest of their own volition. I’m not one to bully or intimidate, but some situations call for it.
“I’m here to make sure you know to stay away from Shelby.” I’m proud of the way my voice comes out calm yet forceful.
Shane’s ugly face screws up. “I’ll handle things with my girlfriend without you butting your nose in, thank you very much.”
I lean in, my grin turning icy. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. You don’t have a girlfriend any longer. Shelby made that abundantly clear when you acted like a spoiled toddler.”
A few heads have turned our way again, and Shane shifts awkwardly in his dirty boots, all too aware of the attention we’re receiving.
“Yo, Shaney-boy, you broke up with Shelby?” one of the guys asks as he pauses in his attempt to get around us to the door. Several other guys stop in their tracks, wanting the local gossip.
Shane’s eyes shift around the faces in a panic before his face transforms into an ego-saving sneer. “I can do better, boys. You know that. I know that.”
Alarm bells ring so loudly in my head I would testify in court that they actually rang out from the side of the building. But this fucker ain’t done.
“Fat girls are too much trouble. Take ’em to dinner, and they eat you out of house and home, you know?”
One guy hoots and fist-bumps Shane. Rage is flowing through my body. I feel like I’ve grown ten feet tall and strong as an ox in a split second. The irony of this guy complaining about Shelby eating too much when she couldn’t eat a goddamn thing during their date because he ordered food she’s allergic to just sticks in my craw. Calling my best friend fat because she has curves? This fella’s gonna have more than a busted hand before I leave here.
My fist connects with his face before I register what’s happening. My knuckles sing, and Shane’s head flies to the side. He goes down like a sack of flour, a lump of crybaby lying on the shoes of his lame-ass friends. I point my finger in his face, fury making it tremble.
“Stay the fuck away from Shelby if you know what’s good for you.”
Shane, looking up at his coworkers, makes the wrong choice. Instead of backing down and being a decent human, he decides his ego and reputation are more important. His hand is busy trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose, but that doesn’t stop his weasel voice from digging his own grave.
“I can’t help it if she can’t resist me, Gamble. We both know she’ll come crawling back.”
I take a menacing step forward, and one of his coworkers puts his hand on my shoulder. I shrug him off, holding my hands up as if to say I’m not going to hit the asshole again, though I don’t make any promises out loud. I’m sick to death of these lame boys thinking they can talk trash about my best friend right after they’ve treated her terribly, or she’s dumped their asses.Someone needs to teach them the lessons their momma forgot to teach. And that someone is me.
“She won’t be anywhere near you again because she’s engaged tomenow. Keep my woman’s name out of your mouth, you hear me?”
“Engaged toyou, Dallas?” A woman’s voice pulls my attention from Shane. Charlene Russell is standing just outside the ring of workers, her tote bag slung over her shoulder and a to-go cup of coffee in her hand. “Did I hear that right?”
My eyes slide shut for just a brief moment. I hadn’t realized how many people were witnessing this little conversation between two men. But most troubling is Charlene. She took over for her momma a few years ago as the chief gossip spreader in Big Knob, even though her administrative job here at the plant pays her bills. She spreads gossip like it’s a professional sport. Doesn’t hurt that she’s best friends with Norinne down at Knockin’ Boots. Those two play the telephone game with every piece of juicy gossip that happens in our little town.
And this? The announcement that Shelby and I are engaged?
Shit, this might just be the juiciest tidbit Charlene has ever witnessed. The ladies of Big Knob have been trying to tie me down to just one woman since I copped a feel in the back of my old truck and realized girls were pretty fucking awesome.
Well, fuck me. Shelby’s gonna be pissed. We just hashed out that this whole thing was temporary. And private. This seems like not-so-private.
Charlene pushes the men out of the way, her grin making me want to slink back to my truck. Her short, bleached hair sticks up every which way like usual, her lipstick is the wrong shade of red for her skin type, and her eyes are lit up like a feral animal.
“You and Shelby? For real?”
You could hear a pin drop outside the oil plant, all these big men waiting for a piece of gossip like little old ladies withnothing better to do. Hell, some of them don’t even live in Big Knob or know me from Adam. I swallow hard, wondering how the hell to play this now that Charlene and half of Big Knob are witnessing my announcement.
I grab the back of my neck and wish I could go back to half an hour ago when I dropped Ryder off at practice and make better decisions. I could have waited until Shane went home. Confronted him there. But no, I had to let my anger lead me right into this trap.
“Um, yeah. Me and Shelby,” I manage to say, and even to my own ears it sounds lame.
