Jackie, no doubt.
He smiled as if he enjoyed the rejection. “Maybe Hollie saved some fun for me.”
My chest tightened to the point I thought my ribs would snap.
Purposefully agitating other men was how Cooper found his place in this world. It was a power play, and I knew that. But it made me so mad. Usually, I could ignore him, but right now, I wanted to break his jaw.
Cooper leaned backward out the door, looking up and down the corridor. He clicked his tongue and then sang, holding every syllable out. “Ohhh, Hol-lie.”
I grabbed his dress shirt by the collar, throwing his body against the wooden wall.
“Whoa! Whoa!” His hands flew up by his face in surrender.
“You touch her and I’ll hurt you.”
He wheezed out a laugh. “So you can have fun, but I can’t? That’s not fair, boss.”
“I don’t care about fair.”
“Maybe when you’re done with her?—”
“Cooper, I swear!”
“Alright! Alright! Damn.”
I let him go and he slid off the wall, brushing the front of his shirt like I’d gotten him dirty. I warned, “I mean it. Leave her alone.”
He rolled his eyes and fished a box of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Holy hell, man, you and Tag both need to find a way to de-stress.” He lifted the Marlboros. “Highly recommend these.”
I just shook my head and stalked past him. “No thanks.”
He stayed on my heels and flicked his lighter.
“Don’t light that in here. You know better.”
He sighed, following me into the barnyard. To my surprise, all the wedding guests had moved into the barnyard around the main drive. I whipped around to face Cooper, who had his Bic raised and glowing. “Wait. Is everything over?”
He pulled in a long draw and shoved the lighter in his back pocket. “Yup. We’re about to see off the happy couple.” He saidhappy coupleas if such a thing didn’t actually exist.
I couldn’t hide my shock. How long were Hollie and I in the barn?
Cooper chuckled and slapped me on the back. “Time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know, I’d really appreciate you not blabbing what happened all over the ranch.”
“Mum’s the word.” He made a boy scout symbol with his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”
The idea of Cooper being a boy scout or having any honor whatsoever made me laugh. “Alright. Thanks.”
Sure enough, Tag and Bea came through the crowd toward his truck as everyone cheered them away. I pushed forward, wishing I would’ve had the chance to say goodbye to Tag, but the moment vanished within seconds and the gravel rumbled beneath the tires as he drove off into the night with his bride. The small crowd of people lingered, and I scanned the group for Hollie.
She was nowhere in sight. Was she okay? Did she regret it?
A hand clapped on my shoulder and I turned to see Jack Barkley and Peter Thompson. Peter smiled, “Jesse, hey. We have a random question.”
A feminine laugh pierced from across the barnyard and my eyes followed the sound until they landed on Estelle. Not Hollie. I needed to focus—my brain felt fuzzy, numbed to reality.
I forced my head into the moment. “Yeah. What can I do for you?”
