Nothing about Hollie seemed conniving or twisted, but you could never really tell with people, could you? My jaw locked and hot sweat broke over my shoulders and chest. The termfurydidn’t even touch reality.
“Twelve years.” Cooper whistled low and slow.
I glanced up and immediately wished I hadn’t.
Tag’s eyes roamed my face, a frown between his brows. Steering the conversation, he said some final words. They bounced off my brain—like hail on the poor colt Cooper left in the rain.
Breaths pulled tight against my rib cage as reality hit me, wave after wave. Admittedly, I thought about that kiss—abouther—way more than I should’ve. I had imagined seeing her again one day, what I’d say and do. I even imagined us as a couple.
If that wasn’t the apex of stupidity, I didn’t know what was.
When we disbanded from the table, I got up and charged off toward the barn. Technically, I needed to clean up the kitchen, but I felt like I was going to be sick and needed a minute.
But Tag was hot on my heels, gravel crunching beneath our boots.
“Jesse!” He snapped. “Hold up.”
Reluctantly, I stopped, turning to face him.
Hands raising to his hips, Tag narrowed his eyes. His steely grey irises searched mine for the span of two breaths. “Mind explainin’ what all that was?”
“All what?”
He nodded back to the house. “Whatever side show I just witnessed.”
“Nothing. The guys were just being stupid.”
“I’m not talkin’ about the guys. I’m talkin’ about you.”
I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. “What do you mean?”
“You turned red—you’restillred.” He shook his head. “Did something bad happen? Is there something I need to know?”
“No.”
A pause. “You sure?”
We didn’t lie to each other. Maybe at one point in our friendship, we weren’t real upfront about our past and personal lives, but those days were gone. Lying straight to his face felt wrong.
“It’s nothing important, Tag. I’ll figure it out.”
“It has something to do with Hollie. As soon as Bea said her name, your face changed.”
I shook my head as I opened my mouth, but no words came. What could I say besides flat-out lie and deny it?
“I’m right, ain’t I?” He left the question hang. When I didn’t answer, he prodded me. “Did something happen between you two?”
I swallowed. “I don’t want Bea to know.”
He huffed. “Might be too late for that. She’s the one who told me to come check on you.”
I let my head flop forward. “Dammit.”
“Yeah, so start talkin’.”
The breeze picked up, whipping my t-shirt around my warm, sweaty torso. June heat in Texas smothered good days. Now, the heat sat like a weight on my shoulders—concrete I had to swim through to take a deep breath. “We had an…encounter when she was here.”
“Encounter? What the hell does that mean?”
