She doesn’t elaborate because Tyler calls out a hello that she feels the need to respond to. Colt turns back toward us and I can feel him thinking of just the right thing to say to piss me the fuck off, but Austin twirls my hair around her finger and snaps the fingers of her other hand at me. She makes a grabby motion for the beer she’d shared, so I take another swig before passing it back. With my hand free again, I take another bite of my burger.
“Jesus Christ, bro, where’re your balls?” Child’s play. Coltwouldthink that was an insult.
“I left them in my other purse,” Austin quips, and I snort.
“Obviously,” Colt says, trying again. I struggle to swallow the food in my mouth and Austin’s passing the beer back without me even reaching for it.
“You gonna be up for another quarter of a burger when you’re done there?” she asks, looking over my shoulder at my plate. I’ve only got about a bite left. I whirl my upper body around to look at hers.
“Why aren’t you eating it?” I’m still a little up-in-arms about what Mary Edith said at dinner last month, worried Austin might start believing that bullshit if enough people spew it. It’s a pointless thing to worry about. Austin loves her body just the way it is, as she should.
“I’m full, Rancher,” she says softly, like she can read my thoughts. “We had a late lunch like two hours ago.”
True. I jostle the can in my hand, trying to determine if there’s enough beer left in it for me to finish both burgers without needing another. It’s still half full, so I nod. I don’t think she drank any of the damn thing.
“So, what? You two together now or something?” Colt asks, stretching his feet out in front of him. If I paid as much for boots as he does, I wouldn’t chance them being that close to the fire, but I’d also never buy those ridiculous things.
Neither of us answer him and I can’t figure out how I feel about Austin’s silence. On one hand, I appreciate her not telling my brother I’m head over heels for her when she’s barely indifferent, but on the other, it would’ve been nice to hear her say we were. Even if it was a lie.
Colt snorts at the silence. I think of a million places I’d rather be—first and foremost, in between Austin’s thighs with a vibrator pressed against her clit while she has her fourth or fifth orgasm in a row.
“Are you ready to go?” Austin asks, as though we didn’t just get there.
Yes, of course I am, but…
“She’s great in bed, isn’t she?” he asks low enough Mama can’t hear.
“Shut up, Colt,” Austin hisses immediately.
“What? He doesn’t know?”
“Oh, he knows,” I tell him, cracking my knuckle for something to do. Across the fire, Jameson turns his head toward the sound like he’s some sort of Border Collie. His eyes slip easily over my face and then to Colt’s.
“Colt, knock it off, man,” he calls, knowing without even needing to hear the conversation that Colt must be trying to pick a fight. He does that sometimes when he gets bored and it’s got me wondering if he drove all the way out here just to hit me. A good way to get the aggression out without garnering negative publicity, I guess.
“Those whimpers she makes when she gets close…”
“I’m really fucking regretting sticking up for you,” Austin tells him, but he doesn’t give her a bit of attention, and somehow, that pisses me off even more than what he said. A lot of people whimper when they get close to coming, so he could be talking about anyone, but ignoring my girl when she’s speaking to you is bullshit.
“The way her skin dents in under your fingers when you hold her really tight to plow?—”
Austin’s fingers dig into my neck and it’s only when I feel the bite of her nails that I realize I’ve been trying to stand. Colt doesn’t have anyone keeping him seated though. He plants his feet, his dimples popping as he grins at me, gearing for a fight. I’ve never wanted to murder my own flesh and blood as badly as I do right now. Even Jamie’s come over in case he’s gotta get in between us.
“Jesus Christ, can youpleaseshut the fuck up before your mama hears what a heinous little boy you are?” Austin says, loudly enough to take Mama’s attention away from Callie.
“Colton James, you better not be causing issues,” Mama calls out. She doesn’t even get after Austin for swearing aroundCallie, brows furrowed as she tries to figure out what’s going on.
“Nah, Mama, I’m not starting anything. I was just warning Maddie that Austin’s gonna be coming to her senses and dumping his ass soon enough,” he lies, digging a little deeper, whether he knows it or not.
“Colton, quit it,” Jamie tells him, voice full of warning.
“Why? He can be a nagging asshole to all of us, but I can’t nag him back a little bit?”
I open my mouth to retort, but Austin beats me to it. “Maybe he wouldn’t have to be a nagging asshole all the time if he wasn’t the only one willing to do it, Colt. Have you ever thought of that? You spend most of the year off gallivanting around the country and risking your life on the back of a bull like you have an extra handful of them stored away. When youdocome home, it’s just to joke around and cause fights and then fuck back off before the hard work needs doing again. Meanwhile, your brother’s up before dawn every morning and home after dark each night, keeping this place running so you’ve got a home to come back to when your dream life gets a little too boring for you.”
Her voice turns mocking at the end, and the venom in her eyes right now is something I pray I never see directed my way.
“Tex,” I start, but she speaks over me.
