Colette dropped into the chair across from Marshall, breathing heavily with her skin dusted a delicate pink from dancing. She sipped the fresh beer she had grabbed at the bar after dancing with Evan. Never mind that he had watched every step she made surreptitiously from under the brim of his hat. That was neither here nor there. She left the dance floor with a warm smile and a sway in her step, which left Marshall no illusions as to what was happening. Evan was interested in Colette, and if her bright eyes and flushed cheeks were any indication, she was reciprocating. Her gaze traveled to Marshall and her mouth flattened.
Ouch.
As if he needed the reminder that she was out of his league. Marshall leaned over his beer, chatting with Roger about ranch business, the fences that kept needing repairs. The new electric fencing they were going to introduce was kind of exciting, if one was into that kind of thing.
And Marshall definitely was.
Roger promised to help test it out the next day.
The announcer, Jerry, declared that karaoke would be starting up soon. People started walking up to him, writingtheir songs on a sheet of paper. Colette’s head turned, her eyes searching the crowd for someone.
Evan.
His heart sank as she straightened in her seat to see if his best friend was signing up for karaoke. Shrugging, she turned back to her drink, facing him once again.
“It’s happening,” Simone said, seated next to Marshall, her jaw clenched.
“Yup,” Marshall replied, taking a swig of his beer. “Happens every time.”
“There’s nothing that can be done for it,” Roger added.
The mic shrieked as Evan came up on the stage. They waited for the feedback to stop, and the crowd clapped. Colette cheered.
Marshall fumed.
A few guys from somewhere in the bar shouted “boo,” and Evan waved them away with a chuckle. He waved to a table of women who shouted out his nickname, a joke that started in his teens, Pookie. Evan blushed.
No wonder women loved him. Evan was so darn cute.
Marshall scoffed.
“If only someone would tell him,” Simone said with a disappointed sigh.
Marshall tipped his glass back and swallowed another mouthful of ale. “I told him. I literally asked him to stop,” he grumbled. “It’s just his favorite song and no one can talk him out of it.”
“What are we talking about?” Colette said with a smirk, that second beer making her a little giddy.
“Evan,” Simone explained.
The way Colette’s face warmed brought a scowl to Marshall’s face. He schooled his features into a more pleasant expression. After all, he was happy-go-lucky Marshall, not grumpy scowling Marshall. And he had zero interest in starting anything withColette. He hoped she and Evan would be very happy together. He tapped the solid wood table nervously with his knuckle.
Simone pointed to where Evan was indicating a song on the karaoke song list. “He always sings the same song, and it’s a real power ballad, but like, not the vibe of The Dusty Spur, you know?”
Colette nodded and sipped her beer, her gaze moving in Evan’s direction.
“He told me the crowd loves it,” Colette explained.
The trio at her table groaned.
“Of course he would say that,” Marshall grumbled. “Evan can be clueless sometimes.”
There was no reason for Marshall to fill with seething rage as Colette watched his best friend, but he did. It was for the best if she set her sights on someone other than him. He hadn’t offered her any encouragement, and it went against his work policies. Or at least the ones he had in his head. No one has ever actually written down rules for relationships between ranch staff. It had never come up.
Colette was off limits as a co-worker, but he could lust after her as much as he pleased. Well, unless she became Evan’s girl. Then she would be off-limits for real. Was that truly what he wanted? He cupped his hands around his mouth and closed his eyes. He needed grounding. Colette had unleashed this beast within him, and he was spiraling out of control.
Jealousy?
He’d never met the green-eyed monster.
