“Burke?” I grab his shirt and rise on my tiptoe. “Tell me now.”
“Up to his shoulders,” he murmurs.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Up to his shoulders in the pit, and they left him there. What if Burke hadn’t gotten there in time? I storm down the steps. “You still got that shotgun on the back seat?”
“Slow down a minute, little.” He thunders down the steps behind me. “You’re not going to shoot your own blood.”
“Try me.” I yank open the back door of his truck and grab the gun that’s mostly used to keep predators away from the animals. I slam the door behind me. “Loaded?”
“Yes. But you’re not going to shoot Owen.” He steps in front of me. “So let’s take a breath and cool down.”
“Cool down?” I glare at him when I can’t get past him. “They left him there. Alone. Sinking in that stinking mud.”
I might not kill my brother, but I sure as hell want to wound him.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t in the deep parts. He shouldn’t have sunk like that where they left him. He should have been fine. You know Owen was only trying to scare him. He won’t be pleased with himself when he finds out how stuck he got.”
“It doesn’t matter if their intention was to scare him. Rebel could have drowned.”
“But he didn’t. I got him out.”
“It’s not good enough. Owen promised me as long as I didn’t cry, they weren’t to touch Rebel.” None of them were privy to my teariness when I woke up alone, because they’d already taken Rebel’s life into their own hands. “Why can’t he trust my judgement? My choices? Why can’t he see I can handle my own life?” A tear escapes.
“Don’t cry, little.” He engulfs me in a bear hug that smells like horses and mud. I hate that I sniffle into his shirt, belying my words about being grown and capable. I’m emotional all the time now. It’s bullshit. The last thing I need is Owen seeing me like this.
Burke untangles my hands from the shotgun and sets it on the roof of his truck. “I’ll keep an eye on them. Make sure they don’t do anything else stupid.”
“Owen’s being ridiculous.” I wipe the wetness from my lower lashes.
“You know he’ll come around.” He slings an arm around my shoulders and ushers me back to the veranda. “But Rebel’s not helping his case either. If he’d put a wedding band on that finger of yours—”
“Is there any chance he’ll want to marry into this family after that?”
“Yeah, he will. If he’s the right man for you, there’s not a damn thing that will scare him off. If anything, Owen acting like he is... he’s doing you a favor.”
“Bullshit.” Owen isn’t doing me any favors. He’s pissing on everything he sees like he’s a wild animal marking his territory. And I don’t need him to pee on me. I hope Burke’s right that it won’t scare Rebel off.
“You left us in suspense.” Dizzy bounces out of her seat and meets us at the top of the steps. Her big blue eyes are bright and full of fire. “You have a pit full of mud in your backyard. Is there anything else in there?”
“Well, an ATV now.” Burke scratches his head. “Lost a couple cows a while back too.”
“Does that happen a lot?” she asks.
“I’d say more than we’re aware given the wild animal population around here,” he says. “It’s pretty deep in some places. Which is why no one should go in there alone.”
“He’s right, Dizzy.” My brothers all know this. Rebel should never have been left on his own. “Don’t go alone.”
“You guys are lucky.” She clasps her hands in front of her as she swings from side to side. “Can we go see it? Will you take us, Burke? I need to tell West.”
“It’s a pit, Dizzy. It’s nothing awesome. It’s a pile of mud, fed from an underground spring.”
“That’s sooooo much potential.” In a flash of pink she runs down the steps and across the lawn toward the cabins.
“She’s going to tell West, isn’t she?” Rogue shakes his head and grins at Ivy. “Your sister is super weird, baby.”
“Your brother and Summer’s brothers are either going to kill each other or turn our sister-in-law-to-be into a murderer.” Ivy puts things into perspective. “I’d be more worried about that than Dizzy’s excitement over a mud pit.”
“Shit. You’re right.” Rogue’s gaze darkens. He starts up the steps. “I can’t let them ruin our wedding.”
