I’m about to head into the kitchen to grab myself another beer when my phone buzzes from inside my back pocket.Figuring its Wyatt sending me another picture of my men raising their glasses, I ignore it.
True to his word, he stopped by before they all headed into town, but I didn’t answer the bell.Now it appears he’s on a mission to send me a play-by-play of their big night out, sending me a text every time they order another round.
I pop the top off my beer and take a long pull.Maybe if I double my beer intake, I might catch up to their shot consumption.
The phone rings again, and I lower the long neck from my lips.
I can ignore the drunk texts, but the spam calling, well, that’s a whole different beast.They can be a rowdy bunch, and if they’re three sheets to the wind after only a couple of hours, I’m going to be even more screwed tomorrow than I originally expected.
Setting the beer on the counter, I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, my patience almost immediately evaporating when I spot Wyatt’s name on the screen.Accepting the call, I don’t bother with pleasantries.
“For fuck’s sake, Wy?—”
“It’s Amelia.
Everything in my body goes still, and my hand tightens around the phone.For a split second, I think my mind is playing tricks on me, but then she sighs into the line, and every fiber of my being suddenly comes alive in ways I wasn’t sure were possible anymore.Ways only the woman on the phone has ever enticed.
She was just a girl then, and I was the guy destined to ruin us both; I just didn’t know it.It didn’t take long for me to figure it out, though, and when I did, I made a conscious effort to avoid her.Not an easy task when the girl you’re avoiding was your sister’s childhood best friend, and it’s an even harder one when you both live in Saddle Ridge, Oklahoma.In a small town like ours, everyone knows everyone, and no one’s business is their own.
Still, I did my best for over ten years.I can count on one hand how many times we were alone together, and we shared only a couple of words during those times.That’s not counting the day her son was born.In a moment of weakness, I couldn’t seem to help myself.I visited her in the hospital and stood in the doorway, simply staring as she cradled that little blue bundle in her arms, thinking how cruel life was because they both should’ve been mine.
“I’m sorry for calling,” she says, her tone rushed, her voice a little unsteady.“But your boys are demolishing my bar, and I didn’t know what else to do.I don’t want to have to call the sheriff.”
There’s a lot to unpack in those words, but when I open my mouth to speak, nothing comes out.It’s like I’m transported back in time, standing in the doorway of her hospital room, paralyzed simply by Amelia’s existence.
A frustrated sigh rips through the line.“You know what?Forget it.I’ll call Shadow.”
The mention of my friend, who happens to be the vice president of the Fallen Demon’s motorcycle club and also Amelia’s cousin, seems to draw me out of my temporary paralysis.It makes sense why she’d bring him into this, though.The last time I saw him, he mentioned that his club had purchased Rodeo Roundup, one of the up-and-coming bars in town.What he failed to mention was that his cousin was apparently working there.
“No, don’t.”
“Well, then I suggest you round up your boys before they break anything else.”
I might still be holding a candle for Amelia King, but the only thing she holds for me is a world of resentment and a lifetime of anger.
Biting back a curse, I drag my fingers through my hair.“Yeah, I’m on it.”
“Good,” she says.“And make sure you bring your checkbook.Someone has to pay for the damages, and something tells me your boy Wyatt dropped all his money on fast girls and top-shelf whiskey.By the way, he’s a horrible tipper.”
Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.
Fucking Wyatt.
Any other night, I would’ve called Tyler to go collect the boys, especially with Abby on Granddaddy duty.But tearing Tyler away from his son because I’m a paranoid fuck didn’t feel right, so I sent him a text, asking him to keep an eye out, and grabbed my checkbook just like Amelia instructed before I pulled on my boots and fitted my Stetson to my head.
The second my ass was behind the wheel of my truck, thoughts of Amelia filled my head.I wasn’t prepared to face her.Being in a crowded arena, watching the rodeo with hundreds of people acting as a buffer, is a lot different from having to speak with her one on one.I didn’t want to look into her eyes and be reminded of all the ways I hurt her, and what might’ve been if I hadn’t.
Hell, I didn’t want to look at her at all.
Looking at her was dangerous.
It spurred something wild and reckless inside me.
Something I feared couldn’t be tamed once it was unleashed.
Spotting the trucks with the Meadows Ranch logo on the side, I turn into the parking lot and let out a stream of curses.I knew I’d have to rally my men, but I didn’t realize I’d be saddled with the task of getting all these vehicles back to the ranch too.
I’m going to kill them.
