Oh, God. Why had he kept it?
Shit. He’d need his wallet.
I grabbed my shoes, fighting into them as I stumbled forward.
Laughing, I scampered down the stairs, rushing outside. Twilight had settled in, the bright moon and series of twinkling stars providing a perfect backdrop to the last vestiges of golden sunlight. Suddenly, I realized I had no idea where he’d parked. It certainly wasn’t close to the barn and if he’d parked at the house, he would have garnered Wade’s full wrath.
I didn’t need to worry about which direction to go. Within seconds of leaving the corral, I heard loud voices.
Wait a minute. Please tell me there isn’t a fight ensuing.
The sound wasn’t that far away. I flew down the path, trying to intercept, making it to within feet of where they were standing just as Wade hauled off and punched Axe in the face.
“You motherfucking son of a bitch. You’re fucking my sister now? Mandy wasn’t good enough for you. You had to take my sister too?”
“It’s up to her, buddy,” Axe threw out. “She gets to choose who she wants to spend time with.”
“Bullshit. You’re no good for her. Just like…”
“Just like what?” Axe threw out.
Axe was bigger and stronger than my brother and when he jumped to his feet, I was worried he’d cause some serious damage.
He lunged toward Wade, throwing an undercut to his jaw.
The two were prepared to go at it when I yelled, “Stop it!”
My appearance caught them off guard enough so I could close the distance.
“What the hell are you two doing?” I moved between them, throwing out my hands.
“Let me handle this, Kenzie.” Wade was insistent.
I threw him a look, hoping in the shadows he could still see how angry I was. “Not a chance in hell. This is not going to continue.”
“Like hell it’s not. He stole my girlfriend. And he’s not supposed to touch you.”
“How old are you?” I snapped, fed up with both already. When Wade tried to jump around me, I shoved him with everything I had.
Wade tripped, falling on his ass.
“Serves you right.” I couldn’t remember being this furious. “This is crazy. You don’t know what happened.”
“Don’t worry about it, Kenzie,” Axe snarled. “We’re no longer friends and that’s fine with me.” When he started to walk away, I grabbed his arm, tugging him back.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You’re both going to listen to me. And you’re going to act like adults.”
Wade laughed and I hissed in his direction. “Fine,” he muttered as he stood. “Just say it and get it over with.”
“First of all, Mandy wasn’t interested in a long-term thing with you, Wade. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but she wasn’t. You were pushy. Just like you’ve always been. Including with me.” I allowed my accusation to finally settle in his big, fat brain.
“I was not.” His retort was laughable. Like a child throwing a temper tantrum.
“Do you hear yourself? You’re acting like you’re still in school, fighting over the popular girl. I’m fed up with both of you. Wade, you’re an overbearing oaf. And Axe, you hold way too many grudges. So Mandy wasn’t interested in a relationship. With either one of you. So what? Just so you know, when Axe learned how into her you were, he was ready to break it off altogether, and no, they weren’t intimate. She jumped the gun, falling in love with some other guy and left town with him. If you ask me, I’d say she did you both a favor.”
“He’s just like his father, a two-timing piece of shit.”
Huffing, I dropped my arms, backing away. My God. I was fed up with the shit. I slammed Axe’s wallet into his hand.
