There was no reason for me to think about Wade, but I was. Goddamn, the man pissed me off. He’d truly believed I’d stolen Mandy from him.
We’d stood staring at each other for ten minutes after Kenzie had walked off, disgusted with both of us.
Then Wade had been the one to leave, saying nothing. Not a single word. Maybe I’d hoped for an apology, one that was never going to come.
Life was far too fucking complicated.
To know the entire family held a grudge about something from the past was… annoying.
But it wasn’t going to fuck up my relationship with Kenzie.
Only I could do that.
Damn it. I needed to sit down and really talk to her.
“You did good,” Rock said as he slapped me on the back. He’d been made the informal leader of our team, which wasn’t something anyone talked about. No one wanted to acknowledge that a replacement for Will was needed.
“The situation infuriates the hell out of me,” I gritted back and unfastened my jacket. The fire had burned hot, destroying a small vacation cabin. Fortunately, no one had been inside.
“Everything does.” He laughed when he noticed my face. “Just teasing. I think that girl of yours is doing you some good.”
“She’s not my girl.” But I was working on it.
“Whatever you say, Axe man. Let’s get out of here. The other fire boys can handle the cleanup.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” one of the firefighters called. I’d served with Andy on engine twelve before he’d been transferred to another station.
I took long strides toward the utility vehicle. At least this one we’d been able to drive to.
“Hey,” Andy called. “So you bull ridin’ again? Gonna break that record and make us all proud?” He even stuck his fingers past his lips, whistling.
I groaned as the entire group started cheering. I’d already gotten way too much shit for the television spot.
“Shut the hell up,” I gritted out, moving toward the truck.
“Oh, come on,” Dante said as he flanked my side, trying to keep up with me. “I know you miss bull riding.”
I yanked off my jacket, tossing it in the back of the truck before grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler. “First of all, I’m not participating. I’m helping with the event. That’s it.”
“Helping who?” Denver tossed out from behind.
If I lied, they’d know. “Kenzie Sterling.”
“Oohhh…” the two of them said collectively.
“Shut the hell up.”
“Come on, buddy, you two were cozy the other night. You can’t lie. What did you do in that motel room?” Now Rock joined in.
Which called for a double-handed middle finger salute.
“He likes this girl,” Dante chimed in.
“I think we might have a winner. Ding. Ding. Ding. The forever girl.”
I spun around, getting in Denver’s face.
“Whoa. The boy is hot!” Dante stepped backward like he was some freaking dancer.
