Brandy fidgeted and whined at my side, sensing my mood. I’d owned quite a few dogs in my lifetime but this pretty girl… She just got me. Dutiful, loyal, obedient. Everyone deserved a dog like her.
I stretched out my hand and she brushed her head against it, leaning fully against my leg. I smiled at Mrs. Perkins. “I’m okay, Mrs. Perkins. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Her husband came up to us, his glassy blue eyes full of sympathy. “Let us know if you need anythin’.”
I nodded, thanking them again for their kindness, and reassuring them at least three more times that I’d be okay. By the time I closed the door to my trailer, shutting myself securely inside, I was completely drained. My social battery and patience for people was at a whopping zero. I slid to the linoleum floor, cupping my head in my hands. My temples pulsed with a dull ache that already started to radiate across my forehead.Great.Another damn headache. They were becoming more and more common these days. I’d had what…like five in the last week.
A familiar weight settled on my legs, followed by wet, slobbery kisses.
“Stop,” I grumbled half-heartedly, even as I pet Brandy, letting her calming energy soothe some of the chaos in me. “He was always a dumbass, wasn’t he, girl?”
She didn’t answer, because of course she didn’t, but her head tilted to the side in that way of hers that made me swear she knew what I was talking about.
I blew out a breath and stood. Maybe cleaning would clear my mind. It was one of those mindless activities that made me feel productive, but also didn’t take a lot of mind work. Finding a station on the radio, I blared something heavy and angry from the speakers and set to work.
Only my anger didn’t dissipate. It lingered like a damn cold that didn’t want to go away.
I’d scrubbed the counters, swept and mopped the floors, changed the bedding and tossed the old ones—who knew where all they’dbeen while doing the deed. But still, I couldn’t get rid of the knot of frustration cloying for purchase in my chest, my heart.
Maybe I needed a distraction.
With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my Instagram, my gaze landing on a photo of Charlie and Ryder posted from this morning.
Ooh, Ryder must be home.
Charlie had mentioned he was coming back soon the last time we’d talked. June had been busy for him now that he’d gotten sponsored, but they seemed to make it work so far.
She answered on the second ring, her soft, cheery voice warm and buttery. “Hello?”
“Hey girl, what are y’all doin’ tonight?”
Chapter three
Cowgirls
Maverick
This heat can fuckoff any time now.
I wiped sweat from my brow with my free arm as I lugged Betty’s saddle into the tack room. It wasn’t even July quite yet and the Texas heat made me want to move somewhere north. Like Wyoming or Montana. Yeah, Montana sounded pretty damn nice right about now.
I huffed. Who the hell was I kidding? I’d never leave Texas. Better yet, I’d never leave Cash. He’d get in too much damn trouble without me. At least, that’s what I told myself.
My cousin might be the most obnoxious, cocky dickhead I’d ever met, but the bond we shared ran thicker than our blood. He’d saved me in a time I didn’t think I could be saved.
Speak of the devil…
Cash’s crow of laughter echoed through our barn as his and Ryder’s silhouettes strode down the center breezeway. I made my way to Black Betty, who I’d tied up in the center of the aisle, and began brushing her down. Flicking a glance over my shoulder, a little niggle of dread coiled in my chest.
Cash’s lips were pulled up into a wide grin. I knew that grin. Knew it well, and knew that I wasn’t going to like the reasoning behind it.
I sighed, though it did little to ease the knot forming in the pit of my stomach. “No,” I said with finality, turning back to Betty and focusing all of my attention on brushing out her sleek, black coat.
Cash scoffed. “You don’t even know what we were goin’ to ask.”
I didn’t look at either of them as I spoke. “I already know I ain’t gonna like it.”
Ryder’s low laughter pulled my attention. “That’s fair,” he said with a nod.
