“Aw, come on, Mav!” Cash groaned, taking a step toward me.
Betty snorted and pinned her ears in warning. The mare was possessive, and there was nothing she hated more than Cash. He was too loud, too…over the top for her. She’d always needed calm, quiet. It’s why we worked so well together. I ran a hand over her neck, shushing her under my breath. Some of her tension eased, even as she eyed Cash like a hawk.
“We were thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ up to San Antone for the night. Drinks and dancin’.”
I bit back a groan. None of that sounded fun—being in the city, around people. Hell, especially dancing. “Y’all just need a ride, don’t ya?”
I looked at Ryder for confirmation, but it was Cash who spoke. “What’re you talkin’ bout? Of course we want you to come. You and your shinin’ personality.”
I huffed, my lips pulling up into the ghost of a grin. “Who all’s goin?”
“Just us, Charlie, and Cheyenne. She invited us up there.”
Cheyenne.
Girl was a firecracker. About as pretty as she was wild. Like a mustang. That girl could probably give Cash a run for his money. Tonight, would be trouble, I could guarantee it.
It’d be good for you,a hopeful little part of my heart begged.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with them all. Sure, going out wasn’t my thing, but I liked being around my friends. It’s just…
“I can’t,” I said, refusing to meet Cash’s gaze.
His brows furrowed, a frown replacing his grin. “Why?”
“I got plans.” I shrugged, hoping he’d leave it be.
“Plans with who?” Cash’s voice turned cold, a true feat as hardly anything ever pissed him off enough to change his voice from carefree and cocky.
I swallowed hard and blew out a breath. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. Couldn’t bring myself to face his disappointment.
He answered before I could bring myself to respond. “You’re fuckin’ kiddin’, Mav.”
My brush stilled against Betty’s side, and I pursed my lips.
Even Ryder joined in, though nowhere near as pissed. “I thought y’all were done?”
I braved a look at him. Disappointment and pity shone in his black eyes, but it didn’t get to me like it did with Cash. Maybebecause there was hardly anything on this planet that truly disappointed my cousin. Knowing that I could with just the mention of Ashleigh damn near wrecked me.
“We’ve been talkin’. She wants to work things out.”
Cash shook his head, a string of muffled curses falling from his lips as he turned away and smacked a hand against one of the bars of the nearest stall. Betty snorted and pranced in place. Murmuring to her quietly, I ran a hand over her coat until she calmed.
Ashleigh and I had been on again off again for almost as long as I’d lived with the Mooneys. Since the summer of the crash twenty years ago.
Fuck…it’d been twenty years since the accident and yet still it haunted me.
Every day. Every night. The smell of the fire. The sound of metal crashing against metal. My sister’s screams.Damn—the screams.I don’t think they’d ever go away.
Cash’s wild glare snapped me from my thoughts, but when he spoke, his voice was cold, defeated…which was almost worse. “Come on, Mav. She’s usin’ you. Girl’s a goddamn spider and you're stuck in her web.”
“Watch it, Cash,” I growled, the sound a low rumble in my throat. He didn’t have to like her. Didn’t have to approve. But I’d not have him speak ill about her. Not around me.
Cash didn’t seem fazed in the least. Which was unsurprising. Not much fazed him.
Ryder placed a hand on Cash’s shoulder. “Hey, it is what it is. He’s got plans. We don’t gotta like ‘em.”
Cash shook off Ryder’s grasp, muttering under his breath as he stalked out of the barn without a backward glance.
