"Bro, I don't know what you think?—"
"It ain't what I think. It's what Iknow." I jerked my chin toward the house where Sassy had disappeared. "Why you think we ain't married?"
Rhett looked like I'd sucker-punched him. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he found his voice. "You're wrong. I didn't ask you to?—"
"Nah, you never would. Too damn good. Too damn noble." I laughed, but it came out broken. "But don't worry—I took the hit for all of us. Made sure everyone gets their happy ending except the asshole who couldn't see what was right in front of his face for twenty goddamn years. And you know what the really fucked up part is? You love her, and she loves you, too. Always has."
The color drained from his face. "Brody?—"
A car door shut behind us, sharp as a gunshot.
We both turned to see Calvin hurryin' toward the bunkhouse, her head down like she was tryin' to make herself invisible. In all the emotional carnage, I'd forgotten she was even there.
Shit.She'd witnessed the whole meltdown. Seen me gut my best friend and destroy any remaining piece of my relationship with Sassy in the span of two minutes.
"Uh-uh. Not so fast, viper."
I left Rhett standing there lookin' like his world had just shifted off its axis and took off after Calvin instead.
I couldn't deal with him or Sassy and all the fucking feelings right now. What else was there to say?
CHAPTERSEVEN
Hooooly fuck.
This wasn't just your run-of-the-mill small-town drama.
This shit felt Shakespearean.
I hustled toward the bunkhouse, already hating how much I had put myself smack-dab in the middle of this shit show.
Well, maybe not the middle.
That looked to beSass.
Whatever the fuck kinda name that was.Viperhad a much better ring to it. Part of me wanted to turn right around, ask Brody if he was okay. Because,damn, the bomb he just dropped came with some serious devastation. I'd seen plenty of cowboy drama in my day, but none that emotionally gutting.
All the bits from the last few hours started arranging into a much clearer picture. One that had me wanting to scoop my boy scout up into a big hug and hold him.
Let his ex and Rhett figure their shit out while I happily distracted Brody from the mess of his life, his probable heartbreak.
I had almost made it to the bunkhouse door when a hand caught my elbow, jerking me to a stop. I looked down to where Brody gripped my arm. Despite wanting to wrap him up like a broken bird, I spoke in the low, controlled voice I'd perfected when dealing with men of a certain variety.
"Let go of me. Now." He immediately pulled his hands up in surrender. "And don't you ever fuckin' touch me like that again."
Too many times in my life had a man taken liberties with my body because he was bigger and stronger. But strong men, good men, didn't need to toss a woman around to get her to listen.
I didn't need to voice it, though. The clench of Brody's jaw told me he could read between the lines well enough.
"I'm sorry, Calvin." He looked almost panicked. "I just really don't fuckin' want you stayin' in the bunkhouse. They're a bunch of assholes and?—"
For a brief moment, my mind flashed back to last night—he'd been so eager to please, so willing to let me lead. This cowboy was one of the good ones. I knew that down to the marrow of my bones. But clearly, he'd been goin' through it. So I could cut him some slack, soften my tone.
"I can handle assholes, boy scout. What I can't handle is you assuming I can't take care of myself. I've been doin' it a helluva long time and around plenty of cowboys, too."
The shift in his expression was immediate—eyebrows raised, lips quirked with what looked suspiciously like amusement. But there was something else there, too. Something that made my stomach flip in ways I didn't particularly appreciate.
"Got a thing for cowboys, do ya?"
