Page 35 of Disarming The Rancher

“What did I do?” Kenny threw his arms up.

The man was no threat to Brax. Whoa there. Where did that come from?

Brax ignored it and moved on. Kenny had burned Raleigh once. She had a long memory and a short fuse when it came to putting up with someone’s antics. Break trust with her and it was game over. He’d seen it at school, and he was guessing that it was the same now.

He waited patiently as she finished up and then turned on the dishwasher.

“Don’t leave your glass lying around for someone else to pick up, Kenny,” she said. “This isn’t the tour bus and there are other people living here.”

“Fine. Maybe we should go back to your place or the tour bus,” he quipped with a side glance toward Brax. “Who says this place is safer anyway?”

“I do, for one. Hardy agrees,” Raleigh said. “But look, no one can keep you here. If you think you’d be better off on your own, take off. Wade can text you once it’s safe to get back on tour and you can join us on the road. The feds did a great job of taking down everyone’s contact information after the interviews. They know how to find you if they have more questions.” She crossed her arms over her chest and turned toward Kenny like she was daring him to go.

“Nice, Raleigh. So…what? Now, you just don’t care what happens to anyone else?” Kenny asked, sounding like a broken-hearted teenager.

“Interpret it however you want,” she fired back. “You will anyway.”

“Why don’t you spell it out for me,” he taunted. “Do you want me here or not?”

“Are you part of the band?” She turned the tables.

“You know I am.” He shot another one of those sideways glances toward Brax. Was he checking to see if Brax intended to interfere?

If Kenny stayed in his lane there’d be no reason for Brax to stick his nose in band business. Not to mention the fact Raleigh was proving more than capable of handling herself. Unless she signaled for help, Brax was fine being an observer. It was more fun than it should be to watch the guy strike out.

Brax pulled up the venue on his cell phone, and then studied the layout.

“Then why would I want you to go anywhere?” she asked. “But I’m not here to make anyone else uncomfortable either. If you don’t like staying at the Firebrands’ place you can go back to the bus.”

“What about us?” he demanded.

“We’re bandmates, Kenny,” she shot back.

“Is that all I am to you?” His frustration was evident in his intensity.

“Everyone in the band is like family to me,” she defended, softening her tone.

Kenny stormed off without another word. Something bigger had to be brewing with the guy. Any normal person would take the hint. Or their ego would kick in at some point. Rejection stung. This guy didn’t seem ready to accept what was plain as the nose on his face.

“What’s his problem?” Brax asked Raleigh when she joined him across the room.

“Sour grapes, I guess. He doesn’t seem to like the two of us spending time together,” she surmised.

“How about you? Do you like being with me?” he asked, and then immediately wished he hadn’t.

“I’m right where I want to be, Brax.” Her answer was the equivalent of a bonfire being lit in his chest, warming him from the inside out. And just like a campfire, it would burn out.

Raleigh stared at Brax. Her heart pounded her chest as she waited for a response.

“Too bad you have no plans to stick around,” he said.

“I’m here now,” she insisted, not backing down an inch.

“And you’re sending mixed signals.” He reached for her hand. “So, let me show you to your room.”

“Is this about Kenny?” She was getting tired of him. Her bandmate’s pressure, his constant need to argue…his insistence on the two of them being meant for each other.

“This is about me and you,” Brax said.