Page 17 of Curveball

"I'm not concerned about your riding abilities. This isn't about skill, it's about risk. Horses can be unpredictable; he could have tripped or spooked, easily making you fall. It’s stupid to take the chance when your arm isn't ready yet. I get you want to be riding, but you have to think about the long game here." Theo could be such a dad.

I nodded. "All right, all right. I won't do it again until Dr. Howard clears me to ride, okay?"

I wasn't going to stop taking my horses out on the trails around my property. I needed it for my mental health, but I would say anything to get Theo off my back.

I would just take the horses out when he wasn't around.

Theo narrowed his eyes at me. I knew he didn’t believe me, but luckily for my sake, he chose to drop it. "Okay. Good." Theo turned around and headed back towards Tex's stall, where he was busy changing out the shavings.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and pulled it out after I got Ranger all brushed off and put back in his stall. It was the dude's group chat between me, Weston, and Dean.

Dean: You guys want to go grab a beer? Addison has plans with Ava and Harper tonight. Arch is coming too.

Archer, Dean's younger brother, had just recently moved to Primrose Hill with his girlfriend, Harper, who was also Addison's best friend. Harper was the new nurse practitioner for Dr. Sarah Townsend, our town's pediatrician and Addison's client. They were currently living together in a rental until Dean and Addison's new house was built. Archer had bought Dean's current house.

Weston: Sounds good. What time?

Weston had recently gotten back into town after a short mission, doing only God knows what and only God knows where. He wasn't allowed to disclose any information, so it was always a bit nerve-racking when he was gone.

Dean: 7 work?

Weston: Yeah.

Me: Works for me too, see you guys there.

We always went to Hops & Hills, the local bar in town, whenever we wanted to catch up and grab a beer. The owner, Stanley, was a family friend, and they had the best beer selection.

After finishing up with the horses, apologizing again to Theo, and giving some attention to my mini-donkeys, Bert and Ernie, I made my way back to my house to shower and get changed for the night.

It was relatively crowded at Hops & Hills for a Friday night—with it being the summer, there were more tourists here than usual to float the river, hike through the hills, or check out the local wineries. Unfortunately for me, that usually meant I got more attention than I wanted. I’d been at our table for maybe twenty minutes, and I’d already had at least five people approach me for an autograph. Luckily, my brother was good at running interference when the topic of my retirement came up. All the fucker had to do was stand up, cross his arms against his chest, and tell them that was enough questions for the night. I almost felt bad for some of them… almost.

"Arch, how are you and Harper liking Primrose Hill?" I asked after shoving a couple of fries into my mouth.

"We love it here. I never thought I'd like living in a small town, but this place has changed my mind," Archer said as he brought his beer bottle to his lips. We talked a little more about Harper's new job and how they were adjusting to living together before the topic of conversation turned to Dean and Addison's wedding.

Dean cleared his throat. "So, uh, speaking of our wedding. I already asked Arch to be my best man, but would you guys be my groomsmen?" He glanced between Weston and me nervously, playing with the label of his beer bottle.

I hadn’t been expecting that question. I slapped my hand on his shoulder with a big smile on my face. "Yeah, man, of course. It'd be an honor." I turned my attention toward my older brother, giving him a look. Don't leave the poor guy hanging, you asshole.

Weston looked at me, it was all of two seconds dickhead, and then nodded at Dean. "For sure."

Instant relief flooded Dean's face. "Awesome. Thanks, guys, it means a lot to Addison and me." We all clinked our beers together in a toast to him and Addison.

The conversation took a turn to sports when blonde hair caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I glanced off to my left and towards the back, and sure enough, Farrah was sitting down at a table with some random guy I'd never seen before. I guess, by definition, you could say the guy was good-looking, and I was hoping like hell he was some client she was meeting with, and not a date.

Farrah had gotten married and had a child with another man, she’d gotten divorced, and I was sure she’d been with other guys since then. I wasn’t stupid, but I sure as shit wasn't particularly in the mood to have a front row seat to her date.

I couldn't even tell you what the guys were talking about at that point, because my entire focus was on that back table, where Farrah and that random guy were sitting. Farrah threw her head back on a laugh and reached out to touch douchebag’s arm.

Was this guy actually a douchebag?

No clue.

He could have been the nicest guy in the world, but right now all I saw was red. I was clenching my fist so tightly around my beer bottle that I was surprised it didn't shatter under the pressure. Jealousy flared, quick and hot, with rage building right behind it. This was why I avoided her whenever I was in town.

Noticing I wasn't paying attention, Weston looked behind him to follow my line of sight. Once he caught sight of Farrah, he turned back towards me and shook his head before leaning over and speaking under his breath to keep it between us. "Walk, brother. Leave it alone. Do you want to switch chairs?"

I shook my head, because I was clearly a masochist. I was about to speak when two very attractive women approached our table. They weren't locals, which only upped my interest.