Page 63 of Love’s Silver Bullet

Jake’s Adam’s apple hitched hard, wishing he’d just messed up that pretty boy’s face like he’d wanted to in the beginning. “Well, so what? She’s leaving tomorrow for New York, so what more can he do?”

Dash’s somber look did not bode well for Jake’s peace of mind. “Said he can’t wait for the show to go home next month for a six- month rest after the tour finishes in Texas.” He paused, pinning Jake with a hard stare. “In New York.”

Burying a silent groan, Jake listed against the wooden stall, eyelids sinking closed as he kneaded the fury that instantly throbbed in his temple.

Blaze moved in to plant a heavy hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Jake, you know I would never force you to do anything against your will, but this is Sheridan we’re talking about here. We could lose her to this dandy who’s on the road six months out of the year, flirting with women in bars and God knows what else. Is that what you want for her?”

A groan broke through as a headache began to pound between his ears. Hissing a rare curse under his breath, he veered into a cold stare with a hard clamp of his jaw. “You know I don’t.”

Blaze’s grip on Jake’s shoulder tightened, conveying the same worry Jake felt in his gut. “Listen to me, Jake. The only one that can stop this is you.”

Jake glanced up, creases digging deep at the bridge of his nose. How? She’s an eighteen-year-old girl blinded by romance since the age of four. She’s not about to listen to me if this dandy has swept her off her feet.” He grunted. “Especially with the cold shoulder I’ve been giving her all summer.”

Blaze and Dash exchanged looks before Blaze slapped Jake on the back, exhaling loudly while he perched on the railing. “Dash and I have talked it over, and we both agree there’s only one way to reach her.” His mouth compressed in a thin line as he nailed Jake with a penetrating look he knew all too well.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Jake said with a firm shake of his head, backing off with two palms in the air.

The plea in Blaze’s tone was pathetic. “You have to, Jake. The only thing that will protect Sheridan from that smooth-talking dandy is to tell her you have feelings for her. Give her a little hope so she sends him packing.”

Jake’s jaw practically came unhinged. “You want me to lie to her?”

Blaze’s eyes turned flinty along with his jaw. “Better than lying to me.”

Fire scorched the back of Jake’s neck, licking his collar while he licked his lips, which immediately parched as dry as his tongue. “What are you talking about? I didn’t lie to you.”

Dash moved to park on the railing along with Blaze, his tone far kinder than his brother’s. “Maggie told Blaze everything about why you wouldn’t teach Sher to shoot.”

Jake fought a gulp, stomach roiling over what Maggie might know. “So what? I told him too.” His gaze flicked to Blaze, pulse stuttering over the stony look in his friend’s eyes. “Remember, Donovan? The day we were branding? I told you Sheridan kissed me, which is why I needed to stay away. Because I only see her as a little sister, remember? I told you that!”

Dash cleared his throat as he idly scratched the back of his head, peering up at Jake with eyes as soft as his brother’s were hard. “Yeah, Sul, but what you didn’t tell him was that you kissed Sher back, and pretty intensely from the sound of it. Apparently flat-out convincing her you have feelings for her that are anything but sisterly.”

Blood pulsed in Jake’s cheeks as he turned away to grip a hand to the next stall, unable to face his two best friends for the shame in his throat.

“Either way, Jake,” Dash said quietly, “there’s already a lie hanging in the balance here, my friend. So all we want to know is who you told the lie to”—he paused, the conviction of his words causing Jake to drop his head in his hand—“our little sister … or to us.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Jake felt like that pile of manure in Midnight’s stall, only at the moment, he was pretty sure he stunk way more, lying to the people he loved the most. Blue blazes, how he hated lying! He slammed his fist against the wall. Telling people one thing, then doing another.

Just like Pa.

He shook his head, the shame burrowing deep. Right next to the mountain of it that was already there. And the sad thing was he hadn’t even realized he was doing it.

“Look, Sully,” Dash said softly, obviously the designated spokesman so Blaze wouldn’t rip out his tonsils, “everybody knows Sher has followed you around like a lovesick puppy since she was knee-high to a calf, and there’s no question the girl’s a flirt to boot, so nobody here is blaming you.”

Blaze grunted, the sound as deadly as a rusty hacksaw.

“But if what Maggie told Blaze is true,” Dash continued gently, “and you do have those kind of feelings for Sher, then would it be so awful to let her know?”

Jake spun around, jaw distending so much, he swore he heard it pop. “You want me to lead her on?!”

Dash shrugged. “If it protects her from an out-of-town scalawag, why not? Besides,” he said with a pointed stare that appeared to sharpen along the lines of his brother’s granite gaze, not unlike a shotgun ready to take aim, “if it is true, what’s the harm?”

“What’s the harm? What’s the harm?!” Jake’s voice squeaked like some prepubescent pimple-faced kid. “Because marriage is not even a possibility, Dash,” he said, wishing this was all just a nightmare and he was still back in his cot. His gaze whipped to Blaze with a plea of panic in his tone. “I’ve been telling you that for years, Blaze, you know that, so tell him.”

Blaze crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. “Yeah, old buddy, I do know that, but what I don’t know is why?”

“What?” Jake couldn’t believe it. His best friend who’d insisted on a blood oath at the age of thirteen to never get married was putting him on the spot? Huffing out his frustration, he slashed stiff fingers through his hair. “For crying out loud, Donovan, you know why! We all know how Finn feels about Sher steering clear of romance till she gets her degree. And you would have shot me and any other man who even looked at her cross-eyed, and I dare you to deny it.”