Page 56 of Lost Trust

“I didn’t say anything,” Cabe says, his eyes sparkling with amusement as Micah snorts into his beer.

Before I can tell both of them to go to hell, Axle joins us, asking for whiskey from the bartender.

“What are you idiots laughing about?”

Cabe jerks his chin toward the other side of the barn.

Axle looks, and I know the instant his gaze lands on Marina because his brow rises slightly.

“That Marina Kincade?”

“The one and only,” I say flatly.

Axle doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. He’s the only person here who knows exactly what happened between Marina and me.

His eyes narrow slightly as he looks from her back to me. “What’s she doing here?”

“No idea.”

And I don’t. All I know is, she’s here, and she has a kid.

Blaze fucking Cassel’s kid.

Beyond that, I haven’t had a chance to ask.

As if summoned by the thought, a small voice cuts through the conversation. “Are you all bull boys?”

We look down.

Ryder stands in front of us with Ruby beside him, both of them looking up at the four of us.

Axle quirks an eyebrow. “Bull boys?”

I grin. “It means we’re bull riding cowboys.”

Before I can explain anything else, Ryder looks straight at Axle, and his eyes widen.

“You beat my daddy for the world championship.”

Axle nearly chokes on his whiskey. He coughs so hard that his eyes water, and I slap him between the shoulder blades.

“Easy.”

He bends forward, still coughing as his eyes snap toward Bryce and Charli, who are currently cutting into their four-tiered wedding cake, blissfully unaware that their reception has just become entertaining for an entirely different reason.

I look back at Axle. “No,” I clarify. “He’s Blaze Cassel’s kid.”

Understanding flashes across Axle’s face. His eyes move from Ryder to Marina and back again.

“Oh,” he says as he straightens, wiping his mouth. “Kid, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

Ryder wrinkles his nose. “Why would your heart attack you?”

Axle stares at the boy for a second before shaking his head. “Never mind.”

Ryder’s focus lands on me. “I saw you on TV too. My daddy beat you though.”

Axle is coughing again—this time to hide a laugh.