Page 59 of Branded Betrayal

“Nash, look.” I point at one of the tents on the side of the square. “Rusty McCabe’s habanero jerky. You used to love that, remember?”

He doesn’t answer right away. When I look over at him, his jaw tenses, and he glares at something in the distance. Air abandons my lungs at the sight of Blaze’s truck.

“Nash?” I manage to choke out his name even as an onslaught of delicious chills assaults my skin. Even from across the square, my body sizzles with the knowledge that his eyes are sweeping over me.

But my brother stares at the truck like he’s willing it to spontaneously combust.

After a long minute, he snaps out of his murderous trance and stalks over to the jerky tent. “Yeah, sounds good.”

I force a smile at Rusty. “Extraspicy, please.”

He winks and fills a plate for me. “Sure thing, Savannah. How ’bout a water too?”

“Are you implying I can’t handle my spice?” I say in a teasing voice. “They have spicy food up in Denver. My taste buds can take it.”

Nash grabs a piece of jerky and attacks it with his teeth like a rabid animal. I almost expect him to start snarling at any second. I take my plate, tuck my water under my arm, and give Rusty a wave before following Nash over to a table. He sits down, his green eyes fixed on the bandstand.

I pick up a piece of jerky and take a bite. The sweet and savory flavors dance on my tongue . . . until the flash of heat explodes in my mouth. “Oh!” My eyes tear up, heat flooding my cheeks. I grab my bottle, screw off the cap, and gulp half of the water in seconds.

That gets a smile from Nash. “Nobody does spicy like Rusty. Denver ain’t got nothin’ on his jerky.”

I fan my mouth, my skin pebbling with sweat. “Holy cow, that was intense. But so freaking good.”

Nash finishes his plate of jerky before I can even choke down one strip. He doesn’t speak, just watches the band set up.

“What’s wrong?” I finally ask when I can speak without hurtling into a coughing fit. “Something changed when you saw Blaze’s truck.”

“What’s it to you?” he snaps.

I shrug. “I don’t want to see you upset. Did something happen?”

Nash balls up a napkin, crushing it against his palm. “Too much has happened. That’s the problem.”

“You mean something besides us seeing each other?” I nearly choke on my words when I realize what actually slipped out. “Back in the day, I mean!”

“Yeah.” He slowly turns toward me, the pained look in his eyes making my heart throttle. “Things you’re better off not knowing about.”

My jaw drops, but before my mouth can react, he pushes away from the table and adjusts his hat. “I’ll catch ya later. Save some cake for me.”

I gather the plates together and toss out our trash, so many questions peppering my mind. Mindy Travers sees me and waves. She rushes over, her voice dropping. “So how’s it going with Dr. Burgess? You had your date, right? And I heard he was at your ranch too.”

“Yeah, we went to dinner. He’s really nice and funny, and we had a great time. I’m just superbusy right now. I need to focus on Red Rock.” I toss a quick glance over my shoulder at where Blaze’s truck was parked. It’s empty.

He’s here. Somewhere.

A shiver slips down my spine.

Looking for me?

“Come on, honey. You should still give him a ride. He’s a stallion, for sure.” She slants me a knowing look, nudging me. “Oh, and speaking of stallions, would you look who just showed up?”

As I turn, Blaze strides past me without a glance.

Nothing. Zero acknowledgment.

What the hell?

Mindy practically drools as he walks to the other side of the square. “Oh my Lord, would you look at that man? He is just sex on a stick, don’t you think? So delicious. I could just lick him up and down and—”