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Three
Kit, Jace, Flint and Boone were all down at the Thirsty Mule getting drinks. The ramshackle old saloon had been the heart of Lone Rock since the late 1800s. It had the original saloon doors still swinging between the entryway and the bar. It was rumored the hole up at the top had come from a bullet that had shot the piano player stone-cold dead back in 1899.
Kit had it on good authority that it was actually from a jackass who put a pool cue through it in 1980.
Jace’s best friend, Cara, was serving beers gamely from behind the bar, and Kit would be remiss if he passed up the chance to make a sly comment about his brother’s friend in his presence. “Cara is looking pretty good.”
Jace didn’t look at him. “I will kill you. With my bare hands. And I’ll enjoy it.”
Jace insisted he was only friends with Cara. Kit believed him, mostly. Jace was also very protective of Cara, so whatever the reason, Kit’s commenting on Cara’s beauty often caused chaos. And Kit lived for it.
He grinned. “Why don’t you just marry her already?”
“What are you, eight?” Jace asked.
“No. I am not eight. If I were eight I would be suggesting you marry the beer because you love it.”
“I hate you.”
“Hey,” said Flint. “We are here to discuss our brother’s bachelor party.”
“Right, right. I’m the best man,” said Kit, “so this is primarily my responsibility.”
“Strippers,” said Boone.
“Hell no,” said Jace.
“I’m sorry, why are you opposed to exotic dancers?” Kit asked.
“Since this is the kind of event people are going to hear about.” He tilted his head toward Cara.
“Again,” Kit said, “if you are so beholden to Cara and what she thinks, you might as well marry her.”
Cara began to walk toward them then, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, a short, spiked leather jacket making the point of her general demeanor for her. “What’s that, Kit?”
“I said,” Kit responded, grinning, “if Jace is going to be whipped by you, he might as well marry you.”
“I won’t marry him,” said Cara. “I can’t be tamed.”
“I’d be happy to tame you for a while,” Kit said, which earned him a glowing smile from Cara. All in with the intent of pissing Jace off.
“I will kill you,” said Jace.
“Jace,” said Cara. “Please. If anyone is going to kill Kit it’ll be me. Or Shelby Sohappy.”
The mention of Shelby’s name was like a firecracker going off in his gut. “She doesn’t have it in her.”
“Yes, she does,” said Boone. “She would kill you with a smile on her face. And she’s got enough land that they’d never find your body.”
Boone was a terminal smart-ass. He and his best friend in the rodeo, Daniel, had a reputation for being hell-raisers. Though Daniel was married and had settled in theory, rumor had it he hadn’t changed at all.
He often wondered what Boone thought about his friend’s behavior. It was tough to tell what Boone thought about anything.
Too much of a smart-ass, that was the thing.
“Well, good thing she has no reason for wanting to kill me.”
“That’s not really what I’ve observed,” said Cara.
