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He glanced up in time to see a wad of black fabric soaring through the air at him. He lunged forward to field the item. As he unrolled it, a bunch of guys crowded in to see his prize.
Across the front of the T-shirt in blocky letters it read: Group Therapy. The rings of a target had several printed bullet holes to represent a tight cluster of shots.
Jace held it up to his chest. “Perfect shooting on the course and all I got was this dumb T-shirt.”
They all laughed, including Madeline. The woman dealt with their bad humor every six weeks when they had to complete a round of training. Staying sharp was important for their team, especially when they rocketed to the top to become one of the best in the country in such short time.
Jace tossed Madeline a grin. “Thanks.”
“You earned it.” She showered the group with a disapproving momma look. “Plenty more shirts in the box. There’s no good reason why all of you aren’t wearing one. Now go grab a drink before the next session.”
As they all headed to the coolers at the side of the course, Judd bumped a shoulder into his. “Not bad shooting for the nerdiest man on the team.”
Jace shoved him. “You’re just jealous because I got all the brainsandthe skill.”
“I can still put together a bike engine faster than you.”
Overhearing their conversation, Silas joined them and planted a hand on each of their shoulders. “But can you ride a horse? That’s where the real skill lies.”
Judd and Jace traded a look across Silas’s body. They weren’t raised in the country like the rest of the WEST bunch.
Judd thumbed his white Stetson. “The hat’s been enough of an adjustment without me jumping on the back of an unpredictable animal.”
“It’s only a matter of time before we make you Abel boys into ranchers.” Silas dropped his palms from their shoulders and lengthened his strides to hurry away.
Judd threw Jace a look. “Bet I can beat you to the cooler.”
Jace shook his head. “When are you gonna realize you’ll always come in second?” As the words left his mouth, he took off in a dead sprint. Judd’s boots pounded the ground beside him, and they dashed to the coolers, neck and neck.
The guys jumped out of their way, and Jace skidded to a halt before he plowed into his other brother, Jaren.
Jaren jerked out of his path, a scowl on his face. “You two can’t behave for a minute, can you? I know our momma taught you how to act right.”
Judd settled his hat more firmly on his head. “Just because we still know how to have some fun.”
Jaren cocked a dark brow. “Tell me again which brother doesn’t know how to let it all hang out now that he’s got a woman?”
Oh, damn. That was a red flag in front of a bull. For Judd, dissing his new relationship with Ari was a line nobody crossed if they didn’t want to get into a brawl.
“You jealous? You’ve been attacking me ever since Ari and I moved in together.”
Jaren huffed a laugh and crossed his arms. “Only thing I am is annoyed by how high and mighty you’ve been acting.”
“Guys, stop.” Jace pushed his way between them.
Judd settled a hand on Jace’s chest to make him back off, which he did. But he’d seen his brothers get into enough tussles to know what was coming next.
Judd got in Jaren’s face. “You must not like having all your teeth.”
Jace jumped in again before there was a dirty brawl, something the team hadn’t yet got a taste of, but fights between Jace and his brothers broke out often enough that their momma had several different ways of coping with her boys.
First, she’d try the spray bottle filled with water. Squirting them in the face like a naughty cat only lasted before they all figured out that being sprayed with water in the hot weather wasn’t so bad. Jace actually got pretty good at fielding the spray and catching the water in his mouth.
Then their poor mom turned to the wooden spoon. Rarely did she ever strike any of them, even though they all deserved it at one time or another. But just seeing her wield that spoon made all their balls shrivel in fear.
Until they got a little older, that was. Then the only thing left for her to do was keep them from working in the garage on their dirt bikes and when they got older, motorcycles.
Judd and Jaren shot insults back and forth, and the team egged them on. But then Jaren took it too far—he put a hand on Judd’s chest and shoved him back a step.
