Page 87 of His Last Nerve

The cowboy’s eyes were still on me as he said, “Yeah, kid. Get your boots back on.” Caleb closed his book and ran into the house, rushing past me. His voice was deep, and I could tell he and Denver were around the same age.

Was this the brother he had a falling out with?

I thought Denver’s brother left the ranch.

“Stop staring at her,” Lance growled, climbing the steps and getting in front of me. I tore my eyes from Mags and looked up to Lance. He was about three inches taller than me.

Caleb ran out and charged down the steps. “Bye, Valerie!”

“Bye, sweetheart,” I found myself saying, looking at his back. I saw Mags move out of the corner of my eye and without a word to me or Lance, he turned away, following Caleb back down to the barn.

“Jesus,” Lance muttered.

“Was that Denver’s brother?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Lance stiffened.

I took a step away from him and a chill ran down my spine as he tilted his head. Just. Like. Mags. Did.

Me and my big mouth. Shit.

“How do you know about Den’s brother?” he asked, his voice low.

I swallowed. “I, uh, it was part of my research…”

“For Moonie?” he spat.

I nodded, biting my lip. He looked away for a moment, and I decided to ramble. “I didn’t mean to pry, it just slipped out. It’s none of my business. I know that. I’m the enemy.”

“Your Denver’s, darlin’.”

My heart skipped a beat, maybe two…No, at this point, it might be suffering from cardiac arrest.

Your Denver’s, darlin’.

“Uh—”

He sighed. “Look, there’s a story there, a story that is gonna hurt telling. It’s Denver’s story, not mine. So, I’m not going to tell it.”

I nodded. I could respect that.

“I will tell youthatwasn’t his brother. That was Mags. He’s worked for Hallow Ranch for years. He’s a vet, Marines, like Denver. He is a different kind of brother to him, like all of us are.”

I didn’t understand that. I didn’t have any siblings…or friends. Lance continued, “This needs to be said though, and I know I’m the only one with the guts to say it. None of the other boys will, even though they all agree with me.”

“What’s that?”

A shadow passed over his face. “Mason Langston can go fuck himself and if he ever steps foot on Hallow Ranch again, I’ll kill him.”

I flinched, my lips parting as my eyes went wide. Fear trickled down my spine, reminding me of the horrors I had seen.

He took a step towards me. “I know you saw us that night, darlin’. I know you witnessed Denver in the alley. What he did to protect you...any man in his right mind would’ve done that.”

“Lance—”

“Not gonna hurt you. No one is. You aren’t the enemy anymore, Moonie is. You are Denver’s, which means you are family,” he said, his voice soft again.

Family.

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