AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Colt’s fine if you want to go,” Emberleigh says, adding to the conversation tentatively.
“Thanks, but I’m good,” he says to her. He’s annoyed, but I’d bet money it’s directed at me, not her.
“Where are y’all going to get a beer?”
“Crooners.”
“Karaoke?” Eli asks behind me. I wish he would’ve just rolled with it. I have no fucking clue. I didn’t expect this when I walked in the door and am winging it. Poorly, I’ll add. I could use some back-up.
“I can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Emberleigh says, extending an olive branch.
“Well, I can for both of us. I have a few talents. Singing is one. Barrel racing is another. Target shooting is another.”
“No one should risk pissing Bright off,” Eli says, giving me a nudge into the room. “She’ll either shoot you or sing ‘Jolene’ on repeat until you want to die.”
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,” I belt out. That man should know better than to bait me or diss the queen. If the world is the sky, Dolly is the sun.
Nobody messes with Dolly.
I stop in my song when I notice an addition to Braxton’s living room. There’s no doubt in my mind he had nothing to do with it, because it’s art.
It’s a photo printed on canvas with Colt peeking over Marron. Brax is in it, but he’s not the focus. His presence is almost like a frame—it helps your eye focus on what the artist wants you to see. In this case, the image is about contrasts.
My nephew’s tiny pale hands rest on Marron’s large dark face.
His vulnerability. Her power.
She’s tenderly nuzzling him. His face is bursting with laughter.
I have to give it to Emberleigh. The shot is stop-you-in-your-tracks stunning. “Oh my God, I love this. I didn’t know you took this. It’s amazing.”
Her presence at Windrunner’s birth didn’t make me happy.
That’s not fully true.
I was only thinking of Marron and the foal. This woman’s presence was ancillary. But her intrusion in our family still doesn’t sit right with me.
And then there’s this. The two don’t mesh.
“You can target shoot. I can photo shoot. Mine is less lethal.”
“You can afford to miss too.” I give her a real smile, despite my concerns.
This is her making this house a home for Colt. It’s securing his position here. It’s about him. And I can’t say anything bad about that. After all, he’s my nephew and, as such, is practically perfect.
“Brax, I love it. Emberleigh nailed it.” I don’t need to yell it as loud as I have since he and Eli return from the kitchen carrying cocktails.
Eli hands me one that I gladly accept.
“To…?” I lift and wait for someone to say to Braxton for his birthday, but Eli takes charge and takes it in a whole different direction.
“To never hearing ‘Jolene’ again.”
Braxton clinks his glass to Eli’s in an I’ll-toast-to-that gesture that makes my eyes slice to slits. Eli knows better and so does Brax. The next time my big brother is at the barn, I’m putting ‘Jolene’ on repeat. Ha.
To my utter shock, Emberleigh raises her glass and baits them both. “Here’s to ‘9 to 5’ instead.”
This woman continues to surprise me. She’s earning my respect. I turn and clink my glass to hers and begin to sing the 1980 cult hit.
