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Aiden focused on carving up his cinnamon roll with a fork. “Does it matter how I feel? You’ll go anyway.”
Silas waited until his friend looked at him across the table. “I’ll go because you wouldn’t want to hold me back. Even if you’re pissed as hell right now.” His friend was already relenting. Aiden’s glares had cooled off about twenty degrees. “As my friend, you would want me to do something that makes me feel useful and fulfilled.”
Aiden didn’t answer, but Kyra nudged her fiancé and cleared her throat.
“Fine,” he said around a mouthful of cinnamon roll. “I want you to do something that makes you feel useful and fulfilled.”
“I knew we could resolve our differences.” Kyra poured them all another round of coffee from the carafe on the table. “Now, honey… did you want to ask your friends something?”
“You two are gonna be co–best men in our wedding. Capeesh?” Aiden didn’t even look up from eating. “I’m not choosing between you two.”
“Sounds good to me.” Silas finally took his first bite of cinnamon roll. He had to admit… using words wasn’t all that bad. Now things were back to normal and neither one of them even had a bloody nose or a shiner.
“I’m in,” Thatch added. “As long as I get to walk Lyric down the aisle.”
“Why don’t you just ask her out already?” Kyra demanded.
Silas had been wondering the same thing. Their friend had had his eyes on Lyric for months.
“I’m considering my options,” Thatch said mysteriously.
“Oh please.” Silas took another swig of coffee. “Everyone knows you—”
“Hey, Aiden.” Brad Kline and his daughter, Callie, approached the table. Silas didn’t know the man—he’d never even had a conversation with him, but his family had a good reputation in town.
“Hey. Nice to see you.” Aiden stood and shook the guy’s hand. “What’re you two up to today? Got any more fences that need fixing?”
“Nope. We finally finished up all the repairs.” Brad slipped on the cowboy hat he held in his hands. “Later today, Callie and I are actually headed to your sister’s house. The girls know each other from school, so Tess invited us over.”
Silas choked on a piece of cinnamon roll and had to cough it out. Thankfully no one else seemed to notice. Brad Kline was going to see Tess? To spend time with her?
“You enjoy yourself,” Aiden was saying. “Tell her Kyra and I are planning to stop by tonight.”
“Will do.” The man said goodbye and led his daughter to a nearby table.
“Why do you think he’s going to Tess’s house?” Silas’s throat was still scratchy. And now his heart was beating faster too, damn it.
“You heard him.” Aiden added some sugar to his coffee. “Their girls are getting together.”
“But he made it sound like he was staying there too.” He replayed the conversation in his head. Yes, he’d said Tess invitedusover. “Why wouldn’t he just drop off his daughter and leave?”
Aiden gave him a funny look. “No clue.”
“Do they hang out a lot?” Silas pushed. “I mean, how well does Tess know him?”
“I don’t think they’re good friends or anything. Why do you care?” A look of suspicion narrowed his friend’s eyes. “If Tess wants to date someone, that would be a good thing. Sheshouldstart dating again if that’ll make her happy.”
Silas avoided his stare. All of their stares, actually. Thatch and Kyra were gazing at him with open curiosity too.
“This is Tess,” he said, struggling to mask the red-hot jealousy. “I mean, we promised Jace we’d protect her.” That was all. That was the only reason his gut had tightened at the thought of cowboy Brad paying her a visit at home. “I’m only trying to watch out for her.”
“That’s good news.” Aiden chuckled. “For a second I thought you were jealous or something. Then we’d have real problems.”
Right, because he wasn’t good enough for Tess. There wasn’t one person in this pseudo-family who thought he could ever be good enough.
Including him.
CHAPTER TEN
