Page 21 of Cowhand Crush

“It’s not that heavy,” she said. “And I’m only walking ten feet to the bakery. I’ll be fine. Just don’t tell Beau. Meet you back here in an hour?”

“Call me if you want to head home early,” I replied.

Rory smiled and patted my forearm with appreciation, before she climbed out and disappeared inside. I intended to spend the next hour asking around for work.

After visiting half a dozen small farms and ranches, they all needed a hired hand, which gave me plenty of options to choose from. I had my pick of available jobs…except for the one I wanted the most at High Plains.

Since I still had twenty minutes to burn before I picked up Rory, I stopped by the Big Bull Bar & Grill for a drink. The dim, low lighting was a welcome respite from the blazing, bright sun outside. As I made my way to the bar, my gaze snagged on a figure slouched at a table near the back of the room.

Recognition jolted up my spine.

That little prick Isaac Farley was here. With his legs stretched out and his chin dipped low to his chest, an array of glasses were spread across the table before him. He looked like he’d been drinking for a while.

What was he still doing in Ash Ridge? Did he really think he could get to Avery now that she had a fucking cop stationed outside her house?

I clenched my teeth. My gut boiled.

He was the reason everything had fallen apart.

If he hadn’t scared the shit out of Avery, she would have never ended up in my bed. Then Grady wouldn’t have caught us together. I would still have my job and Avery would still be dating somebody else who wasn’t me.

Isaac raised his head and blinked with bleary eyes in my direction. It took him a split second to focus, but when he realized he was looking at me, a smug smile tipped the corner of his mouth up.

The fucking bastard wasn’t even sorry for what he’d done—turning Avery’s life upside down.

I marched across the room and grabbed Isaac by the back of his shirt.

“What the fuck? Get off me!”

I hauled him out of his booth, dragging him out of the bar. Despite the meager number of customers scattered throughout the room during the early afternoon, no one made a move to interfere.

“It seems I wasn’t clear enough during our last meeting,” I said, shoving the door open.

Sunlight blasted me in the face. Isaac squirmed and kicked like a worm on a hook. He flailed in a desperate attempt to loosen my grip.

“Let me go! I’ll call the cops.”

When I reached my truck, I grabbed a coil of rope from the back. Looping it around Isaac’s wrists, I yanked it tight. He winced.

“Do I look like I give a shit about what the cops would do to me?”

I had nothing to lose. I’d gladly serve jail time if it meant keeping this creep away from Avery for good. I wrapped the other end of the rope around the trailer hitch on the back of my truck. Isaac’s eyes widened as he realized what I was doing.

“Wait, you can’t do this—”

“We play by a different set of rules around here,” I countered. “And you’re about to find out that pretty much anything goes. So, will you leave Avery alone?”

Isaac’s nostrils flared. He snorted.

“You must be the cowboy she was talking about on the phone.”

I said nothing.

“I’ll win her back,” he continued. “Avery belongs to me. She always has, and she always will.”

I jerked on the rope hard enough to bring Isaac to his knees. He hit the pavement with a yelp.

“Last chance,” I said. “Get the fuck out of this town and never look back. Or I’ll drag you to hell myself.”

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