Page 27 of Tore Up

“He would have wanted his horse to race,” Than replied. “I would have gone. They didn’t have to.”

“Let it go, man,” Forge told him.

Were they saying Crosby had a horse?

I looked at Than, who was glaring at the television.

“Moses Mile has a horse in this one,” Ransom added.

“And Stolen would have fucking smoked them all. Even the Houstons’ new winner,” Than grumbled. Then, his eyes shifted to me, and his hard expression softened some. “Crosby’s horse was supposed to be in this race.”

Wow. Okay, so Crosby had owned a horse. Weren’t those expensive? Had Bane bought him one?

“I knew he worked at a stable, but I didn’t know he had a horse,” I admitted.

Than swung his gaze toward the others, as if unsure of what to say to me.

Ransom cleared his throat, drawing my attention to him. His eyebrows lowered and drew together slightly. “How much did you know about Crosby?” he asked.

If he had asked me this yesterday, I’d have thought I knew everything. We had spent hours talking about our lives. I’d asked him questions about his. But now … now that I knew he’d lived in a house like this and had a fiancée … I realized I hadn’t known much and what I had known wasn’t the truth.

I lifted my shoulders a little, then looked down at my plate. “I’m not sure anymore.”

There was silence for several moments.

“Do you know his last name?” Ransom asked.

I nodded but realized if I found out he’d lied about that, I wasn’t sure I could keep it together. The guy I’d thought I knew was fading away with every new fact I found out about him.

“Cash,” I said slowly, hoping that was it.

He gave me a small smile. “So, you do know who his family is then.”

I glanced at all three of them to find their eyes on me, waiting for me to say something, but I wasn’t sure what he meant by that statement.

“Uh, no. I never met them, if that’s what you mean.”

Ransom shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I know you never met them. But you know who they are, right? The last name Cash is well known in the area. Especially here in Madison.”

I licked my lips nervously. This felt like I was being given a popquiz and failing. “I, uh, I don’t live in Madison. I live in Jackson.”

Ransom leaned back as he continued to study me. “Even in Jackson, I’d think you’d know who the Cashes are.”

I looked around the room and managed a small smile I didn’t feel. “I, uh … no.”

Forge let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Crosby didn’t just work at a stable,” Than told me.

“You might want to leave this for Bane,” Ransom interrupted him.

Than shot a challenging look at his brother. “Why? Because he’s so fucking friendly? He’s barely spoken to her.”

“Bane isn’t nice on a good day,” Ransom replied. “He has a reason to be the way he is right now though. Respect that.”

“Crosby was my best friend. Don’t tell me what the fuck to respect. Just like I know he’d want his horse in that goddamn race today, the last word out of his mouth wasHalo, so that means she was important to him.”

I clenched the plate tightly in my hands as I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t known that. He had said my name. Anguish rushed in, wiping out the bitterness that had begun to fester like a wave crashing onto the shore. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath.

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