Page 22 of In the Dust

“Mhm,” I murmur as he places his hand on the small of my back.

Colton steps into sight. I can tell he’s biting the inside of his cheek while he walks past me, avoiding eye contact.

“I need to rinse these beans off real quick. I’ll meet you out back.” I plant a kiss on Brad’s cheek before strolling towards the house.

I head out onto the back porch and sit down on the swing to snip off the ends of the beans. I slowly rock myself back and forth as the men continue with their rivalry.

Brad is swinging fast and hard, which makes him lose his energy quickly. Colton hits each log hard and steady, so he’s able to maintain his stamina. Exactly what I knew would happen.

I watch Brad as he props his axe up against the other logs. Colton steps up to Brad’s log and pulls back his own axe.

It happens so fast as Brad moves his arm toward the swinging axe.

He lets out a guttural scream and I instantly drop the beans from my lap, jumping up from the porch swing and running straight to him.

“What the hell did you do, Colt?”

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