Page 75 of Bourbon and Secrets

A slap on my shoulder has me blinking. “What did I miss? Why do you look like that?” Hadley says as she drops down in the open seat. She snaps her fingers in front of me. “What happened? I thought Ace would stroke out before you, Linc.”

I smoosh my hand on her cheek, and she starts laughing.

“Hadley Jean,” Griz barks out. “You be nice over there.”

In a monotone response, Ace says, “Yeah, Hadley, be nice.”

“Now you want nice?” She tilts her head to the side. “You feeling soft in your old age, Daddy?”

Ace stands up like his ass is on fire and starts down the metal bleachers. “Quit it with the ‘Daddy’ shit, Hadley.”

She smiles, wiggling her eyebrows. “Why? Does it give you a little poke in the panties?”

Griz is practically cackling into his paper coffee cup.

Ace looks down toward the metal gates, and I can see the moment he decides he’s not just going to walk away this time. His gaze flicks to the row of women standing there for a second, ones lovingly referred to as buckle bunnies. Women who want a little fuckery with the rodeo boys. A few of them are watching the exchange as Ace looks back at Hadley.

I shake my head no. He’s going to rile her up—something he rarely does, but right now, I think she’s pushed him too far.

“Hadley,” Ace says. “I’m not feeling much of anything when you say shit like that to me. It’s just embarrassing how hard you try.” I wince as he takes a step down before he adds, “And I might be older than you, sugar, but there isn’t anything soft about me.” He tips his head to the row of women he’s started walking toward. “You can just ask a few of them tomorrow.”

“Ah, fuck,” I exhale. Leaning forward, elbows on my knees, I turn to Hadley.

Her face is bright red, and I’m not sure if she’s on the verge of tears or about ready to scream her face off. “You need to go for a walk?”

She ignores me, staring at him. “Sugar?”

I snort a laugh. “Maybe he’s had enough of your ‘Daddy’ nickname.”

“Butsugar? I mean, I would’ve settled for princess, or even darlin’.” She leans back against the metal bars behind us, completely bewildered. At the top of the bleachers, there’s a view of the entire stadium. “Wasn’t that the name of one of his horses?”

Now that I think of it... “Yeah, his horse as a kid was named Sugar. Yep.”

“Great, a dead horse. That’s what I get, I suppose.”

I nudge her knee. “You okay?”

“I’m always okay. It’s you I’m worried about.”

I look down past the gates and toward the food tents. A curvy blonde with a cowboy hat, barely-there dress, and purple cowgirl boots has my full attention. That and the built police officer next to her.

Hadley follows my line of sight. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” I ask her, trying to play off that she hasn’t figured it out by now. That I’m a fucking goner for a woman who’s a walking red flag.

“You and Faye. I thought maybe she was just new and shiny. And well, you’re slut-eriffic. So...” she laughs out as I pinch the skin under her arm. “Ow, you dick!”

“Hadley, that’s five bucks,” Lily shouts from the far end of the row, having moved to sit with her Uncle Grant and Aunt Laney.

“Put it on my tab, Lily.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “You know she does have a tab for you. It’s on the fridge. You owe just over three-hundred dollars.”

“What are they doing with all this money?”

“Fucking financing a small farm. Did I tell you Lark left me a flyer from Hooch’s that was hanging on the bulletin board? Kittens. They want kittens to add to the mix.”

“You try telling them no?” She raises her eyebrows, fully aware that’s not my strong suit.

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