Page 8 of Brands

“Well, if you’re friends with him, and Dixon, that makes you by proxy mine, too. Char’s my bestie, so you’re like a buddy squared.” Her wrist flips in a haphazard circle.

Kinda like my noggin trying to keep up with her logic.

“What does that mean?” I snort. “Texts? Long calls? Coffee dates?” I turn to her and grin. “Benefits?”

When her cheeks flush red and her nose wrinkles, it makes me laugh harder. “Thought so.”

It buys me a few miles of quiet.

“Is he going to die?” she finally asks, just before the turn to the ranch.

Shit.

Nosing my pickup into an open parking spot near the main house, I let the engine idle and let myself look at her.

Her lower lip is red and swollen from biting it, and her eyes are rimmed with unshed tears.

“Not anytime soon. He’s going to be in pain. It’s a big deal for a man to lose his, um…” Fuck, this is hard. “He’s choosing to go ahead with the surgery so he can be here for you. He’s crappy at communication, but he cares about you, and your brother.”

Her chin drops. “Yea, he is pretty shit at talking.” She tugs the hem of her sweater out of her coat sleeve and wipes her cheeks.

Working my way around the hood, I open her door and help her down onto the snowy ground.

Before I can stop her, her arms wrap my waist and she presses herself against my chest. “Thank you for being there for him.”

And then she hurries away.

Damn. This girl has a core of steel.

But it’s impossible to ignore how her soft curves felt squeezing me.

I feel that I can’t look away. Even in the bustle of my friends, I watch her as she moves, feigning happiness and laughter.

Until Char and Dixon arrive.

It doesn’t take long before I see the tears again when she takes Char’s arm and leads her away.

Then my own is grabbed roughly as I’m jerked to the hall near the kitchen.

“What the hell did you do to Libby?” Dixon growls.

He’s intimidating as hell, one of the few men bigger than me.

And his dark eyes rip into me as if he’s getting ready to drag me outside.

His lips are so thin, they disappear under his mustache.

“Nothing, Dix. She got some bad news about her dad.” I hold up my palms, waiting for him to let me go.

Why does it rankle me that he’s being protective over herto me?

Sawyer approaches with a pale look, giving me the opportunity to skirt away from Dix.

“Uncle Dixon? It’s Ford, he says it’s an emergency.”

Chapter Four

Libby

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