Page 31 of The Chances We Take

She ripped free from my grip and whipped around so she was facing me. “What the hell’s that mean, Lawson?”

I shrugged. “Whatever you want it to mean, honey.”

She scoffed and walked away to Ellison, instead of Landon, which was a win in my book.

Footsteps approached from behind me as Landon came to stand beside me. “Listen, bro, I didn’t know she was yours, all right? Could’ve just said something.”

“Sorry, man. No hard feelings, okay?” I lied. Isa wasn’t mine, far from it, but that didn’t mean I wanted Landon to have his hands all over her either. I considered it being a good friend to Isa. I would have done the same thing if Mikey had hit on her.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

isabelle

Iwalked over to Ellison, leaving both Reid and Landon behind me.

“What was that all about?” Ellison asked, tilting her head in their direction.

I shrugged. “Who knows? Pissing match I guess, which is funny because I have no interest in Landon and Reid and I are just friends.”

I could tell from the moment he stepped out of the pickup that Landon was trouble. Sure, he had a nice face, but he was the type of guy whoknewhe had a nice face and could use it to his advantage. In short, he wasn’t my type, but he could hold a decent conversation and that’s why I was content talking to him.

And Reid, well…he was Reid.

“Men,” she snorted.

All of the sudden a yelp came from the middle of the branding area.

“Fuck!” Mikey screamed as he jumped up, clutching his thigh, a burn mark scorched through his jeans.

“Someone grab the calf!” a voice yelled from the sidelines.

Reid rushed forward, grabbing the calf at the head as Ellison muttered, “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” and left so she could go take care of Mikey.

I followed behind her as she talked to Mikey in a low voice.

“You’re fine, you big baby. You’ve been stepped on by bulls but can’t handle a little burn? Cowboy up. Didn’t your mother ever teach you if you’re gonna be stupid, you gotta be tough?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled and limped back to the house.

“What happened?” I asked her as she turned around, rolling her eyes at the spectacle Mikey made.

“He’s fine. The branding iron got too close to him. His leg is fine, it barely touched his skin. He won’t even have a mark, he’s just dramatic.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s go, they’ll still need our help.”

I reluctantly followed her back.Is getting branded a normal thing?

“He all right?” Colter yelled at Ellison from atop his horse, and she gave him a thumbs up.

“Isa, you want to help with the next one?” Jake called over to me.

Not really,I thought, but I nodded, because I didn’t think I had a choice.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to hold the head. Less chance of getting burned,” he joked, earning a glare from me.

Hayden had the next calf, and he dragged it out to us. I remembered what to do from the last time, so I sat on the ground and positioned my legs where they needed to go.

Walker brought over the branding iron, but as he branded the calf’s shoulder, something wet sloshed under me. The smell hit before I realized the calf had shit all over my leg. I scrunched my face in disgust, trying not to gag as the combination of smoke, burnt hair, and shit mixed in the air.

Walker couldn’t have finished quick enough. Once he was done, Jake and I got up and spun the calf around.

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