Page 59 of The Chances We Take

“Just hit a low number or miss, Is,” Jake told me. “Reid can probably hit an eighteen on the dot, knowing him.”

“What about if I hit the eighteen?” I joked. I hadn’t hit any of the points I was aiming for so far that night, so it was unlikely. “Or what if I closed my eyes?” I covered my eyes with my hand and turned toward Jake, mimicking throwing the dart at his face.

“Easy there, Short Stack. With your luck, you’d actually hit him right in the eye.” Reid laughed as I uncovered my face and stuck my tongue out at him.

“Man, with how much those two flirted, you’d think they’d make it official already,” Mikey mumbled, his voice low, but not quiet enough where I didn’t hear him.

I craned my neck toward him, raising my brows.

“What was that, Michael?” Reid gave him a pointed stare.

“You know what I said, Lawson.” Mikey shrugged.

Silence fell over the group, no one wanting to say anything else. I flicked my eyes toward Reid. His were already on me, but they snapped away in an instant.

No one who likes someone more than a friend would avoid eye contact like that.

“Are you going to throw it, or are you just going to stand there?” Ellison broke the silence, gesturing to the dart still in my hand.

I looked down at the dart, pursed my lips, and noddedas I stepped up to the line. The throw was half-assed, landing in the outer boundary of the board.Zero points.

“Happy?” I rolled my eyes at Jake as I moved to lean against the wall.

“Very.”

“This is for the win, Lawsy,” Mikey chimed in.

Reid lined himself up with the dart board, looking as focused as he did when he roped. But right before he threw the dart, he looked over at me and smirked. My eyes didn’t move off him, even when he turned back to the target, threw the dart, and hit exactly eighteen points.

“Winners!” Jake threw a fist into the air.

“Are we done here?” Reid asked, forcing out a yawn. “I’m ready to hit the hay.”

Colter and Hayden mumbled agreements as they gathered their beers.

“I’m good with whatever. You ready, Is?” Ellison looked at me, to which I nodded.

Was I ready to go to bed? Yes. Was I ready to sleep five feet away from Reid? No.

A crash from outside the trailer jolted me awake.

“What was that?” I whispered to Reid, who was already sitting up from the sofa bed. Ellison and Colter were still asleep, surprisingly.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled as he swung his legs off the bed and stood.

“What are you doing?” I hissed at him. “It could be amurderer!”

“In Livingston, Montana? It’s fine.” He started rummaging in a closet until he pulled out a baseball bat.

“Abaseball bat?”Thatwas what he was going to protect us with? “Aren’t cowboys supposed to have guns and shit?”

“I mean, I do, but if they’re right outside the door, a bat will hurt just as bad.” He shrugged as he walked toward the door, holding the bat over his shoulder. He held a finger to his mouth as he swung the door open, preparing to hit whoever was outside.

“Wait! Stop!”

I flinched at Mikey’s shrill yell, and Reid groaned, lowering his bat.

“What the fuck were you doing? We thought someone was trying to break in!” Reid scolded him.

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