Page 148 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
“I’m pissed at you.” I toss the horseshoe without care and step back on the sidelines.
“Did you even try?” Dean bitches. “You’re usually so competitive. What the fuck, Hart? Don’t pair up with me, then take your anger out on your aim. Not fair.”
I lift my beer and salute him before I chug a mouthful.
“Dick,” Dean mutters.
“He tried more than you did on supper.” Bronx’s chuckle is loud and thick, always attracting attention.
Dean shoots him a sidelong glare. “You wouldn’t know trying if it grilled itself and served you a plate. You don’t even season your food. You’re like the human equivalent of a salt shaker without the salt.”
Levi tosses the horseshoe with effortless precision, nailing the target dead center.
“Fuck,” Dean mutters.
“Why are you pissed at me?” Levi stands next to me.
“You have a big mouth.”
“Ahh. This is about the fire ants.”
“Yeah. I thought Jade was running her mouth.”
Levi shakes his head. “Surprisingly not. She cornered me and gave me the rundown so I’d check on you, which I did. I sent you a text.”
“You didn’t mention the ants.”
“I was saving your pride.”
“Then you blabbed it to everyone.”
“Hart, I gave the guys a heads-up before the campfire with the women. I was waiting for her to drag you through the dirt like she always does. Roast you like a marshmallow.”
“And?”
“Nothing. Not a word. Even when Dean hinted, she didn’t even look interested in sharing.”
My eyes flicker across the room, where she’s surrounded by her sisters, dancing and glowing, as if they’re the only ones in the room. There’s this new confidence about her. Not that she wasn’t confident before. Jade Fox is fucking confident, but there’s something else.
It’s the way her body moves in sync with the music. It’s the way she tosses her hair back when she laughs. It’s not anything new; it’s just different.
“What the hell happened yesterday?” Levi asks.
What didn’t happen?
We argued.
We fought.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
But I know precisely where things changed. I saw the moment spread across her face. Watched her fight wash away from her face.
And now? Now she looks so free. Free of our long-lasting fight.
Free of me.
That right there, that’s what’s got me all twisted up inside.
