Page 38 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
“You can’t just bail out now. You leave in two days.” My eyes are back across the room.
Now he’s being pretty gentle with her. Thought bikers didn’t do “gentle.”
“I’m gonna have to stay and keep an eye on her,” Beck is saying. “Can’t risk leaving if she goes into labor while I’m gone. But don’t worry, brother, I got you covered.”
I bet he does.
Look at the leather lizard leaning over the table. He doesn’t give a damn if anyone’s watching. Confidence or cockiness? I can’t tell. Jade shouldn’t trust him either.
“You don’t need to have me covered, because you’re going.” I take a slow sip, letting the liquid sit on my tongue.
If I were her, I’d be more nervous being close to someone like him.
“You know I can’t.”
This conversation is getting old fast.
I sigh and turn to face him. “We’ve got plenty of hands at the ranch. You know that. You can leave the guys to handle it. Hell, we’ve got a whole damn crew lined up.”
He rubs the back of his neck. “Hart—”
“Don’t ‘Hart’ me.” I’m watching her out of the corner of my eye.
Jade’s definitely giving dent-skulled throttle-head a run for his money. A few more lessons, and she’ll run that table.
“You know how it is. She’s overdue, and I can’t risk it.” Beck is the most sensitive out of all my brothers. “If anything happens, I need to be here. She’s like family.”
I do know how it is.
Of course, I fucking know how it is.
I oversee the entire ranch from finance to the mud on the ground, but it still pisses me off.
Is that a genuine laugh from her, or is it just a polite response?
Doesn’t matter.
Wheeler clears his throat, and his eyes flicker to the side, tinged with guilt. “I, uh, gotta pass too.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Lena agreed to a last-minute book signing, and I’m helping her.”
“More like he’s gonna be her real-life cowboy model.” Dean lifts a hand for a fist pump.
Wheeler leaves him hanging, with a short shake of his head. Dean shrugs and goes back to his pie.
“I bet she’d sell more books if you stood shirtless by her side wearing low jeans and your white Stetson.” Dean waggles his eyebrows.
Wheeler ignores him. “I got Sammy to sit in for me.”
“Sammy? Are you kidding me? He won’t be able to sit at a booth. Sterling is riding, already up three, and we all know Sammy is attached to him like glue. Not to mention, the kids.”
Sammy moved back to Rocky Ridge Creek and basically adopted his new wife’s nieces and nephew as his own. When he’s not with them, he’s with Sterling and vice versa.
“He’ll be taking the oldest to watch Daisy Fox barrel ride,” I grumble. “And making sure he doesn’t lose the youngest. Thatkid disappears into any nook to read. And don’t even get me started on the little pyro.”
Wheeler gives me his stern dad stare. “Stop calling her a pyro.”
