Page 2 of Every Single Vow
I move slowly, pushing open the glass door. Before I’m off of the sidewalk, the bell jingles behind me. I peek over my shoulder to see the boy in the cowboy hat.
“Hey, what’s your name?” He asks.
I blink, looking at the prettiest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen.
“Dakota.” I stand taller, turning to face him.
He holds out a bag of BBQ chips. “Here you go.”
I frown, but he just grabs my hand and places the bag in my palm. “You’re hungry.”
I stare down at the bag of chips and for the first time I feel tears well, and it’s not because I’m scared. It’s because I’m thankful.
I meet his eyes again and he smiles.
“Thank you.” I clutch the bag to my chest. “What’s your name?” I ask.
He tips his hat with a goofy smile. “I’m Cooper. Cooper Mayson.”
Chapter one
Cooper
Present day
“So, you’re officially going to be my brother-in-law?” I ask Maddox, who knocks back the rest of his drink as we sit at the bar of the Mayson Jar.
The restaurant my aunt owns doubles as a dance hall most evenings and since the guy next to me just slipped a diamond ring on my sister’s finger, we came here to celebrate.
“As quick as she will let me.” He chuckles.
I slap a palm against his back. “Congrats, man.”
Maddox Sheppard had been a part of my family for years, regardless of if he’s blood or not, and I couldn’t have picked a better guy for Ivy. He’s the head operator for the bucking bulls owned by our family ranch, and we’ve been buddies for years.
“You buying my drinks tonight, cowboy?” A teasing voice comes from my right.
Dakota Sterling leans an elbow on the bar, her long dark hair cascading over her bare collarbone. Her blue eyes twinkle, the colorful tattoo across her shoulder drawing my attention. She shrugs it up a fraction and smiles. It slams into me with the speed of a freight train. It always does. It has since the first time I saw her.At ten years old.
My best friend laughs, and I reach up to pinch her chin between my fingers. “Don’t I always get your drinks?”
She smirks, then leans in so she can see past me, and calls out to Maddox who just started talking to Parker, my cousin.
“Epic show, Shep.” She gives a thumbs up. “Our girl is all smiles.”
My sister is currently laughing as Clyde, the oldest ranch hand that we have twirls her around the dance floor.
“That’s my goal. Keep her smiling.” Maddox lifts his drink.
Dakota smiles and leans back on her elbows next to me. “She deserves it.”
I motion to Shorty, the bartender who nods when I point to Dakota. He knows what she drinks, just like I do. I watch her profile as she scans the room, and I’m silently praying that some fucker doesn’t come ask her to dance. If I have to sit back and watch one more man spin her around that floor, or take her home, I’ll end up with a prison sentence. Which is the last thing Dakota needs considering that’s where her father is.
I’ve kept my feelings to myself. Played the best friend role for as long as I can remember. But myfeelingsfor the dark haired beauty next to me are anything but platonic. Dakota is awild card. A woman that wears her armor proud and true. She’s tough. She’s loud. She’s impulsive. But that’s only to hide that little girl inside that’s so used to being broken. I would know. I met that little girl first, and somewhere along the way, she got sick of being her. Sick of letting that worthless man rule her happiness. Her joy. It wasn’t overnight, but my best friend bloomed into this confident, ruthless, loyal, woman who would burn down the entire world for the people she loved. It was potent. Evident in everything she did, but there was still that small part of her that she could never fully extract. The part that reminded her of her past. Of where she came from. And that part is the only thing that has kept me strictly in the friend zone.
“Tequila Sunset.” Shorty drops her drink down on the bar top.
She spins to grab it, her lips wrapping around the straw. “Thanks, Coop.” She winks. “I owe you.”
