Page 40 of My Three Mountain Men

I gaped at him. “You just said it was incredibly dangerous!”

“I mean, if you could. Would you?”

I returned his stare blankly. What I had there with Brooks and Knox was pretty incredible, but Ryder just wanted me gone.

“I…”

“Who cares?” Brooks interjected, sparing me from answering. He thrust my beer back in my hand and glared at his cousin. “You shouldn’t have told her that, idiot.”

Knox scowled. “She asked.”

“Come on, Simone. Are you going to do this haircut?” Brooks demanded, the annoyance in his tone palpable. “Let’s go before I change my mind and opt for the bear look after all.”

I took a long drink of my beer and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before setting it down again.

How was I supposed to live there now, knowing how badly Ryder wanted me out?

My gut twisting, I picked up the scissors and got to work on Brooks’ mane.

CHAPTER18

Knox

Brooks did his best to cut through the tension, but it lingered through the rest of the haircuts. As soon as mine was finished, I excused myself to take a shower and rinse off the hair prickling my neck from my haircut.

My cousin followed me upstairs, furious, but I didn’t blame him. I shouldn’t have told Simone about Ryder. It was only going to cause more friction between them.

“Why did you tell her that?” Brooks hissed, slamming my bedroom door closed as he stalked toward me. “Are you completely stupid?”

“She asked,” I replied nonchalantly, stripping off my shirt. I headed into the adjoining bathroom, ignoring his scathing look, but he followed me.

“Are you going to join me and scrub my back?” I asked sarcastically. “I’d much rather have Simone do that.”

Brooks scoffed loudly, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned in the doorway, scowling. “You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t try to sneak off in the middle of the night now.”

Dread overcame me at the thought, but I turned slowly, maintaining my smirk. “What the fuck are you going on about? Where is she going to go?”

“I don’t know, you complete dumbass. But thanks to you telling her that, she’s feeling even more unwelcome and is probably going to try to find a way to get to Loganville on her own.”

I felt the blood drain out of my face, and I spun around to fuss with the shower, my pulse quickening. “She wouldn’t do that. I explained how dangerous it is out there.”

“You alsoexplainedthat Ryder was willing to risk it,” Brooks snapped. “How do you think that made her feel?”

“She asked,” I repeated, guilt building inside me. “And she didn’t seem opposed to the idea of leaving, either.”

Brooks’ eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “Is that what this is about? Her leaving?”

I deliberately whipped my head back toward the bathroom and undid my pants, hoping my cousin would take the hint, but Brooks was insistent. “Knox!”

“She seemed down to go,” I muttered.

“She has a life outside of here,” Brooks sighed, shaking his head. “Of course she wants to get back to it. Not everyone lives like we do, Knox.”

I said nothing, throwing my hands under the running shower to test the heat. “Are you going to stick around and wash my back?”

“Knox…”

“Get out, Brooks.”

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