Page 130 of Forever After All

“Nathan. I’m Wes’s friend,” a man replied.

Jess looked at him and squinted. “Who is Wes?”

Linc shook his head. The name didn’t ring a bell.

Jess’s eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers. “The new guy. From Texas.”

“If he’s from Texas, how does he have a friend here?”

Jess lifted her hands and shoulders. “Beats me.”

She opened the door, revealing a familiar face that made Linc’s blood turn cold.

Ryan stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. The guy looked like he’d aged ten years, and the shadows that fell across his face only made him look older.

The cocky grin was all the warning Linc needed. He put an arm in front of Jess and gently pushed her behind him.

Ryan pulled his hands from his pockets and spread them wide. “I thought I’d find you here.”

Chapter40

Linc

Linc stared at Ryan and forced his breaths to come even. “What do you want?”

Ryan scoffed, but the malicious smile he wore didn’t falter. “Long time, no see, friend.”

The emphasis on the last word wasn’t lost on Linc. He had no idea if someone had confirmed what he’d done to Ryan or not, but the look on the guy’s face said he knew.

Ryan folded his arms over his chest and spread his feet to shoulder-width. “I knew you’d get a real job when you got out. I wasn’t surprised when I heard you were a cowboy.” He chuckled and shook his head. “How wholesome.”

Ryan’s attention turned to Jess. She was standing somewhere behind Linc with a hand resting on his shoulder blade, but he didn’t dare take his gaze off Ryan.

If only he could tell her to hide somewhere in the house. He’d feel a lot better about facing the enemy if Jess was somewhere safe.

“Looks like you found a woman too.” Ryan made a show of trying to get a peek at her. “She’s hot.”

Fire surged in Linc’s middle. Jess wasn’t a part of this fight. He raised a hand and pointed a warning finger at Ryan just as Jess spoke.

“Shut up and go home,” she said with enough bite to let Ryan know she wasn’t one to play games.

Linc leveled his stare at Ryan. “Leave her out of this.”

Ryan raised his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry, man. Just trying to catch up.”

“How’d you get here?” Linc asked.

“There are a lot of cowboys in town. I had no idea this was a hub for summer cowboy jobs.” Ryan laughed. “Cowboys! Can you believe it? Anyway, all those kids at the bar in town like to talk about their new jobs. There’s not much else to do around here.”

“That’s a good reason for you to leave. Or you can wait until I escort you out. Take your pick,” Linc said in a low warning.

Ryan chuckled. “Nah. I think I’ll hang around. Those guys at the bar are funny. They told me all about you. Did you know they’re all scared of you? Half of them haven’t even met you, but they’ve heard about you.”

“We’re done here,” Jess said. “Get off my property.”

Ryan jerked back like he’d been slapped in the face. “Where’d you find this one? She’s mouthy.”

“Leave,” Jess said again, enunciating the word.

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