age now, so she didn’t go out often, but damn if she hadn’t always been right by me when I needed her most.
“Hey, old girl,” I called when I got to her stable door. She lifted her head and neighed a gentle greeting before nudging my hand looking for her treat. “Hold up, I’ll get you something,” I told her, rubbing the spot near her cheek where she loved to be petted. Reaching over, I snagged a couple of carrots from the bucket I kept close by and fed them to her. “I really like this girl, Gypsy.” A small snort from her and I kept going, unloading all my thoughts on the one friend I knew I could trust. “She sort of snuck up on me. I really don’t know what it is about her, but I think I need her in my life.” She nudged my empty hand and I fed her the other carrot I’d picked up. “Maybe, it’s her sense of humor. She’s so damn gorgeous it makes me want to turn into a pansy-ass and tell her every five minutes. Simple things like washing her hair, and she acts like I’ve just moved a mountain. She’s so goddamn sweet and she gets along with Ellie-May and the boys. When she smiles. I swear to God, the angels must cry; it’s that beautiful. I mean, what’s not to lov—” I shook my head trying to dislodge the word and the feeling behind it. Gypsy nudged me hard this time and neighed at me. I looked at her; she blinked at me, and then dropped her head.
“Ah, shit,” I cursed when realization sunk in. I dropped down on the stacked hay bales behind me and put my head in my hands. “I love her. Holy shit. I do. I love her.” I pulled my head back up and looked over at Gypsy who was now completely disinterested. “This week is gonna be a head fuck,” I noted aloud. I stood up, moving to the barn doors and wandered out to the lake where Amelia and I had spent some of our time together while she was here.
X X X
Gravel crunching under tires had my head popping up from the book I’d pinched off Ellie a few hours ago. I moved off the chair I was stretched out in, and made my way outside to see a bright red, obnoxious looking convertible pull up. A lanky guy with a massive bald spot flung the door open and started yelling, “Amelia, Amelia!”
“What the fucking hell?” I heard Austin curse from behind me. I ignored him and stomped toward the front door to find out just what this guy thought he was doing and why he was looking for my girl.
“Amelia!” he was still yelling, because apparently, if she was here, she was deaf.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked sternly when I made it to the top of the steps. I crossed my arms over my chest in a display of ‘pissed the fuck off’ and glared at him. He took a step back when I felt Austin and Braxton flank either side of me.
“I’m looking for Amelia,” he snipped, looking me up and down like I was a bug he needed to swat with a newspaper.
“Clearly. What’s your business with her?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Amelia!” he yelled, craning his neck to see past the solid wall of cowboy barricading the front door. “Amelia!”
“You deaf?” I asked, taking the few steps down onto the cracker-dust driveway and stopping a few paces in front of him and his hoity toity sports coat. “What is your Goddamn problem?”
“My GD problem, as you so eloquently put it, is none of your business, but if you must know, I’m looking for my fiancée.” He put his hands on his hips and his words registered. My stomach dropped and my chest tightened up.
“Come again?” Austin barked from my left.
“My fiancée, Amelia. I’m looking for her. The private investigator I hired told me she was being kept here.” He looked around in disgust. My tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of my mouth and a lump formed in my throat. She was engaged. To a guy I didn’t know existed. She wasn’t mine at all… she was his.
“Nobody was being kept here, needle dick,” Austin growled. My heart was close to beating right
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