Storm (Georgia Smoke #4)

• Twenty •

“She’s not family, and she can’t be trusted.”

Storm

It was fucking hot, and the sun was brutal. I adjusted my hat to shade my eyes as I watched Thatcher on the thoroughbred Hughes Farm had sold to Stellan. Empire, Blaise Hughes’s horse, was its sire, which meant it had champion bloodlines. I figured this one was going to be our next winner. It was a fucking beast.

“He’s a beauty. What’s his name?”

Lula Mae’s voice was the last thing I wanted to hear. Dammit. She’d been showing up here all week. The woman wouldn’t get it through her head that I was not interested or available.

“Zephyr,” I replied, not looking at her.

“Are you gonna ride him?”

Her arm brushed against me, and I stepped away from her, crossing my arms over my chest while keeping my gaze on Thatcher and the horse.

“Whatever shit you’re playing at it needs to stop,” I warned her.

She let out a soft laugh, as if I were joking. “I’m just trying to be friendly. You used to be real friendly.”

“You crossed a line, grabbing my cock. Keep your distance.”

“Now, see, that’s not like you at all. You’re grumpy these days. I wonder what’s the cause of that.” Her tone suggested she knew what it was.

Fuck, she was annoying.

I turned my head, narrowing my eyes as I glared at her. “We have nothing to talk about. We aren’t friends. Go do whatever it was you came to do and leave me alone.”

She puckered her lips in a pout, then tilted her head to the side and looked up at me through her lashes. “We used to be good friends.”

I shook my head and turned my attention back to Zephyr. “Go away, Lula Mae. There is nothing for you here.”

“Fine. But when she leaves you, I’ll be here, waiting. Because she will leave. Women like her, they use men. I know all about her past. She’s not family, and she can’t be trusted.”

My jaw clenched as I ground my teeth together. “Get the fuck away from me,” I snarled angrily.

She was gonna need to go back to Louisiana. I’d make a visit to see my mother. Whatever she’d told them to let her stay was bullshit. She was here for me. Why the hell she thought we had a future, I didn’t know. I’d never insinuated that I had any sort of feelings for her. I mean, other than when I had been fifteen and she was sucking my dick all the time. A lot of girls had sucked my dick after that, and not one of them had thought that meant love. She was fucking wacked in the head.

I heard her stalk off, and I relaxed my shoulders. Briar hadn’t mentioned her lately, so I assumed Lula Mae had left her alone. It was just me she was harassing now, showing up every damn day.

Thatcher rode over toward me and stopped on the other side of the fence. The amused gleam in his eye as he tilted his hat back on his head and looked down at me just pissed me off. Why he had to get amusement from Lula Mae coming here daily when he didn’t like the bitch either was beyond me.

“I see your girlfriend is back again today,” he said with a smirk.

“Don’t call her that,” I bit out.

He patted Zephyr. “He’s gonna fly.”

“Seems that way,” I agreed.

Thatcher hadn’t taken him out to test that yet, but I wanted to be here when he did.

“I got that info you asked for,” he told me. “The record label. I’ll text you his contact when I’m done.”

“Thanks,” I replied, still not sure if this was something I could handle.

I was torn. I wanted to give Briar everything. Hand her the fucking world. But sharing her … it made my chest get tight, thinking about it. How would I manage that? She deserved it. She was so incredibly talented, and she belonged on a stage. Dammit, I wished this were easier. I had battled with it for weeks and finally gone to Thatcher to ask about the friend of his who owned a record label.

I was holding her golden ticket in my hand. Giving it to her terrified the shit out of me. Just the thought of losing her felt like my soul was being sucked from my body. But there had to come a time when I trusted her. She’d been honest with me. More honest than I’d been with her.

I had to make a decision. I guessed I was about to find out just how unhinged I’d become.

Thatcher looked past me, and his expression darkened before he adjusted his hat, shading his eyes, and rode off without another word.

I glanced back over my shoulder to see what he’d been looking at and saw the little jockey Capri.

She glanced up at me with a nervous smile. “Excuse me, but have you seen JB?”

I shook my head. “No, sorry. Not today.”

Her brows pinched together. “Okay, thanks. But if you see him, will you tell him I’m looking for him?”

I nodded my head, and she turned, taking her cap and slipping it over her blonde hair that she had pulled tight in a ponytail at the back of her neck.

I’d forgotten about that weird shit with her and Thatcher. I’d had my own things going on, but someone needed to check into that. And when I said someone, I meant Stellan. I sure as fuck wasn’t getting involved.

I hoped JB was still breathing.