Chapter 4
~ Troy ~
Iwatched as the two ladies walked out of the barn, MaryBeth’s high giggles being heard for miles on end. But it wasn’t just that cute sound that captured my attention.
It was the woman who was holding her hand.
The kiss last night did wonders for me.
Now, I wasn’t a virgin by any means; I had plenty of kisses and plenty of women. But that kiss, it was the sweetest, most meaningful kiss of my life.
And I wasn’t sure how to share that shit with my best friend.
I didn’t go in there thinking of kissing her.
It just happened.
I just wanted to.
Badly.
The bet was out of my mouth before I could think twice. And then I just had to win the game. I didn’t cheat, but I used every skill I had.
Did I think Markus would kill me?
No.
Okay, lie, yes, he would.
Markus already had an asshole deal with his sister. I had no doubt in my mind that he would think I would be the same. That I would only be out for one thing.
And damn it all to hell, for the first time while looking at a woman, that wasn’t what I wanted.
Why in the blazing hell did she have to grow up and become this gorgeous woman that would drive every man insane? That wasn’t fair to me. She shouldn’t have done that.
I felt the horse nudge my shoulder and I looked back at Rainbow who was giving me a hell of a stink eye.
“Don’t you go telling on me, young lady. And don’t you go getting mad at me. I haven’t done anything.”
She nipped at my shoulder, calling me out for the lie she clearly knew, and I chuckled as I rubbed her nose.
“Markus is already going to call me out on my bullshit; I don’t need you to do it too.”
I led her back into her stall, giving her a rub down, then treating her with an apple before closing her stall door. I made my way down the barn, checking on the other horses before walking out, spotting Markus in the pen with one of the new horses.
I made my way over, leaning my arms on the railing and resting my foot on the bottom beam, watching my best friend work with the horse.
For as far back as I could remember, both Markus and Anelise were in the saddle, working and riding with horses as if it was their very lifeline. And most of those wild, beautiful beasts took to the pair as if it was nothing, listening to their commands with such ease that it always blew my mind.
I was good with horses, no doubt; grew up around them as well. But never looked, nor felt as comfortable in the saddle, as they did.
Watching Markus with them, even now, was almost a whimsical sight. Hell, watching Anelise in one too, was a maddening sight.
When she told me today to take MaryBeth, I was both happy, and sad. Happy she trusted me enough to take her daughter out, but sad because I hadn’t seen Anelise on a horse in ages, and I could only picture the sight now.
“Stop daydreaming, old man.”
I looked up and smiled at Markus before nodding my head to the horse he was on.
“He looks comfortable enough.”
“Only with me. Or with Anelise. He won’t let anyone else on him. Not sure what has him so skittish. I saw you with MaryBeth. I’m surprised Anelise let you take her.”
“Me too. But I got MaryBeth to calm down enough, so maybe that’s why.”
“She has the love of horses that her mother has. You done for the day?”
“Yeah, checked on the others, they’re good. Then Thomas was just about done mucking the stalls.”
“Great, I’m going to put Thunder here back, want to grab a drink at Joes?”
I wanted to say no, it would probably be the smart thing, but I couldn’t tell my best friend that. So, instead, I nodded and made my way to my truck to wait for him.
“Wanna hear something funny?”
I lifted a brow at Markus as I took a pull from my beer. He sat across from me, playing with his own bottle as he waited for my response.
“What?”
“Thomas told me something this morning that shocked me.”
“Yeah, what was that?”
“You kissed my sister.” I fought to keep the beer in my mouth and not spit it all over him, which only caused him to grin.
“That’s not the funny part. When we were growing up, she had the biggest crush on you.
When she got pregnant from that loser, I almost wished it were you.
Not that you wouldn’t stay by her side, but because that means we would have been closer.
You wouldn’t have just been my best friend. ”
“Are you saying you give me permission to date your sister?”
He laughed as he finally took a drink then shook his head.
“I don’t need to give her permission, she’s a grown ass adult, if you couldn’t tell.
She’s also strong-willed, stubborn, driven, smart, beautiful, and sassy as hell.
I think that’s a born trait in any part of Texas, actually.
But she’s a cowgirl through and through.
She helps with the ranch management, she helps Cook, and when she can, she helps with the horses. ”
“Why are you sharing this, Markus?”
“Because I’m not dumb, Troy. I saw the way you looked at her when you first came home. Hell, I saw the way she looked at you. And then, less than twelve hours later, your lips are on hers? Come on, there’s something brewing here, even if you don’t want it to be.
“I’m just telling you what you’re in for when it comes to her and I don’t want you hurting her.
She’s had too much of that already. So, if you want to date her, great.
You have fun, just don’t give me details like you have in the past. But I have no problem jamming my fist in your face if you break her heart.
Or if you decide you’re done living here again. ”
I opened my mouth to stop him, to tell him that it was too soon, that I hadn’t thought about dating Anelise, but that would be a lie.
And no matter what, I’ve never been able to lie to my best friend.
After that kiss, I was up for hours on end thinking about asking Anelise out but was worried for a few different reasons.
But Markus, right now, was easing a few of those worries.
“There’s more,” he said, and I snorted, taking another drink of my beer.
“No doubt.”
“It’s pointless to say it, but I’m going to.
Anelise and MaryBeth are a packaged deal.
Now, I’ll gladly give my sister a break from parenting and watch my niece, but I won’t let someone hurt my niece either.
She doesn’t get to be pawned off just because some man wants to date Anelise and not be around MaryBeth. ”
For some unknown reason, that thought pissed me off. MaryBeth was one of the sweetest, funniest, cutest little girls I had known, and I couldn’t imagine not wanting her around.
“That’s happened?”
“Sadly, yeah. About two years ago, Charlie wanted to date Anelise. They went out a couple of times, but one afternoon, I was sick so Anelise asked if they could take MaryBeth on their picnic and he blew up, saying if she couldn’t get rid of the baby, he didn’t want her.
She yelled back, “what the hell did he think he was getting.” He finally told her that his end goal, if they made it, was to ship MaryBeth off to school, that he wouldn’t take care of no other bastards rugrat.
“Needless to say, Anelise cut him off and told him to get lost. But she hasn’t dated since then. It kills me to see my sister lonely, but no one man wants both of them. So, I’m hoping you’re the man she really needs to step up and show them that they’re both wanted.”
I hadn’t thought about kids in my future. Not that I didn’t want them, it was just way further down the line. But I could never not imagine those two together.
I also knew that I truly wanted to date Anelise, if she actually gave me the time of day, I’d have to date her daughter too.
And that was a big decision.