Chapter 14 #2
“Calm down, he’s just messin’ with you.” Noah shrugs her off, then offers her the shot.
“No, babe, that’s for you. Show me your best deep throat!” Magnolia’s loud voice gets the attention of half the bar.
My eyes laser in on Noah bending down, wrapping her lips around the glass, and then snapping her head back as the liquid flows into her mouth. Once she’s swallowed, she slams it down on the bar.
“Yes! That’s my girl!” Magnolia cheers.
We stand at the bar and drink for a while before someone notices a guy they don’t like. Everyone turns, and even though I don’t know who they’re talking about, I look too.
“Who’re we starin’ at?” I whisper into Noah’s ear while her brothers are distracted.
She shivers against me, and I smile at how quickly her body responds to me.
“Craig Sanders,” she says. “The guy we suspect is responsible for the nails. He’s a jealous asshole.”
“You’re fuckin’ kiddin’ me.” My jaw sets, and I grip my bottle. “Maybe I should have a chat with him.”
Before Noah can stop me, I take my beer and head his way.
“Fisher, no.” Her voice fades the farther I walk. This little shit’s been harassing her, and I can’t just stand here and do nothing. Letting my son be rude to her was hard enough, but I don’t have enough willpower to stay silent with this asshole.
“Craig?” I ask when I’m behind him.
“Who’s askin’?” He spins around and sizes me up. “Who’re you?”
“Were you at the Sugarland Creek Ranch a few days ago?”
“I’m not sayin’ a goddamn thing to you until I know who you are.”
“Fisher Underwood. I’m their new farrier.”
His face breaks out into a knowing, shit-eating grin, and it’s all the confirmation I need to know he’s the guy. “Okay, and what about it?”
“Were you there?”
He shrugs, taking a sip of his drink. “Don’t recall.”
I step closer until the tip of my boot touches his. “Think real hard, then. You put Noah and her client at risk of gettin’ hurt with your little stunt. Hell, you harmed Ranger’s hoof.”
I stand straighter, daring him to deny it again.
“Fisher, there ya are.” Wilder approaches, grabbing my arm.
“Oh, how cute. The whole Hollis clan is here tonight.”
“You better watch your mouth, Sanders. Just ’cause Noah didn’t invite you to the fundraiser don’t mean you gotta act like a little bitch.”
Oh, fucking hell.
“I wouldn’t be caught dead at your stupid ranch,” he spits out.
“That so? Because we got you on camera,” Wilder retorts.
“Is that so?” Craig pushes his wrists together in a cocky gesture. “Then why haven’t I been arrested?”
His amused remark has me wanting to punch in his smug little boy face. Thirty-five-year-old me wouldn’t have thought twice about doing it.
But I try not to be that person anymore.
The one who used violence as an outlet for my pain.
“Keep it up, and you’ll wish you’d been arrested instead of what we’ll do to you,” Wilder threatens, and this time, I’m the one grabbing his arm and pulling him back.
I see a lot of my younger self in him, which worries me.
Wilder’s tall, built like an MMA fighter, and could easily do some damage to Craig’s lanky body.
Craig’s cocky grin widens. “Have a great evening, gentlemen. Watch where you step.” Then he looks around me where Noah waits and adds, “Lots of snakes out there.”
He walks away, leaving Wilder scathing.
“He’s not worth it,” I tell him.
“Trust me, it would be.”
He brushes past me, and I follow him back to the bar.
“What’d he say?” Noah asks.
I squeeze the neck of the beer bottle and take a drink as I glance at her over the rim. “He’s definitely the one who did it. Wilder was ready to knock him out,” I say, telling her word for word what happened with Craig.
“They graduated in the same year. Never got along,” Noah explains. “He hates me because he thinks I steal his clients. But really, they come to me after they fire him for being incompetent.”
“When you report it to Sheriff Wagner, Wilder needs to include what he said. You might wanna install more cameras and put up No Trespassing signs on that side of the ranch. That way, you can at least say you had them up if he does it again.”
“Good idea. I’ll have the boys do that tomorrow.”
Magnolia snorts, wedging herself back into our conversation. “If they’re not hungover.”
“I’ll do it, then. You need them up as soon as possible. Hard to tell how far he’ll go, but I don’t trust him.”
“Join the club.” Magnolia wrinkles her nose. “He wasn’t always this way. Well, not as bad anyway. Not until Noah turned him down last year. Then he made it his mission to make her life a livin’ hell by tryin’ to steal her clients.”
“I have a feelin’ many girls turn him down, but he found a way to get even with you because of your shared interests,” I tell Noah.
“He’s made snide comments about how it must be nice that Mommy and Daddy pay for my business.
” She scoffs. “He’s too dense to realize I earned it.
I pleaded with my dad for five months to expand the trainin’ center.
Eventually, I gave a presentation on how it’d benefit the ranch with projected earnings and how I’d meet them.
He finally agreed, and we expanded the arena so I could train for barrel racing.
It also helped so my brothers and I could train at the same time without being on top of each other. ”
“And your girl smashed those earnings in half the time she promised! It brought in more clients and more trainin’ hours,” Magnolia gushes, smiling wide at Noah like a proud best friend. “Which means Mr. Hollis lets her do whatever she wants now.”
Noah’s cheeks tint a gorgeous color of cherry red that matches her lipstick. “Yes, but I spent years workin’ my ass off for that, so Craig can fuck off.”
He’s gonna do a lot more than that if he doesn’t leave her alone.
We finish our first round of drinks, but as soon as they call Wilder’s name next in line, we move to the bull area.
He’s definitely had a handful of beers by now and is rowdy as hell when he jumps on top of the mechanical bull. “Yeah, baby! Let’s goooo!” He waves his ball cap in the air and grips the horn with his other hand.
The guy in charge counts down, then presses the button.
“Yeehaw!” Wilder shouts, his legs flying up and down as the bull spins, going faster and faster with each passing second.
Noah and Magnolia hold their phones and giggle as they record him.
A roar of laughter echoes when he falls off before the eight seconds are up.
He stumbles on wobbly legs before face-planting on the mat and then rolls over.
Jesus Christ.
Waylon goes out and lends him a hand, then pulls him to his feet.
“How long did I last?” Wilder asks, slurring over his words.
“Five seconds,” Tripp says.
“Oof. I feel sorry for Jen,” Magnolia says, earning a shove from Wilder.
“You’re next,” Tripp tells Noah. “I put your name on the list.”
“You jerk! I’ve only had one drink. I can’t do it sober.”
I arch a brow but stay quiet. She’s had two, including the one she had at the restaurant, but technically speaking, she’s had four if we count the tequila and the shot. She’s far from sober.
“Show us what ya got, little sis!” Tripp shouts, clapping to draw more attention.
“You owe me a drink after this!” She nudges her shoulder against Tripp as she walks into the ring.
My chest tightens as she climbs on. She adjusts her dress so it’s tucked under her thighs. I don’t want her to get hurt, but given the encouragement of her brothers, they’re not as worried.
“Yeah, Noah! Show us whatcha got!” Magnolia cups her mouth, shouting out each word in a long drawl.
The guy counts down again, and then it starts moving. With one arm in the air, she maintains her stance, squeezing her thighs and holding the horn with a firm grip.
Her body moves naturally with the bull’s as it gets faster. Ocean-blue eyes find mine for a split second before it whips around again. Golden blond locks fly around her shoulders, and as soon as the buzzer goes off, we all cheer.
“You killed it!” Magnolia jumps up and down when Noah returns, and they wrap their arms around each other.
Noah flips her hair over her shoulder. “That’s what y’all get for doubtin’ me.” She glances in my direction. “Your turn, cowboy.”
“Yeah, Fisher! Fisher, Fisher, Fisher!” As they shout my name, it grabs the attention of the rest of the bar, and soon a hundred-plus people are chanting it.
Fuck me. I’m confident I can do this, but I haven’t done it in years.
I hold up my palms. “Fine. Fine.”
“Wait. You’re a pro, which means you gotta do it with no hands!” Wilder announces.
“Yes!” Tripp agrees.
“Guys, that’s not fair.” Noah waves them off.
“It’s totally fair! He’s done this like a million times,” Landen adds.
“Dude, I thought we were friends?” I quip, and they laugh.
“You goin’ in or what?” the guy asks.
I suck in a breath and nod.
Giving in to the peer pressure, I walk inside and climb up. Situating myself where I can use my legs as leverage to stay in position, I ground my pelvis and then raise both arms.
The boys roar loudly, hooting and hollering even before the guy counts down.
And then it starts.