Chapter 14
Verge
“Knock, Knock.”
“Verge, Shiloh, I ain't complaining about the extra hour and a half we got of sleep, but we do need to head out,” Beau yells through the door.
Shi’s eyes beam open and she scurries to her side of the bed to look at her phone. “Fuck. We overslept.”
I chuckle then say, “You sleep soundly wrapped around me.”
She glares at me, rolling her eyes, but I don’t miss the slight smirk on her face. I stand and open the door. Beau and Cash are standing there.
“Morning,” I say.
Cash peaks his head in. “Shiloh, all good?”
“Yeah, give us ten and we will be out. Sorry, I forgot to set my alarm,” she says, and I look back at them and they both nod, turning to the truck, and I shut the door.
I turn around to see her scurrying around the room in a panic, acting like if we don’t get to the rodeo grounds an hour before show time, she is going to be banished from the rodeo altogether.
“Calm down, Shi, you obviously needed the rest. We've got time,” I say, grabbing my jeans and a hoodie up from my bag.
“I wanted to go eat though, now we are going to have to swing by and get some nasty drive-through biscuits," she whines, and I can't help but burst into laughter.
“So your main concern waking everyone up at the ass crack of dawn is not because you want to be there insanely early, it's because you want to sit down and eat breakfast?” I ask.
She sits on the end of the bed, putting her boots on, and her face turns red as she looks at me. She purses her lips then shrugs her shoulders. “If you rat me out for being a food-crazed heifer I’ll never speak to you again,” she replies through her laughter.
I sit down in the chair, grabbing my boots before I say, “A girl after my own heart. I like a woman with an appetite.” I wink and she rolls her eyes again.
Damn she’s cute. I go to ask her about last night, if we are official.
Can I wrap my arms around her, kiss her, or hold her hand without her freaking out, and just as I open my mouth her phone rings.
“Hello. Hey. Yeah, sorry I forgot to set my alarm. We will swing by a drive-through on the way out. Let me know what y'all want,” she says to, I’m assuming, Cross, “Okay. Bye.”
She pockets her phone then looks at me. “Cross.”
“I figured,” I reply, grabbing my hat and phone and looking back at her. She leans down grabbing her and Cross’ bags and I take his from her and put it in my hand with mine.
Leaning in closer she presses up on her toes, rubbing her nose to mine before she brings her hand to the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. Once she pulls back she says, “I do sleep better wrapped around you.”
A genuine smile spreads across my face as she laces her fingers with mine and heads for the door, walking out with her hand in mine. I suppose that answers that.
Walking to the truck hand in hand, Cash rolls down the window and Beau leans across whistling before he says, “I knew it.”
Cash looks at him, “Gross, that’s my little sister.
” He looks back at us before he says, “Verge, go turn your key in. We are gonna hit the road tonight to head home. We will all trade off driving.” I nod and she lets go of my hand and I immediately miss her touch.
I put the bags on the back of the truck, then I head to the office to turn in my key.
As I head that way it suddenly hits me. I haven't smoked this morning and the craving hits me like a ton of bricks, but I don’t have time right now, so I’ll have to wait till we get to the rodeo grounds.
I wasn’t even thinking about it until her hand left mine and I was headed for the office. I turn my key in and head back out to the truck. As I'm walking that way I see Pierce coming out of his motel room and he spots me, his eyes full of fury, and he’s got a pretty good bruise forming on his jaw.
“You better watch yourself, McCoy,” he says through gritted teeth.
I stop, looking around sarcastically before I say, “Or what?”
He purses his lips together before he says, “Or I’ll kick your ass.”
I laugh, walking past him before I say, “That’s not what happened last night now is it?” I slide my thumb across the right side of my jaw and wink back at him, and his eyes morph into pure rage, but he doesn’t say anything. He gets in his truck and peels out of the parking lot.
Typical. I shake my head, chuckling to myself before I open the back door to the truck and hop in beside Shi.
When we start taking off down the road Shi scoots closer and I put my arm around her and Beau looks back half smirking before he says, “Don’t wander around alone today, neither one of you. If I know Pierce he’s gonna plot to get back at y’all for humiliating him, but not in a good way. Got it?”
“Yes sir,” Shi says, giving a salute to Beau, and he scoffs, rolling his eyes, and Cash speaks up.
“Seriously, Shiloh, if he would have hit you I think all three of us would be in the slammer, so just watch yourself, okay?”
“Okayyyyy,” Shi sighs as she grabs my arm, laying on it, and it sets my heart on fire.
I act casual on the outside and Beau looks at me in the rearview, his smile widening. I keep teasing her that she’s obsessed with me, but I’m pretty obsessed with her as well and there is no hiding it.
As we pile out of the truck Shi was less than thrilled that we swung by a fast food joint to grab breakfast. The look on her face was pure disappointment and I couldn’t help but laugh at her.
She gave me a real sideways look when I said I only wanted a cup of black coffee.
Breakfast just doesn’t sit right with me this early in the morning.
I like my coffee black and a cigarette first thing and that’s it.
Once we get out of the truck she follows me to the trailer with her coke and hashbrown in her hand. I put my coffee on the fender and open the tack room door, grabbing my smokes out of my bag.
She chuckles. “Breakfast of champions, black coffee and a cigarette.”
Glancing at her I pack my cigarettes, putting it between my lips and say, “Okay, heifer, I don’t judge you for your breakfast obsession.” I pause to light my cigarette, taking in a swift pull and blowing it out before I say, “Don’t judge me for mine.”
“Hey, you can’t call me a heifer,” she squeaks and pushes my shoulder.
I shrug, blowing out another puff of smoke before I say, “You did.”
“Yeah, but boyfriends aren’t supposed to call their girlfriends heifers,” she says, eyes wide, mouth gaping open.
I laugh, looking her up and down before I say, “Oh, I’m your boyfriend am I?”
She blushes, putting her hair behind her ear, looking at her boots in the dirt, watching the indention it makes again, and I’ve come to adore this trait of hers and I ask, “When did you start doing that?”
She glances up, pursing her lips together before she says, “When I was five.” She chuckles and continues, “Actually that night at the Pbr 15 years ago. Dad had bought me some new boots and I loved the way they made indentions in the dirt. Cash kept telling me “quit dragging your feet, Shiloh.” She smiles again, lost in a memory, and then her smile fades and her eyes go distant before she shrugs it off saying, “Anyways I’ve just done it ever since, a nervous habit I suppose.”
“Do I make you nervous, Shi?” I ask, flicking my smoke to the ground, stepping on it then moving closer to her, putting my hand on her neck and my other hand on her hip, pulling her into me and her breath catches before she says, “Very much so, but I’m coming around. ” I then lean down and kiss her slowly.
“Get a room,” I hear Tyler's voice behind us and she pulls back, looking over my shoulder before Shi quickly says, “We did last night thanks to you two dip shits.”
Cross and Tyler both burst out into laughter and I can’t help but laugh too. Those two, I don’t know what it is about them, but they make me laugh even when they ruin a moment.
Cross swings his arm around Tyler, looking at her before he says, “Mission accomplished I’d say, wouldn’t you?”
“I’d say our efforts were proven not futile,” Tyler says in a British accent and both Shi and I laugh at them.
“I fed Riot for you, Shiloh. Now, where is our breakfast? I'm starving,” Cross asks.
She points over her shoulder. “In the truck.”
Tyler reaches into her pocket to hand Shi some cash and Shi shakes her head.
“Girl, it was like $6. Don’t sweat it. I have enough money in Cash’s bets to buy everyone breakfast for a month,” she says and Cash comes up behind her putting her in a headlock before he says, “Then why didn’t you buy everyone's breakfast and I did, little sister?” She squeals, trying to break free of her brother and my instinct is to pull him off of her, but I don’t.
Instead I sit back and admire the brother-sister bond they have considering I don’t have that.
She breaks free of him, running behind me, peaking out on the side saying, “I’ll buy dinner if you win tonight.”
“Is that right?” He laughs as Beau walks up behind him.
“What?” Beau says with a mouthful of biscuit.
“Shiloh says if we win tonight, dinner will be on her,” Cash tells him.
Cross and Tyler come walking up with their food in hand and Cross says, “What are you two betting now?”
Shi comes out from behind me, hugging my side, and damn it feels good. I look down to her, smirking, before she looks at Cross and says, “I told him if he wins tonight I’ll buy dinner.”
I chime in, “If you two beat them I’ll buy dinner,” I say to Beau and Cash, because frankly I like my odds. Cross and Shi are damn good and I honestly don’t think Beau and Cash can beat them. They aren’t bad but they aren’t nearly as quick as Shi and Cross.
“That’s a way to save money.” Cross teases and Beau knocks his hat off of his head laughing.
“Shut up, fucker, or you will ride in the back with the horses,” Beau teases.
Cross almost chokes on his food trying to contain his laughter.
“I’m gonna go check in on Riot. Tyler, wanna come?” Shi says and before she leaves she gives me a kiss and walks off with Tyler at her side.
I nod. I need to pay my entry fee anyways. I go to walk off and Cross catches up with me. “You’re welcome.” He winks, taking a bite of his biscuit and nudging me with his shoulder.
I chuckle. “I didn’t need your help.”
“Oh come on, I handed her to you on a silver platter. I will say though, canceling the room was Tyler's idea.” He laughs, still munching on his breakfast.
“Okay, that was funny. I should have taken a picture of the look on her face when they said her room was canceled. Although she did blame me at first.” I pause, looking around to make sure Pierce isn’t anywhere and Cross reads my expression before he says, “Caught them lingering last night until they realized Tyler wasn’t alone and they headed out,” he says, his tone getting serious.
“Don’t let the girls out of your sight today. I don’t trust him or is fucking possy,” I grit out as we make our way to the rodeo office.
“Me either, man. Me either,” Cross says.
If that prick so much as looks in my girl’s direction I’ll do more than just punch him in the fucking face. I’ll end him.