43
“N ever thought you had it in you,” Davis says from his barstool.
“What? Party planning?”
He arches a brow. “Love.”
I laugh, glance down at my boots where Reese’s name is written in Sharpie on the outsole. “Man, you ain’t seen the half of it.”
Me and my brothers hover at the bar with cold beers in our hands. A few Resurrection locals stand over our table, eating the remains of the cake. Koty and Ruby dance in the center of the room. Beef returns with another round of drinks.
I lift my beer, tipping it to Reese, who walks inside with Fallon. “I look at that girl right there and you know what I see?”
“The love of your fucking life,” Charlie says, his eyes on Ruby.
“Yeah,” I husk. “The love of my fucking life.”
I smile, watching the way all heads turn as she crosses the floor. Damn if she doesn’t shine like gold in that dress.
Too goddamn beautiful.
Mine.
The stool rattles beside me as Wyatt plops down, signaling for a drink. He looks like he needs to blow off some steam.
“You okay?” Davis asks, clocking Wyatt.
“Fine,” he says, his voice tight.
“By the way…” I shoot back my shot. “I need the name of the jeweler you used for Koty.”
Wyatt groans, covering his face with his hands. “Y’all gotta stop makin’ plans without me.”
I slip off the stool. “C’mon. We ain’t gonna get the girl sitting at the bar.”
“Hey there, Country Boy,” Reese says, meeting me in the middle of the bar. “Save me a dance?”
There’s so much love in her eyes, it nearly knocks me over.
“Every dance tonight and every dance after.” I pull her into my arms and onto the dance floor.
She shakes her head, smiling. “Smooth talker.”
I spin her and return her to my arms. The jukebox plays George Strait’s “I Cross My Heart.”
She lays her head on my chest. “Think this just might be our song.”
“It is,” I husk.
The dance floor is crowded and hot, but we dance the night away.
“You could say excuse me!” The husky female voice floats over the bar, louder than the music. Angry.
Reese and I come to a halt on the dance floor.
Beside me, Davis and Koty freeze. “Where’s Fallon?” Davis asks, craning his head.
“Oh no,” Reese breathes, fingertips going to her mouth.
We all look over to see Fallon punching a finger in a cowboy’s chest. A burly, sweaty, tobacco-chewing mustachioed man with American Flag tattoos on his biceps. “You must be the cunt of the litter.”
“Fuck,” Charlie groans.
“We leave her alone for twenty minutes and she’s already shit-talking,” I mutter.
“What do we do?” Ruby whispers.
Dakota shakes her head. “We stay out of the way.”
I tense as the guy grabs Fallon’s arm. She flinches like she’s been slapped. “You’re dead,” she growls, before wrenching her arm from his grip and balling her fist.
Before she can take a swing, Davis grabs Fallon around the waist and hefts her into the air. “Fuck’s sake, Fallon, you can’t go around punching anyone you want to.”
She wiggles in his tight grip. “Who wants to live forever, anyway?”
Davis swings her to the side, and instantly, Wyatt’s storming the floorboards. The immediate beeline, the manic look—he’s all in for Fallon.
But, from my vantage point, he’s in the wrong position. Before Wyatt can square up, the guy’s fist catches Wyatt in the jaw. My brother staggers back, slamming into the wall. Charlie hisses a breath.
Davis and I exchange a look. That’s civil fucking war right there. If someone touches our little brother, they die by our hand.
“Stay here,” I tell Reese.
Together, we step forward.
“Hey, man,” the guys bleats, lifting tobacco-stained hands. “That little bitch started it—”
Davis hauls back and hits the guy in the face. He wobbles once and lands on his ass in a puddle of beer.
I clap my twin on the back. “Still got it, brother.”
The fight’s over. The man’s down.
But Nowhere isn’t ready to quit.
The dance floor goes wild. Stomping boots. Flailing fists. Beer bottles break. Across the room, cake splatters the wall.
A hand grabs the front of my shirt. I just grin and deliver a one-two punch that has the guy sailing across the room.
Wyatt and Fallon are having some kind of stare down, and I make a note to tell them later to shit or get off the pot.
Davis ducks under someone’s arm, Dakota’s hand in his. “Outside. Now.”
My attention’s stolen by Ruby. She stands on a chair, dumping beer on the wild crowd. “Go get your woman,” I tell Charlie. He appears beside me, easily landing a knockout punch to Lionel Wolfington.
He arches a brow and grins. “Get mine? What about yours?”
That’s when I see her a bright flash of gold as Reese jumps on some guy’s back. Her tiny fists pummel his shoulders and it’d be fucking hilarious if I wasn’t worried about her getting seriously hurt.
“Shit.” I fly across the goddamn bar and hook my hands under her arms, grabbing her off the guy’s back. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” Reese’s voice is an exhilarated scream.
Charlie passes beside us, Ruby slung over his shoulder. “Don’t just grunt at me instead of using words, Cowboy,” Ruby tells her husband, but she’s laughing as he carries her out the front door.
I grab Reese’s hand and weave our way through the crowd. We slam out the back door. “Up here,” I say, grabbing the fire escape ladder that leads to the roof.
We climb and then we’re three stories above Main Street. Glittering lights. Jagged mountains. Lightning sparks in the sky.
I glance down, checking her for injuries. “You okay?”
“That was wild,” she says. Her hair is disheveled and her eye makeup smeared, but she’s never looked more beautiful. More free.
Exhaling, she looks out over Main Street. “I want this, Ford,” she breathes, pressing herself against me. “I want all of this with you.”
My fist throbs, my heart hammers, but I’ve never been so goddamn happy.
I take her in my arms. “You’ve got it, baby.” I lean down and kiss her like the world’s on fire. Then I pull back from the kiss. “Marry me.”
Those stunning green eyes widen. “Getting kinda sentimental, aren’t we?”
“I’ll do it proper; I’ll do it right.” I cup her cheek. “Build you a Georgia mansion.”
“I don’t need a Georgia mansion.”
“You’re not living in a garage, Reese.”
A stubborn tilt of her chin. “Maybe I want to live in a garage with all its wonderful smells.”
I growl at her. “You gonna argue with me or tell me yes?”
She dances her fingers up my chest. “Maybe I like making you sweat.”
“Now ain’t the time for that,” I tell her sternly. “It’s time to let me love you. For the rest of your life.” I slip my fingers into her hair, cupping the nape of her neck. “When I count my top five home runs, I count you, Reese. I thank fuck every day that I found you.”
Her eyes soften, fill with tears. “Yes. I’ll marry you.” She touches my cheek, smiling. “You’re the greatest love song I’ve ever sung, Country Boy.”
I pull her into me, crushing our mouths together.
A clap of thunder rumbles through the air, and Reese squeals.
And then the gray, growling sky opens up and unleashes.