CHAPTER 8
NOAH
Nights out with all the boys have always been my favourite.
They were a regular occurrence for years.
In fact, they were more of a daily occurrence.
If there was an excuse to drag our asses to The Dusty Boot and drink our weight in liquor, we were there.
Until all three of these fuckheads in front of me went and got themselves a wife.
Now I’m left flying solo.
I was hoping that dragging them away from their significant others would mean that we could spend the night shooting the shit, playing some pool and just doing all the shit we used to do.
I was fucking wrong.
So far all they’ve talked about is their women. Grayson just asked Hunter how long it takes for baby shit to actually resemble shit and Killian keeps smirking at the phone he’s got hidden underneath the table.
This ‘boy’s night’ sucks ass.
“I’m goin’ to get another drink. Anyone want one?” I ask as I push to stand from my chair.
“I’m good,” Killian says, still not looking up from his phone.
“I’ll take a beer,” Gray says, holding up his empty bottle.
“I’ll come with you.” Hunter stands.
The pair of us make our way over to the bar and put our order in with April. As soon as she walks away, Hunter turns to me. “What’s up?”
I frown at my older brother. “What?”
“You’ve been quiet tonight. What’s going on?”
Between the wedding talk and the baby talk, I’m surprised he noticed.
Leaning my back against the bar, I cross my arms over my chest. “I dunno, man. Things have changed.”
“Like what?” Hunter asks, a crease forming between his brows.
“Like that.” I gesture toward our table where Grayson and Killian are both now checking their phones. “We used to have fun. Now all you three talk about are your relationships or your kids. Not that it’s a problem,” I quickly defend. “But I just don’t fit in here anymore.”
Hunter turns his body so he’s standing directly in front of me. “Is that how you feel? Like you don’t fit in?”
I nod with a sigh. “I get it, though. I don’t have what you three have. I can’t relate to you guys anymore. I just thought that coming out tonight without the girls would feel like it used to.”
I feel like an asshole for even feeling this way. It’s a natural part of life. People grow and change. They meet their person and settle down. But I can’t help feeling like I’ve been left behind.
Hunter places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Noah, I didn’t realise you felt like that. I’m sorry. You’re my brother and you’ll always fit in with us.”
I shake my head. “I’m just being stupid, man. I’m really happy for all of you. You all deserve happiness. I just…” I shrug. “Wish I had the same.”
“You will. Trust me.”
I won’t though.
Because the only person I could ever see myself settling down with, is in love with someone else. And there is not a thing I can do about that.
Trust me, I’ve tried.
Instead of admitting any of that to Hunter, I just nod. “Sure, man. One day.”
April deposits our drinks on the bar and I pay her, closing out our tab for the night. I have no doubt this’ll be their last drink before they each scurry back home to their women.
I, however, have no plans to leave anytime soon, and I certainly don’t plan on leaving alone.
Late April in Rosewater Creek means one thing, it’s tourist season. And that means women from out of town, looking for a wild night with an honest-to-God cowboy.
I don’t know what it is about women, but it seems that most, if not all, of them have some sort of cowboy fantasy. It could be the hat. Could be the boots. Could just be our bodies. Either way, I don’t care as long as I’m not going home alone.
There’s a cute blonde with legs for days sitting alone at the bar that I’ve had my eye on since she strutted through the doors, and I plan on having those legs dangling over my shoulders before the night is over.
We take our seats back at the table just as Killian announces he’s calling it a night. He back-slaps each of us before waving at April and taking off, leaving just me, Hunter and Grayson.
“Can only imagine what Daisy must have sent him to have him practically sprinting out the door,” Grayson mutters, causing us both to chuckle.
“Pretty sure I caught him and Daisy going at it in the tack room the other day,” I say, taking a long swig of beer and making eye contact with the woman at the bar.
“Really?” Hunter asks, his face contorted with disgust.
“Nothin’ wrong with the tack room, man,” Grayson adds and both mine and Hunter’s heads whirl on him.
“You, too?” I ask and Grayson just shrugs, the smug look on his face telling us all we need to know.
“Damn.” I shake my head with a laugh. “I’m missing out.”
My mind trails back to the blonde at the bar, but when my eyes seek her out, she’s no longer seated where she was only minutes ago. Now, she’s standing, a wide smile on her face as she focuses on the doors. I follow her stare and the room around me seems to slow.
There’s no fucking way.
I place my beer on the table and lean forward, blinking rapidly to ensure I’m actually seeing what I think I’m seeing.
She moves forward and as if on instinct, I stand, almost knocking my chair over in the process. My brothers idle chat pauses at my sudden movement, and they must see what I see because just as I begin to move toward the prick that’s just walked in, they’re both on their feet, blocking me.
“Don’t,” Hunter warns, his voice low.
“Get out of the way,” I grit, my eyes never straying from the door.
“It’s not your business, Noah,” Grayson says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“You don’t know what’s going on. It could be completely innocent,” Hunter chimes in.
As if on cue, the pair reach each other and the woman I had been planning on taking home throws her arms around none other than Justin fucking Thompson, her lips crushing against his right there in the middle of the only bar in town.
“Yeah. It looks completely fucking innocent,” I spit, the anger bubbling over.
I’m going to fucking kill that dirty, cheating prick.
“Do not react,” Hunter mutters, and I snap my eyes to his. “If you start a fight, all three of us will get arrested. He hasn’t seen us yet, so get your shit and let’s go. We’ll figure out what to do when we get home.”
“I know what to fucking do, Hunter. I’m gonna kick that son of a bitch’s ass.”
My oldest brother shakes his head once. “No, you’re not. We’re leaving.”
The two of them move me toward the door, trying not to bring attention to us but just as we reach the exit, I throw one last look over my shoulder, only to find the motherfucker looking back at me, smirking.
Yeah, he’s a fucking dead man.
CHAPTER 8
BELLA
He hasn’t come home again.
I’m not surprised in the slightest. I’m not even disappointed at this point. I made my peace with my situation in Liv’s living room and now I’m just numb.
I bring my glass to my lips, the ice clinking in the clear liquid as I swallow it down, my eyes locked on the front door.
After speaking to Liv yesterday, I decided I’d just be straight up with Justin. Besides, there’s no point in dancing around the subject, going out of my way to spy on him and collect evidence when the empty foil wrapper in front of me is all the evidence I need.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a goddamn duck.
So now I’m sitting in my kitchen, a glass of vodka, neat, on the island in front of me as I wait for Justin to walk in the door.
It’s ten-thirty, so it shouldn’t be long now. I’ve been sitting in this spot since I found the condom wrapper in the pocket of his suit pants. I’m not sure what time that was but I’m two glasses of wine and three vodkas past tipsy.
My phone vibrates with an incoming call, and I roll my eyes when I see Noah’s name flashing across my screen. I let the call go to voicemail, but it vibrates once more with a text.
Noah: We need to talk.
I ignore it, refilling my glass for the fourth time. I can’t imagine what Noah needs to talk about. He probably wants to know why I ignored him at the ranch yesterday, but whatever it is, I’m not in the mood for it right now.
My phone continues to vibrate with incoming calls and messages, but they all go unanswered until eventually, they stop altogether.
After another hour passes, I give up and go to bed in one of the guest rooms, leaving the empty condom wrapper on the kitchen counter for him to find.
***
The moment I open my eyes I instantly regret the amount of alcohol I consumed last night. I feel like someone threw a handful of sand in my face while holding my eyes and mouth open.
I roll out of bed with a groan and zombie-walk my ass into the bathroom. Flicking the lights on, I wince at myself in the mirror.
I have dark circles under my eyes, and my cheeks look drawn in. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I ate anything.
I need to get out of this house. Permanently. As soon as I finish up at the café today, I’m coming back here and packing my things although I have no idea where I’ll go now that my old house is occupied.
I don’t particularly want to ask any of my friends if I can stay with them. They all have their own lives and families and having me camping out in their guest bedroom would just be an imposition. I guess I could get a room at a motel until I find somewhere more permanent.
Either way I’ll have to start over. I got rid of everything I had when I moved in with Justin.
I take a deep breath, clinging onto the vanity while trying to find the strength to get me through the rest of the day.
Once I’ve showered, brushed my teeth and tamed my hair a little, I drag my ass into the master bedroom and freeze. The bed sits in the middle of the room, completely made up, just how I left it yesterday morning.
I do another scan of the bedroom, searching the floor for any sign that someone has been in here, but find none.
Did he even come home?
I stand there staring at the bed in disbelief for an unmeasurable amount of time before a laugh bubbles out of me.
He’s not even trying to hide it.
My laugh turns hysterical and within seconds I’m struggling to catch my breath, tears streaming from both eyes as I double over.
Dressed in only a towel, I sink to the floor, my laughter quickly turning into loud sobs as I have what I’m pretty sure is the beginning of a mental breakdown.