32. Holden #2
By the time the song ends, Sage is flushed and smiling, and I’m one bad decision away from dragging her out to the truck and taking her home.
Might not even make it home.
Back at the booth, she slides in beside me. Close. Too close for me to think clearly. When she presses her thigh against mine under the table, it takes all my willpower not to lean in. The way her attention cuts to me, her lips twitching with mischief, suggests she knows it.
A cheer across the bar draws my attention to where Levi Ashland is sinking a shot at the pool table. Gage is nearby, flirting with a couple of women while he waits for his turn. Tessa stands near the jukebox, auburn hair falling over one shoulder and a beer bottle dangling loosely from her fingers.
My siblings spot them too and go quiet. As if sensing the sudden scrutiny, Tessa looks our way, her gaze sliding dismissively over us before she turns back to her brothers.
Quinn mutters something under his breath.
River grins. “Guess she still hates us.”
Chance stretches his legs out. “I’m pretty sure she keyed my truck after the auction.”
Taryn gasps, eyes lit up with delight. “Seriously?”
“She denied it.”
Head tilted forward, River arches a brow. “You mean you actually asked her?”
Chance shrugs lazily. “Cornered her at the feed store a couple of days later.”
River smirks. “What did she say?”
“That I shouldn’t throw around accusations without proof.”
“Can you prove it?” I ask.
“She wasn’t happy we outbid them for Trouble’s dam. She wanted her for the Ashland breeding program,” he says flatly. “Who else’d have a reason to key an already banged-up truck?”
He has a point.
The bar door opens again, letting in a gust of fresh air along with two ranch hands from another property. Allie calls out from behind the bar, and the group near the back wall starts another game of darts.
The whole place is getting louder, the temperature ratcheting up by the minute, and I’m having a hard time concentrating on anything but Sage.
With her glass in one hand as she talks to Taryn, she shifts in her seat, her other hand landing on my knee under the table for balance.
Completely casual. Completely fucking distracting.
My gaze drops before I can stop it.
Bare thigh next to mine. Tiny shorts. Slender fingers spread over the denim covering my leg. I exhale harshly.
Her eyes find mine, and she smiles over the rim of her drink, a knowing glimmer in her eyes. I lean in before I can think better of it, keeping my voice low. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
Her lashes flutter. “What if I am?”
“Careful, sweetheart.”
“Or what?”
Hidden from everyone’s view, I slide my hand between her legs and curve it around her inner thigh, giving it a slow squeeze. Her breath hitches.
There. That reaction. Mine.
“Holden,” she mouths.
I drag my thumb over her warm skin once, then force myself to let go.
If I don’t, this night’s going to end with her bent over the hood of my truck behind the bar.
Still might.
Judging by how pink her cheeks are and the way she suddenly won’t look at me, she’s fully aware of where my head just went.
River tells a story about Quinn nearly setting fire to the branding shed last summer, and Sage laughs, attention shifting away from me again.
But I can still feel the heat of her skin against my palm. Still smell lime and mint and honeysuckle every time she turns toward me.
The longer the night goes on, the harder it is to pretend there’s nothing more to us than this.
And I don’t mean pretending around my family—hell, I doubt what we’re doing is much of a secret anymore.
The truth is, it’s become almost impossible to imagine her not here, not in my bed, not in my life.
I just need to figure out what the hell to do about it.
Because in a few weeks, she’s supposed to leave.
The weight of that thought might explain why, when we’ve all drifted back to the bar later and Gage Ashland slides into the gap beside her, my whole body goes rigid.
He brushes his shoulder against hers, his smile all rough charm. “Maybe the McBrides are onto something after all. Pretty women and fancy cocktails may just be the key to bringing in the tourists.”
It’s not the words that set me off. It’s his tone. The hint of mockery threaded through it.
Beside me, Sage goes still.
Everything inside me snaps taut.
I set my beer down slowly, but before I can respond, Tessa appears at her brother’s side. “At least they’re trying something, Gage.”
It feels like the entire bar pauses.
He offers her an irritated look. “Don’t tell me you’re taking the McBrides’ side now.”
“I’m taking the side that understands cattle prices aren’t going to magically fix themselves,” she says, chin lifted.
Levi’s here now too, shaking his head. “They’re going to turn the whole county into one big damn tourist trap.”
River turns away from the bar and rests his elbows lazily on its lacquered surface. “You’re saying that like your family doesn’t charge hunters fifteen grand a season to shoot on your land.”
Laughs go up around us, but Levi glares at him.
Gage’s expression hardens too. “That’s different.”
“How?” Sage asks quietly.
He scowls down at her. “Because ranches aren’t resorts, lady.”
I take a hard step forward. He’s asking for trouble speaking to her like that, especially when he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.