Page 11 of A Taste of Whiskey
“I see it, buddy.” It was days like this, when Gus was incredibly happy, that made Ezra wish he had full custody, so Gus would never be overlooked again. But he knew firsthand how that came with a host of other complications, and as he did so often, he pushed those thoughts away.
Sasha glanced over her shoulder, her eyes gleaming at him from beneath her cowgirl hat, before she turned back to Gus. She took as much joy in his son’s happiness as he did. He had been up half the night thinking about that and a dozen other things. Like how he and Sasha had ended up where they were. After he’d cleaned up his act and had put Sasha in a hands-off category, he’d gone to college and had worked over the summers at the ranch. They were busy years for both of them, spent focusing on school, striving toward their careers, interning, working, and living their separate lives. But they’d remained connected through the ranch, and she wasalwayson his mind. He’d eventually gotten his master’s degree, and the night they went out to celebrate had changed everything.
He’d been dating Tina at the time, and she’d never been as fond of the Whiskeys as he was. She’d opted not to join them to celebrate at the Roadhouse. She was a beautiful, fun party girl and a good distraction from the stress of school but not somebody he thought he’d be with long term. That night at the Roadhouse, Sasha had asked Ezra to dance with her. When he’d held her in his arms, she’d set those hazel eyes on him and said,I’m so freaking proud of you. But I think you should know that while you may be a professional therapist in everyone else’s eyes, you’ll always be my wolf in sheep’s clothing.All the emotions he’d been holding back had come rushing forward. Years of silly flirting and blossoming friendship had become so much more. They’d becomeeverything. Sasha had become everything. He’d done it. He was finally worthy of Sasha Whiskey. That was when he’d realized he’d been biding his time since he was seventeen, and he needed to end things with Tina so he could finally make the move with the woman who had taken up residence in his heart all those years ago.
Excited to have come to the realization that felt righter than anything ever had, he’d stopped by Tina’s house on the way home to end their relationship. But before he could get a word out, she’d told him she was pregnant. The news hit like a bullet to the chest. He’d been so close to having what he’d wanted. But he couldn’t turn his back on a child the way he’d felt his parents had with him. He’d married Tina, hoping to give Gus the stability and love he’d missed out on.
That hadn’t worked out as planned, and Sasha had become the woman Gus trusted and cared about most in the world. Ezra was right there with him. When he saw her with Gus like this, he caught himself entertaining the idea of what could have been if their situation were different. But he couldn’t risk jacking things up for his son. As much as he hated the idea of it, he’d had no right trying to convince Sasha not to use that dating app. She deserved to be happy, even if it couldn’t be with them.
When they reached the meadow, wildflowers sprouted up through the long grass, around rocks, boulders, and shrubbery, as far as the eye could see. It was absolutely breathtaking. They rode to a group of trees by the stream and climbed off their horses.
Sasha set Gus on his feet, and as they tied the horses to a tree, Gus said, “Can I run?” just as he did every time they went there.
“Sure, buddy, but don’t go in the water.” The stream was only a few inches deep, but Gus liked to traipse through it, and he always ended up falling on his butt and getting soaked.
“I won’t!” Gus yelled as he sprinted through the long grass.
“Watch out for rocks,” Sasha called out.
“I know!” Gus yelled.
They finished tying off the horses, and Sasha planted her hands on her hips, watching Gus run. “He loves this place as much as I did as a kid.”
Ezra pictured her as a little towheaded girl in a cowgirl hat and boots, chasing after her brothers and Birdie. “I bet you were adorable.”
“Well,duh.” She laughed as they followed Gus. “Although I have to admit, Birdie was even cuter than me. She’s got that whole impish thing going on.”
Birdie was petite and impish, with an outlandish style all her own. She was a trip, always up to something. But she had nothing on Sasha, who was as competitive and fierce as she was sweet and feminine. She could kick anyone’s ass in paintball, muck stalls, and play in the dirt with Gus, and she never complained about working in the freezing cold or blazing heat. But she also liked to cuddle under cozy blankets wearing her favorite soft gray sweatpants and pink sweatshirts with her hair in a messy bun and no makeup, as she’d done with Gus many times.
“Birdie is cute, but I doubt she was cuter than you.”
“You, my friend, have all the best answers,” she said cheerily and gazed out at Gus heading for a boulder.
“Sorry if Gus talked your ear off.”
“You know I don’t mind.”
He watched Gus climb onto the boulder and jump off. “Listen, Sash, I was thinking about last night.”
“You’re not going to embarrass me again and make me relive what a teenage dork I was, are you?”
“You werenota dork, and I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I was going to say, I shouldn’t have discouraged you from using that dating app.”
Her brows knitted. “Oh.It’s okay. You were right about that. It doesn’t seem very safe. I was thinking I’d look closer to home, anyway.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hm. Flame texted me last night. I’m thinking about going out with him.”
Fuck.Finn “Flame” Steele was a smoke jumper and a Dark Knight. Ezra couldn’t say a bad thing about him, except that most of his female friends came withbenefits, and he despised the idea of Sasha becoming one of them. It should probably make him feel better to see her with one of his trusted friends, but it was easier to pretend she wasn’t with anyone at all if he didn’t have to look at the man she was sleeping with every damn week.
He tried to play it cool. “Oh yeah?”
“Maybe. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I know I can trust him because he’d never do anything to jeopardize his standing with the club. And, well, he is hot and definitely interested. What do you think?”
I think you should give up dating altogether and continue hanging out with me and Gus, because I’m a dick like that and I want you all to myself.“He’s got a dangerous job.”
“That makes him even more intriguing.”
