Page 54 of Heart & Hope

She brushes her curly brown hair around one side of her neck. Her yellow blouse brings out her dark eyes. Those eyes have always grounded me. Even when my family was being a pack of insensitive asshats, Addy always had my back. And I hers.

“Well, it may not have occurred to the rest of the Rawlins bunch, but ranching is not something that Reed wants to slave at for his entire life.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing, the life Harry and Louisa have built.”

“It’s not. It’s also not a one-size-fits-all deal. Not everyone is Hudson, Adds.”

“Thank god, imagine the women of the world if there was more than one of him.”

We burst into hysterics. “Hudson Rawlins, limited edition, only ten in the world.” I wave a hand in the air like I’m gesturing to a billboard. “Yes, I can see the chaos that would unfold should that happen, babes.”

Addy recovers and glances to the bar. Her face falls. I take it, she’s seen Cowboy Ken, a.k.a., her old boss and semi-sexual-harassment offender, Justin Morley.

“I got it, Adds. Your usual?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I weave my way back to the bar, leaning on it with a hip, my back to Morley. Before the next heartbeat, his oily gaze burns into the back of my head. The bartender waltzes over and nods. “What can I fetch you?”

He’s a built guy, sleeves rolled up to showcase his arms. Brown hair gelled, with blue eyes that I’m sure have seen enough of the bad side of humanity in this place.

“Gin and tonic. Lime twist. And your best Merlot, please.”

“Coming up.” He turns his back to me, and a throat clears behind me. I put my clutch on the bar and turn back to find the roving eyes of Justin. They don’t even bother rising to my face as he says, “You’re new. Sweet spikes, baby.”

Hearing the nickname out of his mouth is like swallowing sewage. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, haven’t seen you round here before. In town for long?”

He obviously doesn’t remember me from the inn’s gala. Figures. “Long enough.”

He smiles and anger rises in my core.

“Can I buy you a drink or something?”

It’s now that I notice his words carry the slightest slur. “Oh, sorry, we city girls only fuck the Rawlins brothers.”

His face blanks, and he recoils a little as recognition fades in. His features pinch when he finds Addy sitting at the table, and I close in on my prey. When he turns back, I narrow my eyes and point a finger into his chest, hard. “Stay the fuck away from her. Or I will drive these sweet spikes into your eye socket. Got it?”

“Yup,” he rasps, recoiling into his bar stool.

My drink appears at my side. “Thanks.” I pull my card out of my wallet. The bartender raises a hand. “On the house.” He winks before glaring at Justin.

Is there anyone in Lewistown he hasn’t gotten on the wrong side of?

Drinks in hand, I wander back to the table and place Addy’s glass in front of her.

“Morley wasn’t annoying you, too, was he?”

“Not a bit.” I smile at her, but she gives me the ‘what did you do’ face.

I raise my glass, and she taps hers to mine. “To Adds and Rubes,” she says.

“To Huddo and Reedsy. OurfavoriteRawlins brothers.”

“To our favorites.”

Addy takes a long sip. “Okay, spill, Rubes. How the hell have you ruffled Harry Rawlins’s feathers and lived to tell the tale?”

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