Page 30 of Brother In Arms

“I think everybody knows that saying.”

“You know the rest of it?” I asked and glanced her way. She shook her head.

“On a kind of it’s fertilized with a bunch of bullshit.”

She laughed, a spontaneous sound that wasn’t forced but came from genuine surprise. I liked it on her, she hung her head, smiling, her single braid falling over her shoulder and I took in the moment. Long brown hair, the color of a good chestnut wood dark with stain fell in that braid to just below her breast. Longer than when I’d seen her that first time in the dim light of The Spot.

Her skin was lightly sun kissed. Probably two or three shades darker where she’d tanned than what was underneath her clothes. Her skin smooth and perfect, not battered and scarred like my hide.

She was in her typical work wear of ladies cowboy boots, light denim boot cut jeans, and one of those white spaghetti strapped tank top things with the fancy name that escaped me. Over it, she had on one of them white and blue plaid, snap button, ladies fitted blouses with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

For a rich bitch, she worked. Her hands rough and chapped from handling the horses back on the farm. Her liquid dark eyes were definitely a family trait from her mamma’s side. She looked just like the pictures of Dray’s mamma I’d seen. Probably enough like her it’d make Dragon shit a brick sideways if he saw her.

I could see why he was so all over Tillie if the stories were half as true as everyone said they were. I was inclined to believe ‘em. The man was wrapped around the axle for his woman and it seemed to grow more that way, not less, with every passing year that she’d been gone.

Of course, the rich side of Tillie’s family probably never saw it. Never knew anything about the depths any one of us would go… Shit, I was putting even money on the fact mommy dearest would have a full on conniption fit if she saw what her darling daughter was up to with the big, scary, outlaw right now. Good enough to protect her, I’d bet, but so not good enough to fuck her.

I closed my eyes on the vision that was Bailey staring at me curiously, and said, “Any rate, all o’ this aside, I’m sorry about your horse. He was a damn fine animal.”

“I’m more worried about Renaldo. Boaz hurts, but now I’m afraid people think I care more about my horse than I do my friend.”

“The joys of living the socialite life?”

“People judge, it’s not mutually exclusive to the rich, you know. Your people do it just as much as mine do if you want to put it in such a way.” I jumped when she cuddled to my side, laying her head on my shoulder again. “I’d like to think that people are just people, regardless of their socio-economic status.”

I chuckled but kept the thought, spoken like a true rich girl, to myself. We were comfortable, and as adorable as she was when she got all pissypants, I was enjoying this momentary truce. I knew that we couldn’t keep this a secret forever, and that eventually I was going to get burned, but for now I let myself pretend that this could be something.

---