Page 28 of Bourbon and Proof

Lincoln meets my gaze. “It’ll be split evenly between hismarriedgrandsons.”

My breath catches. As I open my mouth to speak, I can’t help the laugh that bursts from it.

Lincoln nudges my arm. “Yeah, I had the exact same reaction. I don’t know what Griz is getting at. All I know is, there are only a couple of times in my life that I’ve seen my brother that angry or upset about something.” He exhales and answers my next question before I ask. “Griz won’t change it. I don’t know what the old man is thinking, other than he’s in for ahelluva fight. From the three of us, not just Ace. The stipulation is ridiculous.”

I stare out at the stables, where Ace just disappeared, and think that getting married is the easy part. It’s finding someone, falling in love, and then making that all happen before...The idea is ridiculous, but viable. Maybe it was cooked up from too many of Griz’s book clubs, but if he just needs to get married...

“Don’t laugh,” Lincoln says, noticing my jaw’s still practically hanging open. “I think Ace is more hurt than even mad.”

I cover my mouth. I’m not smiling at Ace’s current predicament. Suddenly, I’m warring with myself about how I can come to his rescue. A man who didn’t bat an eye to rescue me.

Crossing my arms, I stare at the massive Foxx logo painted across the stable roof, nerves thrumming with an idea.

Maybe I’ve finally reached the lowest depths of loneliness, and I’m having an existential crisis. Even shifting aside the fact that I want him on a biblical, yet pathetic, level, I could be his most convenient solution...

It’s about time I pay him back for taking care of me all those years ago.

Chapter 11

Ace

“Marry me.”

I whip my head to the side, looking over my shoulder. Is she fucking kidding right now?

As I stare at her with narrowed eyes, Hadley slides down the side of her white horse and stalks toward me.

“I’m not in the mood for this,” I grit out and look back at the water.

With a huff, she says, “I said, marry me, Ace.”

I don’t have the energy for her. I take a breath and watch this side of the river—calm and slow, while across the way, it ripples faster, plunges deeper, and swells beneath the caverns. It eventually turns into a loud waterfall about three miles away. I feel like that water right now—no turning back, hurtling toward something big and unmoving, fueled by rage and momentum. I’ll need to figure this out, above everything else I’ve been trying to handle on my own. Fuck, this blindsided me, and I hate that even more.

A part of me is relieved that it’s her. My brothers are going to try to either fire me up more or push for a solution. I’ve been riding for well over three hours before settling here. The sun was starting to cut the horizon line, and I was lost in every emotion I could muster from what Griz said today.“Foxx Bourbon will be left to my married grandsons...”

What the actual fuck?

I’ve done everything he’s ever asked of me, and beyond just the bourbon business. This was never part of any plan. And I had too many plans in the works to even consider marrying someone.

I glance back, taking in her expression as she waits for my response. Breathing hard, she puts her hands on her hips, squaring off like she’s a damn superhero.

Squatting down, I drag my fingers through the cold clear water, washing off the dirt and sweat from gripping onto my horse's reins. It’s careless to be this lost in my own head. I squint my eyes, standing and turning toward her.

“You're proposing, huh? To me?” I scoff out a sarcastic laugh.

“You heard me.” Then she fucking smirks, crosses her arms, propping her tits as she takes another deep breath and repeats herself for the third time. “Marry me.” Her blue eyes search mine for a reaction.

I’m already shaking my head. “That’s not an option, sugar. Or a solution.”

She shows no signs of rejection, just her pretty lips quirked up at the corners at hearing what I carelessly just called her. But then I let myself get lost in the idea of it for the briefest of seconds. The way it felt to be close to her the other night. The years of wanting her and never allowing myself to even consider it. And lately...No. No, I can’t even think about it.

Her chin holds high, shoulders back, like she’s the most confident thing in the world and not asking the most vulnerablequestion a person could ask. As I try to move past her, she grabs my arm, stopping me. “That isexactlywhat that is, Ace. A solution. And it might be the closest I’ll ever come to paying you back for what you did for me.”

It's a situation we never talked about. She didn’t need any details, only that Switcher wasn’t a problem for her any longer. And she’d never know what I agreed to in keeping it that way.

She shrugs a shoulder. “I’ve been a part of your family for most of my life.” Her voice stays steady as she lays out her truth. “I never thought I wouldeverhave a chance to truly help.” Those blue eyes seared into me without relenting as I stared into the quickly transforming stormy sky. “Put aside whatever happened at Lincoln’s wedding or the bachelor party and just stop trying to figure everything out on your own for a minute, andlook at me.”

That’s the last thing I need. Closing my eyes, I suck in a deep breath for as long as my lungs will allow. The heaviness in my chest and the numbness in my limbs are unrelenting.

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