Page 63 of When We Met

I chuckle at her word vomit. “It’s the cow we slaughtered last summer.”

Her bottom lips jets out. “Don’t tell me that. I made friends with Jelly Bean in the barn yesterday, and if he gets slaughtered, I’m going to be disappointed in all cowboys.”

I laugh. “Jelly Bean is a bull.”

“What’s that have to do with anything?”

“We don’t slaughter bulls or heifers. Only steers.”

Her eyes widen. “You lost me again.”

There’s a small sense of pride swelling in my chest that she cares enough to ask questions about all this. “A steer is a castrated male, and a heifer is a female cow that hasn’t been bred.”

“And what’s a bull?”

I watch her face, her eyes, that undeniable spark between us growing stronger. I want to reach out and trace my hand down that heart-shaped face of hers and bring her lips to mine. “A male cow that hasn’t had his nuts chopped.”

And she bursts out laughing in my face.

Morgan comes into the den where we’re at and smiles at Kacy. “Ma’am,” he greets her, tipping his hat.

“You guys and your ma’am’s,” she grumbles, walking away with her drink in hand.

Chuckling to myself, he watches her leave. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.”

“What are you doing?” he asks, smiling like he knows what’s up.

“Fuck if I know.”

He checks her out when she bends over to pick Sev up. I swear every time I look at her she’s carrying Sev around, and my little crazy is loving it. “She’s hot.”

I don’t think before I grab a handful of his jacket and drag him forward until we’re nose to nose. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll never look at her again.”

He searches my eyes, glaring. “Okay, okay. She’s taken.”

“You got your own problems.” I let go of him and push him into the wall. Relaxing, I gesture to Carly talking with Lara Lynn. “I thought she left you.”

He groans, rolling his eyes. “She knows about Lil.”

“So?”

“I have no fucking clue. I don’t know what’s going on.” He sets down his beer and starts rummaging through the cabinet. “I need something stronger than this shit.”

“Not tequila.”

He grins and takes the bottle from dad’s liquor cabinet. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Shit.

Inside the den, I find Camdyn, Lara Lynn, and Kacy, who is still holding Sev in her arms. My dad is showing her his vast collection of animal heads plastered to the walls.

Kacy touches her fingers to the bear standing upright in the corner as Sev wiggles free from her arms and takes off with Camdyn to play with the goats. “Did you kill this too?”

Dad smiles, and I see a little bit of Sev in him. “No, but my brother did right before it killed him.”

Kacy’s eyes widen. “Seriously?”

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