Page 44 of Up in Smoke

After walking toward the crowding pen, Heston props a boot on the chute floor lever. I park in front of the head gate to get a good look. With a wince, I pull out my phone and take a pictureof the poor cow currently blind on one side because the swelling has gone all the way up her face.

I send the picture to Mesa with a text.

Hell of a day so far.

Mesa

Wtf eww

Rattlesnake bite.

Mesa

Is she okay? *crying emoji*

We’ll see. Caught it fast in the pasture right out front so I bet so. Gage has her taken care of.

Mesa

Little wins. *hearts around smiling face emoji*

I chuckle while replying to her. She’s always bringing up her favorite mantra.I found myself saying it just yesterday when I stepped out of the shower to no clean towel. The consolation was that I got to steal Heston’s folded one in the cabinet. He was a raging ball of anger when he’d realized it too late this morning and had to stalk down the hallway, wet and naked. Little wins.

Her more big picture version of the phrase is probably a whole lot deeper than that, but it cheers me up to use it in insignificant situations just the same.

“You’re acting fucking weird,” Heston points out. Since when is he so observant? Or the least bit concerned, for that matter?

He’s not wrong, though. I scowl at him. My brain switches gears to pinpoint what he’s getting at, and at that moment, an invisible light bulb illuminates over my head as I swipe a hand down my face.

“And that’s on no pussy,” I state. “My dick is going to fall off, fellas. It was nice knowing y’all.”

Is thatreallyit, though? It’s exactly what I’d normally say if I were stuck in a dry spell worse than the Dust Bowl. But the once-familiar explanation doesn’t feel right coming out of my mouth this time.

Gage laughs as he turns to point the syringe at me. “Lies. You haven’t gone a week without banging some rando since the day I met you.”

My face twists. “Fuck you, first of all. And yes, I have.”

“I’m not judging,” he grunts as he pulls the head gate to let the cow out into the pen. She trudges out slowly, but I think she’ll be just fine. “I don’t care what you do or how often you do it. Just stating facts.”

“It’s not even that,” I fully admit while sighing and rubbing a hand over my face. “It’s—I don’t know. It’s a bunch of shit.”

“Oh, it’s not sex. It’s girlfriend problems,” Gage suggests with a smirk.

“We’re just friends.”

Heston raises an eyebrow. “Uh huh.”

“Right,” Gage agrees sarcastically. “That’ll be a weak argument when you ghost her. She’ll key your Bronco and leave the country in tears in three days’ time. Clockwork.”

“I wouldn’t do that to her,” I spit.

They both fall silent for a minute, either shocked by my tone or just plain giving up on the argument.

I don’t get what’s so unbelievable about it. They’ve had a chance to get to know her and should be well aware that she’s cool. They’re friends with her too, after all. She’s out of my league and not the type of girl to fawn over a horny loser like me, anyway. We’re friends, plain as day. Even these idiots should see that.

“Being friends with Mesa isn’t all that crazy,” I continue to defend myself. “It’s mature. I can be mature.”

I’m lucky Warren is in town working at his equipment dealership today. He’s by far the most intuitive and wouldn’t hesitate to narrow his eyes at the slight uncertainty in my voice. He’d probably ask if I were trying to convince him or myself.

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