Page 18 of Coming Home Country
The growl from our cowboy companion was loud enough that I jolted. Not gonna lie; I swallowed involuntarily when the man stared at me with storm clouds gathering in his brown eyes. I was the cause of that incoming storm, and instead of electing to duck and cover, I decided to walk straight into danger.
Pushing off the bench, I avoided eye contact with Colt, focusing on his son. When I reached where he was swinging, I threw on a bright smile. “Can you say Tucker instead, bud?” I pointed toward my chest. “That’s me. Dr. Tucker, right?”
That kid gave me the biggest shit-eating grin and yelled, “Fucker! Fucker!”
Didn’t think I could make it worse. Guess I was wrong.
Colt’s deep voice rumbled beside me. “It’s not me you need to worry about. Because when Harper finds out, she’s going to tell Aspen, and then guess who’s next?”
Ooh, I had to hand it to him; he knew my weakness.
Not that it was hard to figure out when I’d been acting like a lost freaking puppy for the past five years, sniffing around for the tiniest scrap of news about Bex. Leave it to a small town to protect one of their own. Everyone remained tight-lipped when it came to sharing information about the girl I’d never stopped loving—not even when I’d been married to another woman.
Colt was right. If Bex found out I’d taught a toddler the mother of all swear words, I was toast.
Like you’re not already. You’re in a hole so deep rescue teams would give up and say your case was hopeless.
Mac’s hand came down on my shoulder. “It’s probably not as bad as you think.”
Shrugging him off, I scoffed. “Oh no? Let’s see . . . Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching in slow motion as she fell, breaking her wrist. I could see it in her eyes that she debated driving out to the hospital in Enid to avoid having me touch her. Then this morning, I thought I’d check on her—as the treating physician, of course.” Mac snorted, and I shot him a glare. “And that’s when she really let me have it. Probably would have been even worse if Rose hadn’t walked in and reprimanded the two of us for causing a scene.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “I’ve never seen her like that before. My Bex was so sweet, so loving, so full of optimism about life. Her eyes used to light up the minute she saw me. Now, she can barely stand to be in the same room with me.”
My best friend gave me a lopsided grin. “Well, look on the bright side. Can’t get any worse.”
Way to jinx me with those famous last words.
Groaning, I closed my eyes. “This whole thing is worse than I thought.”
“We pretendin’ what you did wasn’t bad?” Colt had no qualms about pouring salt in my open wound. “What’d you expect? For her to find out you’re divorced and fall into your open arms? To pick up where you left off like you didn’t break that poor girl’s heart?”
“Guess I know whose side you’re on,” I grumbled.
“I’m gonna shoot you straight, Tuck, because I don’t know any other way. If some man ever fucked with Aubree like you fucked with Bex? He wouldn’t still be walking this earth, if you catch my drift. You’re mighty lucky her daddy ain’t still around.”
Though I couldn’t argue with that, I did start to wonder if maybe I hadn’t been the one to teach Barrett the F-word.
Turning to Mac, I sighed. “Maybe it’s best if I bow out. I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have.”
His eyes widened. “What? No! You can’t! I need you there, buddy.”
I shook my head. “If it comes down to a choice between Bex being there for Aspen and me being there for you, it has to be Bex. She’s family to the Sullivans.”
Mac gripped me by the shoulders. “You’re my best friend in town.” His gaze slid to Colt. “No offense.”
Colt mindlessly pushed the swing. “None taken.”
“You’re my best man. Stop trying to weasel your way out of it.”
“Listen.” I gently pried his hands away. “Let Bex have this week. Once she’s gone, you’ll still have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
His brown eyes glittered with determination. “I think what we need is to alter the game plan.”
“No.” I gave a firm shake of my head. “Even if I stay in the wedding, I’m gonna lay low for a bit. Give her some space.”
A cocky smirk curved on his lips. “Good luck doing that when you’re partnered for the scavenger hunt tomorrow.”
Fuck. I’d forgotten all about that. We would be stuck together the entire day.
