Page 9 of Brett and Rowdy
Rowdy could hear Brett’s sharp intake of breath, and he knew what the man was thinking. Of course he would be here with Ashley. Hell, the fucker still believed he’d cheated on him with Ashley, and had never once asked.
Not once.
Of all the people he’d been forced to go to high school with, he’d expected Brett to think better of him.
“Our girl graduated from Clemson last weekend,” Rowdy murmured. “So she asked me to stay for the reunion.”
“I thought you were married, Ashley!” Brett blurted.
“I am.” Ash had put on her frosty real estate broker voice. “You know Dan, Brett. So that’s a stupid statement.”
“Sorry. Sorry. I have to go.” The sound of boots ringing on the floor came over and above the music, which wasn’t too loud yet, because they were still all mingling.
“Are you okay?” Ashley asked.
“He damn near mowed me down.” Rowdy paused. “How does he look?”
“You did not just ask me that.” She sighed. “The canapes are all fancy. Nothing you would want except the sliders, and they have those dangly cooked onions on them that you only like chopped up in dip.”
“Damn. I mean it, though. How does Brett look?”
“Freaked out.”
“I will step on your foot and then apologize like I didn’t mean to. And I know you have high heels on.”
“You suck,” she told him. “For real.”
“Duh.” Rowdy rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe he showed up.”
“Me either, this really doesn’t seem like his thing anymore than it seems like yours.”
“So? Come on, feed the blind dude a crumb.”
“He looks good. He looks really good, man. Broader than he was when he was in high school. Across the chest, you know? You can tell he’s a metal guy. He’s got that blacksmith build going on.”
“Yum.” Rowdy had to hum. He had fond memories of that tall body. Of course, who didn’t have fond memories about their first handjob or their first blowjob? Shit. Brett had been the first one to let him explore without worrying about getting his ass kicked. So, sure, why not? He grinned toward Ash. “At the time, I was so in love it was stupid.”
“Right? What did y’all fight about when you broke up?”
His forehead wrinkled. “You know, I haven’t the foggiest? I’m sure when I was seventeen, it was a huge deal, but I don’t remember. I was a kid. There’s so much water under those bridges now, I could irrigate the whole of northern New Mexico.”
The simple fact was, Brett hadn’t let him explain the whys or whats or hows of what happened, and now he was grateful for it. Their secret was their own.
“Such a rancher.” She chuckled and leaned in close enough he could smell her lotion, the fragrance light and floral. “So I know you don’t want to play the games; you want to look at the photo wall with me?”
“I will embarrass you in public. Don’t forget.” He grinned at Ash. “I got way less to lose in this game than you do.”
“Like you would ever do anything to hurt the mother of your baby.”
He couldn’t argue with that, so he didn’t bother. “So has it changed? Like the school, I mean.”
Her earrings tinkled as she shook her head. “Not appreciably, no. It’s still here. I mean, it’s a decent place to go to high school, I guess.”
Not that they’d sent their little girl here. Ashley, Dan, and he had discussed that at the beginning, and even when she was in kindergarten, that sweet darling had gone to private school. Ashley didn’t trust teachers, for good reason, and she wanted control over who was influencing her baby.
“He’s not going to be here, right?”
“He who?” The sudden tension in Ashley’s arm echoed in her voice.
