Page 24 of Wrangling Hearts
But like my father, I could never say no to my sister, so here I was at the town fundraiser to restore the park and playground. She even talked me into auctioning off a damn calf for it because “Henry loves the slide.”
The Town Restoration Committee really outdid itself with the setup. There were booths around the park’s borders for various vendors to sell their products, a few food and beverage stalls, games, and a live band and dance floor that already had a few occupants. The whole area was illuminated under the soft glow of string lights tied tree to tree.
It looked…magical if I were being honest. Wild Creek sure did spruce up nice.
Anna gasped as we got out of the truck, looking around. “I have to text Brittany about how good she did on this.”
I scanned the area, looking for our little brother and his girlfriend among the crowds of people. They were standing by the frozen lemonade stand with Weston. “They’re over there,” I said, pointing in that direction.
“Daddy, can we get ice cream?” Henry asked Joseph, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout that made me glad I didn’t have to be the one to tell him no. If he had asked me, I’d let him stuff his face until he felt like he’d explode.
“Not yet, buddy,” Joseph said, picking him up. “Have to eat dinner first.”
“There are hot dogs over there, babe,” Anna told her husband. She batted her lashes at him. “Get me one while I go talk to Britt and the boys with Beau?”
He smiled softly, his eyes twinkling in the soft light. It was the look of a man completely whipped and pleasantly so. “Of course.” And off he and Henry went to do her bidding, while we walked over to Colt, Brittany, and Weston.
Anna and Brittany started squealing once they saw each other, making the three of us guys grimace. It was already loud enough here as it was without them screeching.
“God damn, they sound like two hyenas hopped up on that exspresso shit,” Weston whined, shoving a finger in each ear. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. He wasn’t wrong, but I knew better than to say that out loud.
“Shut up. And it’sespresso, you dumbass,” Anna snapped, scowling at him.
My sister took Brittany’s hands in hers. “It looks amazing out here,” she said, looking around again.
“I know, right?” Brittany said, smiling at the lights and the band, who were playing some music for the people two-stepping on the dance floor. “Here.” She handed Anna and me frozen lemonades.
“To take the edge off,” Weston said, pouring the contents of his flask into mine. Thank God. I needed it after the week I had. It’d been four days since I bombed the tour with Cavendish, three since I watched Clairenotbomb hers somehow, and I was still fucking rattled from it. Joseph and I had been meeting every day since to go over our presentation coming up on Monday, so that nothing like that could happen again.
Colt deadpanned. “You’re really gonna do that right in front of me? Seriously?”
“Not my fault you got your panties in a twist, Colton,” Weston said before stirring the whiskey into my drink with my straw.
I let out a sound of disgust and swatted his hand away. “Get your nasty fingers off my straw. There’s no telling where orwhothose have been in.”
Anna and Brittany snickered. Weston gave me the same grin that landed him a Lucchese ad earlier this spring. “You’re just jealous I get all those buckle bunnies while on the circuit and you’re stuck here slingin’ cattle shit.”
“I’d take cattle shit over buckle bunnies any day,” I grumbled, downing half my drink in one go. I scanned the park as I did, looking for nothing in particular.
“Yeah, when are you leaving again so we can get some peace ‘round here?” Colt asked, grinning snarkily into his lemonade. As much as I agreed, I really did enjoy it when Weston was home; he brought out the carefree side of my brother that no one else could, not even Britt. And going through life so seriously all the time was no way to live.
Weston gave him a playful shove, making Colt laugh. “Just cause you’re the sheriff now, doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass.”
Colt brought his fists up, grinning. “I’d like to see you try.”
Anna gasped, and not in an excited way like when she saw the twinkle lights. My heart rate instantly skyrocketed. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“Oh my God,” Brittany whispered, staring out into the crowd in the same direction, eyes wide. Weston followed and let out a low whistle. When I looked in the same direction as them, my breath caught in the back of my throat.
Everything went silent in my mind as Claire walked through the entrance of the fundraiser, wearing a butter yellow sundress and her boots. Her hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in a tumble of curls, with the front pieces pulled away from her face.
My drink slipped from my hand and crashed to the ground.
I couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare. She was breathtaking. Literally. She looked like something out of a dream I didn’t even know I had. The fading sunset highlighted the red in her hair, red I’d never noticed until now, and gave her skin a golden glow. God, I wanted to touch her, to see if she felt as soft as she looked.
It pissed me off that I did, but more so that I couldn’t, given our circumstances.
The elbow lodging itself into my ribs had me reluctantly dragging my attention away from her, and I looked at my annoying ass sister. “What?”
