Page 33 of Wrangling Hearts
My eyes narrowed at him after the fifth time it happened. Weston was never one to turn down a woman’s attention, andyet, I’d never seen him actually seal the deal. And while it could’ve been completely different on the road, I was starting to suspect that wasn’t the case. I’d always had a theory about him, but never confirmed it, chalking it up to being none of my business. But just like Colt, it was my God-given right as his older brother to terrorize him also.
“Hey,” I said, louder than everyone else, and all the guys looked at me. I stared at Weston, our eyes locked. “Remember when Savannah put shit in Colt’s and your boots before the junior championships?”
Weston’s jaw tensed, and he took a long pull from his beer. “Pretty sure that was Delilah,” he answered, faking indifference. “She’s a devious little thing.”
Emmett snorted at that. “Goddamn right she is.”
“No, that was definitely Savannah,” Colt declared, nodding emphatically. “I caught her.” He turned to Emmett, and I grinned. My plan was working flawlessly; Colt got real chatty when he was wasted. “How is she? I heard she’s a lawyer in Dallas after she went to Stanford. What kind of law does she practice? Does she ever come home? Do her and Claire talk often? When was the last time you saw her?”
Weston just glared at me like I pissed in his beer. I fucking knew it. I was a genius. I had suspected something had happened with him and Savannah, and the way Weston was gripping his beer like it was a lifeline was all the confirmation I needed.
“Wait, what?” Joseph interrupted, looking confused. “She putshitin your boots? Like human shit?”
Colt choked on his drink, giggling. “No, cow shit. The girls—yourwife—terrorized us as kids.” He smirked triumphantly. “But we gave it back just as good.”
Emmett gasped, eyes wide with a churning idea. “We should get them back! We never did after that last one.” I thought backto the last time we were together as kids when the girls had stolen our clothes. I remembered being pissed, but also having the time of my life that day. And then it came to a screeching halt when our fathers almost fought each other right in front of us.
Colt laughed, clapping his back. “I’m sorry to inform you, but we’re not kids anymore. We’re in our thirties now. And I’m—I’m the sheriff. I can’t condone illegal behavior.”
“I’m the sheriff,” Weston mocked, looking serious and deepening his voice. “You’re off duty tonight, so pull the badge out of your ass and let’s hear what the man has to say.”
“What were you thinking?”
His eyes met mine. There was that fire in them, that spark of life, that Claire got. And I knew then whatever he came up with, we had to do it. This was the push he needed, that he asked for.
And that’s how I found myself loading hay and feed from Golden Bridle’s barn into the bed of my truck at dawn. We were moving slowly since all of us were still kinda drunk, except Joseph, who was our getaway driver.
“This might be the best idea we’ve had,” Weston said, grinning as he slung a hay bale into the bed. “Better than the pickle juice for sure.”
Colt was running, giggling like a child, with a bag of feed as the sun started to rise over the horizon.
“Hurry,” I whispered-yelled. “Emmett said Claire gets up to ride at five thirty.”
“What thefuckdo you think you’re doing?!” Tore across the ranch in a shrill yell that made my pulse kick. Claire was on her porch thirty minutes too early, hair a tangled mess, and still in her pajamas: a skimpy tank top and shorts that rode so high up her glorious legs that I couldn’t look at her for too long without risking getting hard.
She was supposed to just find it all gone, not catch us in the act. A collection of laughs and curses left the guys as theyscrambled to get into the truck bed. I slammed a fist on the cab, and Joseph tore off, kicking up dust.
“Bye, bear!” Emmett yelled, grinning wider than I’d ever seen. Claire’s jaw dropped, and she sprinted off the porch and into the barn. The angered scream that followed made me grin so hard my face hurt. Emmett and Weston roared with laughter and high-fived, their legs hanging off the tailgate.
“Oh shit,” Weston laughed as Claire barreled out of the barn, horseback and gaining speed on us by the second. The look in her eyes was pure fire, and it sent my heart racing. I couldn’t even join in with my brothers on antagonizing her. I was too lost in how magnificent she looked.
“Get back here!” She screamed over the wind, gritting her teeth as she pushed her horse harder.
“Only if you catch us!” Emmett said to his sister, giving her the bird. That must’ve been a Hayes trait.
Colt turned and climbed clumsily over the hay bales and bags of feed. “Go faster!” he screamed through the window to Joseph.
The engine revved, and there was a crash followed by the distinct sound of wood splintering as we crossed properties. I nearly fell over the edge of the bed as he drove over the ruined fence. “I just built that, you fucker!” I scolded as we rode onto Circle M, tearing up my perfect fields. Mount was going to have a stroke.
“You said drive, so I’m driving! Just shut up and hold on,” Joseph laughed from inside the cab.
I looked back to find Claire racing after us, hair whipping in the wind, her skin illuminated with the first colors of dawn. Her horse jumped over the fence with ease, and she was completely unfazed. A natural.
I’d build a million fences if it meant I could see her like this again.
“You assholes are dead!” she said, almost running in pace with us. Joseph hadn’t made it easy, though. He was doing sharp turns, swerving, kicking up grass and mud. At one point, Colt even leaned over the side and puked.
Claire matched every move we made with such quickness that it was like she anticipated each one before it even happened. I’d never seen anything like it, considering we were probably reaching sixty miles an hour, not even with the cattle cutting pros.
