Page 86 of Lavender Lake
“Easy,” Cas whispered.
Another man had Amber caged in his embrace. She glared daggers at me. “Let me go,” she commanded.
The man paused, and then released her.
“You gonna behave, tater tot?”
“Nope,” I said, shooting Amber another feral smile.
She lunged again, but Cas turned and gave her his back.
“Hey, that’s enough!” Wade yelled as he hopped over the counter. “This is a respectable establishment and if you’re going to fight, then you at least need to give us time to place our bets.”
“My bet is on the red head!” someone yelled.
“Mine too!”
I looked up at Cas. “Want to make some money tonight?”
With a sigh, he let me go, and then scooped me up over his shoulder. “You’re in time-out.”
As he carted me toward the door, I lifted myself up and looked at Amber. And while she was still spitting mad, I blew her a kiss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Ranch
“You’re insane,” Hadley said, pushing the front door open.
“Yep,” I said as I hobbled up the porch steps after her. My ankle had twisted sometime during the bar brawl. “You guys go. Check on Tempest. Get some sleep.”
“You sure?” Hadley asked, biting her lip.
I nodded. “If I need any help doctoring, I’ll wake Muddy.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Hadley said.
“I’m sure.”
She reached out and gently hugged me. I winced but kept quiet. “You’ll tell me later. What she said to make you fly off the handle.”
“Nope.” I pulled back and smiled at her. “It’s not worth repeating.”
Declan looked at me as he wrapped a protective arm around Hadley. “Must’ve been bad.”
“Amber Winston was a nasty teenager. Now she’s a nasty adult.” I shrugged.
Hadley giggled. “If anyone asks, I don’t condone this kind of behavior. But in private, I’m Team Salem.”
The two of them left and headed toward the guest cabin. I hobbled toward the bench and sat down. Without a word, Cas kneeled in front of me and gently removed my boots.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“You twisted your ankle the night we met in the hotel bar,” he said, stroking the outside of my foot, up my calf.
“I remember,” I smiled slightly. “You seem to have a habit of checking to make sure I’m okay.”
Adrenaline was still buzzing in my blood, along with the last vestige of rye.
