Page 52 of Break the Barrier

“Your duty?” Dani crosses her arms and raises a brow at us. “I’ve been with Cade since we were kids, and now you’re going to start picking on him?”

“We’ve always picked on him,” Stetson says, “Just not usually in front of you.”

“Yeah, being respectful and whatnot,” I confirm, giving her a playful wink.

“Whatever.” She shakes her head, then nods at the horse. “You thinking about showing anytime soon?”

I let out a long sigh. Why did they keep asking me that? “No.”

“Why not? You’d be great at it,” Dani insists. Rubbing her fingertips over the horse’s forehead, he leans into her hand.

“Because I don’t care for showing like you two superstars.”

Dani and CT have been showing since they were teenagers, and CT took a big break when they were apart, but the two of them together are a power couple in their world.

But it was similar to a friend getting into a relationship, where they suddenly want everyone else to be in a relationship too so they could all experience the pure bliss that they were.

No, thank you.

“Actually.” Stetson rubs his jaw, and I frown at his overgrown beard.

“You need to shave.”

He looks over at me. “What? This beard is epic.”

“That beard is not epic,” I reply. “You look like a serial killer.”

“That’s not what I’ve been told.” He gives an eyebrow waggle that makes Dani fake gag.

I purse my lips and give him a nod. “Gross.”

Rolling his eyes, he says, “Anyway, as I was saying, I was going to ask you to partner up with me a few times this summer.”

“Partner up for what?”

He smiles, and I know whatever is about to come out of his mouth, I’m not going to like.

“Team roping.”

19

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Smirkingat the grumpy man sitting at my bar, I refill his water. “Team roping can’t be that bad, can it?”

“I’m not one for competition,” he replies, rubbing his hair out of his eyes. I rush down to the other end of the bar, delivering a drink and checking on some other customers while I’m down there.

Logan showed up right at four o’clock between rushes, and I both hate and love the way my heart leaped in my chest at the sight of him. I wasn’t supposed to be excited to see him. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about him after only a few weeks of…dating, if you want to call it that.

His excuse has been that Luella had rehearsals, and he was waiting for her to be done before he headed home with her.

It was good, as far as excuses went.

“Now, that I don’t fully believe. How could you have gone from being raised with three other boys to a man who doesn’tlike competition? I’ve seen you on dart league night.” I raise a brow at him, teasing.

I pause for a moment when I realize I haven’t teased someone in a good, long while.

“That’s just a game, though. It’s not serious, it doesn’t result in earning a living or having to worry about anyone else.”