Page 19 of Tempting Bo (Montgomery Dreams #2)

KENZIE

Fuck.

That's all there is to say, I guess.

Fuckity fucking fuck, with a steaming pile of shit heaped right on top.

I'm not doing great. Obviously.

I've been holding it together at work, but my lunch breaks are nothing but tears, and the lilies on my kitchen table died. Just like my relationship with Bo. More than a decade, shriveled up and crumbling to dust as time wears on.

I thought he cared about me enough to at least try. Must have been kidding myself.

“Hey, no frowning,” Oakley scolds me, nudging our shoulders together. “We're here to have fun.”

I look up from the rock I've been flipping over with the toe of my boot and paste on a weak smile.

She doesn't push me for more, and I'm grateful for it. The circuit’s in town, and Jamie made a few friends last year while he was still riding.

They invited him out to cheer them on, and he and Oakley convinced me to come along.

The fresh air is a nice change of scenery from my apartment, and it feels good to get out and do something.

Bo told her everything, and she and Jamie immediately found their way back into town.

Oakley’s up in arms over the whole thing, scouring social media and trying to find anything to prove it's a farce.

I've overheard her and Bo get in several screaming matches over it, but it all only makes me feel worse.

If he wanted me, he wouldn't be arguing so ardently against fighting for me.

I just need to cut my losses and call it a day.

Tonight is one step toward that, toward getting my old life back.

“I'll be right back,” Jamie says, patting Oakley on the back. “Need to run up to the front and give my dad his ticket.”

We both wave at him as he melts into the crowd, and Oakley returns her attention to the target game she's playing. I've been fading in and out of paying attention to my surroundings, but I'm pretty sure we've been here for a while. This game was always her favorite when we were kids.

“Oakley!” a voice calls from behind us. “And, uh, MacKenzie, right?”

We turn to see a lanky blond approaching us, broad rim of his cowboy hat shadowing his eyes. His lips are stretched into a wide smile, and Oakley returns it easily. The guy looks vaguely familiar, but he obviously knows Oakley.

“Keith, it's been forever!” she says brightly.

She pulls him into a brief hug before looking back at me.

“Kenz, I don't know if y’all ever met, but Keith’s dad owns that barn out by the creek that we used to party in when we were in school,” Oakley tells me.

I nod awkwardly and raise a hand in a wave. Thankfully, he just returns the wave and doesn't try to pull me into a hug. “Ah, yeah, I was never much of the party type, but I know the place. Nice to officially meet you.”

Everyone I went to school with wound up at that barn for something or other. The after-party for every school dance was held there, and half the time, people just poured in for an excuse to get drunk and hook up somewhere prying adult eyes wouldn't look.

“Yeah, you too,” he says politely before returning his attention to Oakley. “I wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought you and Jamie were off in college. Is he in town too?”

“Oh, yeah, we're just back to clean up some family stuff,” she says with an easy shrug. “He's meeting up with his dad right now, but he'll be back soon!”

The energy between them shifts slightly, and a wince passes over Keith's face. He glances around and lowers his voice so I can barely hear it over the din of the rodeo.

“I heard about the stuff with your brother.” The mention of Bo makes my heart ache and my stomach twist unpleasantly, but I keep my face stoic when Oakley glances over at me.

I'm here to relax and not think about any of that.

“It's all bullshit, man. Savannah’s up to something.

People have been waking up in bed with her without any memory of the night before for months before it happened to Bo.

It even happened to me, man. My sister thinks she drugged me for some reason.

I don't want to stick my nose in your business, but I want you to know that you've got backup. Bo’s a good guy, and we all wish him the best.”

Oakley’s eyes meet mine in a heavy glance, uncertainty and suspicion taking root on both of us simultaneously. I may be pissed at Bo’s acceptance of the situation, but if we can prove she's lying about this, that'll change everything.

Even if it seems far-fetched, though.

Sure, Savannah fucking sucks , but she's not ugly. There’s no reason she'd need to resort to drugging people to get them in bed. She's always had a questionable sense of fun, but this seems extreme, even for her.

A drawn out scream of excitement breaks me out of my thoughts, and I look up to find the source.

Oakley and Keith are still talking, her hand on his shoulder as she badgers him for details while simultaneously being grateful and supportive.

My eyes skip over them quickly and settle on a head of blonde curls nestled beneath a cowboy hat with a sparkly rim.

Speak of the fucking devil.

I nudge Oakley and nod subtly in Savannah’s direction.

She's leaning on the railing of the mechanical bull ring, hollering at her friend with a beer in her hand.

Her shorts are so tiny that I'm tempted to call them underwear, and her top stops just below breasts, emblazoned with a saying about riding cowboys. My blood boils at the sight of her.

“Is she drinking?” Oakley asks.

I was so wrapped up in how much I hate even being in the same place as her that I didn't even think about it.

“Maybe she's holding it for her friend?” I say hesitantly.

It's not like I want to defend her, but having a beer in her hand doesn't mean she's drinking.

“I need to find my sisters before they get in trouble,” Keith says, not noticing where we're looking. “Just be careful where you leave your drinks, and let me know if there's anything we can do to help y’all.”

Oakley thanks him and gives him a hug before he leaves, but my eyes are glued to Savannah.

Her friend topples off the bull and onto the inflatable mat with a drunken laugh, and she staggers over to the railing to leave the pen.

My heart sinks when she takes the beer from Savannah’s hand and chugs it, but I wasn't expecting any less.

She's not stupid enough to blow her story in public. If she is lying.

“Guess it was her friend’s,” Oakley mutters, sounding as disappointed as I feel.

I tear my eyes off Savannah, intent on forgetting about her entirely, but Oakley’s brow furrows and she whips out her phone before I can say anything.

“Oh, you stupid bitch,” she hisses gleefully.

I look back to see Savannah linking arms with her friend and tossing a shot back. The liquid is clear, and it could be water for all I know, but it sure looks like she's taking a shot. She tosses her curls back with a tittering laugh before climbing into the pen herself.

My brows raise so high I'm pretty sure they meet my hairline.

“She's not,” I whisper.

“Oh, she is,” Oakley says vindictively as she records. “Savannah Ward, poor pregnant girl, shooting liquor and riding bulls at the rodeo.”

Savannah climbs onto the mechanical bull and gets settled without a care in the world, her friend shouting drunken encouragement. She doesn't last long up there before she gets thrown, but she's not moving like someone who’s three months pregnant.

Or like someone who’s sober.

Oakley films the whole thing.

She stops the recording as Savannah clambers out of the Ring, and we immediately hunch over her phone. The recording is a little shaky, but Savannah’s inebriation is still obvious.

“I have to show this to Bo,” Oakley says. “And to Mom and Dad.”

Hope swells in my chest at the thought—this may be enough to convince them all that she really is lying. There's no other proof I can offer, but I know deep in my gut that something’s off.

Before we can begin scheming, a familiar, whiny voice cuts through my excitement.

“Well, well, if it isn't the Montgomery princess and my baby daddy’s side piece,” Savannah drawls, her sneer obvious in her voice.

I flinch at what Savannah calls me, but turn to face her with my head held high anyway. Oakley's by my side, and we have video evidence that's going to blow her bullshit out of the water. I won't let her bully me.

“Savannah!” Oakley exclaims, forcing brightness into her voice. “We were just talking about how much we didn't want to see your ugly fucking face!”

She smiles widely at Savannah’s pinched expression, and I muffle my laughter into a fake cough. Oakley’s always been good at putting people in their place.

“Guess I shouldn't be surprised that all of you are the avoidant type.” Savannah rolls her eyes at us disdainfully.

I can smell the beer on her breath. Fucking bitch.

“You should really tell your brother to stop ignoring me.

We have houses to look at for after the baby is born, and I'm not building the nursery myself. It didn't really go so well the last time he ignored me, y'know? I had to resort to talking to y’all’s parents myself, and that was just… pitiful.”

Fury reaches a boiling point in my gut halfway through her tirade, but Oakley grabs my wrist before I can smack Savannah clean across her lying mouth. She steps forward, her smile as sugar sweet as her voice, and stares straight down at Savannah.

“Oh, he's ignoring you because he wants nothing to do with you. Y’know, just like everyone else in your life?” she asks gently, the barbs on her words cutting deep even if Savannah tries to hide her flinch.

“I'm glad you can see when your actions are pathetic, though. The first step to getting help for a problem like that is admitting that you need it.”

Savannah glares right back at Oakley, but she somehow looks much less terrifying. She can't hold a candle to Oakley’s brains, and she just looks like a scared little girl grasping at straws now.

Her friend calls her name, and relief flickers in Savannah’s blue eyes. She steps back from Oakley with a scoff and turns back toward her friend.

“We’ll just see how ignoring me goes for him. Ciao for now, losers,” she says, wiggling her pink painted nails over her shoulder in a wave. “Can't wait to be part of the family.”