Page 16 of Wild and Unruly (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #3)

bonnie

It was late, and it probably would have been better if I had just gone to The Lodge and gone straight to bed, but I let hope guide me on the off chance that Stetson was here tonight.

It seems like half the town was enjoying a night off.

Drinks were clinked, songs were sung, and the beat from the dance floor was making the room vibrate under my feet.

I skip the bar, knowing that if I have even one drink, I’ll start to feel my eyelids droop heavily before I can even turn on my truck. Heading straight to where the crowd was cheering, I smile when I see Stetson up to take his turn throwing darts. He pulls his arm back, aiming.

From this angle, I can see his tongue sticking out just slightly, and I giggle at the sight of it. I’m still blending in with the crowd enough that he doesn’t see me. I take a step forward just after he throws, and the crowd around him cheers as he hits right next to the bullseye .

His arms go up, and he does a subtle but proud victory turn, and that’s when his eyes connect with mine.

I smile shyly, hoping that my showing up wasn’t too eager of a move. He told me that he wanted me to come back up here as soon as I could, which told me that he was as into me as I was into him.

It makes my palms sweat and my heart race at just the thought.

But once he finds me in the crowd, he stalks across the floor, politely weaving around the few people that separate us, cups my jaw in his strong, calloused hands, and kisses me right in front of everyone. My worry and fear of being too forward dissipates within seconds.

Shouts and cheers erupt around us, but my sole focus is on the man in front of me and kissing him back with an intensity that I didn’t know I could possess.

This whole relationship is frightening. It is terrifying to let myself get swept up in it, but even if I could, I wasn’t sure I’d want to slow it back down.

“You came home,” he breathes against my lips after he pulls away, and I nod. “I’m glad you did.”

I fumble for words and spit out the first thing that sounds right in my head. “You would have been just fine without me for a few more days.”

That wasn’t so bad. Maybe I was getting better about putting my foot in my mouth.

“Hey, Stets.” I turn and see the bartender, Annmarie, I think, coming up to him and high-fiving him. “Nice win.” She nods at the board, and I feel my hackles rising.

I step closer to him, and he puts his arm around my back. “Thanks, it was close, but I pulled it out. Hey, what are the chances we could put up a corn hole area out back? ”

Annmarie looks to me and smiles, holding out her hand. “Ignore the rude idiot for not introducing me properly.”

I shake her hand, confused. And not really loving how she’s talking about him. “It’s fine.”

“Oh shit, sorry. Bo, this is Annmarie, my best friend. Annmarie, this is Bo, my girlfriend.”

I turn to him quickly, caught off guard by his statement. “I’m not your girlfriend.” I turn back to Annmarie. “I’m not his girlfriend.”

She shrugs and purses her lips. “All right. Been there.”

I frown and step closer to him. “I mean, we’re seeing how it goes. He doesn’t know me that well yet. He doesn’t know I can snore like a lumberjack and be cranky as hell if I don’t have my morning coffee.” My cheeks heat as mortification washes over me.

Why am I still talking?

“I mean, hell, we’ve only known each other like two weeks.” Just shut up, Bonnie.

“Okay,” Stetson says, pinching my side gently. I pinch his stomach in return. “You don’t have to convince Annmarie we’re not dating. She gets it.”

I look to him and see hurt on his expression. Shit. I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. I panicked.

“Well, this was fun. So, corn hole? We’d have to talk with Thea and June,” she says, looking around. “I think we’d have to put up some sort of outdoor patio thing. Which”—she lifts her eyes to the ceiling in thought and shrugs—“could be good.”

“Right! I think it would be awesome. Then, when the dart teams are full, people can venture out.” He reaches up and wraps an arm over my shoulders. “Bo and I played in a game last weekend. It was a blast. ”

“It was,” I agree quietly, observing the interaction. Annmarie isn’t acting like an ex or a jealous ex at all, and I feel stupid for running my mouth.

They talk for a few more minutes, and Annmarie stands with her arms crossed, barely looking at Stetson. If I was his ex, and I was jealous of the new relationship he was flaunting around, I wouldn’t be unconcerned. I would be trying to get close, trying to get him alone.

She is just his friend.

I smile at her. “I think I’ll go get a drink.”

I step away from Stetson, and I hear him call me back. I smile and wave him off. I need a minute to regroup my brain. I don’t want to be rude to every woman who looks at him. I’m not that type of person anyway. I hate women like that.

I make my way to the bar, ordering a soda to get me by and settle into one of the barstools.

Someone comes and sits next to me, but I don’t lift my head from where it’s resting in my hands.

I had the worst day. The worst week, really.

From the moment my mom called me home to deal with my brother, to my boss pushing me to finish this article so I could head to Kentucky for another one, to my brother refusing to even consider coming to see this ranch, I was exhausted.

I should have just gone home.

“Come here often?” a voice to my right asks, and I peek over at him. He looks familiar, and I frown, shaking my head.

“Not really, no.”

He nods, resting against his barstool. He’s got a medical boot on his left foot and a cane to walk. His right shoulder is in some sort of sling, and he’s got bruising around his eye.

“Walk into oncoming traffic?” I ask, thanking the pretty girl behind the bar for my drink. The stranger orders a whiskey and then turns his attention back to me.

“Something like that.” He laughs and there’s something so charming and friendly about him that I end up giving a small smile in return. “Hazard of the job.”

“What was your job? Wrestling hogs?”

He chuckles again. “Pretty damn close.” He looks me over, and I get the distinct feeling that he’s checking me out. He holds up his left hand for me to shake, and I do awkwardly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Bonnie.” I nod at him and pull my hand away, not interested in flirting with the stranger. My head was far too wrapped up with the man who I just walked away from because of how overwhelming he and everything else is.

“You’re not going to ask my name?”

I open my mouth to do that, just to be polite, when a voice interrupts us. “Jax?”

The stranger turns and smiles broadly. “Baby brother!” He stands awkwardly, and Stetson accepts a hug, his mouth hanging open slightly and brows furrowed.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, coming to stand behind me and resting his hand on the back of my neck. It was both possessive and comforting at the same time. “And why are you flirting with my girl?”

“Ah, your girl.” Jax nods. He had dark-brown hair, much darker than Stetson’s. But from what I could tell, his build and other features were very similar to his brother’s.

I keep my mouth shut. No need to have another foot in the mouth comment.

“Yeah, this is Bonnie Helix. She’s a writer doing a piece on Three Rivers.” The way the words pour from him as if he’s proud of who I am, of who is on his arm tonight, gives me a boost to my spirits I didn’t know I needed.

“Oh, right. I think Mom mentioned something about that a while ago.” He glances over at me, his charming smile turned more friendly now that he knows who I am. “That’s great for them.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Stetson wraps his arm over my shoulder, resting his fingertips along my collarbone and playing with my hair there. He looks his brother over. “I didn’t hear about an accident.”

Jax lifts his shoulders carelessly, reaching for his whiskey. “It wasn’t a big deal, not big enough to be newsworthy anyway.”

“How long are you home?”

Jax’s expression shutters, and I suddenly wish I was anywhere else. This feels like a private conversation I shouldn’t be privy to. “A while. My injuries are…extensive enough.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, man.” Stetson slaps him on the shoulder, and I watch Jax smile fondly at his little brother and I can tell that he’s wondering how his baby brother is, well, not a baby anymore.

“It’s all good. Now I get to witness Mom baby you all over again.”

Stetson chuckles sarcastically. “Ha-ha. You are hilarious.”

“Aw, come on, it’s not your fault you’re the baby.”

“Okay.” Stetson turns to me and holds out a hand. “You ready to go?”

I smile at Jax, then nod to Stetson. “Yeah, I should head out.”

Jax reaches out and takes my hand in his, lifting it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to it. I hear the sigh that escapes Stetson’s mouth, and I smile at his charming older brother. He winks. “It was a pleasure meeting you. ”

“You too.” I chuckle as I’m led out of the bar, Stetson making his way through with nods and smiles goodbye to some of the local townsfolk.

The fresh air outside gives me relief from the humidity that gathered in the bar, and I gulp it in, letting the breeze cool me down as we walk to my truck.

Stetson’s hand squeezes mine. “Did you have a good week?”

I glance at him, taking in the curious gaze and soft smile on his face. “It was fine.”

A disbelieving snort leaves him, and he flexes his hand wrapped around mine again. “That was believable.”

I shrug, letting our stride slow as we walk down the main road. “It is what it is.”

Stetson pulls me back, holding me hostage on the sidewalk, and I turn to face him. “Tell me what happened.”

I eye the man speculatively. “Are we even at this stage yet?”

He tilts his chin down, and I grumble at the fact that I have to look up at him to see his eyes. Why does he have to be so damn tall? It was hot and distracting.

“I think we can be at whatever stage we want. There are no rules.”