AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Main Street bustled with activity. Banners were strung between buildings, ribbons festooned every lamp post, and the scent of burgers and donuts filled the air. The field behind the church was barely controlled chaos. Vehicles were spilling out of the parking lot five-deep. Picnic tables filled the new pavilion, and strings of white lights twinkled from the rafters while classic country music blared from an overpowered sound system. Crowds wandered between vendor stalls, bundled in scarves and clutching thermoses. Old ladies watched in horror as an official in a yellow vest bellowed at a group of teenagers who had entered a giant penis in the ice sculpture competition. At the far end of the lot, gruff men with bushy beards were throwing axes at wooden targets. ATVs revved their engines, and riders moved among their horses, checking hooves and adjusting tack while hot breath streamed from the animals' nostrils.
Aiden stood amid the group of amateur competitors and scanned the crowd. His eyes skimmed over familiar faces, but he avoided looking too closely, afraid of who he might not see.
He hadn't expected Seth to show up after their argument. He'd never disguised how stupid he found the competition. The only reason he'd agreed to help Aiden with his crazy scheme was obviously some mix of nostalgia and his overdeveloped protective instincts. But Aiden had never needed a babysitter; he just wanted his friend back.
He distracted himself by crouching beside his borrowed skis and running a glove along the surface, checking for imperfections before tightening the bindings with a precise twist of his wrist. Focusing on the small details kept his nerves at bay.
"You ready?" Tucker Grace asked, strolling over with a gorgeous Mustang docilely trailing behind him.
"Born ready, ol' son," Aiden replied, curling his lips in his trademark cocky smirk.
Tucker gave him an unsmiling nod and adjusted the bit in the Mustang's mouth with the surety of a seasoned rider. The stallion shifted and stomped his front hoof, sensing the excitement. Tucker murmured a few soothing words in a voice as steady as his hands.
"Thanks for helping," Aiden volunteered. Not many people were close to a man like Tucker Grace, but Aiden had always liked the guy well enough.
"It's good socialization for Traveler," Tucker replied, stroking a hand over the Mustang's thick winter coat. "What happened to the guy who agreed to pull you?"
Buck Carson stood nearby, eavesdropping while he adjusted the cinch on his own gelding, and he interrupted before Aiden could open his mouth. "Dropped the dead weight before he pulled you under, eh, Doyle?"
Aiden was still crouched in the snow, but he looked up and gave Buck the loud, fake laugh he was always looking for. Then he bared his teeth and launched himself in a diving tackle that caught Buck behind the knees.
"What the—" Buck tried to shout, but Aiden cut him off by shoving his head face-first into the snow and holding it there.
"How about you learn to mind your own goddamn business, Buck? How 'bout that!" Aiden yelled, pinning the man with a knee in the small of his back.
"You crazy sonofabitch—get off him!" His racing partner, Mitch, swung a kick toward the side of Aiden's head with his ski boot.
Aiden almost ducked in time, but the heel of Mitch's boot clocked him across the jaw. The pain was sharp and hot, like needles spreading through his teeth and up his cheekbone, but his only reaction was to shove Buck's face even harder into the snow. Mitch lined up another kick, but before he could connect, Tucker grabbed him by the leg and twisted, yanking him off balance. Mitch toppled sideways into a snowdrift, cursing, but he hesitated scrambling back to his feet once he caught a good look at Tucker Grace looming above him.
"I don't think so," Tucker said in a tone full of deadly warning. He wasn't angry—yet—but every man in Sweetwater knew not to tangle with his temper.
A powerful arm wrapped around Aiden's chest from behind, hauling him bodily off his victim before he could finish stuffing Buck’s mouth full of snow. Aiden struggled instinctively, kicking out as he was dragged clear of the fray.
"Knock it off," a deep voice growled.
"Seth?" Aiden twisted in his arms, craning his neck to glare. Rage and frustration pounded through him like a heartbeat as Seth pulled him further from the chaos.
"Calm down," Seth said, low and steady, right beside his ringing ear. His tone brooked no argument. Aiden reluctantly stopped thrashing, and Seth set him on his feet, but he clamped his hands firmly on Aiden's shoulders so he couldn't escape. He searched Aiden's eyes, demanding, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Aiden's chest heaved with exertion and leftover dregs of fury. He shouted over his shoulder, directing toward the asshole pawing snow out of his nose. "I was thinking Buck needs to shut his damn mouth!"
"Fuck you, Doyle!" The other man's response was muffled.
Aiden's whole body jerked toward Buck, like a puppet with someone tugging on his strings, but Seth held him back.
"Let go of me!" Aiden snapped, yanking his shoulder free. "I can handle myself."
"Clearly," Seth retorted, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Look around, Aiden. You're about to get yourself tossed out of the contest."
Through the red haze of his anger, Aiden finally noticed the gathering swarm of people. Scandalized mothers were tugging their gleeful children away from the spectacle while men and women murmured to each other behind their hands. Tessa stood at the crowd's edge, looking worried until Riley Jensen wrapped his arms around her from behind, and Aiden suddenly understood why Seth was there. Not for Aiden—for his sister. She must have talked him into driving her to town.
A festival official in a yellow vest was parting the audience like the Red Sea. His face was purple with agitation, but Aiden didn't care. He was just a tool from the mayor's office. They were always throwing a fit over something.
"The sheriff is already on his way!" he yelled. "You've got two seconds to explain yourselves, or you're out of the competition—Tucker Grace. I should've known. You ever going to learn to settle differences without fists?"
Tucker ignored him and offered a hand to Mitch, but the other man knocked his help away and began angrily dusting off his snow pants. Buck was climbing to his feet more slowly.
"Tuck didn't do a damn thing," Aiden protested. "I'm the one who started it."
