Page 153 of We Drank the Dawn

I lurched through the space between us, my fists grabbing up handfuls of his shirt and throwing him against the tack wall. With a loud swear, his head knocked against a saddle peg and his hands came to my forearms, pushing back as I bore my weight into the spot right above his collar bone.

Size wise, we were evenly matched. Eye-to-eye.

But I had a few more pounds on me than Cody. And I used each one to my advantage, leaning my weight into him. “Start talking. Right now.”

Air eked out of his lungs with a wheeze. Still, he chuckled. “I didn’t peg you as the type who cared that much, Coop. I’m impressed.”

“Start talking.”

“Fine.” He wheezed, his voice croaking now. “But let me go first.”

I stepped back, Cody falling a few inches as he righted himself, rubbing the hollow of his neck. “Calm down. It was just a joke, alright? He was drunk outta his mind and flirtin’ left and right ‘n I hated his guts ‘cause of the way he’d let her roam the ranch with tears in her eyes. I would’a done anything to get my hands on that woman for five minutes. So I told a little fib to make his life harder. Sounds like it worked, and I’m glad.”

My hands turned to fists.

He continued, “The fact that you call that prissy bastard your friend is wild to me.”

Scarcely able to draw a breath, my voice hissed out. “Cody?”

I waited till he looked me dead in the eye.

“You pegged me wrong.”

And then, I let my fist fly.

FIFTY-TWO

Peter

“Alright, Peter.” Harlan stood before me in the bunkhouse, the wooden floor groaning under his shifting weight. “I forgot something very important.”

I smiled at the excitement in his tone. “What?”

“The rodeo always has a dress code.”

I frowned, immediately associating the term with casual versus formal.

“You can’t be showing up looking like a desk man. You gotta look the part. Cowboy. Hat, belt, boots, and long-sleeve collared shirt.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” A laugh toyed at the back of my throat.

“I’m not at all. What size you wear?”

I shook my head, seriously contemplating backing out so I wouldn’t have to dress up. But before I could answer, the bunkhouse door opened so fast it banged against the wall, causing me to jump.

Harlan whistled low. “Hell, Cody. What happened to you?”

Two sets of feet scuffled into the room, a rough, “tell him right now” coming from Cooper. He sounded pissed. Someone spat and I recognized the metallic scent of blood.

“I lied.” Cody’s voice ground out, angry but subdued. “I lied about you kissin’.”

Relief and shock pulled the blood from my face.

“It was just a joke,” he added.

Harlan’s voice rumbled. “That’s some shitty joke. Peter’s been trying to make right with his wife and you’ve kept that running for a whole damn month?”

I couldn’t even speak. My tongue froze in my mouth.