Page 15 of Burned & Bound
When he stopped to take a long drink from a black water bottle, I frowned. Why did I have a sinking suspicion he didn’t have water in there?
“How much does he drink?” I asked. That was a matter that needed attention. I didn’t need him drunk and screwing shit up.
“Boy, you don’t know that’s what he’s got in his bottle,” he replied.
“Come on, Mick, don’t think me a fool,” I said. “We both know Harrison was so far down the bottle that he bled whiskey.”
“No reason to think that boy followed in his footsteps.”
“He was drunk this morning,” I told him. “And working on the horses. How drunk is another fucking question, but I can’t have him showing up like that. He’s going to get hurt and then it’s my fault. I’ll be damned if I’m paying out because he’s a fucking drunk.”
“Boy, we need to have a fuckin’ talk,” Mickey announced. He took off his hat, rubbing the brim between his weathered fingers. I leaned against the fence post as I waited for him to collect his thoughts. “I understand you got issues with that boy after him leavin’ you andshit—”
“He didn’t leave me,” I interrupted angrily. “I don’t give a fuck about him leaving.”
“You always were a shit liar, Jackson,” he said. “That boy left you more than he left anyone else here. Don’t think me a fool. I saw the way you two were. It ain’t a far leap to know you had feelin’s.”
“Get to your point, Mickey.” I scowled, hating every fucking sentence coming out of his mouth.
“You need to learn to give people some grace—now more than ever,” he said. “There are just some times in life you need to learn to shut your goddamn mouth instead of lashin’ out with all that anger of yours. This right here… this is one of them moments.”
I considered his words. Mickey was about the only person in the world who could get away with calling me out on my shit. I listened to him too—most of the time. This time, though… this wasn’t one of them. Everything about West’s presence in my space pissed me the fuck off. Without a reason why, I wasn’t stopping until he was gone.
“You going to tell me why?” I asked.
“There are some things you’re better off not knowin’, boy, and should count yourself lucky that you don’t,” he replied.
“Then no, I ain’t going easy on him, Mick,” I told him. Without a word, I left him standing there. I needed a cold shower and something to sear the image of West shirtless out of my brain.
CHAPTER 09
jackson
Magnolia Myles had zerofucks to give. After my dad died, Mom changed. I had worried it’d be for the worst, but fuck, my mom was living her best life.Life was too short and all that.
She lived in a senior’s place—the kind with a few nurses on staff, individual apartments, and more social events than anyone needed. They had parties, card nights, brunches, and more. These old fucks really did live it up. I was also fairly certain that a few too many of them were fucking around whenever they could. More props to them if their dicks were still working.
“Ladies! Who wants a picture with a real live cowboy?” Mom exclaimed when she saw me walking across the dining hall toward her. “I mean, just look at that saunter and hair. Son, you’re looking like something right out of a John Wayne movie.”
Her nose crinkled as she smiled at me. I bent down and kissed her cheek, overwhelmed by her floral perfume. She always did wear too much.
“Ain’t sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, Ma.” I chuckled. “And stop trying to pimp your son out.”
“Honey, you’re a gay bull rider. I’d be stupid not to capitalize on it whenever you came to visit me,” she retorted and tossed me a wink. I knew she was kidding. Mom was fiercely protective of me. We had some serious citation issues the first few weeks after she moved in because some people had choice opinions about her gay bull riding son. It was all fun and games now, but she’d gotten into a few fights over it. As I sat down, she asked, “How’s my handsome boy doing? You’re looking a little tired there, Jackson. Are you sleeping or are you working?”
“Can’t I do both?”
“And when was the last time you didboth?” She arched a brow and waited for me to give her an answer. Instead, I grabbed a toothpick from the condiment turntable and jammed it between my teeth. I offered her a cheeky grin, doing whatever I could to not answer. “That’s what I thought. Jackson Myles wouldn’t know what life balance was if it hit him square in the face.”
“Depending on how big it is, I might dodge before it can hit me,” I answered with a little too much sass, making her laugh. I got that shit from her.
“How are things on the ranch? Quiet, I hope. No more chaos?” Mom asked. I knew what chaos she was referring to, which had nothing to do with my current predicament. Still, I frowned. “I don’t like that face, Jackson. What’s going on?”
“Did you know Harrison changed his will?” I opened a deck of cards, handing them to her. Mom and I played a lot of cards while we talked. It was an easy thing for both of us to do with the latent energy we both struggled with.
“Good riddance with that man,” she snapped. “What the fuck did he do now? Wasn’t good enough to just die and leave us alone?”
I chuckled like I always did when Mom swore. I disliked Harrison, but Mom downright hated him. For what reason, I had no idea.