“Then why are you talking about her ass and not mine?” Cane says as he releases Scooter, hopping to his feet.
“It’s a good ass too.” Scooter sits up. Cane offers him his hand to help him up from the ground.
“Thanks. Astor never gives me compliments.” I roll my eyes.
“You don’t need any.” Cane puts his hand to his chest, pretending to be wounded. The man is the hottest out of all the Justice men, and he damn well knows it. I’m not only saying that because we’re sleeping together either.
“Did you say you put vanilla in the coffee?” Cane gives Scooter a bright smile.
“Don’t offer him any,” I rush to say, but it’s too late. Scooter is already lost in that smile. Too bad Cane can’t get it to work on my father.
CHAPTER 15
CANE
“You make a damn good cup of joe.” I take a healthy swig and frown when I can see the bottom of the cup.
Scooter heaves a heavy sigh and swipes the mug from my hand to replace it with another. “And you look like you need at least three coffees before you’re a self-functioning human.”
“Only two but you’re perceptive and good in the kitchen. You’ll make someone a good husband someday.”
“But not yours?” he teases.
“If it weren’t for Astor, I would consider because the coffee is damned good. Is this all you can make?”
“I’ve got a full repertoire.”
“Are you two flirting?” Astor interjects.
“We’re just chatting, Astor. Do you need more coffee?” Scooter arches an eyebrow.
“No.”
“You sound a little grumpy. Are you sure?”
A chuckle slips out, which I turn into a cough when Astor swivels to glare at me. Scooter doesn't hide his amusement but instead laughs as he rises from the table, pausing to ruffle Astor’s hair on his way to the coffeepot. Seeing his hand on her hair pulls a growl of annoyance out of me.
Scooter turns back and rests his hand on Astor’s shoulder. My eyes narrow. Astor’s eyes start glowing with amusement.
“Now who’s grumpy?” she chirps. “Better get him a whole pot.” She pats Scooter’s hand like he’s her husband and I’m some visitor at their shared table.
I clench my jaw and stand. “Take the hand off her shoulder.”
This only makes Scooter laugh harder. Even Astor starts to smirk. She reaches out and rubs my thigh. “It’s okay, babe. There’s more than enough of me to go around.”
“If you both want Scooter to live to see tomorrow, we’re going to have to set some boundaries.” I’m trying not to let my jealousy overtake me, but seeing Scooter so close to Astor is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Even though he is still laughing, he backs off, making his way to the coffeepot. As he pours three new cups, I sink back into my chair. A playful smile dances around Astor’s lips.
“What does your old man think about this?” Scooter wonders, placing the vanilla-infused coffees on the table. I reach for mine, but Astor turns to Scooter.
“About that—I wanted to ask you if you would cover for me. Last night, because of circumstances”—she waves a hand toward me—“I didn’t get home till late, so this morning I told my dad that we had some problems with one of your cows and ended up chasing him around for way too long.”
Scooter’s expressive eyebrow shoots up again. “And he bought that?”
Astor shrugs. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because it’s about the dumbest lie I’ve ever heard. Right up there with my cow ate my homework, but if that’s what you want to go with, I’ll back you up. How long are you going to be chasing cows out here on my property?”
It’s my eyebrow that goes up this time because that’s a damned good question. At our stares, Astor ducks her head and inspects her coffee cup like it holds the winning lottery numbers in the steam.
Finally, she mumbles, “I don’t know.”
I avert my gaze to the ceiling so that she can’t read my irritation while Scooter’s expression morphs from surprise to pity. I don’t need to see that shit either.
“Dad has this crazy idea that Cane is responsible for his injury. I know that’s not true and that the trainer stole that horse from you and sold it without you knowing, but he was going around saying that it had the Justice stamp of approval. He said you loved that horse. Dad couldn’t resist because the horse was being offered at such a good price given his lineage.”
She doesn’t need to explain it to me. I had spent a whole year and a shit ton of money mopping up the mess that fuck-ass trainer made. He stole horses and sold them out from under me including the abused thoroughbred that Astor’s daddy bought. “All those things are true. I did love that horse. I bought it because I believed I could rehabilitate it after it spent years with an abusive owner.” We’ll never know if I could’ve been successful because after the horse threw Astor’s daddy, it broke its leg and had to be put down. “If I hadn’t been in Dubai buying those Arabians, it would’ve never happened. I don’t think your dad‘s all wrong because it is our fault. The buck stops with me, but I’ve been trying to make amends for years. He won’t talk to me or my lawyers.”