More Than Enough (Pelican Bay 4)

Fucking Marcus.

My skin instantly got cold and clammy as images of my ex began bombarding my brain. Thankfully, Newt's squeal a few seconds later ripped me from the dark tunnel I'd been about to fall into. I scrambled to my feet to see what had happened to the child to elicit such an outburst only to see him flying down the barn aisle and straight into his brother's arms.

"Isaac!" Newt cried as the young man scooped him up. Despite his slight stature, there was no doubting the solid hug Isaac gave his kid brother. Newt's feet hung several inches off the floor as the brothers clung to each other. Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I managed to keep them at bay.

Tears had never done me much good anyway.

Sensing the need to give Isaac and Newt a moment of privacy, I returned to packing Jerry's hoof and wrapping it with a bandage.

"Yeah, and we're fixing Jerry's foot… hoof," I heard Newt say from behind me. I turned and saw Newt leading his brother down the aisle.

My eyes connected with Isaac’s and I instantly knew something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

My heart surged into my throat. Dear God, had something happened to Maddox?

Isaac did his best to keep his attention on his little brother as Newt explained all the different steps of treating Jerry's abscess, but every time his eyes glanced my way, it physically hurt. While I considered myself close with all the guys in our little circle, I felt a certain kinship with Isaac. Thankfully, there had never been any awkwardness about a potential physical relationship between us because neither of us had had those feelings, but I'd known pretty quickly upon meeting Isaac that he and I had a lot in common. Maddox hadn't particularly liked the friendship Isaac and I had built, but the stubborn man had eventually figured out that he was the only one Isaac would ever be interested in.

It wasn't until Newt got distracted by some of the other livestock outside the barn seeking attention that I had a chance to say to Isaac, "Everything okay?"

Isaac managed a nod, but his eyes were red rimmed and swollen. He’d clearly been crying long before he’d come into the barn. "Isaac," I said, but Newt's approaching footsteps had him shaking his head.

"It was just a rough trip," he murmured softly and then he was once again all smiles as his brother reappeared and continued his explanation of Jerry's care. Sensing that Isaac needed some time with his brother, I quietly left the barn. My intent was to head to my car but before I knew it, my feet were taking me in the opposite direction… and fast.

The closer I got to Dallas’s house, the quicker I walked. I knew whatever was happening was none of my business, but I couldn't just stand by and watch Isaac suffer. And if something had happened to Maddox, I needed to know. He might've seen me as a potential rival for Isaac’s affection at one point, but I considered him a friend and knew he now felt the same way.

Ugly, terrible thoughts began to go through my mind and by the time I reached the narrow, curvy uphill path that was a shortcut to the main house, I was practically at a dead run.

Everything's fine. Everything's fine.

I kept repeating the mantra in my head over and over as my boots scraped over the rocky pathway. I had my head down to focus on the outcropping of thick roots and sharp rocks beneath my feet, so I wasn’t prepared to hear a sharp shout before experiencing the sensation of falling. I instinctively threw out my hands to catch myself, but instead of hitting the dirt, something broke my fall.

No, not something… someone.

My unfortunate victim took the brunt of the fall. I tried not to let all of my weight land on top of the unlucky individual, but it was no use. As we hit the ground, I heard the distinctive sound of some type of wheel turning and could only assume that I'd knocked down someone on a bike.

But that made no sense because the rocky path most certainly wasn’t meant for anything on wheels.

I took stock of my injuries just long enough to figure out how I could most quickly move off of the man beneath me. I was pretty sure it was a man, anyway, given the hard, flat chest I was currently lying on top of. And, of course, there was that little bit of facial hair that had scraped over my own cheek as our bodies had become entangled.

Despite the hard tumble, nothing hurt besides what felt like a scraped knee. I couldn't say the same for the guy holding all of my hundred and seventy some odd pounds.