Lost Love (Cowboys & Angels 1)

My body sagged. It seemed like the last few times I was with Paxton I couldn’t put her feelings first.

I turned and grabbed my beer, quickly downing it.

A slap on my back had me nearly choking.

“Don’t drink too much. I wouldn’t want to pull you over.”

I grunted as my twin brother Mitchell sat down next to me. The only way you could tell us apart was a small scar above my right eye I got from being hit by Tripp with a baseball bat when I was fourteen. And we wore our hair differently.

“S’up, Mitchell?” I asked with a half-smile.

He grinned and motioned for Cord’s new bartender to give him what I was drinking.

I hadn’t realized how much I had missed my brothers. We had caused some serious hell growing up. I glanced around to each of them and wondered how in the hell they were all still single. It wasn’t like we didn’t come from a good gene pool. Not one of them was even dating a girl, let alone thinking about settling down.

“You off tonight?” Cord asked, putting another beer in front of me. He’d walked around the bar this time instead of hopping over it.

“Just got off. Rough day. Found the body of a woman on the banks of the Frio.”

“Damn, any idea who it is?” Tripp asked.

Mitchell shook his head. “No. We’re checking missing persons reports. Fucking sucks knowing someone’s daughter is missing and she might be dead.” He took a drink of his beer and glanced around the place.

“Fuck me. Who is Trevor dancing with? I’d like to tap that ass… Oh hell … is that…?”

My body shook as Tripp placed his hand on my shoulder. “Paxton,” I grunted.

Mitchell jerked his head back. “That’s Paxton? Sweet innocent kindergarten teacher, Paxton? Fucking hell. Look at that body.”

He laughed, then turned to me. His smile dropped. “Shit. Sorry, Steed. I kind of forgot you were here.”

My eyes widened in shock. “I’m sitting right next to you, asshole. How could you forget I’m here?”

With a shrug, he took a drink of his beer. “I think I’ll take a walk around the place. See if there’s a girl here I haven’t hooked up with yet.”

Shaking my head, I asked, “Are all of y’all man whores?”

Mitchell shot me a smirk as he took off toward a table of young women. Each of them had their jaws on the floor, hopeful looks in their eyes.

“I’m out of here,” Tripp said standing. “I’ve got a meeting tomorrow morning I can’t miss.”

“Later,” Cord said as they shook hands. Tripp reached for my hand, and I shook it. Then he leaned down and whispered, “Go cut in, you idiot.”

I gave him a weak grin before focusing in on Trevor and Paxton. She threw her head back and laughed at something Trevor said.

Tripp started to leave before he stopped and turned back. “If you don’t, Mitchell will. He’s making his way over there in case you haven’t noticed.”

Jumping up, I made my way toward the dance floor. Trevor saw me coming and spun Paxton around so that she came to a stop in front of me.

I smiled and her grin evaporated.

“It’s about damn time,” Trevor said with a slap on my back.

Paxton chewed on her lip as I stared at her. “Dance with me?” I asked. Her eyes fell to the floor. “Please, Pax?”

Her gaze snapped back up, and she stepped closer. I took her into my arms. My entire body felt as if it had come alive after years of feeling dead. Damn, it felt amazing to hold her again. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath as I pulled her a little closer. When she didn’t say anything, I led us farther onto the dance floor.

Her head was against my chest, and I couldn’t help but remember how good we fit together. In everything we did, not just dancing. “I’ve missed you, Paxton.”

She didn’t say anything, but I felt her body tremble.

“Please don’t hate me. I can’t stand the thought of you hating me.”

Pulling her head back, she stared at me with those big blue eyes. “And why shouldn’t I hate you, Steed? You left me to deal with everything. All alone with absolutely no one to talk to. You never even called to ask if I was okay.”

A stab of pain hit my chest, and my voice caught in my throat. Her eyes swam with tears, but I knew she was fighting to hold them back. “If I could go back to that first day when you told me, Paxton, I would do everything different. But I can’t, and all I know to do is tell you why I left and stayed away.”

Our eyes were locked as we moved slowly on the dance floor even though there was a fast song playing.