We’d almost had sex last night in her barn, but her damn brother had come in and caught us.
Fucker. My jaw was still killing me.
Tonight though, tonight my dreams would come true, and I would finally be with the girl I knew I was meant to spend the rest of my life with—my blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, Olivia.
That was all I needed in this life—Mike and Olivia.
I could keep working for Olivia’s daddy on his ranch and put the money away to have the biggest and best damn cattle ranch in Texas—with a little bit of Thoroughbred horses thrown into the mix.
Present Day
I sat in the bar and downed another Bud Light. I was well on my way to getting drunk—again. I felt someone slap my back.
“What the hell, Layton? Again?”
I turned and saw my best friend, Reed, sitting next to me. He ordered a beer and flirted a bit with Misty, the bartender, who worked nights during the week. Misty wanted nothing to do with Reed, and all Reed wanted was a chance to get into her pants. All Misty wanted was a chance for me to get into her pants. She had practically begged me yesterday, and I’d almost given in. I’d do anything to forget about Olivia.
If only sex would make me forget everything…and everyone…
“Fuck off, Reed,” I said.
Reed took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “Dude, I know the last few months have been hell for you, but you have to snap out of it. Have you been to Lucky’s to check on the horses? He’s got…what? Three there that he’s training? Mike believed in those horses, Layton. ”
Just the mention of my brother’s name caused me to feel sick. “I know what my fucking brother believed in. You don’t have to keep reminding me, Reed. I’m going to do him proud. I promised him. ”
“I know you did, Layton. I know you did. ” Reed took a sip of his beer.
“It’s just…I keep expecting him to walk through that door with a big ole smile on his face from winning a race. I keep waiting…but he never comes. ”
I could tell Reed was staring at me, so I turned and looked at him. I smiled, winked, and finished off my beer. I looked up and saw Misty giving me that pathetic sympathy smile that everyone had been giving to me for months since Mike had died. I was sick of it.
“Misty, what are you doing after work?” I winked at her.
She slowly smiled and bit down on her lower lip. My dick instantly got hard as I thought about fucking her in the backseat of my truck.
“Going home with you?” she asked.
I casually gave her my dimple smile that I knew drove the girls crazy. “Fuck yeah, you are. ”
Reed slammed his beer down on the counter and turned to face me. “You know, Layton, sometimes, you can be a real prick. ” He grabbed his cowboy hat and headed out the door.
I watched him leave and then nonchalantly looked back at Misty. It was just us in the bar now.
“Can you close up early?” I asked.
She smiled and walked toward the front door. She pulled the cord, and the Open sign turned off. She locked the front door and shut off all the lights, except for the ones over the pool tables.
As she walked toward me, she started to take off her clothes. By the time she reached me, she was only in her bra and thong. She had a smokin’ hot body and looked hot as hell standing there in her red lace bra and G-string. I stood, picked her up, and made my way over to a pool table.
Maybe she can make me forget for a few minutes.
Chapter One: Whitley
I could hear Courtney talking to someone, and I strained to hear what she was saying.
“She won’t tell us what happened, Ms. Will, but we know she was assaulted by someone. I can’t help her if she won’t tell me who did this. ”
“I can tell you who did it. It was that motherfucking, good-for-nothing boyfriend of hers. Can’t you just go arrest him? I mean, he put her in the damn hospital, for Christ’s sake. ”