Cowboys Mine (8 page)

He wanted to fight. The alcohol only spurred him on,
pushing him to take chances.

“Let’s go,” said North. “I’m done with this.”

If it wasn’t for his twin, he’d be rolling with Wade
about now, determined to teach him what happens to men that break Eva’s heart.

He pushed his brother when he wouldn’t stop dragged
him away by the shirt. Colton hadn’t realized he was digging his heels against
the floor.

“You’re already wasted, Colt. For God’s sake!”

“Don’t judge me. You don’t know what I’m going
through.” He unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, the heat rising up his
collar.

“Who the fuck do you think I am? I know everything.
You’ve been feeling sorry for yourself ever since dad walked out on us.”

Colton didn’t think, he just acted. He threw a punch
at his brother’s face, all the rage building inside him desperate to be
expelled. “We have no dad!”

North grabbed his wrist and punched him hard in the
gut. Colton bent forward to catch his breath. They fought back and forth,
throwing punching, grabbing, and ramming each other without holding back.
A bubble of space grew around them. The patrons of the bar hooted and
hollered for bloodshed. Little did they know North was his brother and best
friend.

“Whatever. Move on. Or am I a fucking reminder to
you, too?”

North’s words sobered Colton in a hurry. His brother
was going through the same, if not more, pain as him. Their mother couldn’t
even look at him when she was high.

They settled into chairs at an empty table, and
within minutes, the music resumed and the crowd forgot about them.

“You’ve looked better,” said Colton.

North smirked. “You should have seen the other guy.”

He ordered a coffee, not willing to head back to the
trailer in a drunken stupor. His lip was split and his ribs ached, but he
deserved it.

“How are we gonna tell Eva?” asked North.

“The hell if I know.” He sipped on his coffee,
noticing some girls at the bar checking out their table.

“I didn’t like seeing her with him.”

He shrugged. “It’ll happen one day, North. Maybe not
with Wade, but with another man.”

“Why not us?”

Colton tensed. “Don’t start. You know she deserves
better than us.”

“Like Wade? I’d never cheat on her, never do anything
to hurt her.”

“I ain’t having this conversation,” said Colton.

All he could envision was Eva popping pills like their
mother because he was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. He wouldn’t
ruin her.

“So I have to pretend I feel nothing?”

A couple of women from the bar walked over. One handed
a beer to North. “Hey, big boy.”

“You just need to move on,” said Colton, patting his
lap. He’d just do what he did best—stifle the pain, put on a happy face, and
love Eva like he always had.

****

Eva was about to crawl into bed but knew she
wouldn’t be able to sleep. Where were Colton and North? It was way past dark,
so they could only be at one place. Neither of them had chased tail like she
expected since arriving, so she assumed they were at the local bar. She was
tempted to go look for them, but their social life was none of her business,
especially when she continually ranted for them to stay out of hers.

She tidied up the clothes left in the sleeping area
and cleaned the kitchen, but she couldn’t get the twins off her mind. What if
they’d gotten themselves into trouble? It wouldn’t be the first time. Eva
finally decided to take a walk around the camp grounds to see if she could spot
either of them. She pulled on a warm sweater and slipped on her boots.

Rain fell in a light mist, and the only light came
from the Chinese lanterns and bonfires. She hugged herself tighter as she
walked to the first trailer. A middle-aged woman was warming her hands by the
fire.

“Hi, have you seen the men I’m rooming with lately?
They still aren’t home, and I was getting a bit worried.”

“Haven’t seen either of your brothers, sugar. The
blond one was by earlier. He fixed my trailer hitch and carried my groceries
into the kitchen. Handsome as hell
and
sweet. If I was younger, I’d be chasing both of them.” She laughed out loud and
pulled out a beer bottle from the side of her chair. “Go check the pub. You’ll
probably find them there.”

Eva didn’t ‘want people mistaking the twins as her
brothers. It never bothered her before, but it rubbed her wrong now. She came
to the next campsite, stopping to speak to three cowgirls drinking and talking.

“Have any of you seen Colton or North? The men I’m
bunking with?”

One of them whispered into another’s ear. They
giggled. The third was bolder. “No, but if you find either of them cowboys,
send them to me.” She winked.

Eva never had a possessive bone in her body. She
loved the McReed twins as much as her own soul. They were a huge part of her
life. However, she also accepted they slept around and would eventually have
families of their own.

A new fear sparked inside her. What if they did move
on without her? Could she really stand to see them in love with another woman?

“Thanks. I’ll keep looking.”

Eva started to jog through the campsites, half in a
daze. She’d been blind her entire adult life. How could she not see what was
right in front of her?

She burst into the bar as soon as she reached it.
Eva wasn’t sure what she was going to do or say when she found Colton and
North, but she had to find them. She breathlessly pushed through the throngs of
people. The country music drowned all the multitude of conversations. Cowboys
looked her up and down as she squeezed by, but she ignored everyone around her.
When she finally spotted the twins, she stopped dead in her tracks.

They were both sitting at a table with two
scantily-clad women. The blonde had enough cleavage for half the bar, and the
brunette was planting kisses on North’s neck. Eva couldn’t breathe. She came to
Chester expecting the guys to have their fun. She never loved them in more than
a platonic way. They were the McReed boys, her neighbors, the teens who
pestered her, and the men who became her rocks in life. God, she was such a
fool.

She stepped closer, wondering if it was too late to
change…everything.

Eva was standing right beside their table, looking
down at them. It was Colt who finally noticed a person standing there. He did a
double take, but didn’t push his date away. Eva had to remember that nothing
had changed in their heads, and they’d done nothing wrong.

“Why you out at this hour?” he asked.

She desperately wanted to replicate disinterest, to
appear unfazed by the beautiful women hanging off them. All it would take was a
simple comment about being bored or curious.
 
But the lies stayed lodged in her throat.

Eva opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
Her new emotions came rushing to the surface, threatening her to break down in
tears and make a fool of herself. She turned and bolted towards the exit
without a word. The fresh, cool night air was a relief from the stuffy interior
of the bar. All she knew was she had to get away, to hide, to think. The
brothers probably thought she’d lost her ever-loving mind. How would she
explain herself?

She started running back to the silver bullet, tears
blurring her vision. She was about to ruin two perfect friendships. Life
without Colton and North would be unbearable—she couldn’t even imagine a day
without them underfoot.

The rain picked up, falling in heavy sheets. She
nearly slipped a few times on the slick paths, reminded of their day at the pig
wrangling event. Eva cried harder, imagining those bimbos stealing what she
loved.

Eva only made it to the rear of the large barn with
the outdoor showers. It was difficult to see with only the odd overhead light in
the event areas. It was like a ghost town this far from the campground. She
could see the strength of the rain in the lamp light when she stopped to catch
her breath.

“Eva!” It was North’s voice. She wished they’d given
her some space, but then again, it would be unlike them not to chase after her.
At least some things hadn’t changed. She’d tell them she was sick, her stomach
doing flips. It would explain her refusal to answer Colton and her sudden
disappearing act.

Colton called out over the static of rainfall, “Eva
wait up!”

Why wasn’t she stopping? Why did her tears keep
falling? She was conflicted on a soul deep level. Everything had always been
simple and pure between them. Now she was thinking beyond what they shared when
she should be satisfied with the way things were.

A hand wrapped around her upper arm, jolting her to a
standstill. “Didn’t you hear me calling?” asked North.

She refused to look him in the face. Eva didn’t look
beautiful when she cried. Her eyes got puffy and her skin broke out into hives.
There would be no way to conceal her turbulent emotions.

“Leave me be,” she said. “Please.”

North’s jeans were soaked to the skin. She’d never
noticed the shiny silver buckle he wore. Eva realized she’d never paid
attention to their physical appearances, as if she went through life with
blinders on. Now she really looked—strong thighs, narrow hips, and massive
muscular frames.

“Eva, what in God’s name are you thinking?” Colton
stopped talking to catch his breath.

“Just go back to the bar. Your dates are probably
worried sick.” She couldn’t hide the note of resentment in her tone, and she
was supposed to try and play this night off.

“They’re not our dates,” said North, tilting her chin
up to face him. “Why are you crying?”

Water ran in rivulets from his soaked hair. His lips
were moist and thick, his eyes dark and piercing. How could she have been so
blind?

“I’m not.”

He chuckled, not releasing her face. “That’s
insulting, Eva. I think I know you better than that.”

She shook her head and shrugged him off. As she
attempted to rush away into the darkness, Colt grabbed her around the waist and
held her in place. “No more running, little one.”

“I can’t do this,” she cried. “I’ve messed up bad. I
need time to clear my head.”

“What happened?” asked North. “Was it Wade? He say
something to you?”

“I’ll kill him,” Colt whispered in her ear. His breath
smelled of alcohol. He held her tighter, her back pressed to his chest.

“It wasn’t Wade!” She struggled in his arms. “It was
me.”

“Mrs. Ford’s the one always telling us it’s never as
bad as it seems.” North brushed the matted hair off her cheeks and ran his
thumb along her lower lip. The simple gestures never aroused her before, but
now her stomach fluttered wildly and her heart pumped so fast she could scarcely
breathe.

“This is worse.”

North’s shirt was plastered to his body from the rain.
It seemed every muscle was accentuated from his broad shoulders to his massive
biceps. She stared blankly, new erotic thoughts swirling in her head. The
struggle inside her didn’t let up. Her chest jerked erratically from crying too
hard.

“Tell me what’s wrong with you, God dammit!”

“I fell in love.”

Chapter Seven

North took a step back and nearly fell on his ass. He
wiped the rain from his eyes, staring back at Eva while his heart crumbled to
pieces. She was in love with Wade, and even though he knew there was no future
for the two of them, it didn’t hurt any less. Colton was right—it was better
when he didn’t care.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“There is,” she whispered. “When it’s you.”

North froze, staring at her as if seeing her for the
first time. He reacted on instinct, cupping her face with both hands as he
kissed her hard on the lips. The rain and her feminine taste intermingled. He
kissed her long and deep, exactly how he’d envisioned. She was so soft and
sweet and perfect.

When he finally pulled back, her lips were parted and
swollen. Colt had moved beside him. “You love North?”

“And you,” she said. “I love you both.”

North wasn’t surprised or offended. He’d always been
one with his twin. Most of his time shared with Eva included Colton in some
degree. It was the new revelation that shocked him. He’d been battling his own
budding feelings for the Ford girl. To hear they were reciprocated made
everything right with his world.

“You don’t know what you’re saying, baby doll,” said
Colton. “We’re no good for you.”

What was Colton doing? Their sweet girl just admitted
to loving them, and he was already trying to push her away.

North kissed her again when she tried to speak. “Don’t
listen to him. He’s drunk.”

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I don’t want to lose
either of you.”