And then there’s Beau. The quiet one. The thinker. While the rest of us work through a bucket of cheap beer, he nurses a glass of top-shelf whiskey like he belongs somewhere quieter than this rowdy cowboy bar.
Ace slams his bottle down. “Old man would’ve loved tonight.”
Colten snorts. “He’d have loved watching you get thrown off another bull in under three seconds earlier.”
Ace flips him off. “Still lasted longer than you would.”
A smile tugs at my mouth despite everything. They’re okay. Which means I can let my guard drop for five minutes.
I lean back, scanning the room automatically. Protection runs through this place, and our name keeps most trouble away before it even starts.
I see cowboys dancing with girls in denim shorts. Ranch hands blowing pay checks. Tourists trying too hard to look local.
Then the front door swings open, the cold air sweeps in, and my attention snaps there without me meaning it to.
I don’t know why.
Until she walks in.
Deep red curls spill down her back in long waves, catching the neon lights overhead. Too bright. Too alive for a place like this.
Her green eyes scan the room, cautious but curious, like she knows she doesn’t belong here but refuses to show it. She’s intriguing. And definitely not from here.
A delicate diamond necklace rests at her throat, the pendant bouncing softly as she laughs at something her dark-haired friend says. Rings flash across manicured fingers as she tucks her hair behind her ear.
She might be in a short skirt and boots, but everything about her gorgeous outfit screamscity girl.No question. And yet, still, everything else goes quiet, and my heart races.
My grip tightens around the beer bottle. What the fuck is happening to me?
Her friend pulls her toward the bar, but she hesitates for half a second, scanning the room again.
And then her gaze lands on me. And sticks, almost like recognition. But there ain’t no way in hell I’ve been around her before.
Because I’ve learned to notice things that matter.
And a woman like that? She’d stick out anywhere.
Which means I’d remember if I’d seen her before.
Everyone would. This beautiful woman is made to be remembered.
Hell, every man in this bar is already looking at her.
But the way she stares at me… like she’s trying to place me. And damn, I’d venture out to this bar more often if she came here. I only come here twice a year in Dad’s honor. We drink at home in our own bar. It’s safer that way.
Ace follows my gaze. “Well, I’ll be fucked,” he mutters. “Looks like New Falls just got a whole lot prettier.”
Which is interesting, because since Ace’s girl left town four years ago, he’s been like a lost puppy. I’ve even caught him riding out to the spot he used to watch the sunset with his ex. I thought he’d get over it eventually, but he hasn’t.
His heart is tied to that girl whether he wants it to be or not.
Colten glances over, then back at me, brow lifting slightly. He sees it. “Hunter,” he says quietly. “You good?”
No. Not even close. My chest feels tight, and I want to go over there and talk to her. I want to hear what accent she has. I want to know who she is.
Then her friend tugs her arm, and she looks away, cheeks flushing as she lets herself be dragged to the bar.
And suddenly the band, the laughter, the clatter of bottles all fade. Everything narrows down to the woman who just walked into my bar and knocked the breath clean out of my lungs.