Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,60
not,” Thomas said.
“Ignore him, Crosby,” Edith said.
“Okay, first of all, nobody is riding a horse today,” Crosby said. “We’re going to do this my way.”
“Which is?” Edith asked.
“How about you look at the saddle first? Get an idea of what you’re looking at?”
“That’s boring,” Edith said.
“Mind if I take a stab at this?” Cliff’s voice called out.
He came out from the barn again, carrying a saddle.
“Have at it,” Crosby said.
“Look, I just want to ride a horse,” Edith said. “And none of this someone standing next to the horse and holding it or whatever. I want to ride.”
“You can do it after I’m dead,” Thomas said.
Edith glance at him. “Keep running your mouth and that day will come a lot sooner than you think.”
“Ma’am,” Cliff said to Edith.
She looked at him. “What?”
“Let’s go for a walk and see which one of these horses takes to you. Okay? You can’t just grab a horse and jump up on her. You have to get comfortable. They can sense your worries. They’re really special animals. Come on, I’ll take care of you.”
They made it one step before Thomas let out a whistle.
“Are you kidding me?” Thomas yelled. “She’s married. To me.”
“Thomas,” I said.
It was too late for that.
The Justa blood didn’t care about time…
Thomas charged forward like he was twenty.
Cliff turned around and dropped the saddle.
“Cliff, don’t,” Crosby said.
“No, it’s fine,” Thomas said. “This son of a bitch wants to flirt with my wife, he’s going to end up on his ass. He can look at the clouds and count the stars he sees. That’s how hard I’m going to hit you.”
“Flirt?” Cliff asked. “I was talking to her.”
“Thomas, that’s enough,” Edith said.
“The hell it is,” Thomas said. “We may be arguing a little, Edith, but I’ll be damned if some ranch worker is going to put the moves on my wife.”
“What moves are those?” I asked.
Thomas brought a fist back and I covered my mouth.
Crosby lunged forward and grabbed Thomas’s hand.
“Are you insane?” Crosby yelled.
“You take a swing and I’ll swing back,” Cliff warned.
“I take a swing and you’re not going to be able to swing back,” Thomas said.
Crosby moved between Thomas and Cliff.
“Cliff, go do something,” Crosby said.
I could tell Cliff was reluctant to walk away.
I never thought in my life I’d see old men ready to throw down like that.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Crosby asked Thomas.
“She’s not riding a damn horse,” Thomas said.
“Don’t make me have Cliff come back here and knock some sense into you,” Edith said.
“I’ll knock his head off!” Thomas yelled. He backed away from Crosby and started throwing punches into the air. “See that? See that right hook?”
Crosby looked at me.
I showed my hands. “I think I’m going to get going. I’ll talk to you later, Crosby.”
He shook his head.
Thomas was still throwing air punches.
Edith had her hands at her hips, not impressed.
Crosby cupped his hands to his mouth as I walked toward my car. “Thanks for leaving me with this mess!”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
SILAS
“We’ll maybe grab that beer later,” Tyler said to me with a nod.
I grinned. “I might remind you of it. Can’t turn down a cold beer after a long day.”
“What is this?” Theresa asked as she stood behind the counter with a suspicious look on her face.
“We’re just grabbing a bite,” Tyler said.
“No fists?” she asked.
“I figured he’s too handsome to hit,” I said.
Tyler laughed. “We all know Crosby is the pretty boy of this family. Certainly not me.”
“I guess it’s good you two are getting along,” Theresa said.
“Getting along is a stretch,” I said.
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “More like a mutual calmness for a purpose.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll take it,” Theresa said. “How’s the house coming along?”
“Looks horrible right now,” I said.
“Screw you, Silas,” Tyler said.
I laughed as I patted his back. “The house is great. I just need to keep the Lovor family and Rohrick family away from it.”
“Why? What happened?”
Theresa almost jumped across the counter.
“Nothing, Ma,” Tyler said. “Silas took care of it. He’s learning the way around here.”
“You tell them losers to come see me,” Zeke yelled from his spot at the counter.
“And what are you going to do?” Tyler asked. “You talk a big game but never take action.”
“That’s because I’m saving it all up for when I need to move,” Zeke said. “It’s called reserving your energy.”
“It’s called being old,” Theresa said. “You just relax over there and sip your coffee. You’ve done your part in this war.”