Page 67 of Secret Heart
Chapter Thirty-Six
EMILY
“You want me to take her so you can go get something to eat?” Beau asks over the roar of the crowd. Penny’s fast asleep in my lap, her head perched against my chest, her bunny blanket acting as a pillow. The announcer rallies the crowd again as the final barrel racer stops the clock, the last barrel slowly twirling and then settling back into its spot without falling over.
Lance glances up from his phone and then tucks it into his pocket. “I can grab something for you, too.”
I shake my head even as I offer a smile. “That’s all right. I’d like to stretch my legs before his event anyway.”
Beau takes Penny from me. She doesn’t even twitch at the transfer, the bunny blanket moving from my chest to his without mishap.
As I grab my purse, I ask, “Do either of you want something?”
Both men shake their heads. Beau grabs my hand and kisses my wrist. I can’t help but smile even more, my cheeks hurting. Then I quickly navigate the stairs back to the main concourse, turning to the large concession stand a few sections down fromwhere we’ve been sitting. I mess with my nails while the line slowly dwindles in front of me. Even still, I can’t help but hear some of the conversations around me. A trio of women giggle behind me, crowding around one of their phones.
“He’ssohot,” the one in the middle says. She has bleach-blonde hair worn wavy to nearly her waist. Her boots and hat don’t have a single scuff on them. Most of her artificially tanned skin is on display given the short hem of her denim skirt and the white halter top. “I need him bad. And my name goes so well with Harding. It’s fate.”
My stomach twists.
The girl to her left laughs, too. She can’t be more than twenty, though none of them seem older than college age. “You think what Knot Weekly said is true? That he’s packed up?”
The third girl flips her curly red hair over her shoulder. “It can’t be. Why wouldn’t he have mentioned it the last two years? I’m sure it’s just someone trying to make a buck.”
“Did you see those photos Western Knot posted a couple days ago? That toddler?” the blonde asks. When the other two girls answer, she frowns. “There’s no way they’re lying about her being his. They look almost identical.”
I vaguely watch the line in front of me slowly lessening. I edge forward even as my curiosity keeps me eavesdropping and focusing on the girls.
The redhead shrugs, unbothered. “So he had a one night stand. Who cares? Lots of cowboys have kids. Not going to detract from trying to hook up with him.”
“That’s true,” the second girl agrees. “And why is she just now being toted out? I bet the mom is crazy. So you probably won’t have to deal with the baby that much, honestly.”
The growl races up my throat, so fast I barely stop it from gaining noise.
“Oh, true!” The blonde girl messes with her cowboy hat. “That would be perfect. Just enough that the press will think I’m this great person stepping in to be mom.”
Lance’s voice keeps me from turning around and making a spectacle. Even still, my hands shake with the desire to punch the girl and feel the crunch of bone as her nose breaks. My scent whirls around me, edged in my possessive anger.
“Found you before you got through the line!” Lance says, a broad smile lighting his face. “Beau decided he wanted a drink, but you left your phone with him.”
I nod but don’t dare move more than that while my hands tremble.
The smile drops in an instant, his gaze reading me much more clearly than most Betas would be able to manage. He must have experience managing Alphas in addition to Triston’s Omega nature. His mouth thins into a line, and he shoves his hands in the back pockets of his dark jeans. “You all right?”
My smile is more of a grimace. “Fine.”
He doesn’t believe me, but the girls behind me have shut up, so the urge to be truly violent is able to shrink to manageable levels.
“Is Penny still asleep?” I ask to keep myself distracted while the person in front of us finally starts to order.
“Yep, out cold. I’m impressed she can sleep through so much noise.”
I mange a small laugh. “Yeah, she’d be able to sleep through a hurricane, I’m pretty sure. Maybe I’ll grab a snack for her just in case.”
“Good idea.” Then he pulls his phone and sighs at whatever he sees on it. “Triston’ll probably have a bit of press to manage afterward, especially if he lasts the full eight. The NBRA have said they’ll donate a quarter million to the retreat if he manages,so I’m sure the press will want to get his statement to go with the announcements.”
“That’s fine. If she wakes up, we’ll let her walk the grounds while we wait. Our passes include the after event access, right?”
“Yep,” he says, popping the “p” the same way Triston always does.
