Page 64 of Savage Heart

Sounds like he’s already been deep into the whiskey.

“There’s lots of fun to be had without alcohol,” Dad says lightly. “Where you been?”

“Heard about a few horses available over in Lightford. I think they’re just what we’re missing in our lineup,” Uncle Clive says.

Dad looks at me. “Maverick, do we have a need for any horses right now?”

“No, we’re all full up,” I say.

Uncle Clive scowls. “The fuck you say. I know what we have a need for as much as anybody, and I say we need a few more.”

I shake my head. “We don’t, and it’s not in the budget.”

“Okay, well, you’re going to miss out on a great deal. I just need a couple thousand, and it’d turn such a great profit,” he starts.

Dad and I exchange a look, and I take my plate to the table to let him finish up with Uncle Clive. When he’s in a mood like this, it’s almost impossible to get him out of it. Dad knows how to handle him better than anyone.

I sit down next to Charlie.

“So how was it, having Iris around?” she asks quietly.

“It was really weird,” I admit.

Our conversation at the bonfire has replayed in my mind a ton. I kind of can’t believe we spoke about Lincoln. It shook me up, just finding out something about him that I’d never known.

I’ve always assumed he didn’t know about the baby, simply because he never told me. I thought he’d tell me something like that.

I guess we both had secrets.

Chapter 16: Different Forms of Torture

Maverick, age seventeen

Lucky’s and Lady’s hooves pound on the dirt and come to a slow stop before we reach the willow tree. It’s the perfect summer afternoon. Iris and I have been riding for a while, and I packed lunch for us before we left, so we don’t have to go back to the house for anything.

I slide off of Lucky and secure him to the fence. Iris does the same with Lady.

“Lincoln texted earlier. He’s bored out of his mind in Idaho,” I say, making a face at Iris.

“Sucks that he has to be there so much longer,” she says.

I take the blanket out of the pack and spread it on the ground. The food is next. I start to set everything on the blanket and pause when I see Iris stretching. Her back arches as she raises her arms in the air, her mouth parting as she inhales and exhales. Her long blond hair falls over her boobs—a source of constant distraction ever since she got them. There’s also her long legs, her perfect smile, her eyes that look inside my soul, and the lips that I dream of kissing on a daily basis.

I know I should go to hell for feeling this way about my best friend, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love Iris Sullivan.

“What is it?” she asks, turning to find me staring.

I hold up the food. “Hungry?”

She smirks and then crinkles her nose, which I also find irresistible. “No, I don’t believe you. What were you really thinking?”

“That you’re beautiful,” I say without thinking.

We both freeze, and my heart goes into panic mode.

“I mean, well, you are, but . . . I wasn’t trying to . . . I mean, yeah . . .” I sigh. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

I set the food down and turn away from her. I take my hat off and toss it on the blanket, smoothing my hair out as I look at the valley below us. Well, now I’ve gone and blown everything.