I hate that a woman is coming between my brother and me. We’ve fought over chicks before, but nothing this serious. And not in years. Though he’s a pain in my ass most days, or maybe I only think that because I’m a pain in his ass, he’s still my best friend, and I love him. It’d destroy our parents if we couldn’t get along. Hell, it’d destroy me.

He’s the last person I want to compete with, and this isn’t something I ever saw coming. My attraction toward Hadleigh makes me feel guilty as hell because I know he wants her just as badly. This internal battle is new, and I’m still figuring out how to deal with it.

“Hey.” I nod at him once I walk into the barn.

Kane doesn’t say anything, just grunts. Neither of us is a morning person, so I don’t take it personally. If I had my way, I’d work in the evenings and into the night so I could sleep all day. It’s scorching hot under the Texas sun, and I sweat like a damn horse.

I grab my gloves, and Kane does the same. We’re on shit shoveling duty.

“Late night?” I ask.

He shrugs without looking at me. “Not really. Just draggin’ ass.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, same.”

It’s Sunday, which means we only have morning duties. As soon as we’re finished, I’m going to shower and pass out for a few hours.

We mostly work in silence, both hustling to get the job done as fast as we can. Riley and Diesel ride up on a side-by-side and give us a hard time, so we fling shit at them. They squeal like a bunch of kids, then burn off with middle fingers in the air.

It’s the first time in weeks we laugh together. We avoid mentioning the elephant in the room while we work. After four grueling hours, every stall is clean and ready for the horses.

“You goin’ to the B&B for lunch?” Kane asks after we wash up and put everything away.

“Uh…” I lift my ball cap and scrub a hand through my sweaty hair. “No, I think I’m gonna get some rest. I didn’t sleep well. I might stop in for dinner, though.”

“Oh. Alright. Then I’ll see ya later.”

I nod. “See ya.”

We go our separate ways, and I hop in my truck. I wave to the other ranch hands in the pastures filling up the water troughs. My uncle Alex rotates our shifts so we aren’t overworked, but with the millions of tasks on the ranch, it’s almost impossible to get a day off. Most of us have settled for half-days. Though according to my dad, the more we work, the less trouble we get into.

Pretty fresh coming from the troublemaker himself.