33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

J unior approached his brother's round pen the next day. A tall, shirtless man was putting a horse through its paces, but when he saw the approaching figure, he threw the quirt down and climbed the rungs of the round pen.

"Sol," Junior called, jogging to keep up. "Sol!"

Sol refused to talk. His long legs ate up the distance between the round pen and the barn. Junior chased him, cursing, then noticed a lariat looped on a fence post. He snagged it up, swung his loop, and the circle of rope settled over Sol's head.

Furious, Sol ripped the rope off before it could cinch. He backtracked toward Junior, his eyes promising violence.

"Now that I have your attention," Junior said calmly, throwing the rope down. All that calm scattered when the angry cowboy closed in on him; Junior skipped backward. "Damn it, Sol, I'm trying to apologize to you!"

"I don't want your sorries. They ain't worth spit." The venom in Sol's words was potent, but he stopped stalking Junior to stand by the round pen, fists like rocks.

"Well, you're gonna get it!" Junior held his palms out guardedly. "And I'm going to start by telling you I've loved Isa like a sister since she was knee-high, and those feelings didn't change until she went off to college."

A sneer curled Sol's lips, and he took a threatening step toward Junior.

"I swear on my life, Sol," Junior said. "But the feelings did change, and I couldn't stop it. If you want me out of your life, I'm gone. But I won't stay out of hers. I'm gonna ask her to marry me. She might not even have me. Lord knows she's never wanted to be shackled down."

Sol finally spoke. "What makes you think I'll let you have her?"

Isa would throw a wall-eyed fit if she heard the two of us talking about her like this , Junior thought distractedly.

Aloud, he said, "I figured you'd think that way. Which is why I called on your parents this morning and got their blessing. If I can't have yours, I reckon I'll take her pa's."

Red climbed Sol's neck at an alarming rate. "You sneaky polecat. You've got stones bigger than that pea brain of yours."

"I have to. Have you met your sister? She'd run all over anyone else, and you know it."

Sol ripped his gloves off and slapped them against his thigh, looking off in the distance. His jaw worked. "What happened with that feller lookin' for you? Is what he told Deputy Glen true?"

It rankled more than anything that Gareth knew Junior's business. He swallowed his pride and told Sol, "Yes."

Junior divulged the whole rotten tale, but by the end of it, Sol was begrudgingly meeting his eye.

"God almighty," Sol whispered.

"I should've told you, but I was so goddamned ashamed. Some of those men…I shot them in the back. You don't do that. Not if you're a real man."

Sol shook his head and settled his hat further back on his head, squinting to see Junior clearly. "Remember those men who stole Poppy, Isa, and those other girls away? I'd have shot the lot of them in their beds and not lost a lick of sleep over it. Sounds like those Rangers were of similar ilk and had it comin'. So, yeah, you should've said something to me. That way, I knew to tell you how stupid it was to feel ashamed of something that had to be done."

Incapable of speech, Junior nodded curtly.

"People in power should never abuse it," Sol continued, his deep voice carrying across the space between them, cracking the glacier of Junior's pride. "They were hurtin' innocents. How many more would have been hurt if it hadn't been for you? How could you have let it keep happening?"

It was Junior's turn to look out at the pasture, watching cowboys make their rounds amongst the herd.

"You still goin' to Europe with Isa?"

The question brought him back. "Hope so." It sounded rough, and he cleared his throat.

"Good. Legs needs some lookin' after. I reckon I wouldn't trust anyone else with the job."

Swallowing became difficult. "I—"

Sol shifted his feet and raised his hands. "What are you waitin' for? She's at the hotel where I threatened her with Ma and Pa if she didn't stay. Go get her."

"But you—"

"Don't be a jackass." When the younger man didn't move, Sol threw his gloves at Junior. A big, white smile spread across his face, cutting creases into brown cheeks. "That was my blessing, stupid butt. Now, git."

Junior didn't say a word. He strode to the taller man and yanked him in for a back-clapping hug before jogging to Champion. He rode the horse with a smile on his face because Sol, his best friend, had reciprocated the hug with ferocious slaps of his own. The sun had never felt sunnier.