The Trouble With Love (37 page)

Cole about ground his teeth to dust, because she hadn't a
cknowledged him as her fiancé...she didn't even say
he was her fucking boyfriend.  Even thought he'd rather ball it up and it it in Wade Roberts' face, Cole stuck his hand out to him. 

The man looked at
Cole's hand
for a second then back up at him
, before he took it in a
grip meant to punish, and Cole gave as good as he got in the silent power struggle.
  Finally, he pulled his hand back and just stared at the other man.

Sabrina evidently noticed the tension between them and laughed nervously, then stuck her hand up
under Wade's nose
to show
him
the ring
Cole had
given her.  "I came to tell you that I'm engaged...Cole is my fiancé."

Cole watched as the man's face turned a fiery red, so deep it was almost purple, then he took her shoulders in his hands and yelled, "What the
hell
, Sabrina!  Kenny's not even been dead two years!"

Her body began to shake and he saw the tears pool in her eyes, and Cole stepped forward and flung the man's hands off of her, "Keep your goddamn hands off of her."

"Or what?" the man spat
,
his voice as challenging as his posture. "You gonna hit me pussy?" he
asked
mockingly
then put his chest against Cole's, and grated,
"My brother was twice the man you'll ever be."

Cole didn't step back from the aggressive cowboy, he leaned into him, it was all he could do to hold back the violent urge he had to plant his fist in this guy's face.  Wade
shook his head then
turned away from them and hopped up on the table
again,
looking at the
wall on the other side of the room
.

Suddenly
, he looked back at Sabrina and hissed, "Looks like my trip to that one-horse town to see you wasn't necessary.
  Y
ou sure didn't let grass grow under your feet, did you, sugar?"

Cole watched the tears
in her eyes
start rolling down her face
,
and her lip trembled along with her body.  In a broken whisper she told Wade, "I loved Kenny, Wade...he was my whole life...so much so, I didn't know who the hell I was after he died. I know who I am now, and I've found someone else to love
...
"

Sabrina put her hand to her mouth then
sobbed, "
I don't think Kenny would have wanted me to crawl in that coffin with him, as much as I tried to after he died."
  She dragged her eyes away from
Wade then
took off out the door and down the hall.

U
ndecided about whether to follow her, or beat the shit of the smug asshole sitting on the table getting his ribs wrapped
, Cole
walked up to Wade and got right in his face
.
"Your brother wasn't
half
the man I am,"
he said
then he put his finger in
Wade's
chest and
told him
, "
I wouldn't risk her life like your brother did.
..
Gabe told me that
Kenny
took chances with her
safety
that made
his h
air stand up. 
Kenny a
lmost
put
her in that coffin with him.  She deserves to be happy, and
if you care
anything
about her, you'll tell her that, and butt out and let her li
v
e her life."
  Cole pushed him then stepped back, breathing hard.

Wade launched himself off of the table and landed on Cole
, his fists flying
.  They wound up on the floor rolling around, landing punches here and there, but mostly struggling for control.
  F
inally, Cole managed to get on top and
had his fist drawn back, but
was pulled off by five cowboys who r
a
n into the room
and pulled him off of Wade
.

They held Cole's arms, while
Wade got right up in his face, "My brother
loved
her...
I
love her.  You better not hurt her, or I will kick your ass from here to
next week and
back," he said then sucker punched Cole in the gut and walked off.  The other men released
Cole's arms and he
slid to his knees and clutched his gut wheezing to pull in some air.  Sabrina came back in the room and ran over to him.

"Oh, god, Cole...are you okay, baby?  I'm so sorry I brought you here
,
"
she said brokenly. 

Her tears leaked on his shoulder and he looked up at her.  Her
beautiful
face was red, puffy and a mess.  "No, I'm sorry I brought
you
here."

"Let's go to our seats...we'll leave right after he rides."

"You wanna watch the asshole ride?" Cole said incredulously and got up to his feet, holding his stomach
, then bent and picked up his hat and dusted it off
.

She nodded then told him, "He's just upset...he'll get over it...I hope."

"He means that much to you?" Cole asked and anger surged up inside of him.

"Cole, I've known him and Kenny most of my life.  Gabe and Kenny were
best
friends

since they were ten...I can't just leave.  I won't talk to him again until he cools off, but I want him to know I didn't run off."

She didn't have that problem running off on him at the hospital
,
Cole thought nastily.  He'd stay because she asked him to, but he was going to make sure she never saw that asshole again.

The
y
walked down the hallway toward the seating area
,
and when they got outside
the hallway,
he accidentally bumped into a cowgirl with a rope
looped over
her shoulder and stopped to apologize.  She looked up at him and a big grin spread over her pretty face.  "Cole Jackson...how the hell are ya?" she said then leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Karlie?" he asked incredulously and grinned the
n
tipped his hat back.  He'd know her anywhere.  That red hair of hers was pretty unforgettable.  He'd met her and her twin sister at a rodeo when he'd gone with Luke to watch Cassie ride barrels.  These two were hell on wheels.
  "What the heck are you doing here?"

"I went pro in roping and barrels.  Katie is around here somewhere..." Her spring green eyes roved around the arena trying to find her twin, then she told him, "We team on roping."

"I can't believe ya'll are still riding, sugar.
..t
hat's great." He told her and then looked down at the thundercloud in Sabrina's eyes and said, "Karlie Upton--meet my fiancé, Sabrina Roberts.
 
Karlie and Kate used to ride barrels against Cassie
in the 4-H and Junior rodeos
."

Cassie's name being mentioned, made
Karlie's
face light up and she asked,
"How's Cassie doing?  And what about Luke?  She still dating him?"

"She was gone from
Bowie
for
ten years, but
she's back now and
she and Luke are married...have a
baby
on the way too."

Karlie threw back her head and laughed
, then said,
"That's awesome...always hoped they'd finally get hitched
...t
hat
boy
was puppy-dog lovesick for her
." She grinned
at Cole then finished,
"Half of the bull riders were too.  Mus
t've been the rodeo queen crown..." Her green eyes got dreamy and she
sighed.  "Sure had fun the year I won
."

Cole put his arm around Sabrina's shoulders and gave her a squeeze, "
Cassie moved back to
Bowie
to start
a quarter horse operation.  You should come down and see her."

"No, shit...I might just do that.  This traveling circus is getting kinda old, to be honest," she said
.

Kate came up behind h
er and patted her on the back.
 
"It's about that time, Karlie...we need to get ready," the second twin told her sister.

Cole looked from one to the other of the identical twins and still couldn't tell them apart, except right now one of them had their hair up in a ponytail and other had hers in pigtails...the
y
even had the same contestant numbers on, because they were team ropers.

Like any hormonal teenager, he
had his share of
fantasies about these red hot redheaded twins.
They used to give the
all
cowboys at the 4-H rodeos hell, playing switcheroo.

He must've been daydreaming, because Sabrina poked him in the ribs with her elbow and he looked down
into
her glittering eyes.  "Oh, Katie this is my
fiancé
, Sabrina...
baby,
this is the other half of the dynamic redheaded duo
known as the
Upton
twins
."

"The better half," Kate said
with a sassy grin,
then
stuck out her hand to Sabrina.

Sabrina shook her hand, and said, "Nice to meet you Kate," but her voice lacked conviction.  Cole wanted to chuckle as the women eyed each other.

"Who are ya'll here to watch?" Kate asked
Cole
.

"Wade Roberts...he'
s a bronc rider, you know him?"
  The man's name soured on Cole's tongue as he said it.

Kate
Upton
looked at Karlie,
and Karlie
Upton
looked at Kate
, then
they smiled
at each other.  Looking back at Cole, they said
at the same time, "
Never
heard of him," then
they
both broke in
to gales of
laughter
then
turned to walk off
.  Karlie said over her shoulder,
"
We've gotta go get ready, but n
ice to see you again, Cole...nice to meet you Sabrina.
  Tell Cassie and Luke we said hey.
"

"T
wins, huh?" Sabrina huffed then stomped off toward the stairs. "T
h
ey're a little weird..."

He caught up to her and put his arm around her waist as she stepped on the bottom stair, "A little?  Did you miss something?" he
said with a short bark of laughter, then ki
ssed the side of her head, "Ka
ti
e's okay, but Ka
rl
ie is a hellion.  She's do
n
e some crazy shit," Cole told her.

Sabrina turned around in his arms to look at him with her hands on her hips.

"How the hell ca
n you tell which one is which?"

Cole decided to mess with her a little and said
seriously
, "Well, Karlie has this little birthmark right about here," he told her pointing to
a spot low on the
inside of his
left
pec, and he watched Sabrina's face turn molten red.  He thought
her
hair was going to turn red for a minute, or
light up
in a brush fire.  She was
that
mad.