Cowgirl Up Three ✔️

Chapter Twenty Seven

Blayze whipped around in his chair, a fierce glare radiating from his green-blue eyes as he stared over my head.
What the hell was going...?
Biting into my bottom lip, I twisted around to look behind me.
A tall man who'd have to be in his fifties was standing a few feet away, his blue eyes focused past me.
He had a head of raven coloured hair, that had flecks of grey near his ear's.
His facial structure was scarily familiar to one I was accustomed to seeing every day, although it was evidently older, with lines near his eyes and lips.
His shoulder's were wide, a dark blue shirt encasing his frame, tucked into a pair of light denim blue jeans.
I remembered seeing this man a year and a half ago at the Deni Ute Muster when I'd been pregnant with Luka.
I turned my head to find that Loralai was staring with wide eyes, her face slightly pale.
Brady just looked confused.
"What the hell are you doin' here?!"
I whipped around at the sound of Blayze's biting tone.
I opened my mouth in an effort to urge him to calm down, but he had already pushed his chair back from the table and was on his feet within seconds.
"Blayze!"
I yelped, scampering out of my own chair, nearly faceplanting thanks to the skirt of my dress.
It wouldn't be the first time for him to get into a fight in this Pub and in all honesty it probably wouldn't be the last either.
But this was his Father.
And we were supposed to be having Dinner with Loralai and Brady, not getting kicked out or having Blayze waiting in a jail cell again while we contacted a Lawyer!
The Riverston Hotel's dining room wasn't packed, because these days the townsfolk couldn't afford Dinner out all the time, but it was busy enough that rumour's would rapidly be spreading around town.
Loralai scrambled out of her chair too, her expression stricken.
I could only imagine what was going through her head right now.
Has she even seen or heard from her Ex Husband since he's been out of jail?
Was she worried about what would go down between Blayze and-?
I face palmed.
I don't even know his Dad's name!
"I'm not here for trouble."
Mr. Riley held up his hands, as if to hold off an attack.
If he's not here for trouble, then what the heck is he doing here?
"I heard that my Son learnt I'm his Father and my Brother is actually his Uncle."
Mr. Riley explained.
Heath?!
But wait...
He's not even acknowledged Blayze!
"You shouldn't be here..."
Loralai managed, her voice almost trembling.
"You're looking great Rori."
Mr. Riley complimented her, running his gaze from her face, to her toes.
"Shut the fuck up!"
Blayze somehow managed to keep his tone below a shout, but the warning was clear.
"What's going on?"
Brady questioned, slowly rising out of his chair.
Loralai opened her mouth, but she seemed unable to make any words come out.
Her jaw moved up and down, basically making her resemble a fish out of water.
I felt Blayze brush past me.
I whipped around, desperate to keep an eye on him, but also terrified of what I might actually see.
All I know is that He hates his Father.
His Father hurt him way too many times when he was too small to defend himself and when Blayze was finally big enough that he had the strength, he fought back.
Then his Dad went to jail for ten years.
Their reunion at Deni was brief and tense.
Blayze stepped up, toe to toe with his Dad, his glare icy.
Only Mr. Riley didn't back down.
His expression was calculating as he eyed his Son over.
Blayze stood maybe just over an inch taller than his Father.
Their stature's were roughly as wide as each other's, but prison or age had softened Mr. Riley's muscles.
And he had a belly, where Blayze was all lean, hard working muscle.
"I was waiting for the day when Blayze would outgrow Trevor."
A breathless voice said from beside Me.
I dragged my gaze off the toe to toe, glaring (in Blayze's case) and staring (in Trevor's case) Men, to look at Loralai.
She'd marginally regained some of her colour, but she still looked nervous as hell.
"Get the fuck out of this town."
Blayze stated, his eyes not leaving his Father's, his voice low and warning.
Trevor's blue eyes (that looked exactly like Heath's), narrowed as he stared back at Blayze.
"I'm allowed to talk to my Wife Blayze."
"Wife?!"
Apparently I wasn't the only one stunned by this revelation.
Brady sounded shocked.
I'd assumed Loralai and... Trevor I guess his name was... were divorced.
"We're separated!"
Loralai squeaked, sounding and looking distressed.
"Just haven't had a chance to sign Divorce Paper's."
"You're not welcome here!"
Blayze all but growled at his Father.
Trevor shrugged.
"Your name might be strong around this town boy, but I'm still allowed to be here if I want..."
By the end of his taunting sentence, he narrowed his eyes at Blayze.
I realised with a clenching heart and hitching breath that he was deliberately taunting him!
I saw Blayze's hands clench into tight fists at his sides.
I picked up the skirt of my dress and rushed forward to come to Blayze's aid.
No doubt he wasn't thinking all that clearly at the moment.
He's had my back during some of the toughest times I've faced in my life so far.
The least I could do was return the favour.
I wrapped my left arm around Blayze's tense right one, knowing full well it was his dominant hand.
If he gave in to the urge to punch his Father, he would swing his right fist first.
He pulled his gaze off his Dad's face and looked down at Me, his eyes questioning.
But, a millisecond later his blue-green eyes widened and he pulled me behind his back.
So he was between me and his Dad.
That wasn't part of my plan.
"Blayze!"
I hissed, tugging on his arm.
He wouldn't turn to me, so I inched to the side to look around his solid frame.
"The blonde's still around..."
Trevor smirked.
"I'm impressed!"
Blayze wrenched his right arm out of my grasp and stepped forward so he literally just about slammed into his Father's chest.
Shit!
"Blayze don't do it!"
I jumped forward and grabbed onto the back of his shirt, trying hard to pull him back.
"Listen to her, Blayze."
A smile twitched at Trevor's lips.
"Trevor!"
Loralai finally decided to have a say, stepping forward.
"Cut it out!"
"Get the fuck out of here!"
Blayze warned, his tone low.
"What's goin' on over... Blayze?"
I turned my head to see Joel and Kyle Western approaching us.
Phew.
Maybe they can help.
Maybe as part owner's of this establishment they can make Trevor leave, without us getting to the point where Blayze starts throwing his fists.
"Whoa!"
Kyle stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.
"Who's this?"
He asked, his gaze snapping between Blayze and Trevor.
"Ummm... I have the Steak's..."
We all turned to see an extremely uncomfortable looking young waitress hovering near the table that Blayze, Loralai, Brady and Myself had all vacated.
"Thank you Honey."
Loralai was the first to recover, offering the young waitress a small smile.
"How about you lot sit down to eat?"
Joel suggested, jerking a thumb towards the table.
"And how about you Sir, follow Me."
He turned towards Trevor.
Trevor pursed his lips as he considered Joel's suggestion.
Joel, like Kyle, was wearing a black polo shirt with the Riverston Hotel logo on it, so it was safe to assume Trevor understood he was facing employee's.
Little did he know though, the Brother's shared ownership of the establishment.
Finally Trevor shrugged and nodded.