Whitley. Oh God, I need to talk to her. “Whitley!” I shouted.

“Hey, Lollipop! How’s it going this morning?”

I tried so hard not to start crying, but the moment I heard her voice, I lost it. I walked out onto the back porch and tried to calm down.

“Courtney, no! Oh, please, no. Layton and I thought it would do you and Reed some good to spend time together. Oh, please don’t cry!”

I shook my head. She must think I’m upset about Reed. “No, Whit, it’s not that. Oh God, Whitley…he’s been cheating on me!” I blurted out.

“What? Who?”

I quickly wiped my tears away. “Santa Claus. Who in the fuck do you think I’m talking about?”

“Mitch?”

“Yes, Mitch, Whitley. He called me by accident last night, and I heard him talking to that bitch he had been with all night at the wedding, his ex. Then, I heard…I heard…” I couldn’t even get it out.

I could overhear Whitley telling Layton what was happening.

“Court, take a deep breath, sweetheart. What did you hear?”

“I heard him fucking her, Whitley! Oh my God, I sat there, like an idiot, and listened to them having sex while she called out his name.”

I collapsed into the rocking chair and began crying. I was trying to be quiet, so Reed wouldn’t hear me. I could hear Whitley talking to Layton, but I wasn’t paying attention.

“Oh God, Whitley, I knew he wasn’t the one. I knew it! I mean, we’ve barely even slept together in the year we’ve been seeing each other. I knew he wasn’t the one. He just proved it to me, and I sat there, like a fool, and listened.”

“Courtney, honey, I’m so sorry I’m not there,” Whitley said as she let out a sob.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Whitley, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have told you before you left for your honeymoon today. I wasn’t going to tell you, but I heard your voice, and—”

Just then, Reed came flying out the back door. “Motherfucking son of a bitch. I’m going to kill him!” he yelled as he made his way to the ranch truck.

I jumped up and wiped the tears away. “Whit, did Layton tell Reed?” I asked as I saw Reed picking up the pace when he started jogging to the ranch truck. I took off after him.

“Um…”

“Whit!”

“Okay, well, he called Reed and told him to go fire Mitch,” Whitley said in a panicked voice.

“What? Oh my God! Okay…well, listen, sweetheart, everything will be fine here! Enjoy your honeymoon.”

“Wait! What? You can’t just end a call like that, Courtney.”

After running and catching up, I stood in front of the ranch truck. “Yeah, I can. I’ve got to go. Reed seems really pissed.”

I hung up the phone and ran around to the passenger side of the truck. I jumped in, and Reed hit the gas, throwing me back into the seat.

“Jesus, Reed. Where in the hell are you going?” I asked as I desperately tried to get the seat belt on.

I glanced at Reed while he was mumbling something about killing Mitch for hurting me.

“Uh…Reed, can you put on your seat belt?” I asked.

He snapped his head over to me. “What?” He shook his head and pushed down on the gas.

I sat back and closed my eyes. Shit, shit, shit! I shouldn’t have said anything. How stupid of me to think that Layton wouldn’t tell Reed.

Layton had been looking for an excuse to get rid of Mitch ever since he found out that Mitch had been in contact with Layton’s father all those years and never told him.

By the time we pulled up to Mitch’s place, my heart was beating a mile a minute. There was a Nissan parked next to Mitch’s truck.

That must be her car.

“Fucking son of a bitch,” Reed said.

I grabbed his arm. “Reed, please don’t do this.”

He turned to look at me, and his eyes were filled with tears. I sucked in a breath of air and let go of his arm.

“He hurt you, Courtney. I really wish you had told me last night. Now, stay in the truck, Court.”

He jumped out and took off. Before he made it onto the porch, Mitch came out.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

Mitch smiled at Reed and then looked at me in the truck. “You get what you wished for last night?” Mitch asked.

Wait, what in the hell does he mean by that?

“You motherfucker,” Reed said as he walked up to Mitch and punched the hell out of him.

I screamed and jumped out of the truck. By the time I made it to the porch, Reed was on top of Mitch, beating the shit out of him. Karen came running out, yelling for Reed to stop. She came to a halt when she saw me. She put her hand up to her mouth and then looked back at Reed on top of Mitch. I couldn’t move. A part of me wanted Reed to beat the hell out of Mitch, and the other part wanted him to stop.

“For Christ’s sake, Courtney, stop your crazy-ass friend!” Karen screamed.

I slowly looked at Reed and finally snapped out of my daze. I ran over and started pulling on him. “Reed! Please just stop. He’s not even worth it. Please, for me, stop!” I yelled out.

Reed instantly stopped and looked at me. The look in his eyes gave me a chill, and I quickly stepped back.

Reed stood up and looked at Mitch. “Pack up your shit, and get off the ranch. You have an hour to leave before I call the cops and have you removed.”

“What?” Mitch, Karen, and I all said at the same time.

Mitch stood up and wiped the blood away from his mouth and nose. “Fuck you, Reed. You can’t tell me what to do,” Mitch said. Then, he looked over at me. “Did you fuck him last night, Court? I know how much you’ve been wanting to.”

I sucked in a breath of air. Who is this person standing in front of me? He wasn’t the same person I had been dating for the last year. Men are all the same. They’re all lying, deceiving fakes.

“You better shut the hell up, Mitch. So help me God, I’ll kill you if you say another word to her,” Reed said as he took a step closer to Mitch.

I stepped in between them and put my hands up to stop Reed. I turned around and faced Mitch. “I heard you.”

He looked confused and shook his head. “What in the hell are you talking about, Courtney? You heard me what?”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before opening them again. I looked straight into his eyes. “You accidentally called me last night. I heard everything you said to her, and then I heard y’all…I heard…” I couldn’t even get it out.