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“Yep. In fact, this place was built to help those who are disabled or military vets who need therapy. Shane’s got the biggest equine therapy setup in the state. Now, you were saying you wanted to dance…” Mason took both her hands in his and tugged her toward the dance floor. “So, dance with me.”
24
Harley
Harley couldn’t shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong. There was now a new pressure weighing down on her. It wasn’t just the call she’d had from her mother that made her rethink her whole existence; it was everything she’d learned about Shane and Mason, too.
Sure, she could plaster a smile on her face and pretend she was okay. Harley could even make plans to stay here in Copper Creek—to see if a future with Mason was a possibility. That’s what she’d told her mother she’d do anyway, wasn’t it?
There was just one big problem.
She’d seen just how much good she could do with the money she would be getting if she gave in to her mother’s demands. The amount she knew was hidden away in that account could make such a big difference to people like the Keagans. More than that, she could donate to Shane’s project.
If she put her desires into that perspective, then she was being selfish. Wasn’t it better to sacrifice the affection she’d developed for Mason in order to make a bigger difference?
Her heart and her head ached from that realization. Never before had she been so conflicted. Harriet Leigh Pembrooke was known to get whatever she wanted, no matter how many people she had to step on to do it.
She wasn’t proud of it. That was just the way things had been.
From the moment she understood what social standing was, she’d taken advantage. She’d put a fake version of herself out there to promote what she felt would get her the most attention. Every cause she could link herself to, she’d done it.
And it had all been to make herself look good to the online society.
Now, as she stared at her phone that sat inches from her on the table, she felt sick to her stomach. No longer did she care what the public at large thought of her. There were bigger issues at play. And a lot of them could be solved with money.
“You okay?” Mason whispered beside her. “You haven’t touched your food.”
Harley glanced toward him. It had been almost a full week since they’d gone dancing, and she knew he could sense the shift between them. Mason was a sweetheart, though. He hadn’t openly pointed it out. He hadn’t demanded that she tell him what was bothering her.
Boy, she wished she could tell him everything.
Unfortunately, she was terrified of what he might say. Mason would most definitely judge her for even considering taking her mother up on the offer to get married to some stranger. He’d remind her that money wasn’t everything.
She forced a smile and a nod. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Because you’re not eating and—”
“I must have caught something. My stomach has been acting up.” Harley could feel her uncle’s eyes on her. Tonight was the first night since the accident that he’d joined them in the kitchen for their meal. He’d been abnormally quiet as well. Harley wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if she’d found out that her mother had spoken to Vern about the new stipulation. It was only a matter of time before Mason would find out and then Harley would have to explain herself.
She pushed away from the table. “I’m going for a walk.”
Mason stood as well, but she held up a hand. “I’ll be fine. I won’t leave the premises. Just need some fresh air.” She grabbed her plate and walked it to the sink, then hurried out of the kitchen like her pants were on fire.
They might have well been with how hot her whole body became.
There were two choices laid out before her. One would allow her to become a better person—to help the world be a little brighter after all the darkness she’d contributed.
The other was a chance to be happy—to be truer to the self she’d only just discovered. And the worst part about all of it was how she already knew what she needed to do.
Hot, relentless tears burned behind her eyes, released by the rapid blinking that took place the second her feet hit the dirt. She’d been a fool to think that she could have it all. Hadn’t her mother told her every single day of her life that sacrifices were part of living?
She distinctly recalled a conversation where her mother had made it clear that life was pain.
Who knew that a broken heart hurt more than a broken bone?
Harley clutched at the thumping organ in her chest. She gripped the T-shirt in her fist just as she reached the barn. One hand slammed against the wooden frame, and she hung her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d succumbed to her mother before she’d come here. Accepting her fate to live the summer at Uncle Vern’s home had been the final promise she’d made herself that she’d never let her mother bully her into a life-altering event again.
Turned out, her mother was just better at playing the game than she’d let on.
