“Best be having that wedding too,” Declan said before he also shook Levi’s hand and then captured Missy in a big hug.
Renn stood and shook his brother’s hand too.“Congrats.”
“Thanks, little brother, how are you making out as a Hart?Anyone giving you shit?”Levi asked as he pulled up a few more chairs.
“I’m not sure folks in town realize it yet and I’ve been spending most of my time here or helping out at Miranda’s ranch.”
Levi looked between the two of them as if he was trying to figure something out.
“He’s good with the horses and kept showing up, so I put him to work,” Miranda said.
“Alright, now I’ve got all my boys and our extended family at my table, let’s eat,” Mrs.Hart said.
Renn ended up scooting his chair closer to Miranda as they all made room for two more place settings.And he could listen as she talked with Missy about her art and Shelby about her books, but she didn’t seem to talk about her horses much.Maybe she was more private, or people didn’t realize how hard she was working on her business plan.And he couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to grow up with this big family and be resentful to his father for keeping him away.
“It must be a lot coming into this new family and everyone knowing so much about each other?”Miranda said to him in a quiet voice.
“Can’t decide if I’m jealous or overwhelmed,” he admitted.
“You can be both.”
“Have you made your decision about letting me tag along this weekend for the big show?”
“Yes, I could use the help, and I can’t pull Jeremy out of summer school or away from football.You can come if you still want to.”
“Great, when do we leave?”
“Friday morning at dawn.”
“Sounds good.”
“Hey, Renn, are you ready to get in some spirals?”Jeremy asked after polishing off his plate.
“Sure, anyone else up for a little football?”
“As long as you promise to go easy on us,” Dalton said, standing from the table.
Each of his brothers kissed their women as they got up from the table, and when Renn looked over at Miranda he could see the same longing in her eyes that he felt.But then she quickly looked away.
Once they were outside Wes paused next to Renn.
“So, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Miranda?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, she’s a good woman.I just think you should know she’s got a lot on her plate and has made some missteps in the past.People around here tend to pass judgment before finding out all the facts.”
Renn nodded.“Something I should know?”
“She’s been engaged a few times, most recently to her father’s business partner, and he’s a bit older.People think she only agreed to the engagement because she’s a gold digger, that she was just going to marry him to help her get her property out of debt.”
Renn felt like he was sucker punched in the gut.“And what do you think?”
Wes nodded.“I think Miranda’s stepmom has a lot of medical bills and she’d do just about anything to keep her little brother in a comfortable home and well fed.And I don’t blame her.But she ended the engagement.”
Renn nodded.“Thanks for telling me.”
The rest of the night Renn couldn’t help but wonder why Miranda would have ever agreed to marry someone she didn’t love?And why did it bother him so much?
