“But it is our business, you see. She’s our sister, and we look out for each other. So do you want to try your answer again because I’ll give you one more chance?—”
“One more chance than he fucking deserves.”
Torres lets out a long sigh. The anger disappears from his face, and when he looks at me, I almost feel sorry for him. “I didn’t know you were her brother when I crossed your line?—”
I freeze. Of all the things I thought he might say, that didn’t even make the top hundred. “What?”
“You’d stolen two ponies from under my nose earlier that summer, and I was pissed. They were ones I had my eye on, and you came in, offered more, and took them.”
I rack my brain. I bought several ponies that summer, so I don’t know which specifically he’s talking about, but also, what the fuck? “So you tried to kill me because I took a sale from you?”
“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to cross you so close. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry, man.” He rubs along his temples. For the first time, I notice dark circles under his eyes, exhaustion marring his sharp features, and despite wanting to hate his guts, I don’t. I’ve never seen anyone so pitiful. “I was supposed to travel to see Clemmie the next weekend, but she stopped returning my calls, and it was then that I put two and two together. She still won’t speak to me?—”
“Don’t blame her.”
Torres turns to Alex. “Neither do I, but it doesn’t change how I feel. Or how I hope she still feels about me.”
“And what’s that?” asks Hendricks even though we all know what the answer is.
“I love her.”
Alex moves into the position of my favorite brother after his eye roll and loud scoff, but I suddenly feel sorry for the guy. Ruby has completely softened me, which is weird because I don’t think she’d be quite so forgiving. Had I not witnessed him groveling, I wouldn’t have believed a word out of his mouth. HadInot recently experienced love, I wouldn’t understand his desperation either.
Doesn’t mean I’m not tempted to see if he’ll get on his knees and beg, just for shits and giggles, but I decide to be the bigger person. I’m definitely more mature since I met Ruby.
Eventually, I shrug. “Whatever. You want to be with Clementine, we’re not going to stop you.”
Lando nods in agreement. “She’s an adult. She has to make her own decisions and her own mistakes. But remember that she has four older brothers, and if you so much as hurt a hair on her head, we know how to kill you and make it look like an accident. We own six hundred thousand acres of land and a private plane. We can bury your body somewhere you will never be found.”
“Shit. Remind me to never cross Lando,” mutters Alex.
“Well?” adds Lando, his eyes never leaving Torres.
“Yeah, got it. Whatever. You’ll fucking kill me . . .” His eyes dart between the four of us. “So does that mean I can talk to her?”
Lando nods. “I guess so.”
“Wait.” I stop him before he takes off. “What the fuck happened in that match?”
He tugs on the back of his neck. “I thought if I left you alone on the pitch, Clementine would notice.”
“You lost the match on purpose?” My mouth drops, along with my brothers’, because that’s insane. “Your team must be so pissed.”
“They fired me.”
It’s so pathetic that I don’t know how I manage to keep a straight face. “And why were you at Hampshire?”
Again, he looks so uncomfortable I want to laugh, but he eventually says, “I came to find you, to explain and apologize. But I saw you with your new wife, and it fucked me off, man. You get to be happy . . .” His jaw clenches, and he takes a deep breath. “But I am sorry, and I’m apologizing regardless of Clemmie. If she doesn’t want to be with me, then I’ll deal with it.”
Hendricks mutters something about a tiny violin and receives a death glare in response.
I shake my head, still no wiser as to what my sister sees in him. But I can say with certainty he no longer has any bearing on my life. “You’ll probably find Clementine in the champagne tent.”
“He’s sprinting faster than Clover,” adds Alex, as Torres disappears around the corner.
I laugh, and my three brothers join in. “That guy is so whipped. Clementine will eat him alive.”
“Yeah, maybe we should warn him.”
