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Emma couldn’t stop the widening of her eyes. “You slept with her?”
“Hrmph.”
That didn’t make any sense. “I thought from the way she was talking last night that Shep had been with her.”
“That’s because she’s angry enough to lump all o
f us Blackshaws into one category: asshole.”
Emma glanced out, seeing the goats jumping around in the field, being their silly selves. She tried to catch up, focusing back on Chase. “Did Shep talk to you about what happened last night?”
Chase shook his head.
“Then how did you know about any of this?”
“Because I saw how upset you were after Vicki talked to you.”
Emma rolled her eyes, smacking her hand against her forehead. “Seriously, I really need to stop showing emotions on my face.”
“Nah,” Chase said with a sweet smile, placing his cowboy hat back on. “You’re good.” He rose and turned to her. “Anyway, I thought it right I came by and explained what happened with Vicki. The blame is mine, not Shep’s.”
Emma watched Chase move to his truck and called out, “Why wouldn’t Shep explain all that to me last night?”
Chase glanced over his shoulder. “Because he wouldn’t have thrown me under the bus all to make himself look better. That’s not my brother.” Chase smiled again, and the love and admiration he had for Shep showed all over his face. “But I imagine you already know that about him, don’t you?” Chase moved to his truck, got in, tipped his hat at her, and drove off, leaving her with that single question swirling in her mind.
Truth was, she hadn’t known he was that loyal, but she did now.
* * *
Shep had intended to be at Emma’s by now. Life, though, seemed to have other ideas. On top of the responsibilities pilling up on his shoulders, he now added annoyance at himself for how he handled her last night. He had let his irritation get the better of him and left her, instead of staying with her, kissing her until those insecurities of hers vanished. But as the day dragged on and reality hit him, there was one place he needed to go first.
Armed with the offer from Clint, and after making a call to a friend from high school who now worked in real estate, Shep stopped his truck in front of his parents’ house. On top of a small hill, limestone led to black accents that led to large windows along the front, and a dark-red door. His parents’ house had not changed throughout the years, no matter how wealthy they had become. The century-old farmhouse, with four bedrooms and a modest living room, dining room, and kitchen, was not the house of typical multimillionaires. The only big expense had been the renovation of the barn off to the left, with the large herd of horses grazing the field off in the distance.
Shep sighed, returning his gaze to his childhood home. His father should have told him about his financial troubles. While Shep was not a multimillionaire, or even a millionaire, he had substantial savings due to the fact that his father had given him the land for his business, and maybe he could have done something earlier. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He forced himself to let the anger go. His father was not there to argue with or question, and Shep suspected this news was going to take the wind out of his mother.
He exited his truck, the sun beating against his back as he trotted up the porch steps, moving inside the house. As always, he found his mother in the kitchen, a pot of soup on the stove, her jazz music playing softly from the record player in the living room. The house always smelled of home-cooked meals, her brand of love that she gave to them.
“Now that smells delicious,” Shep said, moving to his mother before she could turn around. He planted a kiss on her cheek. “What’s on the menu today?” He took off his cowboy hat, placing it on the back of the kitchen chair.
“Beef barley.” Jenny turned to him, wearing her apron with the flower pattern, her tender blue eyes regarding him, long salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a neat bun. His mother had aged well over the years. She always seemed to look happy, exuding warmth and love wherever she went, even through the darkest times. She waved the big wooden spoon in her hand at him. “So, you’ve finally decided to stop avoiding me.”
Shep shook his head, giving a soft laugh. His mom always knew when something was wrong; really, it was a gift that in his younger years annoyed the hell out him. He moved to the fridge, grabbed a beer, then took a seat at the round oak table. After a big long sip to prepare himself, he said, “Come sit. We need to talk.”
She studied him before she quickly placed the spoon on the light brown countertop and joined him at the table. “I thought you’d been avoiding me because of this new woman in your life. What’s wrong?”
He ignored the former comment, sticking to the latter one. Leaning forward, he reached for his mother’s hand. “Did Dad ever tell you that the business was in trouble?”
She slowly began to frown. “What kind of trouble?”
The cold shock in her eyes told Shep his father had kept her out of it too. He didn’t understand any of this. Why had his father kept this to himself? “Bankruptcy in a year if we don’t do something about it now.”
So many emotions rushed across his mother’s face, it was impossible to pinpoint how she felt. Most of all, he saw confusion, and that he understood. “Bankruptcy,” she eventually whispered.
He squeezed her hand tighter. “Dad lost a lot of the old contracts.”
Jenny placed her hand over top of theirs, glancing down. “Why didn’t he say anything?”
“I can only guess he didn’t want to worry any of us.”
