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“I don’t know! I never got the fucking chance to find out. So what if I had been? A few fights about it and we would have been good. You took that chance away from us and destroyed everything we ever had. What hurts more than anything is that you didn’t trust that my love for you—that our love—would’ve been enough.”
My gaze dropped to the floor. I couldn’t argue with him on that.
“I’ve lived with that knowledge since that day. From the moment I walked away from you, Tripp. It has torn my heart in two, and I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you.”
Something in him snapped and he punched the wall, causing his hand to go right through the drywall.
“Tripp!” I screamed.
I started to make my way to him, but he held up his hand.
“You can’t make it up to me. You can’t fix what you did. You lied to me, Harley. That’s almost worse than me thinking you cheated.”
I stood there, my entire body shaking.
He mumbled under his breath and started to the door.
“Tripp, wait.”
“I don’t have anything else to say to you, Harley.”
His words hit me like a brick wall and I stumbled back, wincing while the ache in my chest grew ten times stronger.
My body felt cold as I cried out.
“Tripp! Tripp, please don’t do this!”
The bell on the front chimed, sounding his departure.
My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. Everything Tripp must have gone through when I left him coursed through my mind as my heart broke into a million more pieces. I never thought this situation could get any worse, but I was wrong.
Now I knew for a fact that the love of my life was gone forever.
Walking into Steed’s office, I stopped when I found three of my brothers, as well as Jonathon and Wade, all on the floor…making a pyramid.
“What the fuck are y’all doing?” I asked, making my way into the room.
“Christ, don’t ask,” Mitchell spat.
Steed was climbing to the top of the pile as Trevor bitched. “Your foot is on my damn face, Steed!”
“Just shut up and let’s do this damn thing,” Wade called out.
I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a roar of laughter. “What are you cheerleaders up to? Practicing a show you’re gonna put on at the branding?”
They all looked at me. If looks could kill I’d be dead five times over.
A strong slap pushed me off balance, causing me to stumble forward. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw my father. “It’s team building, Tripp. Good for them to learn to trust each other while they’re on the job.” He gave me a wink, and I knew he was full of shit. Jonathon didn’t even work on the ranch.
Focusing back on the pyramid, Steed was at the top. He got on his knees and spread his arms wide open.
“Look at me…I’m flying!”
Wade and Jonathon lost it laughing.
“Don’t laugh, assholes. You’re making it unstable,” Trevor shouted.
“I’m king of the world!” Steed went on, a huge smile on his face.
Mitchell joined the laughing. I saw it happening before they even knew it; the pyramid was collapsing.
“Great…they’re gonna fall,” my father said. “No one better get hurt.”
And fall they did.
Jonathon and Wade took the brunt force of it.
“My ribs. I think I broke my ribs,” Trevor cried out.
My father walked over to them. “You better not have. We’ve got a lot of work to do, son.”
Reaching out a hand, I pulled Jonathon and then Mitchell up.
“Seriously, Dad. What in the hell was all that about?” Trevor asked, rubbing his hip.
My father walked over to the conference table and took a seat at the head.
“No reason. I just wanted to see if you would all do it. I guess I really am still in charge.” Holding his arms outstretched, my dad said, “Look at me, I’m king of the world.”
I couldn’t help it, I lost it laughing as the five of them stared.
“I don’t understand this family. Not one bit,” Jonathon said. “I was just stopping by to pick up a lasagna your mom made and I got suckered in.”
My laugh turned into a full-blown, tears streaming down my face, bent over at the hip, trying to catch my breath guffaw.
“Fuck you, Tripp,” Trevor said, giving me a hard push and causing me to fall to the ground.
Jonathon bid his farewell and took off out of Steed’s office—probably before he got suckered into doing something else. I got up and held my sides while I made my way over to the table. Wade, Trevor, Mitchell, and Steed were all pouting.
“Oh, come on, y’all. It looked fun,” I stated.
Trevor snarled at me. “Yeah, too bad you got here late. You could have joined us.”
I sat down at the far end of the table. “That’s the difference between me and you, Trev. I don’t fall for Dad’s pranks. Never have. Never will.”
