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“You bet something happened,” Wade shot back. “Tad sabotaged my truck.”
Her eyes widened, and she immediately gaped at Tad. “You didwhat?”
“I didn’t do any such thing.” Tad yanked his shirt into place and then crossed his arms. “If Wade isn’t watching where he’s parking his truck, something’s bound to happen. In this case, it looked like one of the tractors snagged against one of his tires and sliced right through the wall.”
Brielle froze. Throwing fists was one thing, but messing with a cowboy’s truck was something nearly unforgivable. She shot Wade a look of disbelief. If Wade had been able to handle himself and not tear Tad to shreds over this, then perhaps hewaschanging.
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His truck was clearly in the way, and Elijah had me working the tractor. It was an honest mistake.”
Wade unclenched his teeth as he turned to Brielle. “Will you believe me now? Tad is no good. He’s not here just because he’s some heartbroken guy that’s in love with you.”
She glanced from one to the other, and Tad moved in closer. “It’s really not as bad as he’s making it sound. Elijah was teaching me the ropes of being arealcowboy. He knows that I’ve been trying to get a better idea of what’s going on around here.”
“Is that why you paid a visit to Marc’s property?” Wade asked.
“Who’s Marc?” Tad’s believable look of confusion merged with one of concern and betrayal. “Are you having me followed?” What was he trying to do? She couldn’t possibly believe this charade he was pulling. But based on the accusatory look Brielle shot him, it appeared Tad had flipped the tables with that one statement.
Wade reared his head back, but his expression remained hard as ever. “Of course not. But maybe I should.”
“Wade,” she scolded with a whisper. “Why do you think he went to see Marc?”
Wade ran a ragged hand through his hair. “Some folks noticed him poking around.” He could have brought up the earlier conversation, but somehow he knew Tad would turn it against him.
“Oh, isthatthe poor chap that I noticed on the property next to this one?” Tad chuckled, but it didn’t ease the tension of the group. “I went for a ride on one of the horses here and I got a bit turned around. I must have crossed over onto the other property by mistake.” He reached for Brielle’s hand and brushed a kiss to it. “See? This is all a big misunderstanding.”
Wade bristled beside them. She could feel his anger rolling off him in waves. There was one problem, however. Wade’s jealousy was getting out of control. He wasn’t the type of person to make up stories, but she could definitely see him placing blame on something when there was none to be placed.
She carefully extricated her hand from Tad’s grasp and showed him a smile. “Well, now that it’s all been settled, I think you ought to go. I’m here with Wade tonight.” A small part of her knew that Tad wouldn’t go for that even if she threatened him with ending their arrangement. It was something in her gut. He was here to stay whether she liked it or not.
And now she wasn’t so sure she’d feel comfortable dancing as close to Wade as she’d planned.
“No, it’s fine,” Wade muttered. “No, he can stay.” Wade slipped his arm around Brielle’s waist. “I’ve got another idea.”
“But—” Before she could finish her sentence, he disengaged them from their group and headed out the door. “Wade! I wanted to go dancing with you.”
“There will be plenty of time for that another day,” he said under his breath. “For now, I don’t want you in the same room with him.”
They got to the veranda outside and she dug in her heels to prevent him from taking her down the steps. “You can’t just make a unilateral decision like that.”
“Oh yes, I can.” Wade glanced over his shoulder as if expecting to find Tad behind them. It was almost as if he thought Tad was dangerous in more ways than stealing the girl Wade had his eye on.
She placed her hands on his shoulders, drawing his focus once more. “What has gotten into you?”
His brows pushed together, and his frown deepened. “What do you mean?”
Brielle searched for the right words but could find none that wouldn’t do more damage than good. She needed to be up front and honest with him about what she was seeing. Nibbling on her lower lip, she broke eye contact and stared at the ground. It wasn’t like she could accuse him of being jealous. That was a given. But there was something else going on. She couldn’t put her finger on it.
Her lashes lifted, and she met his gaze. “You know something you’re not telling me.”
Wade stiffened. That was more than enough proof. He wasn’t the kind of guy who shied away from a confrontation. He’d demonstrated that he wasn’t scared of such things several times.
His reaction right now made her wonder just how bad it was.
Maybe she’d pushed him to the limits with this whole dating charade. He was protective of her, bordering on obsessive. Without realizing it, her thoughts shifted and flooded with memories of when he’d been arrested for his violent behavior.
Chills swept through her body, filling all the crevices of her mind with doubt. He’d never hurt her; she knew that intrinsically. But one day, they could have a family. And something could set him off. He’d be taken to prison, and she’d be left alone.
Alone.
