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Jack stared hard at Ethan. “That’s what I was going to talk to you about.”
“You think I did it? Jack, you know I wouldn’t do that.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jack rubbed his jaw. “There’s just… I overheard Tina the other day when they got back from their girl’s trip to town. She was on the phone with someone, and she mentioned that she thought Becca might be up to something.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. She said that it wouldn’t surprise her if Becca was planning something to stir up some trouble while she was here. Apparently, she was engaged once and it didn’t work out. She might be jealous of Kat and Simon. Have you heard anything?”
This was news to him. He hadn’t heard anything like that. He swallowed down the heat that rose in the back of his throat. They’d gone over family and jobs, but not past relationships. Dang it! Why hadn’t he thought to talk about that sort of thing?
“If Becca was left even a few days before her wedding day, do you think she’d be capable of leaving the gate open just to… I don’t know.”
“No.” Ethan blurted the word before he had a chance to analyze it himself. “There’s no way she would have done something like that.” She’d been with him that morning. There was little chance she’d had the time to open the gate without being caught.
Then again, she’d surprised him with how early she’d been up. If she’d borrowed a car, she might have been able to get the gate open before everyone got up.
The tightness in his chest returned but he shook his head again. “I know she wouldn’t do it. That’s not her personality.”
Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on what his gut was trying to tell him. Before he could examine the feeling, Andrew emerged from the back. His arm was in a sling. His face was pale and covered in beads of sweat.
“It’s a broken collarbone. They had to set it, but it should heal up okay as long as I keep it in this sling. Needless to say, I don’t think I’m going to be able to ride for a few weeks.”
“You’re definitely not going to be riding for a few weeks,” a doctor commented behind him. “It’s going to take about eight weeks to heal fully, and that’s if you’re taking calcium supplements along with iron and vitamin C. At least, that’s what my other patients have said helped. The evidence is purely anecdotal, but you could also try red light therapy.” He turned his attention to Jack and Ethan. “I know you cowboys can sometimes be even worse patients than doctors. Please make sure this young man follows my instructions. I don’t want to have to set it again.”
Andrew made a face while Jack glanced at Ethan with concern. Then he nodded. “We’ll do our best, but I think his wife will have more luck in that arena.”
Ethan didn’t think it was possible, but he could have sworn that Andrew paled even more. Hopefully, Jack was wrong about the gate being opened deliberately and the rest of the summer would be smooth sailing.
On a different note, perhaps Becca would find she could trust him enough to share what really happened with her ex.
CHAPTER NINE
Over the nextcouple of weeks, the Reese household fell into a routine, but Becca could still feel the strain of what had happened to Julia’s husband. The guys didn’t want to talk much about it, but based on what Julia was willing to share, it came down to a startled horse.
Julia wasn’t thrilled about Andrew’s broken bone, but she was willing to look at the situation with more common sense than Becca. In fact, Becca could still recall the anxiety she’d felt when only half of the men came back.
She wasn’t even dating the guy and she’d felt like she was going to get news that something terrible had happened, which she wouldn’t have handled well.
Now, they were able to move past the whole situation and be grateful it wasn’t worse.
Andrew could still be part of the bridal party, though he’d be wearing a sling. There hadn’t been any more mishaps at the gates surrounding the property. And Becca was getting to know Ethan a little more every day.
Lately, her story had been put on pause. She couldn’t find the motivation to write about her billionaire character, so instead, she got up early and spent time with Ethan.
It was early afternoon, and they sat on the back porch drinking wine before they planned on putting some wedding favors together. Brianne had brought over several of the decorations to show off to the group. They were just waiting for Tina—who had chosen today of all days to be fashionably late.
Figured. They were actually going to get something done today and the woman couldn’t be bothered to show up.
Becca’s phone pinged and she picked it up. A horse emoji and a question mark came from Ethan’s number. She smiled. He was nothing if not persistent. After the debacle with Andrew, she couldn’t believe he still wanted to get her on a horse. Every day, he asked her the same thing. And every day, she sent back a different GIF stating her answer.
Pigs would soar through the skies before he would convince her to get into the saddle. But she didn’t mind watching him from the sidelines.
A car pulled up and she glanced over to find Tina climbing out with bags in her hands. “You guys will never believe what I found in town.” She hurried up the steps, her face flushed from exertion. The bags landed on the porch with a thud and her bright eyes darted over each girl until they landed on Katrina. “I found the cutest decorations for the reception.”
“Tina,” Katrina started, “you know Brianne already got?—”
She wasted no time in pulling out item after item. Unfortunately, they looked nothing like the things that Brianne had already showed them.
