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As he watched, one of the ranch hands helped Eden, and he clenched his jaw when she smiled at the man, then her eyes met his, and he could see the pain on her face. She was hurting as much as he was. He glanced away from her. He was sure this was one broken heart he’d never get over.
****
Eden’s heart ached as Ian turned away from her. She knew she shouldn’t have signed up to go on this ride. It was only causing more pain and torture for herself.
“Are you okay?” Cammie’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“No, I’ll never be okay again. I should just go back to my cabin. This was such a mistake,” Eden replied, her voice heavy with regret.
“If you want to leave, we will,” Cammie offered.
Eden looked at her best friend, feeling gratefulfor her unwavering support. “What would I do without you?”
“You’ll never have to find out.”
“You’re not only my paralegal, but my closest friend. I couldn’t imagine going through this without you,” Eden said, her voice quivering.
“I’m here for you, always. Just tell me what you want to do,” Cammie reassured her.
“Does he look as exhausted as I feel?” Eden asked, glancing over at Ian who appeared drained, and sleep deprived.
“Yeah, he does. He wants you to stay, but he won’t ask,” Cammie explained.
“Because he knows I wouldn’t,” Eden whispered, feeling torn.
“Wouldn’t you?” Cammie questioned.
Eden hesitated before shaking her head. “No, I can’t. You know how I feel about being offered that partnership.”
Cammie shrugged. “What I think is, you don’t know if you want that partnership because it doesn’t matter to you as much as it did before. You said so yourself that youthoughtyou wanted it, but because of Ian, you’re not sure. That’s just my observation.”
“Well, you’re wrong. It still matters to me. It’s all I’ve been thinking about and it’s what I want,” Eden insisted, fighting back tears.
“That’s not what your heart wants, and deep down, you know it. But whatever decision you make, I’ll support you,” Cammie said with a reassuring smile.
Eden blinked back tears of gratitude. “I know. Thank you for always being there for me.”
“I will always have your back. And once we getback from this ride, we’ll play some tennis. How does that sound?” Cammie suggested.
Eden nodded, grateful for the distraction. “I would like to go to the bonfire Wednesday night, if you’ll go with me.”
“Of course, I will.”
Chip had everyone get in line and he led them out. Eden got as close to the front as she could. There was no way she wanted to be in the back with Ian. He probably wouldn’t even speak to her. She snorted. Why would he? It was plain he was done with all this back and forth between them.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him at the back looking around. When he looked to the front, she quickly turned around. The last thing she needed was for him to see her staring at him like a lovesick fool.
The sun was high in the sky when they reached the spot where they turned around. All she wanted to do was go back to the cabin and hide. She didn’t want to come out until Sunday when it was time to go and leave Ian Brennan behind. She hiccupped and placed her hand over her heart. It hurt to even think about going. How was she going to feel the day she did leave?
How was she going to drive out of Bur Oak never to return? She removed her hat and rubbed her temples. A killer of a headache was taking up residence in her head, and she wanted to turn around and go back.
Once they reached the creek, she dismounted, filled her water bottle, and watched as the horse drank. A tear slid down her cheek as she placed her forehead against the horse’s neck.
“Are you okay?”
She froze when she heard his voice and raised her head to look at him. He must have seen the tears because he looked as bad as she felt.
“I will be,” she whispered.
