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“Can you walk on it?” Brian asked.
Leah tried to put pressure on the leg, but she winced in pain. “I really don’t think so. It feels like there is a sword to my leg.”
Michael nodded and everyone took a moment to plan the next course of action. “I am the best driver here, so perhaps I should take Leah back so she can receive care swifter.”
The group all nodded in agreement.
On the trip back, Harper rode with Brian. She found herself happy about that, although she did not let him know it. She could sense that he was in better spirits driving back with her as well.
“That is a real shame about Leah. She was the least deserving out of all of us to get hurt,” Brian said, breaking the silence in the gig.
“How is that a nice thing to say?”
“It is called a joke. I am making light of the situation. There is no need to be dreary, is there?”
Harper shrugged. “Why didn’t you have any wine?”
“I told you that my stomach was feeling strange.”
She smiled and looked away. “Are you sure it is not because of what I said earlier?”
He didn’t say anything.
Because Brian didn’t say anything, she decided not to push the topic.
It was Brian who broke the silence once more, though. “I will write to some acquaintances when we get back to town since Michael was an obvious no.”
“A, no? Why do you think so?”
“Because you both were extremely boring together. I have seen more riveting conversations from pigs themselves. You were talking about pork.”
As much as she wanted to laugh at that, Harper also didn’t like being told what was boring. She would be the one to decide what worked and what didn’t work. Her conversation with Michael may not have been the most entertaining, but she still had not hated it.
“I thought that his efforts were charming. What would you know about riveting conversation, Brian?”
“I know that it does not involve pork. You can do a lot better than pork, Harper.”
“Is that so? And how do you know that?”
“Because you and I have more interesting conversations than talking about the elegance of pork.”
Harper laughed. She just couldn’t help it. “If you say pork one more time, I will have this horse kick you.”
He shook his head. “Fine, let me hear what you think is passion and romance. Be honest, did you really think your conversation with him was that?”
“No. But I don’t think that you know any better either.”
“I know that romance is a slow build. It is feelings.” When he spoke, he leaned in closer and closer. Harper did not mind it. “Those feelings I speak of, they aren’t easily replicated. You know them when you feel them. They give you butterflies.”
She could feel her heart start racing. But was still uncertain about how she felt towards Brian. In some ways, his words were like a carefully crafted song that knew how to attach to all the right parts of her heart. On the other end, he was not fit to be anyone’s husband. At times he was downright rude. And that bothered her. At least with someone like Michael, he put in an effort to take other people’s feelings into consideration. Sometimes it felt like Brian only cared about himself and his own agenda.
“You seem to know a lot about romance, yet you are alone. Do you think you know why that is?”
Brian shrugged. And it was as though all the answers were in his shoulders. He had to know why. And maybe pointing it out to him wasn’t the nicest things to do. He knew how brash and cocky he was. He knew just by the whole drinking thing what a rake he could be. And maybe there wasn’t a need to throw it in his face. They didn’t have to always be at each other’s throats. Sometimes she could be the mature one and choose the nicer route.
“Perhaps I am a bit stubborn, rude, and don’t behave as much as I should. But I act with true intentions. At least I am honest with myself. Other people spend their entire lives playing a charade. I choose the path of authenticity.”
“And do you think that lends a hand to romance or do you think that will just push people away? There’s being honest and then there’s being selfish.”
