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Whoever it was, they were probably here for Brielle. Dianna wasn’t home yet. Adeline had moved into a small cottage on the property. And the rest of her sisters were around here somewhere.
She sighed and reached for a veterinary book nearby. Her life had already changed so much that she should just be grateful she had something she loved. James had helped her get it.
Her heart twisted. James had been the common denominator when it came to everything that made her happy. She tossed the book aside and stood up to stare out the window, surprised when she noticed a familiar car out in the driveway.
Constance’s pulse roared and chills raced through her body. Why was James here and who was he speaking to? No one had come to get her. She turned to head for the door, then froze and strode back to the window. If he wasn’t here to see her, then he was here to speak to someone else.
She twisted her hands together. Curiosity burning within her. Hadn’t she ended their relationship? James knew exactly where she stood. So if he was here and he wasn’t here to see her…
Constance’s blood ran cold.
He wouldn’t.
She stormed toward her door and yanked it open, then froze. Her sister Grace blocked her path. Her green eyes were wide and a small smile touched her lips. Her hand was poised ready to knock. “You won’t believe what’s going on right now,” she whispered.
Constance’s brows furrowed. “Well, are you going to tell me? Because if you aren’t, then you need to move so I can go check it out for myself.”
Grace shook her head, her blonde curls swaying with the movement. “You don’t want to do that. If you do, you’ll probably be interrupting a pretty intense conversation.”
That didn’t sound good. Constance sighed and gave her sister a pointed look. “Thentellme.”
“James came to talk to Dad.”
Oh no. He knew better than that.
“And when Dad went outside, he took his hunting rifle with him.”
Constance’s mouth fell open as she let the words sink in. Then she attempted to lunge past her sister but didn’t quite make it.
“I told you that you’d go intervene. You can’t go down there.”
“Why not?” Constance had her hands on her hips and she scowled at Grace. “He’s my boy—” She cut herself off. Grace hadn’t known about that tidbit of information. But based on the way she didn’t seem surprised by the statement, James must have said something. Constance attempted to push past Grace once more. “I can’t let Dad do that.”
“I don’t think you have a choice. It sounded like he was just about to leave when I came up here.” As if to confirm her statement, the front door slammed shut.
Constance let out a sigh. “Great. Do you think he scared him off?”
“From the sounds of it, you did a decent job of that all on your own.” Grace probably hadn’t meant for her words to hurt, but they did all the same.
Shoulder’s slumped and heart lagging, Constance leaned against the door jamb. “What else did you hear?”
Before Grace could get anything out, angry voices exploded downstairs. Both Grace and Constance jumped, exchanging looks of confusion but also concern. Grace spun around and hurried toward the stairway with Constance right behind her. They headed down the stairs, careful not to move with heavy steps.
Once at the bottom, they slowed and came to a stop just out of sight from the living room. Brielle and their father were the ones arguing.
“You think he’s right?” Zeke growled.
“Iknowhe’s right. I dated him once.”
There was silence for a full minute as if their father needed additional time to come to terms with what she’d just said. “Youwhat? I’m going to kill him.”
Brielle let out a sigh. “It was in high school.”
“In high school?”
“What did you expect, Dad? I wanted to date, and Adeline wasn’t ready to get married. So I kept it from you.”
His voice hardened. “How many of you have been doing this behind my back?”
