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Or maybe he couldn’t.
She dropped her gaze and fidgeted. “You have this way of throwing me off balance that I’m not used to. I expect one thing and then, bam, you make a U-turn and I’m stuck here with this whiplash that takes days for me to sort out.” Her eyes lifted to him once more. “I don’t know that I’m ready to return your feelings yet.”
His heart stammered and he took a step toward her but then reined himself in. She didn’t need him to suffocate her right now. She needed him to give her the space she’d requested.
This was harder than anything he’d done in the past. All he could do was nod, not trusting his voice. If he uttered even a single word, he would most definitely scare her off indefinitely.
Eloise didn’t move from where she stood. She watched him much like he imagined the prey would watch the predator they know is only a few yards away. She was calculating if she had the ability to escape him.
Then he couldn’t take it any longer. “You don’t have to return my feelings. I shouldn’t have confessed—”
“You shouldn’t haveconfessed?” She let out a strained laugh. “I don’t know if I agree withthat.”
He snapped his mouth shut. If she didn’t want to tell him she loved him back, wouldn’t that stand to reason that he needed to have kept his feelings to himself?
Eloise took a deep breath and then let it out. She stepped forward and offered him a small smile. “You have to understand that I’ve been watching all of my sisters fall in love with their soul mates, and they don’t seem to have any regrets. They are literally jumping into love with both eyes shut tight and no fear for the future.”
“Oh, I’m certain you're mistaken on that.”
She gave him a sharp look, and he chuckled.
“Love isn’t easy. Frankly, it’sterrifying,” he said. Chills swept down his spine and he moved closer to his desk so that it might steady him. “Confessing that your heart is now vulnerable is the hardest thing a person can do. It doesn’t matter if you’re telling someone new or someone who has been in your life for ages. To be exposed like that opens you up for all kinds of pain.” His thoughts shifted to Madeline. Before he’d moved to Copper Creek, he’d thought all families were like his. But the closer he got to the Callahans, the more he realized that he was wrong. Families did exist where they were willing to do anything for one another. Eloise was fortunate enough to belong to one.
“I suppose you make a good point,” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. “I came here to tell you that I’m glad you told me. You’ve pushed me to consider exactly how I feel. I don’t know if I’m in love with you… yet.” She gave him a strained smile. “But I still want to continue dating.” Another deep breath before she moved closer. “Even if that means we need to keep things quiet for a little while longer… then I trust you have a good reason.”
Shane couldn’t remember a time when he felt more relieved than he did at this very moment. Eloise was giving him the time to figure out the mess he had managed to find himself in—yet another reason for him to care so much about her.
She continued walking toward him, slowly closing the distance between them. When she stopped, she peered up at him with her head cocked to the side. Then she slipped her hands behind his neck and gave him a smile. “Deal’s a deal. Our next date is going to be at my place.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she placed her finger on his lips. “I don’t know how Brielle found out, but she did.”
That wasn’t good. Now that Eloise knew about Brielle, his argument for keeping things secret was unraveling. How much had Brielle told her? He prayed that Eloise didn’t hear anything regarding his cousins.
Eloise laughed. “Don’t look so worried. Somehow, I feel like she’s okay with it. I don’t know when that happened, but she seems to be on your side.”
There was no denying the shock that must have been written all over his face. The last conversation he’d had with Brielle had suggested otherwise. There was no way she was completely on board with him dating her younger sister. If anything, she was tolerating him because she understood that he was the lesser of two evils.
Shane swallowed. “Well then, I suppose I don’t have any excuses. We’re going riding. Next weekend.”
Her face brightened. “Really?”
He enveloped her in a hug, if only to hide his worried expression. Shane buried his face into her hair. “I’d do anything for you.”
* * *
The followingweek went faster than Shane expected. Everything finally felt like it was going to be okay. Still no word from Madeline. He hadn’t seen Marc either. The restaurant had become far more popular than he would have dreamed possible.
People were flooding to the country club from out of town, and while Copper Creek was getting a little busier, it wasn’t all bad. Even the few locals who complained about the extra activity couldn’t deny that it brought in necessary revenue.
Shane was beginning to think he could finally relax. The stress of the last month and a half was coming to a close. Madeline was blowing smoke, and even though she and Marc had purchased the land beside his country club property, even that didn’t seem to cause any ripples for Shane or anyone he cared about.
When his work was done, he closed up his office and headed out toward the Callahan property. His life was finally coming together, and the weirdest part was that it wouldn’t have happened if his cousins hadn’t shown up out of the blue to torture him. If it wasn’t for Madeline, he would have never fallen for Eloise.
The closer he got to the Callahan ranch, the more excited he became. He hadn’t been riding since they’d taken the horses out at the Keagan property. He couldn’t wait for her to show him what made her happy.
Shane parked his car and jogged up the steps. There was an unfamiliar truck parked out front. It was a fire-engine red Chevy that looked like it’d just come right off the lot. His steps slowed and he frowned as he stood at the edge of the porch.
Marc would have bought something like that. Shane glanced at the house, then back to the truck. If Marc was here, then Shane was in bigger trouble than he thought. Eloise hadn’t mentioned anything about his cousin since they made everything official. He’d simply assumed that Marc had decided to leave Eloise and her family alone.
