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“No,Eloise. For you to sacrifice your own happiness just to keep this information private…” He let out a sigh. “Sheesh, man. Does she know?”
“What? Of course not. I couldn’t tell her that. First of all, Eloise isn’t your typical woman. She wouldn’t want me to sacrifice anything for her. It’s not in her nature. Secondly, she’s not talking to me. So, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Although clad in dusty jeans and a ripped T-shirt, this man probably had the most profound thing to say. “You can’t do that to her. Not telling her is just as bad as stepping aside and letting your cousin destroy lives. You’re not just sacrificing your happiness, but you’re sacrificing hers too.”
Shane snorted. “Somehow, I don’t—”
“Shut up for a second and listen to me.”
He snapped his mouth shut.
“I might not know much about your relationship other than what I was able to observe when you demanded my help. But even I could see that she cared about you. Whether or not you go through with the deal—which is a load of bull, by the way—you need to tell Eloise. You’re at a fork in the road. If you keep this from her, you’ll forever wonderwhat if. Perhaps it’s not a secret you could tell, but it might be one she could bring to light and take all the power away from Madeline. It’s worth a shot, right?”
Chills coursed through Shane’s body. While Wade’s point was a good one, it wouldn’t be up to Eloise to come forward. And it wasn’t Shane’s place to talk to Brielle about any of this. He’d made his bed, and he was prepared to lie in it.
He just needed to try once more to tell Eloise goodbye.
* * *
The first carShane noticed on the Callahan property was his cousin’s. Marc was there. The anguish that had been ruminating in his stomach roiled and churned until it was poisoned by rage. How dare Marc come here, to this home, and pretend everything was okay?
Shane shot out of his car and charged toward the house. He might not have been willing to beat his cousin to a bloody pulp before all of this had happened, but he was ready now. He’d break every bone in his hands if he had to in order to get his point across.
Before he got to the door, it opened and three people materialized on the porch. Shane’s focus immediately zoned in on Marc despite him being flanked by Brielle and Eloise.
The only thing that surprised him was that he couldn’t see any animosity in his cousin’s eyes. If anything, he read pure contriteness.
Shane slowed as he reached the bottom of the steps and then came to a complete stop. His eyes bounced from Marc to Brielle and finally to Eloise.
The anger he’d expected to see reflected in the girls’ eyes was absent. Neither one of them seemed prepared to tear out his throat like they had been the last time he saw them. Something had changed. Did they know? Had Marc come clean?
He couldn’t dare hope. It wasn’t in Marc’s nature to turn his back on his sister. “What’s going on?” Shane said. “Why are you here, Marc?”
The three exchanged nervous glances then Eloise stepped forward. “Marc told us everything.”
Shane’s eyes darted to Brielle. “Everything?”
“Everything I know,” Marc offered. “Madeline is still keeping some stuff from me, but I get the gist of it. She forced you to break up with Eloise to keep you in a weakened state so that it would be easier for her to force you to become her business partner. Plus she’s threatening to spill secrets of people in town—specifically the Callahans.”
Actually, it was strictly about Brielle.
Unless it wasn’t. It could be more people.
For Pete’s sake. Now he had to worry about more than the one family he cared about.
“It’s really sweet of you to be willing to help, but you don’t need—” Eloise started.
Brielle shook her head. “Don’t say that. We need to know what we’re up against. We have to know the secret so we can decide how to move forward.” Her eyes locked with Shane’s. She didn’t seem terribly nervous. Was it possible that she thought the blackmail was regarding someone else?
“Brielle,” Eloise admonished. “We talked about this. If Shane hasn’t come to us about it, then it must not be about us. What if it’s about Dad and his business dealings?”
“That’s the point,” Brielle said. “I don’t know about you, but I would rather not be surprised in the future if something comes out that could destroy our family business.” Her eyes found Shane’s again. “I don’t want to risk losing something my family has worked years to attain.”
Shane shook his head. “It’s not something that would ruin your ranch.”
“So what is it?” she demanded.
“Brielle, seriously! Curiosity killed the cat. We’re not going to have Shane tell us because we’ve got a plan,” Eloise said.
