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Right before they reached the barn, she turned to look at Wade and gently grab his arm. He stopped and stared down at where she touched him. A mixture of emotions flooded his features before he lifted his gaze to meet hers.
“I wanted to thank you,” Brielle said.
His brows creased with uncertainty. That was to be expected. He had been dragged into this problem too.
“You didn’t have to take Tad in. You didn’t have to lie to my father about him. You didn’t have to—”
Wade held up his hand, putting a stop to her rambling. He inched closer to her and lowered his voice as if he feared someone might overhear them. “I’ve only ever been honest with you. From the night when I told you I’d wait as long as it took to when I told you that we should get Shane’s help. I will never lie to you, Bri. And I will always protect you.”
“Why?” The one-word question burst from her lips before she could contain it. Of course she could deduce the answer. It wasn’t hard to see that his feelings ran deeper than he’d admitted to her. She wouldn’t go so far as to say helovedher, so she probably should have kept her mouth shut.
The lines on his face continued to deepen. He took a deep breath, causing his chest to rise and fall as he let the air out through his nose. “I guess I decided a long time ago that the people I care about deserve to be treated with the highest degree of respect. I’ve protected my family because I care about them. I care about you, too.”
Emotion burned behind her eyes, and she blinked to keep it at bay. She wanted to say something, anything, to draw attention away from the fact that she was touched by his words. Brielle had never been the weak one, and yet, at this moment, that was exactly how she felt.
Wade’s discerning gaze didn’t leave her face. There was no way he didn’t see exactly what she was trying to hide. Then he peered off into the distance, his eyes narrowed. “Come on,” he said gruffly. “Your father will expect me at the ranch after lunch to do some training today. I guess he’s expecting both me and Tad.”
She made a face. “About that…”
His head snapped around so he stared at her once again. “What?”
“Turns out none of my sisters are available to train the new guys, so my dad is having me take you around.” She watched him for a moment, relieved to see that he seemed amused by the notion of her teaching him the ropes. “I have a feeling that you won’t need much training.”
“Not likely,” he murmured. “But I can’t say the same about Tad. I’m not even sure that guy knows how to ride a horse.”
“Hey, I’ve ridden a horse.”
Brielle jumped, her focus shifting toward the barn where Tad stood in the doorway with his arms folded.
“You two done arguing? Is it safe to come out?”
Before Brielle could confirm everything was fine, Wade stepped forward. “There’s something you should know.” Wade cleared his throat and reached for Brielle’s hand. “Looks like you and I will both be fighting for Bri’s affections.”
Tad’s eyes shifted to Brielle, then back to Wade. His easygoing stance demonstrated just how confident he was. He folded his arms and swung his eyes to lock with Brielle. “Is that what you want?”
Her heart stumbled. Up until this point, Tad had taken on a commanding air. He hadn’t really given her any choice in the matter. “Yes.” Her voice was soft at first, and then she nodded. “Yes,” she said more clearly. “I still don’t know you very well, and I’d feel more comfortable with Wade around.”
Understanding filled Tad’s gaze. “I didn’t expect you to trust me right away, love.”
Wade bristled with the new pet name and his hand tightened on hers protectively.
Tad moved closer, his arms dropping to his sides. “I figured you’d need some time to warm up to me. You don’t have to drag Wade into this.”
“She’s not dragging me into anything,” Wade said evenly. “I wanted this. Seems to me you might be a littlescared.”
Tad shot him an irritated look. His eyes swept over Wade from head to toe. “I assure you, I have nothing to be afraid of. If you want to make this a competition, may the best man win.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Wade said. “But there has to be some ground rules.”
Brielle watched the exchange, not knowing how to respond. Between how often and how long they got to spend time with her alone to what wasn’t allowed when it came to physical touch, her time was being bartered away without her say-so.
“Will both of you shut up?”
Wade and Tad straightened and turned their attention from each other to her.
“I get that you guys need to do this fairly, but I think I need to be the one to lay out the ground rules.”
They exchanged looks.
