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A lump formed in Brielle’s throat, closing it off from the precious oxygen she needed. Her hands went numb and her legs grew weak. On the one hand, this was the kind of statement she would have expected her father to say to any man who wanted to court her, and it made her like Annabel just a little bit more.
But it also made her fear the woman.
Brielle nodded. “Of course,” her voice cracked again. “I have no doubt that you are entirely capable of making good on your threats, so let me tell you something. The feelings I have for Wade are different than the ones I share with Tad. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about and honestly, it’s none of your business.”
That last sentence earned Brielle a dark look, but she pressed on.
“Wade’s a big boy. He knew what he was getting into when he got involved. That being said, I would never intentionally hurt him.” That was the truth. If Brielle’s feelings for Tad were anywhere near the ones she harbored for Wade, she wouldn’t have hesitated to tell Wade they needed to end this whole thing. The only reason Tad was still hanging around was because he had asked for a certain amount of time.
The flutters returned to Brielle’s chest with a vengeance. The difference between Wade and Tad was that she loved the former.
Love.
She could see herself with him for the long haul. That thought alone terrified her. She had never thought it possible to give her heart over to someone so completely.
Perhaps she was finally figuring out what all her sisters had realized since finding their soul mates.
Brielle’s eyes flitted up to meet Annabel’s. “I love your brother. We’re still working out a lot of stuff. But believe me when I say, I don’t plan on walking away from him anytime soon.”
Annabel didn’t move right away. It was as if she was conducting some magical polygraph test and analyzing the data from Brielle’s little speech. Finally, she nodded. “You’re going to have to borrow a horse. He’s out checking the fences on the northern part of the property. Follow the trailhead on the right and stay right at all of the forks. Shouldn’t be too hard. Our property isn’t nearly as big as yours. I take it you can handle that?”
Brielle gave her a sharp nod. “Thanks.”
“And Bri?”
She froze.
Annabel dropped her hands to her sides. “I’ve never seen Wade care about something as much as he cares about you. Whatever happens, just be honest with him.”
Brielle nodded again, then spun toward the barn to get a horse.
18
Wade
Wade could sense that Brielle was slipping through his fingers. He’d expected that his little speech a few nights ago would have been enough to tip the scales in his favor.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have put all his eggs in that basket. He should have gone back to doing all the romantic stuff he knew she liked. It didn’t matter that those kinds of things were hard for him to do.
If he wanted to win her over, he couldn’t expect to do so with small speeches.
He wiped at a bead of sweat that trickled down his temple and set his focus on the part of the fence he needed to repair. The wire wasn’t the strongest material, which meant he had to see to the repairs with more frequency than was typical.
One day they’d be able to splurge on stuff like this. It had taken a near decade of making all his brothers pull their own weight to get to where they were today. It could be another decade before they were profitable enough to spend money on the things that made ranching life a bit easier.
Wade stepped back, shoving the pliers into his work belt. It wasn’t pretty. This part of the fence was one that the animals liked rubbing up against, and there were several sections where the splicing was evident.
He wiped again at his brow with his forearm. His eyes traveled along the fence. It was getting closer to lunchtime and the heat from the rising sun had been soaked up by the grass at his feet. The once pleasantly sweet scent had taken on sharper notes. Bees hummed at nearby flowers, likely energized by it all.
Elijah had said he would be out here to help with the repairs, but he had yet to make his appearance. At this rate, Wade would be done before Elijah showed.
The rhythmic thumping of horse hooves reached his ears before Wade saw anyone coming from the trees nearby. Elijah had proved him wrong. At least they’d get this done faster so they could get back to work on fixing the barn roof. It was long overdue, and they’d only recently purchased the materials to make it happen.
One step at a time.
The horse burst through the foliage, but it wasn’t the animal that surprised him. Brielle sat tall in the saddle, loose hair flying around her face. She didn’t wear a hat, and her white cotton sundress wasn’t going to do her any favors if she planned on working today.
She pulled at the reins, slowing her horse as it came to a stop in front of him. In one fluid motion, she slipped from the saddle. They locked eyes with one another. No words were uttered; the only sound available to either of them was the restless pawing of her horse and a bird chirping with indignation.
