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Wade paced behind the barn, his face flushed with fury. Heart pounding erratically, he waited for Shane to pick up. He’d finally gotten to a good place with Brielle, and Tad ripped it right out of his hands.
Last night had been all the evidence he’d needed that Tad was up to no good. There was just one big problem. There was no proof he was up to anything illegal. Tad was simply doing what he’d threatened. He was going to win over hiswife.
The phone went to voicemail and Wade let out an exasperated breath. He hung up the phone and then dialed Shane again. The guy had left a message that he had news. That could only mean one thing. He had dirt on Tad. Or maybe he didn’t. If Shane’s investigators were able to find anything on Tad, that would be his only shot at getting the man to leave.
Wade groaned when the phone, again, directed his call to Shane’s voicemail. His fingers wrapped tightly around the device and the temptation to chuck it across the field was stronger than anything he’d experienced since Tad’s arrival.
Stomping around the barn, he headed to the front and entered, nearly bumping into Elijah. His brother lifted both hands and chuckled. “I told you, Tad was just trying to maneuver around your truck. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“You can’t be serious,” Wade snapped. “There was no reason for him to be anywhere near my truck. I park it in the same place every day.”
Elijah crossed his arms. “That’s not true. Yesterday, you parked closer than you usually do so you could unload some stuff before your date.”
Wade opened his mouth and then immediately snapped it shut. His brother was right. Shoot! And after Tad had explained away why he was on Marc’s property, the evidence he had against the guy was quickly unraveling.
“You want to know what I think?” Elijah took a step toward his brother. If it weren’t for his easy stance, he might have appeared to be more menacing than he was. “I think you’re feeling threatened. You’ve finally come to the realization that Tad is doing everything in his power to win Brielle over and you feel her slipping through your fingers.”
“You’re wrong,” he shot back. “Brielle is closer to picking me than Tad.”
“Really? Because based on what Tad said after he got back from the club, it sure sounds like your hold on that woman is crumbling. I’ll admit. In the beginning, I was pulling for you. I don’t like when strangers just insert themselves into our lives. But Tad has been nothing but a decent guy since the day he got here, and you’re not giving him a chance.”
“There’s no reason to give him achance. He doesn’t belong here.” Wade’s voice grew louder. “I can’t be the only one who sees this.” At this point, he should just be glad that Shane was on his side too. At least together, they had a shot at figuring out what Tad was up to.
“Maybe you should dig deep and figure out why that is. What reason do you have to hate him? I can only think of one.” Elijah shrugged. “And if the only reason you hate him has to do with a woman, maybe you need to figure out how to change that. I haven’t seen a single bit of evidence that Tad is a bad guy. He’s just a guy who wants to win over the girl he fell for ten years ago.”
Wade dug both hands into his hair and charged back and forth in front of his brother. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.”
“I can. You’re jealous.”
He whirled around and faced his brother, his eyes narrowing. “I’mnotjealous. I have no reason to be. She picked me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Wade stopped on a dime as his blood ran cold. The emptiness in his chest grew, spreading like a disease. He wasn’t sure. Brielle had never officially told him she’d picked him. And she hadn’t even told him she loved him. Was it possible she was just playing a game? By the end of the month, she could very likely walk away from both of them.
He shook off that fear, and his eyes cut to his brother’s. “Because I know her. Itrusther.”
Elijah shrugged again. “Okay, but if things go south, I’m not going to be the one to bail you out.”
A groan that resembled a growl burst from his lips. “Why do you guys always go there? I was only incarcerated once.”
“Twice.”
Wade shot his brother a warning look.
“What? You had a good run, but then you fell in with the wrong crowd again. Who knew that Shane had a dark side?” He laughed. “But seriously. Ever since Shane arrived, things have been… different. First, we accepted money from him when you promised that we’d be doing it all on our own. Then when he got you to mess with Marc… boy, that was a mistake. Think about it, Wade. If it wasn’t for Shane, then things might have been very different.”
Elijah was making some very sound points. Was it possible that Tad was exactly what he’d said he was? Shane was the one who continued to insist that things weren’t right, stirring the pot the second he heard that Madeline had found the guy.
Before he could make a comment, his phone rang. Wade pulled it from his pocket and stared at the caller ID. Elijah leaned forward and let out another laugh. “Speak of the devil. If I were you, I’d spend more time getting to know Tad and what makes him tick than taking what Shane has said for gospel. You might be surprised to find that he’s not such a bad guy.”
Wade would have been prone to believe his brother if it weren’t for that one instance when Tad had goaded him when they’d been alone. He grimaced as the memory plastered itself in his mind. He wasreallybeginning to regret that he’d slugged the guy.
The phone buzzed in his hand, bringing him back to the present.
“You gonna get that?” Elijah’s smug tone only added to the irritation flowing through every vein in Wade’s body.
He lifted the phone to his ear and strode from the barn. “What.” His demanding tone was flat as he tried to quell his emotions.
