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“You were the one who called me.”
“Look who’s not picking up now.” Wade glanced back at the barn, not wanting his brother to overhear any of this.
Shane waited a moment before answering. “I’ve got a lot of work to do today. If you’re going to play games—”
“You said you had some information. On you know who.” Wade’s voice lowered as he continued to walk away from the barn.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Shane let out a heavy breath. “It’s not good.”
“Iknewit!” Wade crowed. He ducked down and glanced around then his voice softened once more. “What is it? He’s actually trying to steal her money, isn’t he? Or Madeline is involved. Please tell me we have something good so I can tell Brielle that—”
“We got nothing.”
Wade froze. “We… got… nothing? What do you mean,nothing?”
“I don’t know what to tell you. My guy hasn’t found anything on Tad. He’s squeaky clean. The only abnormality he found was that Tad’s been taking odd jobs rather than keeping the steady gig that he’d had when he married Brielle. But that could be explained easily enough. If he was trying to find her like he has said he was, then holding down a job would be difficult.”
Wade shook his head. He couldn’t accept this. Shane’s guys had to be wrong. There needed to be something that Wade could use against him. “I don’t believe this.”
“I’m not so sure we’ve unearthed everything. Something doesn’t feel right,” Shane said.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“The only thing Icando. I’ve told my guy to keep digging. At this rate, I don’t think we’ll be finding anything of importance. Tad might actually be exactly who he says he is.”
Wade snorted. “Yeah? What’s that?”
“A man in love.”
Frustration turned into hopelessness. If Shane was right, then Tad very well could win Brielle over. Was Wade actually fighting a battle he didn’t have a shot at winning? His heart ached, pulsating with pain every second that passed by.
“Wade? Are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“I’ll let you know if anything comes of it. But for now… maybe just let things… settle?”
“Settle. Do you hear yourself? We can’t let things settle. If we’re right, then Tad could be getting closer to accomplishing what he came here to do.”
The silence on the phone continued to grow. Wade wasn’t sure if Shane was still on the phone until he finally said, “I get it. You might not think I do, but—”
Wade let out a derisive laugh. “You’re joking, right? You have no idea what it feels like to watch the woman you love be taken out on dates by a stranger who could very well have ulterior motives. You don’t know what it’s like wondering if she’s… kissed him.”
“You’re right. I haven’t experienced that specifically, but—”
“You’ve been able to find a woman who only has eyes for you. Perhaps you should just be grateful for that fact and maybe stop poking your nose into my relationship.” He shook his head sharply and muttered more to himself than anyone else, “Maybe I need to give her some space. Brielle is probably feeling suffocated right now.”
“Wade, you don’t have to do that. Brielle cares about you. Believe me when I tell you that putting up walls will only ruin what you have.”
Wade’s hand tightened on his phone, and he stopped his erratic pacing. “Don’t you dare give me relationship advice. From what I can tell, you’ve already got your hands full as it is.”
“What are you talking about?” Shane snapped, his voice slightly sharper than before.
“You tell me. Does Eloise know what’s going on? That you’re looking into Tad?”
The absolute lack of response was all the answer that Wade needed. Shane hadn’t said a single word to his fiancée.
“I didn’t think so. How about you take your own advice. Seems to me you’re putting up your own walls. When you tear yours down, I’ll do the same.” Before Shane could respond, Wade hung up his phone.
