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Elijah didn’t appear the least bit fazed. “You’re gonna snap out of this at some point and then you’re going to have to deal with the fallout of pushing everyone away.”
“Mepush people away?” Wade cackled. “How about you take a look in the mirror. The only ones pushing anyone away are you and Lucas, and for what? Some stranger that you barely even know? How backwards is that? Family is supposed to be the most important—”
“Exactly!Family. You’re letting this ranch suffer over a woman. Awoman, Wade. I don’t know what you were thinking. Did you get kicked in the head or something? Brielle Callahan is Copper Creek royalty. She’s untouchable, and that’s for good reason. The fact that you thought she’d give you the time of day is laughable.”
Wade’s eyes narrowed. Before Tad arrived, Elijah would have never spoken to him like this. The man was a scourge. His glower must have been something else though, because Elijah sobered and retreated slightly.
“Come on, man. You have to admit it. Girls like Brielle have always been and always will be out of reach for guys like us. That’s just the way it is. We don’t stand a chance against someone like Tad.”
Wade shot up from his seat, the chair toppling behind him. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. You don’t know anything about Brielle. Just because she was raised by a rich father doesn’t mean she had it easy. She’s got her own demons, just like any of us.”
Elijah shook his head, pity pouring from his gaze. “I like Brielle. She’s great. But she’s not the one for you, and you have to get that through your head.”
He slammed a fist down on the table. “Don’t you think I know that?” The electricity of his words hung in the air, fueling him with additional rage. Wade took a long, slow breath and his voice dropped back to a normal level. “She’ll never choose me no matter how long I wait or how much I love her.”
“Wade—”
Holding up a hand, he cut his brother’s statement off. “I don’t care about the ranch anymore. If you want to take over, be my guest. I’m done. Done with women. Done with this sorry excuse for a ranch. Done with this ridiculous town.” He turned on his heel, prepared to make his exit but ended up slipping in his stockinged feet, nearly tumbling to the floor.
Wade didn’t bother looking back at his brother. He knew what he would see.
More pity.
The worst part was that Elijah had touched on every single one of Wade’s insecurities.
Out of everyone Wade had been interested in, Brielle was at the top. She was the one he wanted to spend his life with, and there wasn’t a single other person who came close. She made him want to be better—do better.
But his brother was right. She would never look at him in the way he looked at her. He just wasn’t cut out to be her love interest.
* * *
Wade placedhis chin in his hand as he stared at the bottle of beer the waitress had brought him. Shane’s country club had fewer options, but Wade had been banned from the only other place that served liquor.
Condensation had already started to form on the bottle, dragging down the side and getting soaked up by the cocktail napkin beneath it. He wasn’t going to drink it. He’d already decided that when it was delivered to his table. The last thing he needed was more trouble. And yet there was something comforting about having it within reach and knowing he could abstain.
“What in heaven’s name are you doing?”
Without lifting his head, Wade flicked his eyes upward to find Annabel standing at the side of the table with her hands on her hips. She glanced at him, then shifted her focus to the bottle with disdain. “After what happened last week, you’re going to play with fire? And at Shane’s place, no less?”
“I’m not going to drink it,” he said, turning his attention to it again.
“Yeah. And I’m not going to go riding later today.” She reached for the bottle and placed it on a waitress’s tray as the woman passed.
“Hey!” he said, finally straightening in his seat.
“I thought you weren’t going to drink it.” She slipped into the chair across from him, her hard gaze locking with his. “You and I both know that it’s only a matter of time before you took a sip, and then where would it end?”
“I’m not like you. I don’t need some program to help me control myself.”
“Really? Because your actions beg to differ.” She waved over the hostess. “Can we get some waters, please?”
Wade groaned. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you have anything better to do than babysit me?”
“Yeah, I do, actually. But Elijah called.” She let her words sink in.
This was just great. Once Annabel was involved, he was pretty much done for. He turned his head so he didn’t have to make eye contact with the one person who would be able to get him to come home. “Elijah needs to mind his own business.”
“You are his business.”
