Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“You idiot,” Kat mutters.
“Kathryn Blackburn,” Fi says disapprovingly before turning back to Trey. “Why would you do that?”
Trey shrugs helplessly. “Because I was an idiot like Kat said. I thought I had to choose Wade because he was my brother. And as you all might suspect, it drove Holland away.”
Ethan, always the quiet one, looks to me. “That’s why you left and never returned.”
I nod, the words stuck in my throat. Trey leans over, kisses my temple before turning to his family. “But now that she’s here, she’s forgiven me, and we’re moving on together. Wade found out, and he’s mad.”
Silence from everyone.
“Like really, really mad,” Trey clarifies. “And well… it’s just time everyone knows. It’s time for me and Holland to be happy.”
The room is so quiet, I can hear my own heart galloping away in a stampede of fear and hope. Trey’s chosen me, but will the rest of the family? Will they side with Wade, the brother who feels betrayed?
Fi is the first to move. She stands and walks over to where Trey and I are sitting, pulling us both into a warm embrace from behind. She kisses Trey’s cheek, then mine. “I’m so sorry you both went through this,” she says, her voice thick with sympathy and understanding. “I’m proud of ya, Trey, for finally gettin’ your head outta your arse.” She turns to me, her eyes soft and kind. “Holland, ye’ve always been a part of this family. My heart’s hurtin’ for Wade, but you and Trey deserve to be happy. We’ll all work to get Wade right with this.”
“Thank you,” I rasp, tears springing to my eyes with relief.
Fi clucks her tongue at me. “No tears now. This is a happy occasion for the two of you, and happy for this family.”
Ethan and Tommy smile but it’s Kat I turn to for real approval. I kept a secret from my very close friend. She leans forward, her eyes bright with determination. “I hate you both for keeping this a secret from me.”
My stomach drops but then she smiles at me so brightly, I’m blinded. “Just kidding… I love you both, but don’t you ever keep secrets like that from me again.” Her eyes flick back and forth between me and Trey, her tone somber. “You’ve both been through so much. It’s time for some happiness. Wade’s a knucklehead. Trust me… he’ll get over this and it will all be good.”
God, I hope she’s right. I couldn’t stand it if this caused a permanent rift, but I won’t worry about it for now. Instead, I bask in the relief of acceptance this family just showed me and tomorrow will be soon enough to figure out how to handle Wade.
CHAPTER 15
Trey
Even after the last lesson of the day, the work isn’t done. I always need about thirty minutes in the office to go over the next day’s schedule of riders, making sure the lesson horses are rotated through so they aren’t overworked and they’re matched appropriately with the rider’s skill level. Ethan brought us into the twenty-first century as we used to write all of this on a whiteboard, but now it’s kept in a spreadsheet on the computer.
Wiping sweat from my brow, I plug information in for tomorrow’s schedule and accept the satisfying ache of a long day’s work. The barn is quiet now, the horses settled in their stalls and all the feeding and watering complete.
The office door opens and Kat walks in, her face set with a mix of amusement and curiosity.
“Trey,” she calls out with a smirk and flops down on the couch sitting against one wall. “Brother of mine, keeper of secrets, foolishly in love.”
I roll my eyes at her. “What have you been up to today?”
Even though me and my siblings all work on the farm, it’s so vast with various training barns and arenas, not to mention other duties outside of lessons, sometimes we don’t see each other.
“Oh, you know,” she says with her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Training horses, training riders, trying to process the bombshell you dropped last night.”
I push back from the computer and give my sister all the attention she needs. She clearly wants to talk more about me and Holland. “Yeah, it’s been a whirlwind.”
“So, you went after one of my closest friends when she was eighteen, huh? Bold move, big brother.”
I wince, knowing what’s coming. “It wasn’t planned, Kat. It just… happened.”
“Uh-huh,” she says, drawing out the syllables. “And keeping it a secret? Not cool. You know you could’ve trusted me with that.”
I nod, feeling the weight of her words. “I know, and I’m sorry. We just wanted some time to ourselves before dealing with everyone else’s opinions. And frankly, we thought you and Abby would totally freak out and before I knew Wade had feelings for her, I thought we’d get nothing but relentless teasing. I didn’t want to mar what we had.”