Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
My grin was a bit more wry. “Same time as always.”
“Six?”
Nodding, I turned and motioned for the waitress. Once she walked over, I asked, “May we please get to-go boxes? And he’ll take care of the check.”
He chuckled.
Smiling, she replied, “Yes, of course.”
Once she walked away, I focused back on Colt. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He reached for my hand as I started to slide out of the booth. “You don’t want your sandwich?”
“My appetite is gone. Throw it away or take it home with you.”
Colt let go of my hand. Before I walked away, I turned to face him. “Thank you for telling me why you left.”
He gave a slight nod.
Turning, I quickly made my way out of the café. I was laser-focused on my truck, parked just down from the restaurant. The moment I got in, I started it, drew in a few deep breaths, and closed my eyes.
“Hey, sis!”
I turned and looked over my shoulder to see Caden walking into the barn. “Hey, what are you doing over here?”
He faked a hurt expression. “I can’t come see my favorite sister?”
Laughing, I pointed the brush at him and said, “If Emeline hears you, you’ll be banned from this barn.”
“It’ll be our secret.”
Standing, I eyed my older brother and asked, “Why are you really here, Caden?”
He winked. “Straight to the point, like always. I was talking to Dad, and he mentioned you and Colt were having dinner with them tonight.”
“Wow,” I said, my brows raising. “News travels fast in the Wilde clan.”
Smiling, he said, “Always has, always will.”
“Colt is coming to dinner to talk to Mom and Dad to get their advice. He and I are not going together.”
Now his brows rose. “So, you haven’t patched things up?”
“No. But I’m not as angry with him as I was before. Well…actually, I am, but for a different reason now.”
“That’s good, right?”
I nodded and huffed a laugh. “I guess so.”
Caden leaned against a pole. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I’d gone back to brushing the horse, but I paused again.
Did I want to talk about it with someone?
“I’m not sure. I spent the last ten years thinking Colt left because he didn’t love me, and it turns out that isn’t the case.”
“He still loves you?”
I blew out a breath. “He says he does.”
“And do you still love him?”
Sighing, I said, “God, Caden. I feel like such a hypocrite for all the times I told you that you needed to move on from Rachel, and here I’ve been, stuck in the past and in love with a man I thought didn’t love me.”
He pushed off the pole and walked toward me. He picked up another brush and moved to the other side of the mare and started helping.
“You’re not going to get any judgment from me, Ensley.”
“I’m just so confused. A part of me doesn’t want to forgive him, but once he told me why he left, my heart broke for him. I’m still pissed because his excuse was just… I don’t know.”
“I’m sure it was a hard time for him. He’d just lost his brother to suicide. I imagine, just like you did, he blamed himself for not knowing anything was wrong.”
“That’s just it, though. He truly thought he was the one who’d caused Grady to take his own life. He told Grady he was going to ask me to marry him. In Colt’s mind, that sent Grady over the edge.”
Caden drew back in surprise. “What? Why would he think that?”
I told my brother the whole story, including what happened when Colt first told Grady he was going to ask me out, and how my friend had reacted.
I sighed. “It wasn’t because Grady was in love with me, that much I know. But of course, Colt was convinced he was. I get the impression he always had it in the back of his mind that Grady wanted to be more than friends. It wasn’t true, Caden. He loved me like a sister, and I loved him like a brother.”
“I know. He’d told me once himself he thought of you as the sister he never had.”
I smiled. “Well, the problem was, Grady never talked to Colt about anything. Colt had no idea Grady was in love with his flying instructor. He did know that Grady wanted to travel and that he was taking flying lessons, but that was it. Grady never told him he wanted to be a pilot.”
“Damn. Why do you think that is?”
I shrugged. “Maybe he was worried Colt would be upset with him. But I know Colt; he would’ve only wanted Grady to be happy. If that meant leaving River Falls and finding his passion for flying, then Colt would have supported him a hundred percent. Or maybe it was because of their dad.” When Caden gave me a look, I explained, “Unfortunately, I learned today that their dad used to compare them a bit. I think that could have made Grady feel inferior. As a result, maybe he wasn’t comfortable sharing things with Colt.”