Page 30 of Rough Cowboy
“No,we’vealways wanted to buy it whenweretired—together.”
“Then retire, pay me half, and build your own house on the property. There are acres of land. Asshat.” Sammy strums up the offer eerily casual and serious as if his brother joining forces on the ranch had been his plan all along.
“Maybe I will,” Silver says.
“Maybe you should,” Sammy says.
And just like that, they move onto plans for the ranch I’m now living at with both Wilde twins.
What did I agree to?
“I see this isn’t going how you planned,” my sister whispers.
“Shut up.”
“If this were one of my books—”
“Which it isn’t.” I head to the mud room. It’s the only room where there isn’t a Wilde lingering.
I collect my boots and jackets. I feel like I’ve spent the entire day packing between worrying, crying, and faking smiles. Damn it, this wasn’t how the day was supposed to go.
My sister follows me. “I would create a situation where I would force the biological dad to learn the truth. I’d throw in pregnancy complications and a scene where the truth is revealed, which would, in turn, bring the biological parents together in their happily ever after.”
I slant a glare at my sister. “I’m not sure which is worse; you predicting that Silver and I are going to end up happily ever after or suggesting I’m going to have pregnancy complications.”
“Obviously, the latter is worse, and while realistic, most pregnancies go off without a hitch.” I’m sure she researched every possible complication that could go wrong during my pregnancy. She’s a research queen. And while her temporary knowledge of things one should not be knowledgeable about creeps me out, it’s upgraded to driving me crazy.
I smile a big, fake smile at her. “Thank you for planting the possibility of a complication and then casually taking it away like it’s not going to keep me up all night.”
She glances over her shoulder before taking a step inside the mudroom. “This isn’t one of my books, Elsie. You keep this from him, and you won’t have a chance at a happily ever after.”
“I know this isn’t one of your books. There was never going to be a happily ever after between us. It was sex. It’s always been sex. There is no secret connection between us, as you write about.”
“A relationship you both kept from Sammy. You should ask yourself why.”
I clutch the bundle of outerwear. “First of all, it wasn’t a relationship. Secondly, this conversation doesn’t sound like you’re on board with my decision.”
“Elsie, I’m worried about you. Come clean with him. Move in with Wheeler, Libby, and me. We would love to have you. For as long as you need. Don’t rush into something you’re unsure of because you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“You should be,” she hisses at me. “Those two are inseparable.” She points out the door. “They’re always going to be together and yourdecision”—she air quotes the word—”is going to rip them apart.”
“Only if I have pregnancy complications, which you’ve assured me are rare, or if you let the truth out. And Lena, so help me, if you do, I will leave. I’ll leave like dad, and you’ll never see my baby or me.”
She clamps her mouth shut because she knows better than to push me.
“Good luck with your book release this week. I will be under the weather that day and won’t make it to supper.”
Lena doesn’t say a word as I storm around her. Good, that’s what I want.
What I don’t want is a still buzzed Silver hitching a ride with Sammy and me to our new home. I’m also not a fan of him crashing in our home. I’m not even sure I like the referenceour home. It’ll take some getting used to.
Digging deeper into my never-ending stream of unease lately, I worry about the possibility of Silver quitting the rodeo and moving back home. More specifically, on the property. And that’s only the icing on the cake.
I’m sure once he’s sober, he’ll change his mind. I can only hope.
Sitting in the back seat with loads of baby gifts piled around him, Silver rambles about the last year of m traveling the circuit. Could he make his attempt to persuade Sammy out of his decisions any more obvious?
