Page 32 of Isabelle & Jason
This time, he said, “You’re probably right.”
Mark chuckled again. “You think she’s going to forgive you?”
“That’s just it. That’s what I wanted advice for. What would you do?”
“Oh, you don’t want to know what I would do,” Mark said.
Turning his head to meet Mark’s eyes, Jason stared with curiosity.
His friend flashed him a wicked grin. “I’d take matters into my own hands. I’d corner her, demand that she talk to me, and then we’d settle things. You’re both grown-ups. No one is telling you that you can’t confront her. And she doesn’t get the luxury of hiding away. She’s got responsibilities, right?”
“Right,” Jason said.
“And if you can’t get to her on your own…” Mark settled back onto the bed. “She’s got five siblings who are always around. Get to her through one of them.”
That idea wasn’t a terrible one. Actually, it was pretty great. “Thanks, Mark.”
“No problem.”
Maybe it was time to go fishing.
12
Isabelle
“Izzie, wait up!”
Isabelle stiffened then relaxed when she realized who was calling for her. She offered her baby brother a small smile. He wasn’t much of a baby, only a couple years younger than she was, but he was still the baby of the family. “What do you need?”
She couldn’t help but eye him warily. The other day he’d been chatting with Jason. That wouldn’t have been anything to worry about, except it came after her second panic attack. He’d wanted her to talk. He’d wanted to help fix her.
But there was nothing that could be fixed. Her issues were her own. And they certainly weren’t big enough to tattle to her brother about.
Ten days. She’d kept an eye on Jason to see what he’d do.
Marcus’s frown said it all. What had Jason told him? No one on this ranch knew about her attack… well, at least not untilJason. Apparently, he’d been harboring this secret for years. Why now?
“Hey,” Marcus said. “You listening to me?”
She blinked. Had he been talking? Shoot! If Jason said anything, her reaction right now would only prove Jason right. Isabelle cleared her throat and nodded. “Um, yeah.”
Marcus didn’t look convinced at all. “Then what was I asking?”
Chewing on her lower lip to quell the anxiety clawing at her insides, she let out a laugh. “Okay, you caught me. I’m a little… distracted.”
“Yeah. Looks like it.” Marcus tilted his head. “You doing okay? You seem off.”
Off?
Off!
She wanted to give Jason a piece of her mind. He’d definitely said something because she hadn’t been acting any different than she’d been for years. Schooling her features, she nodded. “Of course I’m okay. Just tired, maybe.”
Marcus nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay.” He studied her for a few moments, then nodded again. “Right, well, I wanted to tell you that the vet stopped by. The pups are doing good, but the one you asked about might not make it.”
Her heart fell. “What?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. Not sure what we could do except to try nursing it back to health by hand. There’s too much going on in the pen for it to keep up.”
