Page 241 of The Brothers at Horseshoe Ranch

“Exactly. I mean, we shouldn’t have to get married just to have a say in how things are run.”

“Exactly,” Chet said. “By the way, have you seen Arya or Eloise?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, I was thinking that I would take them into town. There’s a fair, and I figured Eloise would like it.”

“You’re going to take Arya and Eloise into town to the fair? Since when do you go to fairs?” I grinned. “Oh my gosh, are you falling for Arya?”

“Of course not!” Chet scoffed. “I wouldn’t get involved with a single mom. Granted, she’s not Eloise’s mom, she’s her aunt, but she’s pretty much her mom. And I’m not looking for that sort of drama.”

“No kidding. I mean, out of all the Hamilton brothers, you’d be the last one I’d want for Arya.”

Chet folded his arms across his chest and scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just mean out of all of us, you’re the biggest playboy going,” I laughed. “Let’s be real. I don’t think you’ve ever had a serious girlfriend in your life.”

“I’ve had girlfriends,” he objected. “But it’s not my fault that they all fall for me super hard—”

“You’re so full of shit. You know that, right?

“Let Mom hear you say that.”

“Yeah. You know I’m Mom’s favorite.”

“Only because you’re the baby.” He put an arm around my shoulder. “But you’re feeling better now, Wyatt?”

“I’m fine. I wasn’t in a bad mood,” I lied.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing that I need to talk about.”

“So there’s nothing going on between you and Sadie?” Chat raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes twinkling.

I glared back. “There is nothing going on between me and Sadie. Never has been, never will be. She’s my best friend, and that’s it.”

“Okay,” he shrugged. “Because you know one of these days, she’s going find a man who’s able to step up and admit he has feelings for her. And when that day comes,” he pursed his lips, “well, I’m going to feel bad for you, little bro.”

“Don’t feel bad for me at all. I’d be more than happy to see her get into a relationship with someone that truly loves her and wants to be with her. I want the best for her.”

I said the words as earnestly as I could because deep down inside, I didn’t want the best for her. I didn’t want her to meet a man. I didn’t want her to go and get married to someone else. I wanted things to remain the same as they always had been, but I knew that was selfish of me. I wasn’t sure how to reconcile my feelings for her well-being and the feelings I had for her sexually.

Oh, shit. Was I getting way in over my head? Was I about to fuck up the best relationship I’d ever had in my life?

Chapter Seventy-Four

Sadie

“Just a little farther,” I said to Arya as we made our way through the stables at my family’s ranch.

“Where are we going?” She looked around the stables. “We’re not going to go riding, are we?”

“No.” I laughed as I looked at the sleeping horses. “They wouldn’t be happy if we dragged them out now. No, we’re going to one of the barns at the back here,” I grinned at her. “I know, not exactly a bar, but I’ve got a bottle of wine, and an old stereo up there so we can listen to some music. And I’ve got fairy lights. It’s pretty nice.”

“Wow, I can’t wait to see it!” Arya beamed. “Sounds cool.”

“Yeah, my dad let me renovate it and decorate it when I turned 18. I think he wanted to make sure I stayed close to home. Which was nice of him, I guess.”

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