“She never would have dated me. Honestly, I saw it as a win for both of us. With her mother needing medical care and the bills starting to pile up, it was the only way that I thought I could help.”
“Bullshit, you saw it as a way to get Fort Davis; that’s all you wanted.”
“Maybe at first, but now I’m not so sure. I have to be honest; if Mom and Dad came to me today and told me to choose between the ranch or Hailey, I don’t think I would pick the ranch.”
“Wow, you really do love her, don’t you?”
I nodded.
“Have you told her how you feel? I feel like that would be the first step. Maybe she feels the same way.”
“I doubt it very much. She talks about her plans for when we aren’t married, and she sounds excited. I could never tell her how I felt. It would break her heart to be mean to me.”
“You two were at each other’s throats in the beginning, I guess that makes sense now. What changed?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? We started living together, and things just worked themselves out. It wasn’t easy, but we had no choice. We were forced into close quarters with each other. How can you not fall in love with someone when you see them every day?”
“Do you love any of your farmhands? You’ve got a few housekeepers you see every day, too; are you in love with them?”
Laughing, I shook my head. I could see the point that he was making, but it was still a loose theory. If Hailey felt the same about me, why hadn’t she said something? She had to know that time was running out as well. The only logical explanation was that she didn’t feel the same way.
“She is probably just keeping the peace so that things don’t go to hell in a handbasket. I don’t really want to talk about this anymore. Can we please get back to the auction?”
Walker sighed and shook his head but finally dropped the subject. My mind was already racing with what to do. There were still six months. Maybe in that time, I could convince her that my feelings were real, and then we could have a genuine chance at love. The idea of rejection still lingered in the back of my mind.
I had never felt so strongly about a woman, not even my high-school sweetheart. If I were being honest with myself, I hadn’t thought about my former girlfriend again since the night Hailey and I had discussed her. After that, the weight of the rejection had been lifted and things with my wife started to fall into place. There was nothing left for me in the past relationship; everything was moving forward.
“You don’t think she has a right to know?” Walker grumbled. “That doesn’t seem right to me. And what about that cute bartender friend she has. Does she know about this?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I know that Hailey’s mother knows, and that’s about it, well, and now you. But you gave me your word that you wouldn’t say anything to Mom and Dad.”
“And I won’t, but not for you. I am keeping my mouth shut for Hailey. She is a really sweet woman, and I don’t want to see her get the short end of the stick just because my idiot big brother was dumb enough to pull an innocent woman into a stupid scheme.”
“Thanks, good to know I have your support. It sure does feel all warm and fuzzy.”
“Bite me!” he exclaimed. “You are the one who got yourself into this mess. Take it from me, brother, the way that woman looks at you, there is something more than money and a nice house involved. Hopefully, you come to your senses and talk to her before it’s too late.”
“She had a life before she met me. She had friends and her mother, and everything was going okay. Sure, the money is going to help set up her future, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that she has a way out if she needs one.”
“You know what? You can lie to yourself all you want, but, in the end, the truth will set you free. Knowing you, it will be too little and too late. So, I hope for your sake that she is a little better about opening up than you are. Otherwise, she isn’t going to be around much longer for you to admit how you