would I lie about my feelings? How does telling you the truth make this crap?”
“It just is. Sell it somewhere else. I’m not buying it for a second.”
And that was it, she thought numbly. The end of what could have been. Being brave was highly overrated.
“Okay.” She brushed the tears from her cheeks. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“I guess it is.”
There was so much else she wanted to say but what was the point? She walked out of his office and went to the stable to see Rida one last time before going to the airport. Once she was home, she would figure out what to do next. And how to stop being in love with Cade.
CHAPTER NINE
RIDA CANTERED DOWN the trail but Cade could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Bethany had been gone for nearly a week and Rida continued to miss her. The stallion had allowed Cade to ride him for the past three days without putting up any kind of a fight. Cade suspected that was more about being lonely than because of Cade’s training skills.
Together they turned back to the barn. Rida knew the way and kept to the main path. When they reached the stable, he looked around, as if searching for someone. Then his head lowered slightly and he walked to the paddock.
Cade walked him to cool him off, then groomed him and checked for injuries before turning him out into the pasture. He would put him in his stall after he’d had a chance to relax in the sun.
Harry jumped up on the railing and walked over to get his head rub, then meowed for Rida. The horse trotted over and stood close so the cat could rub against his face. Rida looked at Cade, as if asking him to fix the problem.
“I can’t, big guy,” he told the horse. “I’m sorry.”
Rida didn’t look convinced.
Cade thought about pointing out he was suffering, too. That he missed everything about Bethany, but there was no point. Not only wouldn’t the horse understand, if he could appreciate the sentiment, he would most likely tell Cade to take care of business. It wasn’t as if Rida could text or call.
Cade knew he couldn’t, either. He had all the reasons and he was determined. In time, he would forget her. Only that hadn’t happened yet.
Cade headed for his office, then stopped when he recognized his sister’s car by the back of the house. He saw her sitting on the porch and went to join her.
“Hey,” she called as he approached. “How’s it going?”
He’d texted her after Bethany had left to let her know her friend was gone. Pallas’s response had been to say that she was around if he wanted to talk. Apparently she’d gotten tired of waiting for him.
“I’m good. How are you?”
She studied him for a second. “You’re going to be a jerk about her, aren’t you?”
“I see you’re getting right to the point.”
She waved a folder. “You’re my brother and I love you, so yes, I’m going to try to convince you not to be an idiot.”
“You have no idea what happened between me and her.”
“I know she’s in love with you and I’m pretty sure you feel the same way about her.”
No, he told himself. He didn’t love her. He refused. She’d lied and nothing else mattered.
Pallas waved the folder at him again. “I thought you might retreat into strong-silent mode. It was always your way of dealing with stuff. When Mom got on your nerves, you went to the ranch. Before that, you’d hide out somewhere in the backyard. You don’t believe in confrontations. You walk away. Well, walking away this time is a big mistake, Cade, because if you take too long to figure out what she means to you, you could lose her forever.”
She opened the folder. “The internet is an amazing place. Nothing ever dies, it just gets harder to find.” She picked up a piece of paper. “When Bethany was fourteen, a friend wrote a blog about how Bethany had a crush on a guy at a neighboring boarding school. The supposed friend gets into details about how Bethany wanted him to kiss her at the school dance and he didn’t. The friend posted the story online and it went viral. Remember your first crush? Wouldn’t having the whole world know be special?”
Cade knew what Pallas was trying to do and he told himself he was immune. He just hoped he wasn’t lying.