But before he could find the right words, she spoke. "I'm sorry about earlier." She said the words quickly, as if they left a bad taste behind. "For throwing that punch. It wasn't ladylike. Or kind."
He would've forgotten about it except for those moments throughout the day when he'd moved wrong and jarred the bruise. No, there was no forgetting about Breanna.
"I'm fairly certain I deserved it," he said. "And I have a much better idea now of how you were as a little girl with all those older brothers."
There was chagrin in her voice as she admitted, "Ma has been trying to train the violence out of me for years."
"I believe I provoked it." After how he'd manhandled her, he’d probably deserved worse. "I'm sorry, too."
She was silent, leaving him to muddle through an apology without even a breath.
"I've been remiss in sharing the real me with you. I've asked you to trust me when you don't even know me. Not really. Two of your brothers—I don't remember which—were right. We've really only just met. And it isn't fair for me to expect you to be enamored with me after such a short acquaintance, even if I've become smitten with you."
She was silent. Had she fallen asleep as he was pouring out his heart to her, awkward as it was?
But no, she sighed. "You've used that word before. Smitten. What do you mean by it?"
"I like you."I'm falling in love with you.Somehow he knew those words would frighten her. "You do the right thing, even at a personal cost. Even when you're breaking the law." Was she smiling as she remembered this morning's adventure? He was. "Someone has told you your independence is something to be ashamed of, but I don't think so. I like that you stand up to me when I'm being self-centered. The women of my acquaintance at home never have." They were willing to defer to him in everything, so much so that he usually found himself bored to tears. Only Breanna challenged him.
There was a long pause and he began to fear he'd said too much.
"I was thinking today that..." She hesitated. It was so unlike her. Breanna, who was usually decisive and unapologetic. "I was thinking I might ask you to stay on at Bear Creek. So that we might get to know each other better."
One part of him crowed in silent happiness. She wanted him to stay. But the other part... "Breanna." He sighed. "You know why I can't stay."
"Your father is ill. Of course, I understand that. But you could come back. In a few weeks."
The hope in her voice was almost worse than the punch she'd delivered earlier.
"It isn't possible. I have to run the paper."
"So you said, but couldn't you hire someone to run it? Or sell the paper altogether. I've seen how much you love the wide open spaces here. And your writing. What if... you could start a paper in Bear Creek?"
He shook his head, expelling a frustrated breath. She didn't understand what she was asking. He did think it was beautiful here. But he was only experiencing his last adventure. He couldn't stay. He had a duty to Reggie.
"It isn't that easy," he finally said. "I can't just abandon theExplorer. And starting a new business in an untried area..." He shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "My grandfather and my father spent decades building the paper into what it is now. It is my family's legacy."
"Do you even want it?" she asked quietly. "Because every time you mention it..."
"What?" Every time he mentioned it,what?
A beat. "Nothing."
"Don't hold back now," he said, and if his voice was curt, he couldn't help it.
But she said nothing in response.
He exhaled silently. He shouldn't lose his temper with her just because she challenged him. Hadn't he all but asked her to challenge him?
"It doesn't matter whether I want the paper," he said. "It’s mine to run."
He rubbed one hand over his face. He hadn't noticed the long hours in the saddle today. Not after the first two painful days. But somehow he knew he would suffer through each hour that dragged past quitting time at the paper, even behind his father's desk.
"Am I really just supposed to be your novelty?" she asked. "To be taken off the shelf when you arrive home late from work? Or to attend parties on your arm, so that all of your friends can admire your unconventional wife? Am I just to sit and wait for you all the time?"
She made it sound awful, when it would be anything but. "You would have as much freedom as you wanted," he told her. "You could come and go as you pleased. Have a stable full of horses to enjoy at your leisure."
“I don’t need leisure!” She made an exasperated noise. "I like working the horses. And I don’t want to live life by myself because you'll be chained to your desk in the office. You would ask me to give up my entire life for that?"
