“Why are you leaving?”
“I’ve got shit to do,” he answered.
“Bullshit.” I knew Ace, and he was leaving for reasons that had nothing to do with work or prior obligations. The truth was, he’d been distant ever since Micah got married. “Why are you leaving?”
“I fucking told you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Make me beat the truth out of you in Joel’s driveway,” I threatened.
He glared at me. “You’re a pesky little shit. You know that?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Fine. What the hell areyoudoing?” he countered.
My eyebrows lifted. “Me?”
“Yeah. You. Who is this woman you’re bringing around? It’s obvious you’ve fucking fallen in love.”
I inhaled sharply. “What’s your problem with Lena?”
“Nothing.” He waved me off and started to turn away.
I grabbed him again. “Don’t give me thatnothingbullshit.”
“It’s all bullshit!” he yelled. “All of it. Micah is sitting up there happy and laughing. His wife is pregnant. Like a few years ago, he wasn’t talking about never wanting to get married.” Ace pointed at me. “Now you come over here with stars in your eyes for a woman who we don’t even know.” His voice was strangled. To anyone else, it might look like my brother was angry, but I knew better.
He was hurting.
“Ace, come back inside.”
“Fuck you and fuck that.” He took a step back. “She’s going to hurt you. They all do,” he said and waved his hand in the air, turning toward his bike.
I let him go, watching as he started up his motorcycle and peeled out of the driveway without a backward glance.
“Is he all right?”
I turned to find Lena standing at the door.
I jogged to meet her on the porch and leaned in to press a kiss on her lips. “You’re supposed to be riding horses.”
“I wanted to wait for you.”
“I’m here,” I said, taking her hand in mine to lead us toward the stables.
* * *
Lena
“You’re not even going to listen to it?” Gabe asked as we entered his house.
The news that Nate had done an interview bothered him. Even when I tried to get him to drop the topic in the car ride home, it still ate at him.
“No.” I whirled around and held out my arms.
“Why?”
“Because that’s what he wants.” I moved closer to Gabe, wrapping my arms around his waist. I could feel the stiffness in the way he held his body. He was pissed off.
