My shoulders stiffened. “You didn’t tell me they were coming.”
“He’s your brother, sweetheart. Family is everything. You need to make amends, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to bring everyone together.”
Axel looked at my father, but he didn’t speak. He would follow my lead tonight, which I appreciated.
“I mean, if you want to be real, we can be real.” I cleared my throat.
“Please,” Chrissy said. “We want to understand what you’re feeling.”
“What I’m feeling?” I asked sarcastically. I glanced over at Axel, who gave me the slightest nod, as if I should get it off my chest. “I’m back in the home where I grew up, and the woman my father cheated on my mother with is now living here and pregnant with his child. His divorce to my mother is not even finalized, and you’re announcing your engagement. And then you blindside me by inviting my brother, whom I’m currently not speaking to because he’s lied to me so many times that I don’t even feel like I know him. So yeah, Chrissy, I’m not feeling so great about being here.”
“That’s fair, Wren,” she said, and I actually saw empathy in her gaze, which surprised me. “I hate the way you found out about us. And I hate that this is uncomfortable for you. But I’m pregnant, and I want our child to know his or her siblings. It’s important to me. So tell me how to make this okay for you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to move forward.”
I blew out a breath. “I don’t know how to make this okay. But I’m here, and that’s the best I can do.”
“I think that’s the most anyone can ask of you,” Axel said, his face hard as he looked at my father.
We all turned as my brother and Farah stepped into the room. My gaze met his, and I quickly looked away. We did the fake half-hug thing, and Axel gave my brother and Farah a nod but didn’t attempt to hug either one of them. We hadn’t expected to see them, and he was probably feeling as awkward as I was.
Caroline called us to the dining room, which definitely broke the uncomfortable silence in the room. She set our salad plates down in front of us.
Axel and I sat on one side of the table, and my brother and Farah were seated across from us. Dad and Chrissy each sat at opposite ends.
Chrissy was in my mother’s seat, and I just wanted this night to be over.
“So, have you been training?” Dad asked, diverting his attention to me.
“I have been, yes.”
“And you still think Wrax is up for this? Because Coach Sharky and I both feel strongly about the horse we found. He’s really spectacular. An Olympic-worthy horse. I think it might be worth it for you to go check him out. We could go together. He’s in Maryland.”
I shook my head. “I’m going to be riding Wrax, and if there comes a point that I don’t think he’s up to it, I will be finding and purchasing my own horse. I don’t ever want to go through what you both put me and Wrax through again. So any horse I ride will be in my name only. But I feel confident saying that Wrax and I will retire at the same time. We’ve been a team, and that’s how I intend to go out.”
“And is the horse your boyfriend bought for you in your name only?” Collin hissed.
“Of course he is,” Axel said calmly. “He’s Wren’s horse. As it should be.”
“And you just bought back a horse for someone you hadn’t spoken to in two years?” my brother pressed.
“Correct.” Axel held his stare, and if looks could kill, Collin would have been a dead man. “Because that horse is her family. And regardless of whether we were speaking or not, he belongs to her, and it’s appalling that anyone would sell him without her consent. But that’s just my opinion.”
“I agree that it wasn’t handled correctly,” Dad said. “But the motivation wasn’t sinister, Axel. I don’t think that Wrax is up for the job, and after they had that accident, I lost my trust in him. Wren is too attached, and I knew she wouldn’t ever admit it wastime to retire him.” He raised his wine glass for Caroline to refill it.
“Wrax and I have had worse accidents over the years, Dad. It comes with the territory. I wish I could believe that it came from a place of concern, but I don’t.” I shrugged as Caroline placed our dinner plates in front of us. I smiled up at her because her chicken marsala had always been my favorite, and I appreciated that she’d made it for me.
“So you don’t believe that I’m worried about you? Then why would I want to sell Wrax?”
“Because your ego was wounded that we lost,” I said. “You are used to me winning. You like me winning. And it was a way to control the situation, while punishing both me and Wrax for not performing well since the world championship.”
“I mean, this family has dedicated a lot of time and money to your dream, Wren,” my brother said. “So wanting you to win is not a sin. If you aren’t winning, why the hell are we even wasting time on it?”
I snorted because he was outrageous. “Do you hear yourself? You can’t always win. No one can. It’s a sport, and one that Wrax and I have been successful at. We’ve put in the work and we were world champions just five months ago, so how about you don’t write us off the moment things get tough.”
“I think you’re amazing, Wren,” Farah said, breaking the tension. “I remember going with Emerson years ago to see you compete, and you were just starting out. And what a career you’ve had.”
Collin scoffed.
Axel narrowed his gaze as if it was taking everything he had not to blast her for bringing up Emerson’s name after what she’d done to her.
