Mack hesitated then gave her a curt nod.
“I wasn’t aware that the supply store served lunch,” she muttered dryly, and he chuckled. It drew a smile from her lips even as she fought to keep her expression neutral.
He shook his head. “I’m picking up some chicks. Then we can head out to get something to eat.”
Her eyes brightened at the mention of chicks. “Really?”
He smirked at her. “Still have a soft spot for baby animals, huh?”
She was out of the truck before he could say anything more. This was just the thing that could fill her cold heart with the warm fuzzies it would need to survive the coming week.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Noah was fullyaware of his sulking and the way it was affecting his family. On more than one occasion, his mother had tried to talk to him about the revelation of his double life. No one had been aware that he’d flown off to Seattle or New York as many times as he had. A rift had been torn in the relationship he had with his family. Coupled with the feeling that his relationship with Jane was hanging on by a thread, Noah felt justified in hiding away from everyone and everything.
He did the bare minimum when it came to the work around the property. There was no joy in it when all he could think about was Jane. He didn’t run errands in town after he quickly realized that he’d get accosted by those who had only known him as one of the Reese cousins.
Outing himself had been the worst decision of his life. He should have just let the risk to his charity be the thing he had to deal with.
On that front, The Wounded Heroes Project was actually getting more attention. After word got out that some young hotshot cowboy was the one responsible for it, people in the mediacouldn’t stop talking about it. There were posts on social media from women who claimed he was the most eligible bachelor in the country, and who didn’t want a rich cowboy for a husband?
There were wishful comments about a calendar coming out that showcased himself with his brothers at Sagebrush Ranch. More than once Bo had to kick out a member of the press who wanted to get the first interview about his life and how he’d come to be in his position.
He’d wanted none of that—not before he’d met Jane, and certainly not after. He’d liked his quiet life. Sure, it was nice knowing that he would never want for food on the table or clothes on his back, but when it came to security and privacy, he felt he’d lost that along with the closeness he had with the people in his life.
Noah had resorted to hiding in the barn. It wasn’t the smartest hiding place. Anyone could climb the ladder to where he was in the loft and find him there. It probably would have been better just to saddle a horse and hide out in the fields until sundown every day.
He sighed as he leaned back on the blanket he’d spread out over the hay bales. The ceiling wasn’t much to look at, either, but it beat being tracked down by his parents, his brothers, and even his cousins.
Jane’s face was what he saw most of the time, anyway. Her smiles had been replaced by hurt and betrayal—something he couldn’t seem to scrub from his memory. She’d made several good points, and then she’d refused to let him explain the way he’d wanted.
Okay, that wasn’t fair.
She’d caught him off guard, and instead of going into that confrontation with a list of things he’d wanted to say, he’d ended up on the defensive and with his foot in his mouth. At least he’d been able to assure her that he’d been impressed by her work ethic. Well, he hoped he had. That was still unclear at times.
A sigh burst from his chest, and he shut his eyes against the memories. In a couple hours, he had a meeting at The Wounded Heroes Project to discuss how well the event had gone. But he already knew he wasn’t going to attend—not that he hadn’t wanted to. If he thought it would help, he would have been there already. But Jane had insisted that she wanted space. If he didn’t give that to her, then how could he expect her to give him a moment of her time to tell her his reasons for keeping his wealth from her?
Boots clattered against the wooden planks down below, followed by two familiar voices. “You sure he’s up there?” Caleb questioned.
Noah stifled a groan. Yeah, he should have definitely gone on a ride.
“Yeah. Bo said he’s been hiding up there all day,” Mack muttered. “Heck if I know why. If I were him, I’d be doing everything in my power to clear this up.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Noah called. There would be no escaping his brothers. They would be blocking the only exit at this point, so if he wanted to run, he’d have to risk a broken leg by jumping out the window on the far side of the loft.
One of them snickered, and the creak of the wooden ladder was the only indication of their intentions. Noah sat up and hunched over so his elbows were placed on his knees. He set a scowl onhis face as Caleb came into view. When his oldest brother was standing before him, Mack’s head popped up over the edge of the loft. Neither one of them looked thrilled to be here.
“Did Mom send you?”
They both scoffed as one.
Caleb spoke first, though. “No. But you should probably go talk to her. She’s beside herself with worry.”
Noah couldn’t imagine why his mother would be worried. It wasn’t like his life was in danger. Everything as they knew it had changed, but it wasn’t something that they couldn’t survive.
Caleb moved closer with Mack on his heels. “You gonna finally tell us what’s been going on?”
“What is there to tell? I’m sure you got the gist of the story from the tabloids,” Noah muttered.
