Noah laughed. “C’mon, then.” He stood up, taking a quick drink of water before leaving the table. “You got a rope in that barn, Logan?”
Logan stood up, too. “Yeah, I’ll get it for you.”
Noah glanced warily at Brodie, who sat visibly seething, and then at his dad and said, “You wanna help?”
Emmett shook his head. “I’m fine where I am.”
Noah narrowed his eyes a second, once again looked at Brodie all fired up and tight-lipped. “Fine,” he said to Emmett, “but I don’t want you telling her later that I taught her wrong.”
Emmett huffed at that idea, but it seemed to do the trick because, throwing his napkin on the table, he got up to follow Noah. Then he paused, as if remembering his manners, and said, “Thank you, Logan, Bella, for a very nice lunch.”
No one could quite meet anyone else’s eye.
“Yeah, thanks, guys,” Brodie muttered, getting up and stalking into the house.
Again, Bella made eyes at Maeve across the table and then nodded for her to follow Brodie inside.
Maeve thought that maybe someone else should do that and luckily Martha said, “I’ll go have a word with him.”
But to Maeve’s horror, Bella said, “Maybe Maeve should go, she’s a doctor, right? She’s good at talking to people, solving their problems.”
“I’m not that kind of—” Maeve began, with a glare at Bella, who shrugged, biting down on what was clearly a mischievous smile.
“Always good to get a fresh take on things, don’t you think?” she said.
“Absolutely, be my guest.” Brodie’s mom stood back willingly. “I think he’s heard everything I have to say.”
At the end of the table, Ren sat forward, watching, intrigued at the turn of events. Maeve felt herself blush at the undercurrents and, not wanting to draw any more attention to the situation, pushed back her chair and said, “Sure. I’ll see what I can do.”
Inside, crossing the palatial living room, she took a breath, tried not to think of what she knew would be covert looks between the women at the table behind her back, and went in search of Brodie.
She found him upstairs, where there was a second living room with a higher aspect, so the view was even more incredible. They could see Zoey getting her lasso lesson.
Brodie was standing in front of the window with his back to her, but he glanced over his shoulder when he heard someone approach and seemed momentarily surprised to see it was Maeve. “Sorry,” he said, “I just needed a break.”
Maeve nodded. She walked across the room, glancing around as she went at the stylish furniture, the large abstract canvases, the warm, muted tones of the walls that seemed to somehow accentuate the view. “This is a really nice room,” she said, coming to stand next to him. “Makes me think I should have donewaymore with my house!”
Brodie shook his head. “I like your house.”
It was funny to hear him say it with such honesty, her house still with her grandma’s furnishings was not somewhere she would envisage Brodie enjoying. “That’s kind of you to say,” she said, “but it definitely needs a bit of a TLC.”
They fell into silence, both watching Zoey out in the back yard, Noah showing her how to hold the rope, making her laugh. Emmett watching, leaning against the paddock fence.
Maeve said, “Bella was saying that you and your dad don’t get along so well.”
“You been talking to Bella about me?” Brodie’s eyes lit up at the idea.
Maeve shook her head and looked frustratedly down at the floor. “Can you ever just have a conversation?”
“Not when there’s a pretty girl around.” He moved so that he was leaning against the back of the couch, legs stretched out in front of him, tanned arms crossed.
“Okay, I’m going.” She turned to walk away.
Brodie laughed, jumping up and reaching out a hand to stop her. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll focus, I promise.”
All Maeve could think about was the touch of his hand on her arm. It was the guilty feeling of being a hypocrite that made her stay put.
She perched beside him on the back of the couch. He rested his hands either side of him, legs stretched out again, then he screwed his face up and said, “My dad. Okay.” He thought about it. “I guess I just annoy him.” He paused. “He’s very serious, always has been. I like music and people and enjoying life. He likes cattle and being alone, and I have no idea if he enjoys life or not.” Brodie shrugged. “I disappoint him because he thinks I lack purpose.”
