Jolie dug her fingers into her coat. That was the one question she couldn’t answer. “I don’t know.”
Cade watched her a moment, then made a scoffing sound under his breath. He led Old Brown into a slow walk until the horse had pulled them alongside the nearly finished barn. Then he let the lines go slack in his hand.
“I asked you to leave this alone,” he said, his voice dull on the edges. “But you couldn’t.”
“Of course I couldn’t. The murder was—”
“Lucas wasmybrother, and I asked you to please leave it be.” He looked at her now, his dark eyes lit with a fire that seemed to burn inside.
“You’re letting a man get away with murder!” Jolie couldn’t contain her irritation with him. “How is that fair to—”
“Why don’t you just listen to me?” He threw the lines down to the floor of the wagon.
“And why do you continue to interrupt me?” Jolie stood, the anger getting the best of her.
“Sit down. You’re going to fall.”
“I amnot. I’m not entirely helpless, Cade Harris. And despite what you think, my mind is quite sharp. And I’m telling you that Mr. Bennett is the one who murdered your brother!” Old Brown shifted, causing the wagon to move just slightly. Before she could let Cade’s words be proven true, she helped herself down.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” He climbed down too. “If you haven’t noticed, it’s just me and you out here. And when I tell you something, I expect you to listen. There’s a reason I wanted you to leave that investigation alone.”
“Because you’re afraid to spend too much time thinking about your brother. Because you’re afraid that if you let the sheriff do his job and find the murderer, you’d have to be in the company of your own grief for too long.” She spat the words at him. It was unkind, but it was true. And he knew it.
Cade flinched just slightly. Then he straightened. “You ought to go inside.”
“I’mnotgoing anywhere until you admit it to me. You didn’t want me looking into Lucas’s death because you’re afraid.”
“Jolie.” His words were fire, and if she pressed on, she knew she’d be burned.
But it didn’t matter. Because if he didn’t acknowledge it now, he never would. And she couldn’t live with a man who wouldn’t be honest with her—or himself.
“No.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Jolie crossed her arms.
“I won’t be bossed around,” she said, more calmly this time. “And I won’t stand aside while you lie to yourself and let justice for your brother escape. It isn’t right.”
He clenched and unclenched his hands. “Perhaps this isn’t working.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She was expecting fire. But she wasn’t sure that she expectedthis.
“We might have made a mistake.” His voice was so cool that she could almost feel the ice coming from it.
She drew in a shaky breath. He wouldn’t admit to anything. He’d rather send her away than push through the pain to pursue what was right. She was so disappointed that any fight she had left in herself faded into the cold night air.
“I suppose you’re right.” And with that, she turned on her heel and went inside.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jolie’sdemeanorhadchangedentirely the next morning.
The friendly, cheerful woman he’d known had gone from fire to ice in the matter of one night. And it was his fault.
“What did you do?” Horace asked after Jolie had delivered coffee without a word. She hadn’t even cast a glance in Cade’s direction.
Nothing, he almost said. But he had done something. He’d drawn a line, she’d crossed it, and that was it. “Things aren’t going well between us,” was all he said to Horace.
“Ah.” The older man took a sip of his coffee. “Did I tell you I was married once?”
