Without another word, he stood, patted me on the back and left me in the silence of the barn. They were leaving? Grams had been engaged? Starting my own family? Fighting a rich man for his fiancée? My head was swimming with admissions and I felt dizzy with the overload of information. Rubbing my uninjured hand over my face, I groaned at the clusterfuck I found myself in. I couldn’t just forgive and forget, could I? I needed answers. I needed to know why Amelia had chosen to string me along? I needed to know why she had decided to give herself fully to me when there was some asshole in the city waiting for her to come home. I needed to know if I meant anything at all.

X X X

Gramps and Gran spent some time after dinner telling everyone their new plan was and all the details before they retired to bed, leaving the rest of us sitting around shooting the breeze.

The summer air of Texas swirled around us; this was my favorite place: just the four of us sitting on the veranda with the world zooming around us. The four of us hadn’t had it easy, but we didn’t have it that hard either. That was because of the two people who just told us that they were leaving. To say I felt nervous was an understatement. I always knew the farm would land in my lap one day, but I didn’t think it would be happening so soon.

“So what does this mean?” Ellie was the first to break the silence. My head shot up to look at my baby sister, such an amazing woman she was growing in to. She looked back at me nervously, with the look of the world on her shoulders.

“It means that things will be a little different here but nothing with change for the four of us.”

“Will you want to make this yours and Amelia’s family home?” Austin questioned from beside me. What the fuck? My eyes narrowed in on him as I tried to comprehend his words. Amelia? Family home?

“This is our family home. The four of us.”

“And Amelia.” Brax decided to jump in. What the hell was happening? It was like they were having some kind of intervention.

“Well I know this will always be our family home but I’m sorry but I’m not going to be living here my whole life. Ill be shaking up with a girl one of these days and having my own farm.”

“Austin Reeves, did I really just hear you mention, god forbid, settling down?” Ellie scoffed with wide eyes.

“Not for a very long time sis. A very long time.”

“Well I don’t want to leave. I couldn’t imagine leaving you guys. You three have been the only people I’ve loved.” Ellie’s soft voice broke under the honesty of her words. “It scares me the thought of this kind of change.”

“Ellie bug would I let anything happen to you? This is your home forever and it will be always here. Nothing is going to change between us. I just might need some more help around here now that gramps and grams are leaving, that’s all I mean.”

She nodded and moved so she was sitting beside me and her small hand took mine. I had always been so protective of her and now as she sat beside me I felt like she was a baby needed protecting all over again. When mom passed I knew I had to provide. Ellie was our mom all over. The same eyes, the same flowing hair, the same button nose. She was perfect and I would protect her until the last breath I took.

“Oh, shit.” Austin’s low curse had my head snapping up to find Amelia stepping out of her car. I was so lost in thought; I hadn’t even heard her car pull up. My mood darkened instantly. I moved to stand up and leave when Austin put his hand on my chest. “Just hear her out.”

“I don’t think I can. I thought I could talk to her, but I’m… I just can’t.” I clenched my fists and winced as pain shot up my left arm. I pushed out of the swing seat and headed inside, ignoring her when she called out, “Destry, wait. Please.”

I slammed the screen behind me and went directly to the fridge, pulled out a cold beer uncapped it and took a few long pulls. Breathing heavily through my nose, I pulled another bottle out of the fridge and downed the rest of the first one before slamming it down on the counter. I could hear Austin and Amelia talking at the front of the house, but I wanted to hear nothing she had to say. Ellie walked up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. “You should give her a second to explain, D.” I ground my teeth together and gripped my beer.

“Not you too.” I shook my head and pinned her with a look that quite obviously said stop. Ellie being Ellie ignored me and kept going, “Just listen. You might be surprised.”

Halfway through my second drink of cool amber liquid, the front screen banged against the frame and a few seconds later, a teary-eyed Amelia stopped a few feet in front of me. Her tears stabbed at my heart, but I shut it down and looked past her, not able to bring myself to look at her treacherous and equally gorgeous face. One look at her would have my walls crumbling back down and I couldn’t afford for that to happen. Ellie had disappeared almost as soon as Amelia entered the room, leaving us to have a talk that just wasn’t happening.

“Destry, just let me explain, please,” she pleaded quietly.

“Nothing to say, Amelia. You should just leave. Go home to your fiancé and let me be.” I picked my beer up and left through the back door. Jumping into my truck and driving out through the fields, I pulled up at the lake. I hadn’t intended on ending up there; I hadn’t even been sure where I was going. I made my way to the bank and sat on an old log. Elbows on my knees, I hung my head and picked at the label of my beer. A few minutes later, I heard a car pull up. Without turning around, I knew it would be her.