“She lied. She was cheating,” I pointed out to the only other person left in the room.

“No. She didn’t. You were just too hard headed to hear her out.” Austin shook his head and walked off in the same direction as Brax, leaving me to follow after them with Austin’s words swimming around in my head. I wasn’t at all surprised Austin knew the details considering the friendship that had developed between him and Amelia. I knew that he and Brax had been helping her set up the home she had bought outside of town. Knowing that she was staying around excited me, but I’d never show it.

I heard the screen door slam and knew where to find my brothers. What else was there to do besides sit around and wait impatiently for either Amelia or Ellie to resurface and set our minds at ease? Collapsing on the wooden bench beside Brax, he handed me a beer, which I took with a nod of thanks. The Texas air was still warm and the haze of a hot summer day still lingered. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. This was home and this was where my family became what it was today.

“I am not happy about this whole boy business with Ellie,” I muttered under my breath. Ellie would always be my little girl. Us boys raised her from when she was tiny. I felt like a protective big brother, but also a concerned father when it came to her.

“Does anyone else still think she is like five years old?” Brax asked with a smirk.

Austin grunted in reply, “Yep, so this is freaking me the fuck out.”

“I still remember her first steps and her first words,” I said nostalgically. “And when she broke her arm. She was lucky she was the baby of the house. Remember her demands?” We all laughed as memories flooded us before the reality of being orphans hit us and silence fell amongst us.

Being the oldest, I always felt a sense of responsibility being forced on me. I was so young when Mom died, and then when Dad passed, I had to take on the role of man of the house. I could have either gone down two paths. I could have completely let it destroy me or I could have stood up and been the man the three most important people in my life needed.

“You did right by us, Destry. Don’t think any other way,” Austin said softly, picking up on the thoughts swamping me.

“I hope so.”

My head whipped around when I heard the screen door close. Amelia walked towards us and leaned down to kiss Austin on the cheek, and then repeated the action with Braxton. Her eyes never met mine. She quickly said goodbye to them and walked off down the steps. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was going to fix this.

“Amelia, wait!” I called and went after her.

I grabbed her arm to stop her, but she instantly ripped out of my hold and spat, “Don't touch me.” Her words were a big slap in the face. Not long ago, she was crying out for my hands on her, now she was that hurt by me, she couldn’t stand it.

“I just want to know what is going on,” I told her honestly. Only I didn’t just want to know what was wrong with Ellie, I wanted to know about her. Amelia turned and kept walking. I ran my hands through my hair and yelled out, “Amelia, stop! Talk to me.”

She pulled up to a stop between the barn door and her car. She spun around to face me with something close to a snarl, “Oh, so now I’m good enough? You’ve decided you’re talking to me, now?”

“I— I mean. I just— it’s not like that, Amelia. You hurt me,” I stuttered. She unnerved me. Threw me of balance… she brought me undone. I caught movement from the corner of my eye when the boys got up and went inside to give us some privacy.

“Oh, it’s not? You’re the one who wouldn’t give me the time of day to explain to you what had happened. You made your mind up about me before you let me get a word in,” she roared at me. I stood stock still, stunned at the way she’d just completely blown her top.

“You had a fiancé,” I pointed out. That was all I had; I was a ball of mixed emotion.

“If you’d bothered to give me the time of day or a Goddamn second to explain to you, you’d know I had left him! When I crashed my car, I was driving as far away from him as I could get after I walked in on my ‘fiancé’ and my sister fucking each other’s brains out on my Goddamn sheets!” she screamed at me. Her breathing had picked up from pure anger and frustration.

“Fuck!” I cursed. I was such a fucking tool. She wasn’t cheating on me. My Goddamn ego had gotten in the way. I had screwed this up in the most epic way possible. “I’m sorry. I was hurt and I didn’t want… I don’t know what I wanted. I just know I didn’t want you to be able to hurt me like that.”

She gritted her teeth and glared at me, “You’re just like every other cocky cowboy I’ve ever met. Ignorant, full of shit and fucking blind. I was in love with you, but you couldn’t even see it.” She took a deep breath and my heart stopped.

She was in love with me? Holy fuck! She was in love with me. My heart started racing behind my ribs and I took a step toward her backing her up against the barn wall.

“Now, leave me be. Get back on your high fucking horse and ride off into the sunset. I’ll find my own freaking happily ever after.” Her words said one thing but her body said a whole other. She hadn’t been wearing a bra, and despite the warm breeze, her nipples were clearly hard. Her breathing was coming in fast bursts, making her chest rise and fall, drawing my attention to the pink flush of heat that was slowly traveling up her neck.