Chapter 35
Two weeks hadn't made things any easier.
If anything, they'd made them worse.
Seth lay alone on the couch in his apartment, a pillow under his head and a half-empty bottle of beer resting on the coffee table as dusk fell over the Triple-R. A sports channel was on the TV, but he wasn't paying attention.
Outside his window, the ranch carried on as though Troy had never set foot on the property.
The animals had been cared for and were settled in for the night.
An evening breeze stirred the cottonwoods, and the scorched earth beside the house had been reseeded.
Fresh green shoots were already pushing through the turned soil.
Life moved on.
After putting a rush on the DNA tests through a private lab, they had confirmed what everyone already knew—Shylo was Peter Wilson's daughter. Shane's sister. A Wilson.
Shane was doing everything in his power to make up for what their father never did.
He'd already met with his attorney and accountant to figure out how to give Shylo her rightful share of Peter's estate.
He'd also taken her to Wexler and let her pick out a brand-new truck on the Triple-R's expense account, brushing aside every protest that it was too much and that she hadn't earned it.
He insisted it was family taking care of family.
After Lou hired someone to replace her at Bar None, Shylo immersed herself in the business side of the ranch.
She spent most mornings with the office staff, where she learned payroll, invoices, feed orders, breeding records, and everything else that kept the business running.
Afternoons belonged to Shane and Tucker.
Shane worked with her to master the art of riding, while Tucker taught her the basics of caring for the horses.
She still had plenty to learn, but every day she tackled something new with the same determination she'd shown since arriving in Hazard Falls.
She belonged here.
Nobody questioned that anymore.
What Seth still couldn't get past, though, were the secrets she'd kept from him after everything they'd shared.
Over the past two weeks, he'd treated her the same way he did every other ranch employee.
If she had a question, he answered it. If she needed a hand, he gave it to her.
They worked side by side when the job required it, but the uninhibited laughter, lingering touches, and stolen kisses had disappeared.
He missed them.
He missed her.
That was the part that made no sense.
He understood why she'd kept her identity to herself. Hell, if their positions had been reversed, he wasn't sure he would've handled things any differently. She'd come to Hazard Falls expecting a fight over an inheritance, not to fall in love with the man she'd been deceiving.
Knowing that didn't erase the hurt. Maybe that was one of the reasons he'd always avoided relationships. They had a way of getting messy and complicated.
A knock sounded at the outside door, and Seth frowned.
Most of the ranch hands had gone into town for dinner. The two who'd stayed behind like him were out in the common area watching television, their laughter muffled through the thin wall.
He crossed the room and pulled the door open.
Shane stood on the other side, hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. His expression gave nothing away. “Can I come in?”
“Uh... yeah, of course.”
When Seth stepped aside, Shane entered and closed the door behind him.
Tension bunched up in Seth's shoulders. His bosses didn't come into his apartment often, and Shane seemed to have something on his mind.
The man's gaze swept over the room, taking in the unopened mail on the counter, a half-read book on the coffee table, and the beer bottle Seth had nursed for nearly an hour. Finally, he looked back at Seth.
“You've been staying by yourself a lot lately.” His tone was casual, but his eyes remained sharp. “Everything okay?”
“Everything's fine.” The lie came so easily that he barely thought about it.
Shane's eyebrows lifted. “Right.”
An awkward silence stretched between them, and Seth rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he'd thought of something more convincing. “Uh... want a beer?”
“Sure.”
He grabbed two bottles from the refrigerator, twisted off the caps, and handed one over.
Shane thanked him with a nod before turning one of the dinette chairs backward and straddling it, resting his forearms across the backrest. Seth dropped onto the couch again and muted the TV.
His gaze drifted to the half-empty beer already sitting on the coffee table.
He set the fresh bottle beside it, having no interest in finishing one, let alone starting another.
Another long moment passed before Shane sighed. “When are you gonna get your head out of your ass?”
He blinked.
Well... that was straightforward.
“Huh?”
“Don't play dumb, asshole.” Shane pointed the neck of his beer at him.
“Look, I get it. Shylo wasn't a hundred percent honest with you from the get-go.
But she had her reasons—good ones. She didn't know who she could trust. Using you to get to me crossed her mind, but I believed her when she said it lasted all of five seconds. And once you two started falling for each other, it got a hell of a lot harder for her to tell you the truth.”
Seth lowered his gaze to the floor, his thoughts miles away.
He'd replayed those weeks in his head more times than he could count. Every memory ended the same way—with him wondering if the hurt and sense of betrayal would ever ease.
“I've never seen you this crazy about a woman before,” Shane continued. “Hell, I don't think I saw you look twice at another woman after Shylo came to town. That means something.”
He took a slow pull from his beer before continuing. “I've been in love three times in my life—Sarah, Tucker, and Paige. I know what it looks like and how damn stupid men can get when that emotion gets involved.”
Seth's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond.
“And now you're butt-hurt, and it's making you miserable.” Shane shook his head. “She's miserable too.”
Seth looked up before he could stop himself. “She is?”
“Yeah, dumb-ass. If you actually looked at her instead of avoiding her, you'd see it. Jeez... Teaching you about relationships is like teaching Ashley how to walk all over again.”
Despite everything weighing on him, the corner of Seth's mouth twitched.
Shane chuckled. “Well, look at that. First smile I've seen on you since the whole 'I'm your sister' bomb was dropped in my lap. Han Solo handled finding out Leia and Luke were siblings better than you did with Shylo and me.”
After a moment, the humor faded from the man’s expression.
“Look, Seth. She's not going anywhere. She's family now, and you've been family for a long time.
So, what's the plan? Avoid her forever? Skip Sunday dinners?
Holidays? Pretend she isn't standing in the same room?” He leaned forward.
“Or are you gonna man up and tell her you love her?”
“I don't—“ The denial died before it left his mouth. He scrubbed a hand down his face, exhausted by the fight he'd been having with himself for two solid weeks.
“I...” He let out a slow breath. “You're really okay with me dating your sister?”
Shane grinned. “Only because I didn't grow up with her.” He took another sip of his beer. “If I'd spent my childhood beating up every horny jackass who looked at my kid sister, I probably wouldn't let you within a mile of her. Not with your reputation for being allergic to relationships.”
A reluctant chuckle escaped Seth. “Fair point.”
“Damn right.”
The humor faded, leaving only quiet understanding between them. Shane rested both forearms across the back of the chair again and held Seth's gaze. “Don't burn bridges you may want to walk across again someday.”
He sat in silence, the unsolicited advice swirling through his mind.
Shane took another sip of his beer before pushing to his feet. “So... what are you going to do?”