Chapter 10
ten
. . .
Wren
I’d decided to get up early this morning and train with Wrax for a few hours before work.
I was fairly caught up on all the paperwork for the company, and Axel had agreed to let me help with the trailer he was working on.
I’d always been interested in his business, because horses were my passion, and custom horse trailers to me were probably like sexy sports cars to other people.
My phone vibrated, and I saw the text from Collin saying he was pulling up to the ranch.
I’d thought about just meeting him and my father at the restaurant, but I wanted to surprise him and take him out to the stall so he could see Wrax.
He’d sent me a text this morning that someone had a lead on where Wrax was, and he’d be following up on it this week.
I’d felt slightly guilty for not telling him, but it would be worth the surprise today when I showed him in person.
I’d already told Axel that my brother was coming to the ranch to pick me up.
There was no love between them, obviously, and the last time they’d seen one another, Axel had knocked him out, which had pissed me off. Yes, Axel had every right to be angry at Collin. But blindsiding my brother at a bar and sucker punching him was a shitty thing to do.
Axel said he would stay away when Collin showed up today, and he assured me there would be no physical altercations or issues. Though he’d made me that same promise years ago, the night before I’d left town.
He’d made me many promises that night.
And he’d kept none of them.
“I’m going to head out,” I said, as it was just me and Axel in there now. The guys had left a half an hour ago.
“Are you going to take him out to see Wrax?” he asked, his lips forming a straight line and making it clear that he was unamused that my brother was coming here.
Emerson had moved on after what had happened between her and Collin. Hell, she was married to someone else, she had adopted his little boy, and she was living her best life.
Axel’s disdain for my brother was over the top at this point.
Two years had passed, and everyone was over it.
But his anger felt very fresh, and that made no sense to me.
“Yes. And it’s clear that you still despise him. I wouldn’t have had him come here, but seeing as he’s trying to find Wrax for me, it seemed like the decent thing to do so I could show him that I got him back.” I threw my hands in the air in frustration.
“Fuck, Wren.” He rubbed his face. “I’m just trying to do the right thing, you know?”
I sighed. We were working on getting our friendship back on track, and there was no doubt he’d done a lot to help me over the last few weeks.
“Listen, I appreciate all that you’ve done for me.
The job, the apartment, getting Wrax back.
It means a lot. You’re a good friend, Axel.
” I held my hands up when he tried to stop me.
“But my family is going through a lot at the moment. And Collin is working hard to help me find Wrax, so I thought it would be nice to have some good news, you know?”
“It’s fine.” He gave me a curt nod and turned his attention back to the trailer.
“All right. We’ll be heading to dinner after we go to the barn. So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Sounds like a plan.” He didn’t turn around.
I made my way out of the warehouse just as my brother was pulling up in my father’s black Mercedes-Benz.
“Hey, sis,” he said when he stepped out of the car.
I walked over, gave him a big hug, and then asked him to follow me into the barn.
“I’m surprised you’re staying out here after all this guy did to you. To us,” he said as I pushed the door open to the barn. “But I’m not going to pick a fight with you when I haven’t seen you in months.”
“Good choice, Collin.” I chuckled. “Axel and I are getting our friendship back on track.”
“Hey, I’m not here to judge.” He glanced around and scrunched his nose. “It stinks in here.”
“No, it doesn’t.” I laughed. “It smells like horse and hay.”
“Exactly.” He shrugged. “So why are we in here? Is Chadwick letting you ride one of his horses to get you to forgive him for being an asshole?”
I blew out a breath. “I’m not justifying that question with an answer. Look inside, please.”
He and I turned to Wrax’s stall, and I was surprised to see the color drain from his face.
My brother had never fully understood my passion for the equestrian life, or my connection with my horse.
But he was clearly moved by what he was seeing, because he looked like he was at a loss for words.
Either that or he was going to throw up, which made no sense whatsoever.
“Are you okay?” I asked with a chuckle.
“How did you get him back?”
“Axel found him,” I said as I opened the door to the stall and stepped inside. “I wanted to surprise you because I know you’ve been looking for him, and I appreciate it, Collin.”
He cleared his throat as he remained outside the stall, probably worried about getting his fancy shoes dirty. Collin and I had always been so different.
His brows cinched together, and he studied me. “Yeah? Where did he find him?”
“He didn’t give me all the details. He just said he found the guy that Dad had sold him to.” I ran my hands through Wrax’s mane, and he did what he always did—he moved so that his head was resting on my shoulder, almost as if giving me a hug.
“And who paid for him?”
“I guess his cousin Bridger knew the guy, and he owed him a favor, so he agreed to give him back.”
“Those fucking Chadwicks. You actually think he just gave him a horse? This guy is lying to you. So you need to be cautious about the things he tells you. He knows you’re vulnerable right now, and he’s going to pull out all the stops.
” He motioned for me to step out of the stall.
“We need to get going, Wren. Dad is probably already there.”
So much for the epic surprise.
I gave Wrax a little more love and followed my brother out to the car.
He was quiet as we drove down the long driveway and onto the road.
“Why would he pull out all the stops or lie to me about Wrax? We haven’t seen one another in two years. He has nothing to gain by lying to me.”
“Sometimes people lie for the sake of lying. No rhyme, no reason.”
Like lying to your fiancée when you were sleeping with her maid of honor?
I bit my tongue. I wasn’t going to argue with him tonight.
“Listen, I’m happy to have Wrax back. I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“I am happy for you. But I don’t trust that dude. Any guy who sneaks up on a man in a bar and sucker punches him is not a stand-up dude.”
I rolled my eyes. “Is there a right way to punch someone?”
“Yeah. Look me in the eyes. Tell me to fuck off. Then punch me.” He chuckled.
“Okay, let’s just get inside and go see Dad.” I unbuckled myself once he’d pulled in front of Rosewood’s, our favorite steakhouse in town.
When we stepped inside, our father waved us over. He was on his feet and wrapping me in a hug the second I walked over.
“Hey, sweetheart. I missed you.”
“Missed you, too,” I said over the large lump that had formed in my throat. It was so difficult to be angry at the people I loved.
I was beyond furious with him for what he’d done to Wrax. But I also loved him.
The two could both be true, right?
Even though they had me feeling so conflicted.
Dad and Collin did that half-hug thing that men do, and we all took our seats.
We weren’t seated more than two minutes before our father started questioning me about my training. Thankfully the server came over and took our orders, and I asked Collin about his trip to Hawaii in hopes of changing the subject.
He filled us in on how much they enjoyed it, and how they were now considering getting married in Kauai.
Our food was brought out, and I could feel our father watching me. He wanted answers, and he was growing impatient. He gave my brother a curt nod about his wedding plans and turned his attention to me.
“Have you given any more thought to the horse that Coach Sharky sent you the info about?” Dad cut into his steak and popped a piece in his mouth.
I thought it was odd that no one had mentioned the fact that my mother wasn’t here. Even with the pending divorce, this was the first time that it was just the three of us at a restaurant. This was an event that all four of us would normally attend together.
Yet neither of them mentioned her.
“No. I have zero thoughts about that idea, since I was able to get Wrax back, and I’ll be competing with him in July.” I stared at our father as he set his fork down, and his gaze hardened.
He turned to my brother. “I thought you didn’t sell him to someone in the goddamn horse world. This is why you do things yourself if you want them done correctly.”
My eyes widened as my heart thudded against my chest.
“What are you talking about?” I hissed, looking between Collin and our father.
Collin blew out a breath. “Can we just have a night without any bullshit. Just a family dinner that doesn’t revolve around Dad’s mistress or Wren’s fucking competitions?”
“Nice try on the deflection,” I said. “This isn’t bullshit, Collin. It’s about telling me what Dad is talking about.”
Our father looked surprised that I didn’t appear to have a clue about what had actually happened.
“Dad asked me to sell Wrax quickly. He didn’t want you to have a choice about getting a new horse. He doesn’t trust Wrax anymore, and frankly, neither do I.”
I chuckled. “That’s rich, coming from either of you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Collin asked.
“It means you’re not trustworthy. You both lie a little too easily for me,” I said, wiping my mouth with my napkin and then crossing my arms over my chest. My appetite was suddenly gone as I processed what I was hearing.
“You know what, Wren, it must be easy to sit up on that high horse of yours and judge everyone else,” Collin said with an anger that he’d never directed at me before.