Chapter 20
20
Liam
N ot for the first time that day, Liam zoned out. He stared off at the pasture, his thoughts shifting elsewhere. It had been two weeks since he’d last seen Margot. The night they’d danced together had been followed by several days of radio silence.
He got the feeling that she was avoiding him and that it had mostly to do with her father. Liam was growing to hate that man. He seemed to be the only thing that stood between Liam and Margot’s happiness.
“Dude! Watch out!”
Liam jerked his attention toward the voice just in time to see the horse he’d been working with hurtling toward him. He jumped out of the way and then glanced over to Dax. The man had been working here since Liam started when he was seventeen. He was an institution, and if anyone was going to have a shot at running this place, it would be him. Didn’t seem to matter that Dax hadn’t married a Callahan. He was practically family—and he was currently glowering at Liam with a pair of dark eyes.
Shrinking back, Liam smirked with embarrassment. “Sorry.”
“You need to be on your A-game. You can’t let anything distract you when you’re training a new horse.” Dax grasped at the rope that dragged behind the horse as it trotted past him. The animal knickered and tossed its head.
Liam frowned at the animal. Out of all the new additions, this one was the most annoying.
“Don’t you blame him. He’s just an animal. You were the one who wasn’t paying attention. If you don’t think you can focus today, then you might as well head home.”
Liam furrowed his brows. “You know we’re shorthanded. I can’t go.”
“I’d rather have to pull a longer day than have one of my best men get hurt.” He patted the horse’s neck. “You’re no good to me with a bum leg.” Dax studied him, his gaze drilling into him more than it was before. “You don’t have to tell me nothin’, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
Liam bit back a huff. Dax wasn’t the one he was supposed to be upset with, either. Liam was worried about Margot, and that was what ate at him. He avoided looking directly at Dax. “I’m fine.”
“Suit yourself.” Dax took the rope and coiled it in his fist. “But if I catch you daydreaming again, you’ll be sent home. Is that clear?”
Liam nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Dax headed off toward the barn with the horse, leaving Liam to his thoughts. Each time he saw Margot, she’d distance herself and more time would pass. That wasn’t part of a healthy relationship. He was getting tired of the waiting and wondering. If she didn’t trust him with whatever she was dealing with, then what was the point of their relationship in the first place?
He pulled out his phone and nearly called her but settled for a text instead.
You free on Saturday?
She didn’t respond right away, but then she’d stopped responding quickly a few weeks back. He watched for the little bubbles at the bottom of the screen that would indicate she was texting. Someone called for him, and he glanced up to find another cowboy motioning for him to come to the barn.
Liam glanced down at his screen and caught sight of the bubbles. His heart leapt in his chest as he stared at them. Then they disappeared. He waited. Each second that ticked by was unbearable.
“Liam!”
He waved off the cowboy, indicating he needed a minute. Still, the bubbles didn’t return. He stifled a groan and marched toward the barn. He got about halfway there when his phone pinged in his pocket.
Scrambling to pull his phone out, Liam prayed it wasn’t bad news.
What do you have in mind?
He grinned. Perhaps it was all in his head. They’d both understood that their schedules would be a problem as she neared finals. He needed to stop getting into his own head and just accept that his insecurities didn’t have any weight.
Lunch?
She responded faster this time.
Okay
That wasn’t the response he was looking for, but he would take it. Time would prove that everything would be fine. They were on the same page. She might not be avoiding him. She was simply distracted, much like he’d been today.
Liam shoved the phone into his pocket and jogged the rest of the way to the barn. It was only a matter of time.
Liam and Margot held hands as they wandered down Main Street. He glanced at her every few minutes, his worry growing. She looked different. It was more than simply being worn down. She looked like she’d lost a lot of weight. Stress and lack of sleep could do a lot to a person, but this was more than even that.
She caught him staring, and immediately she reacted. Margot pulled her hand from his and shoved them into her pockets as they continued walking.
Liam scowled, reaching out to stop her. “Margot.”
She didn’t look at him, though she did stop. “What?”
“Something’s going on.”
“You’re going to have to be a little clearer than that.” Still, she refused to meet his gaze.
Liam let out an exasperated breath. “The last few weeks have been… off. You’re not happy.”
Margot scowled, stepping away from him. She folded her arms and glanced at him only briefly. If she wasn’t so pale, she might have flushed with the indignation her eyes had pelted toward him. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. The light has practically died out from your eyes.”
She snorted. “I’m just tired, okay? I bit off more than I can chew. I’ve been stressed, and I’m not sleeping well.”
“You’re not eating either,” he pointed out.
Her gaze cut to meet his and a faint color touched her cheeks. “I eat what I need.”
He shook his head, and his hand reached out to take hers. He held it up. “Look at how thin you’ve become. I get that you’re dealing with a lot, but this is more than that.”
Margot wrenched her wrist out of his grasp. “I’m fine .”
Liam gave her a pointed look—hoping she’d see that he wasn’t convinced. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to do. Her scowl only deepened.
“If I wanted to date my father, then I wouldn’t have agreed to come to lunch with you.”
His head reared back. Her words were like an arrow to his heart. How was he supposed to respond to that?
She pulled away from him. “Do you mind taking me home? I don’t feel like being out anymore.”
What else was Liam supposed to do other than agree to do just that? Margot wasn’t feeling well. She looked like she might pass out at any second. Liam followed her as she headed down the street. He ignored the strange looks that people sent their way. The weight on his shoulders wore on him, making him wish he’d just stayed home instead of coming out today. He was helpless in this situation. While he knew something was going on, he didn’t know how to fix it.
Margot didn’t even meet his eyes when he dropped her off down the street. Her father still didn’t approve of his daughter’s relationship status, and she insisted on keeping the peace at home. She claimed it was for Liam’s own good that he interacted with her father the least amount possible. As much as he hated not being able to walk her to her door, he couldn’t help but think that everything would be harder if he had to deal with Rhett in person.
Liam watched Margot until she disappeared into her yard. Then he drove all the way home in a daze, unable to shake the feeling that he was wrong about everything. When he pulled up, Caleb was sitting on the porch with a bottle of soda in his hand. His eyes followed Liam from the moment he pulled onto the property until he marched toward the house.
Just the act of lifting his bottle in a cheers motion set Liam off. He stopped at the door and spun around to glower at his brother. “What is your problem?”
Caleb didn’t react despite Liam’s sharp tone. He took a long pull from his bottle and then chuckled. “Which one are you referring to?” His dry humor did nothing to ease the fury that had built within Liam, who charged down the steps and gave Caleb’s shoulder a shove.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Liam snapped.
Caleb lifted a brow. “Oh. You mean Margot.”
“Of course I mean Margot. What’s your problem with her?”
Caleb rose slowly, then leaned against the post that housed the railing. “You’re kidding, right? Have you not been listening to me? I have literally held nothing back.”
Liam balled his hands into fists, then released them. His fingers popped when he tightened them once more. “You’ve had it out for her since the moment she got back to town,” he said through gritted teeth. “You hate her.”
Caleb lifted a shoulder. “That’s definitely one way to look at it.”
“Why?” Liam demanded. “What has she ever done to you?”
“Margot? Oh. Nothing.”
Liam was an inch away from throwing down with his brother right there. He’d never been so worked up before that he’d consider wrestling any of his brothers to the ground, but Caleb had finally been the one to break him. “ Nothing ?”
“Nothing.” His brother said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. “The thing is, Margot hasn’t done anything to me specifically, but she definitely checks several boxes for being a terrible human being.”
“You don’t even know her,” Liam retorted. “How can you judge her when you have no idea what she’s going through?” He thought back to the way her father treated her. Then there was the trauma of dealing with her accident. Margot’s identity had been so deeply intertwined with her ability to dance, and it had been ripped from her. He bit his tongue. Margot didn’t need him to defend her, especially when she made it clear she didn’t care about what Caleb thought of her. It was Liam who was angry right now, anyway.
“You’re right. I don’t know her. But I have met several people who are just like her. Men, women, even our parents. Think about it. They’re all selfish human beings who only do things to benefit themselves. How is your girlfriend any different? She moved here, practically desolate. You’d have to be blind not to see her desperation. She was about to lose her horse, and what do you do? You come riding in like a white knight. You swept her off her feet and showed her she could manipulate you into doing whatever she wanted.”
“That’s not how it went,” Liam snarled.
“Isn’t it? And what happened next? You start dating . You know why she finally said yes? Because you were her meal ticket. She was scared of losing the only person who was willing to do her bidding, no questions asked.”
In that moment, Liam only saw red. He lunged toward his brother. The sound of glass breaking and a grunt was the only thing that registered. By the time he realized what had happened, he’d been pulled off Caleb. His brother had a bloody lip, and a bruise was already forming just below his eye. They glowered at each other. Mason held Caleb back while Elijah and Henry were keeping Liam from losing his cool again.
There was a lot of shouting, but Liam couldn’t make sense of it. Blood roared in his ears and his heart hammered angrily. Liam tore away from his brothers, and Mason dragged Caleb farther away to give him room to get inside the house. They were all shouting questions at Caleb when the front door slammed shut behind Liam. He wasn’t about to stick around to defend himself. He had bigger problems.