Page 65 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

William:Unclear at this time.

Victoria:You. Are. The. Worst.

I sent her a thumbs up.

The crunch of gravel beneath boots sounded, and I looked up. I had to wipe my cheeks, then when I saw it was Brooke, I had to catch my breath.

Even though I was angry with her, she was still beautiful. She was still funny. She was still a woman that I couldn’t keep my eyes off. A woman I didn’t want to be away from.

What had Victoria said? We needed to have an open and non-accusatory conversation?

Should we have that now?

I took a breath and said, “Brooke, can we talk about something?”

Chapter 17

-Brooke-

I blurted out the five words as fast as I could. “William, I need to apologize.”

At the same time, he said, “Brooke, can we talk about something?”

William’s words overlapped mine, and for a moment, we were a cacophony of confusion.

We both closed our mouths and stared at each other.

Guilt had been churning in my stomach ever since I’d blown that chaff into his eye. William wasn’t my brother; he was a billionaire investor, and I had no right to treat him like he was part of the family.

When had I become so at ease around him? So familiar?

When had I reverted to ten-years-old when the answer to every problem with a person was to hurt them in some way?

William had inadvertently started it. My walls had cracked when he’d asked why I was crying. His caring about me had begun a reaction that had ended in me being a jerk, which was a defense mechanism I should probably reevaluate. I needed to put this behind us.

Before he could talk, I held up a hand. “No really, I need to apologize.”

William had opened his lips but pressed them shut and nodded.

I looked into his eyes and found the left one fiery red. The other held the glint of anger that had shot me through the heart. I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry for blowing that in your face. I’m used to dealing with my brothers, and they play rough. You’re not here to be abused by me or to be drawn into our family pranks. I’ll do my best to keep that in mind going forward.”

He reached up to wipe his eye but stopped himself and blinked a few times before he took a deep breath. “I appreciate your apology.” He waved one hand around. “I’m not used to this life, and I’m not used to being teased like that. I’m afraid that I didn’t react very well, and I’m sorry to say I probably won’t ever react well to it.”

His voice was stern, and I could feel the sincerity of his words, but I could also feel his seething anger. Maybe he was angry at me and maybe he was upset at himself for his reaction. It didn’t matter because I hated it. I hated that I’d caused it.

Sure, we were all responsible for our reactions, but physically assaulting someone wasn’t the best way to endear yourself to them.

“Can I make it up to you?” I asked.

He studied me but said nothing.

I pressed on. “They’re getting the combine out so we can do the rest of the field. Would you like to drive it?” Guys, no matter how posh they were, liked big power tools, right?

William’s eyebrows knit together. “Why?”

“Because it’s huge and it’s fun.” I smiled. “And because if you keep the barley field after you buy the farm, it would be good for you to know how it works.”

He thought about that for a minute before he nodded. “Very well.”

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