Page 44 of The Rancher's Wedding

Michael turned toward her, lowering his voice as well, thinking Jacob might not be able to hear them. “We have a night like last night, where he finally comes out of his cabin and walks into town to do something fun, but the next day, he’s locked right back up in his cabin, like he’s never left at all.”

“You’re not going to get him to come out like that. If you want to talk to him, you’ve got to encourage him, not scare him away. Why is he going to want to talk to you if you’re talking to him like that?”

Michael let out a breath. “Are you blaming me for this? For the way he’s acting?”

“No, Michael.”

“Because it sounds a little like you’re taking his side here.”

That wasn’t the case. Estelle knew that Michael had been extraordinarily patient with Jacob and that, eventually, patience could run out.

“Michael,” she began, but she didn’t know if she could tell him what she wanted to tell him. If he’d known she wasn’t an orphan, she could tell her about her life growing up and how she was constantly dragged in fancy dresses to smile and do things she didn’t want to do. It seemed as though her room was the only way to escape the dull parties and boring conversations her father would have.

No, it wasn’t the same, but she understood being in a world where someone would mostly only want to be alone. Because if the people around you wouldn’t let you be yourself, then it felt lonelier to be with them than by yourself.

That was what she would have told him, if he knew she wasn’t an orphan. But this moment wasn’t about her and, as such, it wasn’t the time to tell him. It would have to wait just a little bit longer.

“Yes?” Michael asked.

“Do you want your brother back?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your brother. The one you love. Not the brooding one who won’t speak to you.”

“Yes,” Michael said, “of course.”

“Then you need to believe me,” Estelle said, “he’s not going to come back if you force him to. You need to encourage him, and you need to reward him, just as you do when training the animals. Stop blaming him for isolating himself and, instead, praise him for the times he does come out. Tell him that it was really wonderful to see him at the fair last night.”

“Okay, fine.”

Michael turned toward the door.

“No,” Estelle said, “not now! Give him some space. Come back later and apologize, and then tell him that it was nice to see him.”

Michael grunted and turned back away from the cabin, toward the house.

After he walked away, Estelle knocked on Jacob’s door.

“Jacob? It’s me. Michael left.”

“Go away,” Jacob said.

“I just came here to say that it was nice to see you last night and that I hope we get to do more things like that together.”

“Did you hear me?” Jacob demanded. “I want to be left alone. Go away.”

He obviously wasn’t in any kind of mood to talk. Whatever was going on, she was likely best off staying out of it as much as possible. Michael already accused her of taking Jacob’s side and, with the way Jacob was responding to her, he wasn’t too keen on her, either.

She walked away from the cabin, but instead of going back to the house, she went to the horse stables and fed Orion some hay.

I guess all of us could use some alone time right now, she thought.

Orion let out a soft neigh, then licked the side of her face as she fed him more hay and pet him. At least someone around here was in a good mood. And he was a good listener.

“Orion,” Estelle said, “I have something I need to tell you.” She said it softly, just in case somebody was listening. “I’m worried that once I tell you, you won’t think of me the same way, but it’s the truth and so you need to hear it.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m not an orphan,” she said. It was that easy. “I’m not an orphan. In fact, I lived with my father my entire life. And I would say he was a good father to me, always making sure that I had everything I needed and lived a life of comfort.”

---