Page 91 of A Forgotten Heart
He flipped a page. Then another.
Look how his studying had wounded his family. If not for him, his father would be with them now, wouldn’t have lived his last couple of years with a bum leg that hadn’t healed right.
He flipped through the book faster, his blood strumming through his ears. If he hadn’t been so wrapped up in himself, in his dreams, his ambition…
He gripped the corner of the page and ripped it out. He crumpled the paper into a ball in his hand.
He was tired of being the failure.
He balled the page tighter, swiveling toward the stove. He opened the iron door and tossed the page in.
It shriveled, the flames charring it from the outside in.
He ripped out another section, crumpled it and tossed it into the flames.
Then another, then another, momentum propelling him faster. His breath came in gasps, but he kept going.
The front door banged open, and a gust of cold air rushed in.
His brothers traipsed into the small room, bringing snow in on their boots and coats.
Isaac scowled, coming to stand over where Nick squatted in front of the stove. “What are you doing?”
Ed lay down on the bed, boots hanging off the end.
Nick’s stare flicked from brother to brother. “Wintering the cattle. What are you doing up here?”
Leaning against the closed door, Drew folded his arms. “We came to talk.”
If a lecture was on his brother’s mind, Drew had wasted a trip.
“Nothing to talk about,” Nick mumbled.
Pity creased Ed’s expression, and Nick averted his eyes. He ducked his head and stripped away another section of the book, tossing it into the stove.
“Stop that,” Drew growled.
Nick ignored him. “Why? I don’t need the books. I’m a rancher. Go back to your families. Have a happy Christmas morning.”
“Happy?” Drew asked. “You think we’re happy seeing you like this?”
Ed blew out a long breath. “What about school, Nick?”
Another punch of pain. Nick threw another bundle of pages into the fire. “What about it?”
“Tillie said you wanted to go back. Something about an application.”
Nick chucked the book binding into the fire. Sparks scattered up the flue. “That was a stupid idea. I’m not going back.”
Long silence. He didn’t have to look up to know his brothers were exchanging looks.
“I told them about Elsie.” Isaac spoke for the first time.
Furious now, Nick’s eyes swung to meet Isaac’s gaze. He stood against the far wall, arms folded.
Nick picked up another book from the crate, not even reading the cover. “So what?”
“So you go after her.”Dummy. Ed’s insult was implied.
