Page 47 of Loving a Cowgirl

Her mouth snapped shut and her eyes widened.

He took a step back, praying she was bluffing, and realizing he was taking a bigger risk than he ever thought he would have to. “I get it. I’m not the kind of guy you could see yourself with. I have a criminal past. I can barely afford to keep food on the table. I have nothing to offer you. I’m hot-headed, and sometimes I let that darker side of me break free.” He shook his head, forcing himself to continue. “Tad is exotic and fun. He makes you smile, and he’s… easy. And if you think that you would be happier with him, then I won’t stand in your way.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “But there is one thing that I can almost guarantee.”

Brielle stared at him. She hadn’t moved since he started his little speech, appearing more in shock than anything else.

“I guarantee that he doesn’t love you nearly as much as I do.” Wade placed his hand against his chest right above his heart. “I love you more than life itself, Bri. I always have. There has never been a doubt in my mind that you were the one who was made for me.”

“Wade, I—”

“No. You don’t have to say anything. Just think about it. If you still feel like you need me to drop out of the running, then tell me tomorrow when I get here for work.” He backed down the steps, missing one and stumbling before righting himself. He didn’t dare look at Brielle for fear that he would lose his nerve and take back everything he just said. The ball was in her court.

17

Brielle

“You can’t hide in here forever, you know that, right?” Eloise leaned against Brielle’s bedroom doorjamb, her arms crossed and a small smile touching her lips. “You haven’t left the house in two days.

“I can hide in here as long as I please,” Brielle replied. She wasn’tunhappy. In fact, everything continued to get better with each passing day. Her feelings for Wade had continued to grow despite the problems he was having with Tad.

The biggest problem was that she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept his love for her. The unknown hovered over her like a threatening rain cloud. One day Wade might realize that he didn’t, in fact, love her. He could merely be infatuated with her and wanting to cling to something familiar.

She understood that feeling better than anyone.

“What’s the problem? Is it Wade? He stopped by again last night.”

Brielle’s head snapped up and she stared at her sister. “He did?”

“Yup.” Eloise smirked. “Now will you just admit that there is something going on with you two? I don’t know what’s going on with Tad, Wade, and you, but I’m not blind. Please tell me you aren’t dating both of them at the same time.”

There was nothing Brielle could do except to look away.

“Bri!”

“What?” She turned toward her nosy sister. “What do you expect me to say? Weren’t you the one who told me not to push Wade away?”

“Yeah. And to do so, you’d have to tell yourhusbandto hit the road.”

Brielle’s eyes widened and she darted forward, a hiss escaping from between her teeth. She yanked on Eloise’s arm and pulled her all the way into her room before slamming the door shut. “Shhh!”

A disgruntled sound exploded from Eloise as she shuffled across the floor in an attempt to maintain her balance. When she spun around to face Brielle, she shot her a dark look. “What was that for?”

“Dad doesn’t know!” Brielle leaned against her door as if that would be enough to keep her father out if he had actually heard what Eloise had said. “I don’t need him judging me for the mess I’m dealing with.”

Her sister placed her hands on her hips. “You’re the one who created this mess in the first place. If you ask me, you should have told Tad to leave the second he got here.”

“No offense, but no one is asking you.” Brielle expected her sister to get offended with such a statement, but surprisingly, she didn’t react at all. Heaving a sigh, Brielle moved from the door and slumped onto the edge of her bed. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Eloise said. “But if you’re so miserable, then maybe you need to reevaluate how you’ve been dealing with this whole Tad thing.”

“I’m not, though,” Brielle admitted. “Miserable. Things are actually going pretty well. I’m getting to know Tad better and I’m opening myself up for something with Wade.” She grimaced. Even to her, those words sounded so undeniably selfish. “Okay, I heard it.”

“Didyou, though?”

Brielle glanced toward her sister again. There was no judgment in her gaze, just concern.

“Look, I won’t tell you what to do. I know you have a way of working things out and you will eventually. But if you find that something is getting too hard, then don’t forget that you can walk away at any moment. You’re not locked into anything.”

Brielle let out a sad laugh. “Isn’t that the literal definition of what marriage is?”

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