Page 68 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

“He wants a peppermint.” I fished one out of my pocket and held it out to him on my palm. He lipped it up, crunching the treat happily.

Luke cocked an eyebrow. “He likes peppermints? When did this happen?”

I shrugged. “We like to have conversations.”

“Conversations, huh? What about?”

“Mostly we gripe about you behind your back,” I teased. “But sometimes we listen to Taylor Swift.”

Luke shook his head, laughing. “Ungrateful, the both of you.”

“I’m very grateful,” I said, hooking a finger in his belt loop to tug him closer. “Let me show you.”

“I have chores to finish, but tonight? I’ll take you up on that.” He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “It’s a good thing I’m not hiking the Appalachian Trail this spring. We can spend more time doingthis.”

“You’re going to hike that trail, Luke.”

“No, Bethany, I’m not. Not this year, anyway. It doesn’t work. We’re already understaffed. Jasmine can’t manage on her own. And Ethan needs this.”

“Did you even talk to them? Either of them?” I demanded.

“I don’t need to talk to them. I know what needs to be done, and I’m doing it.” He picked up his axe and turned back to the wood pile. “I’ve got work to do.”

My eyes narrowed. This stubborn man.

“Goat, heel.” I snapped my fingers and Goat fell into line behind me as I stormed out of the yard.

“We’ll see aboutthat,” I muttered.

Chapter 26

Luke

Shestolemyfuckinggoat.

I stared after Bethany, my mouth hanging open as she stomped away with Goat the Traitor clip-clopping at her heels. That little bastard sold me out for peppermints and Taylor Swift. And she had actuallytrainedhim? How the fuck.

Although, to be fair, I was ready to drop my axe and run after her, and I didn’t need a peppermint bribe. I didn’t like her going off mad like that. How the hell had that happened? One minute we were exchangingI love youfor the first time, and the next we were…fighting? Was that a fight? I had no experience with this.

Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. It felt bad. I rubbed my chest, but it didn’t ease the ache. She was pissed—atme. I wanted to go after her, but maybe it was better to give her some space. Let her cool off and think it all over. She would see that I was right.

Because Iwasright, dammit.

Goat’s Tavern had been born of desperation. College hadn’t been an option—I didn’t have the grades or money, and even if I had, I couldn’t leave Ethan. When I graduated high school, Ethan was still just a ten-year-old kid. The farmland that had been in our family for three generations wasn’t really a farm anymore; the cattle had been sold off before I was born. For a while, I worked at the chicken processing plant to make ends meet, but I hated it.

Turning our old barn into a restaurant and bar had saved me. Sure, I worked longer hours, but Ethan could come right from school and hang out in the restaurant while I worked. It meant he was always fed and cared for, and I didn’t have to spend nine hours a day plucking feathers from chicken corpses. It had never occurred to me that the thing that saved me would one day be my handcuffs.

I wasn’t my parents. I didn’t want to be gone forever. Hart’s Ridge was my home. Goat’s Tavern was my home. I had every intention of coming back here. But that didn’t mean I never wanted to leave.

It was just super shitty luck that I wanted to leave at the same time Ethanneededto leave. It sucked, but I didn’t begrudge him that. I understood. And anyway, Goat’s Tavern wasn’t his responsibility.Iwasn’t his responsibility. That wasn’t how this relationship worked. I was the older brother. The one left in charge. Did I ask for that? No. But people don’t always get what they ask for.

Ethan deserved to live his life on his own terms. Like hell was I going to be the thing standing in his way.

Our parents screwed up, no doubt about it. But that didn’t mean I had to do the same.

I powered through the wood pile, not stopping until I had enough logs to last us until June. I was going to be sore tomorrow, but it felt good to take an axe to my frustrations.

Ethan was carrying a cardboard box into the living room when I finally went inside.

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