The bark of laughter that bubbled up her throat and flew into his face had convulsed from her without her permission. “You can’t be serious.”
His confused frown said otherwise, causing her to sober.
“You just gave me this long speech about how it was inappropriate to hide this sort of thing from my father, and now you’re asking me if I want to go out with you, too? You realize that if I were to say yes, I wouldn’t be able to take it any further than a date with you either. I don’t intend to disobey my dad even though I disagree with him.” She pulled her hand from his grasp and took a step away from him. “Based on what you said, I think it’s safe to say you would be uncomfortable with even going on a date with me. I’m going to head back to the car now, unless you’d like to continue bossing me around and trying to make me feel bad about going on a simple date.”
She slipped through the corral and hurried toward the car, not looking back. Technically hecouldboss her around. He was herboss,after all. But when it came to her personal life, there was no reason for him to butt in at all.
The door was locked and she wasn’t in the mood to go back to where James worked with the horses just to get his keys, so she leaned against his car for a few minutes, then found a tree to sit beneath.
She plucked at the grass growing beneath the tall branches and rubbed them between her finger and thumb. A pair of familiar boots filled her view and she glanced up to find her oldest sister standing over her with her hands on her hips.
Adeline cocked her head to the side, then glanced around the area before bringing her focus back to Constance. “Aren’t you supposed to be working or training or somethin’?”
Constance groaned. “I’m taking a break, not that it should matter to you. What are you doing here anyway?”
Her sister arched a brow. “You’re in a mood.”
“Yeah, well, you would be too if some guy was practically telling you that you were living your life wrong.”
That got Adeline’s attention. She settled onto the grass and peered at her sister with those deep, soulful brown eyes of hers. “Oh boy. What’s going on?”
Constance shook her head. If she told Adeline, she could almost guarantee her father would get wind of it.
“Connie, you know I’ll figure it out eventually anyway. You might as well tell me so we can cut to the chase and I can go get some lunch with Sean.”
She wasn’t going to give up. That was Adeline’s MO. When she wanted something, she figured out how to get it. It was what made her the perfect choice to run the ranch when all her sisters finally found the guy they wanted to marry.
Constance sighed. “Shane asked me out.” She half-expected Adeline to gasp or tell her she needed to say no. Adeline had been the one to follow the rules from the get-go. Except when she’d told everyone that she was pregnant when she wasn’t. Now she was going to have a baby in a few months, so it appeared everything had worked out the way she wanted it to.
Instead, Adeline just gazed at Constance with curiosity. “Shane Owens? Sean’s boss? The guy who owns this place?”
Constance nodded. “One and the same. Apparently, he’s friends with James.”
“I thought you liked James.”
“I did—do.” She sighed again, but this time it was more vocal and her groan carried. “I do.”
Adeline shook her head. “I’m sorry. Now, I’m confused. Why are you going on a date with Shane when James is the one you want to spend time with?”
“Shane asked me first.”
“Oh.” They sat there in silence for a few moments, each one of them picking at the grass before tossing it aside. “Maybeyoushould askhimout.”
Constance laughed. “He’sthe one who’s telling me that I can’t live my life the way I want. He’s upset that I’m willing to hide my date from Dad.”
Adeline groaned. “You too? I thought that Brielle was the only one doing that sort of thing.” She set her somber gaze on Constance. “Seriously, you should just tell him. Believe me when I say you shouldn’t hide anything from our father. He’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Yeah, like the way he figured out you weren’t pregnant?”
Adeline grimaced. “Notmy finest moment. But to be fair, most of that was Sean’s fault.”
“You could have easily gone into his office and told him up front.”
Her sister leaned back on both of her palms. “Yeah. Maybe. Think of it this way. My mistakes have been the ice breaker between you guys and Dad. Now that I’m married with a kid on the way, the rest of you should stick up for yourselves. We put too much faith in why he gives us these rules in the first place.”
“Speak for yourself,” Constance muttered.
“I mean it, Connie. If you want to date someone, then do it. But take it from me. Dad should know and you should give him the benefit of the doubt. He was willing to see past all of Sean’s imperfections. I’m sure he’d be thrilled you’re not marrying a Baker brother.”