Once again, Constance stared out her window. “Yeah, I know.”
There was something in her voice that just tore at him. It was clear she wasn’t thrilled about the rules either. “Why do you put up with it?”
“Hmm?”
“Your father’s rules. Why do all of you put up with it? You’re adults. What could your father possibly be holding over your heads to make you comply?” He didn’t know what he was expecting her response to be, but it wasn’t the scowl that she had on her face.
“What?” she said, her eyes squinting a little.
James swallowed hard. She wasn’t asking him to repeat himself this time. Her tone said it all. He’d offended her.
“Look, I know you don’t understand it. No one does. But my father—all of my sisters—we’re all each of us has. We’re not going to go against my father’s wishes because we love him. His heart is in the right place, even if we don’t agree with it. It’s a crazy rule he made after our mom passed away. I think it’s his way of keeping us close. We’re not going to do something that would break his heart.”
“But isn’t that what you’d be doing if you go on our date on Friday? Especially without Brielle being married?”
She let out a harsh breath. “If you’re going to make this a big deal, then maybe I was wrong.”
“It’s just a question, Constance. I didn’t mean any offense.” His words tasted bitter and the growing silence did little to relieve the frustration that they were both feeling.
“I accepted your offer because I know I deserve to be happy too, despite my father’s rules. That being said, I’m not going to intentionally hurt his feelings over something that might not even last.”
“Ouch.” The word escaped his lips before he had a chance to think better of it.
Constance sighed again. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant to say was—”
“You’re right.”
“I am?”
He nodded but refused to meet her gaze. James could feel her eyes drilling into him, questioning him. “Neither one of us knows whether this date will even go well. We’re flying into it blindly based on the infatuation that has developed over the last few weeks. We could spend the evening trying to come up with something to say that isn’t work-related and realize that we don’t have anything in common.”
Her silence did nothing to bring him peace. In fact, it made him feel even more worried. If he was smart, he’d just break it off before they made it to Friday.
James all but slammed on the brakes and parked the car. He climbed out of the vehicle, not even sure why he was upset besides the disappointment that threatened to suck the life out of him. There were too many moving parts for a relationship to work with Constance. His secrets, her secrets. None of this felt right, but at the same time he couldn’t tear himself away from it.
He stormed around the car, not bothering to wait for her. She’d follow when she was good and ready. The few short minutes he had before she arrived might give him some clarity. Sure, he could go talk to Shane about what had transpired, but he was still mad at his friend over the whole debacle last week.
Hurried footsteps followed him.
Shoot! She was faster than he’d given her credit for.
“James! What’s going on with you today?”
His brows lowered and he shoved his hands into his pockets, not slowing down his pace. “Do you ever wonder why we are so interested in doing things we know aren’t good for us?”
“Are you talking about our date this weekend?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter what I’m talking about. It’s a simple question.” They’d made it to the shelter of the barn and he spun around to face her. “I’ve been told to stay away from you.”
Her head reared back and her mouth dropped open.
“Yeah. And somewhere deep down, you know you should stay away from me.”
“Don’t you dare try to put this on me. You have no idea what’s going on inside my head,” she sputtered, her face growing redder by the second.
James moved his face closer to hers, fighting the fury that threatened to overwhelm the disappointment. Maybe he should just give in. Maybe the anger would be more tolerable. He lowered his voice as a ranch hand wandered past them. “The truth is, we’re both being pulled as ifwe’rethe stock and some higher power is dragging us to where it thinks we’re supposed to be. But we’re not cattle, Constance. Sometimes we have to make a choice because it’s best for us.”
“Are you crazy?”