Gabe cocked an eyebrow. “Were we ever?”
“No, sir. I guess we weren’t.”
The other man finished his beer, once again looking out at the ranch. “The girls are likely to be talking for a while, so you might as well head back to the cabin.”
Message delivered and understood. “You’ll let Hadley know where I’ve gone?”
“Of course.” Gabe headed for the back door.
The man wasn’t wrong. Like the ranch, there was more to Hadley than most people—himself included—saw at first glance. She had the natural beauty and strength that came from this place, even if she didn’t call it home anymore. It would always be a part of her, and that was what he couldn’t let go of, and he wasn’t about to when they returned to Harbor City.
“I’ve never had a ranch like this before, but being here has definitely shown me that I’ve been missing out,” he said to Gabe’s retreating form. “If I’m lucky, I hope to have something like it someday soon. There’s more to it than people realize.”
Hadley’s stepdad paused at the door, turning back to give him a look of approval. “That there is.”
Then Gabe went into the house and Will made his way to the cabin, his thoughts swirling around in his head. Nothing about this trip had gone as planned—well, except for the look of absolute horror on Hadley’s face when she’d spotted him at the airport. After that, everything had gone pear-shaped. He was supposed to be elbowing the gold digger after his brother’s bank balance out of the picture. Instead, he was falling for the woman he just might have misjudged—fine, he’d totally misjudged her. What in the hell did he do now?
After he got to the cabin and did a quick check for uninvited swift foxes—luckily there was no sign of Lightning with or without a tasty dinner—Will pulled out his phone and called the one person he’d always been able to trust.
Web answered on the second ring. “Please tell me she hasn’t killed you and this is your ghost calling.”
Even though his twin couldn’t see him rolling his eyes, Will still knew he’d sense it. “No one will ever mistake you for being the funny twin.”
“That, my brother, is where you’re wrong,” Web said, his voice taking on that smug tone that meant he was up to something. “Everyone thinks I’m hilarious—especially when I tell them about your little setup.”
Will stopped mid-step as he walked toward the pullout couch. “You aren’t.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t think I could have kept something this good to myself, do you?” Web’s gotcha-sucker chuckle left Will slack-jawed. “Big brother, you got punked, and I’m telling the world. I gotta tell you, though, your chicken was not great. Do not quit your day job.”
But Web had been the one to warn him away from her. “You were the one who told me not to—”
“Fuck her?” Web finished.
Will’s entire body tensed with an unfamiliar overprotectiveness that he had no fucking clue how to process beyond a need to stop anyone, anyone, from thinking of Hadley as available. “Why, is that what you want to do?”
“Settle down there, cowboy. I set this up, remember?” Web mumbled something about blood relatives who were idiots. “Damn, I love it when a plan comes together.” He paused. “But there is something I need to tell you about Hadley.”
“Is it that you’re interested in her?” Will’s gut churned at the idea.
“As more than a friend?” Web let out an amused chuckle. “Not in the least—otherwise she’d already be mine. I am the more popular Holt twin. No, what I need to tell you is that she’s softer than she seems. Be careful with her.”
“I’m always careful.” But it was too late. He was already in too deep, and there was only one way to figure out what that meant. He told his brother everything. “So what do I do now?”
Web let out a dismissive snort. “If you can’t figure that out for yourself, then I can’t help you.”
Fuck, that hurt, but Web was right. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Being just the kind of asshole brother to fake like he was puking his guts up so I’d finally pull my head out of my ass.”
“Just have a good time.” Web hung up without a goodbye.
Will tossed his phone on the pullout bed and stared at the wall until a very familiar four-legged swift fox came waltzing into the living room. How in the hell Lightning had gotten in, he had no idea, but seeing the fox did give him a brilliant idea for how to show Hadley that what was happening between them could be more than just a road-trip romance.
Now he just needed her to come back to him.
…