“Please,” Dusty begged. “I need to be with him.”
“Come on, twerp.” Chad grabbed her hand. “You and I can follow in the pickup.”
Dusty nodded through hiccups and tears.
Chad fished a bandana out of his pocket. “Here.”
She took it and wiped her eyes. “Thanks.”
“He’s gonna be okay. The fool’s too stubborn for something like this to keep him down.”
Dusty nodded and sniffed again.
“And he doesn’t blame you. He probably should, but he doesn’t. But you’re going to have to tell him the truth eventually.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the truth. About you. About the ranch.”
“How much has Sam told you?”
“Just that you’re struggling. The ranch needs money.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. Sam hadn’t betrayed her trust. Thank God.
“I’m sure Zach has already guessed that much,” she said.
“Undoubtedly.” Chad nodded. “But it’ll mean more to him if you tell him. Confide in him. He’ll help you.”
“Why on earth would he help me?”
“Because he’s in love with you.”
She looked up to Chad’s face. “He told you that?”
“Hell, no. He didn’t have to. It’s obvious. I’ve never seen him ferocious over a woman before. That’s the only word to describe his reaction when Harper indicated an interest in you.”
“We’ve only just met.”
“You just referred to yourself as his girlfriend. I heard you.”
Chad opened the door to the pickup and Dusty scrambled inside. Chad sat down in the driver’s seat.
“I didn’t really know how else to put it,” she said.
“Do you love him, Dusty?”
Her cheeks warmed, and she was thankful for the darkness of the night. This wasn’t any of Chad’s business, but for some reason, she wanted to talk. She wasn’t quite ready to say the actual words. Not to Chad, anyway. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never been in love before.”
“Neither has Zach.”
“Not even with Angelina?”
Chad scoffed. “Especially not with Angelina.”
“But they were engaged.”
“So?” He turned the key in the ignition. “Look, Zach and I, we’re cowboys. We don’t talk about this sort of thing. In fact, he’d probably whoop my ass if he knew I was telling you any of this. But I know my brother like the back of my hand. He’s in love with you. I’d stake my fortune on it.”