Page 81 of Don't Burn Bridges
A flicker of guilt crossed the other man’s face. “No. Not at first.” He sighed. “But I did yesterday.”
Seth stared at him.
“A lie of omission. When I told you to invite Shylo to dinner, I already knew—the P.I. called me yesterday morning.” Tuck shifted his weight. “I should've told you then, and I'm sorry I didn't.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because I didn't know any other way to handle it.” He took off his cowboy hat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Shane deserved to hear it in person, and I wasn't about to confront Shylo without him there. I figured getting everybody in the same room was the best way to do it.”
Seth was quiet for a long moment. “You should've told me.”
“I know.” Tuck nodded. “If I had it to do over again, I would've. But yesterday... I was trying to look out for Shane. I wasn't thinking about what it'd do to you, and I'm sorry for that. I never meant to hurt you.” He held Seth's gaze. “You're like the younger brother I never had, Seth. You're family. But I was so focused on how Shane was going to react and what Shylo wanted from him that I didn't stop to think about you. Please, forgive me.”
Seth waved him off. “I get it. There's nothing to forgive. Shane, Paige, and the kids are your top priorities. That’s the way it should be.” He picked at the crust of his sandwich. “I just wish you'd found out sooner... before...”
“Before what?”
He shook his head. He wasn't about to admit he'd fallen for Shylo. Not now. Maybe never.
“Never mind.”
Tucker waited until Seth finished another bite before speaking again. “So... what're you gonna do about Shylo?”
He took another long swallow of Gatorade, letting the cold drink wash away the taste of bacon and pickles. “Nothing.”
His boss studied him for a moment. “You sure?”
“She lied to me from the day we met.” His grip tightened around the now-empty bottle until the plastic crackled and popped. “I don't care if Shane accepts her. That's between them.”
“And you?”
For several long seconds, his gaze rested on the work boots he'd left by the door before going to pick up Shylo yesterday afternoon.
“As far as I'm concerned...” He shrugged. “I'm done with her.”
Shylo and Shane sat across from each other in a booth at a diner on the outskirts of Wexler, fixing their coffees to their liking. Neither spoke nor looked at the menu.
After driving her back to the Moody Moon the night before, he'd asked if he could pick her up for lunch today so they could talk, explaining he needed a little time to process everything. She'd agreed without hesitation, grateful that he wanted to talk to her at all.
The drive to the diner had been filled with little more than comments about the weather, the wheat fields ready for harvest, and a tractor that had slowed traffic on the highway. Now that the conversation they'd both been anticipating had finally arrived, neither seemed to know where to begin.
The aroma of bacon and fresh coffee drifted through the air while dishes clattered somewhere behind the swinging kitchen doors. A waitress moved from table to table with a coffeepot in hand, chatting with a couple of regulars who looked like they'd been claiming the same corner booth every morning for years. Around them, life carried on as though nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
She'd spent most of the night and early morning wondering what he would say once they sat down. Had he already decided she was nothing more than an unwelcome complication? Someone entitled to a share of the ranch and little else? Or had he started to see her as something more?
As his sister.
The possibility seemed too good to be true.
She wrapped both hands around the warm coffee mug, grateful for something to do other than fidget. The heat seeped into her fingers, but it did little to calm the nervous energy buzzing through the rest of her.
Shane finally drew a slow breath. “I've been trying to figure out how to start this conversation all morning.”
A nervous smile touched her lips. “That makes two of us.”
Before either of them could say anything else, the waitress stopped beside their booth with an order pad in hand. “You folks ready?”
