Page 102 of Don't Burn Bridges
Most of the ranch hands had gone into town for dinner. The two who'd stayed behind like him were out in the common area watching television, their laughter muffled through the thin wall.
He crossed the room and pulled the door open.
Shane stood on the other side, hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. His expression gave nothing away. “Can I come in?”
“Uh... yeah, of course.”
When Seth stepped aside, Shane entered and closed the door behind him.
Tension bunched up in Seth's shoulders. His bosses didn't come into his apartment often, and Shane seemed to have something on his mind.
The man's gaze swept over the room, taking in the unopened mail on the counter, a half-read book on the coffee table, and the beer bottle Seth had nursed for nearly an hour. Finally, he looked back at Seth.
“You've been staying by yourself a lot lately.” His tone was casual, but his eyes remained sharp. “Everything okay?”
“Everything's fine.” The lie came so easily that he barely thought about it.
Shane's eyebrows lifted. “Right.”
An awkward silence stretched between them, and Seth rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he'd thought of something more convincing. “Uh... want a beer?”
“Sure.”
He grabbed two bottles from the refrigerator, twisted off the caps, and handed one over. Shane thanked him with a nod before turning one of the dinette chairs backward and straddling it, resting his forearms across the backrest. Seth dropped onto the couch again and muted the TV. His gaze drifted to the half-empty beer already sitting on the coffee table. He set the fresh bottle beside it, having no interest in finishing one, let alone starting another.
Another long moment passed before Shane sighed. “When are you gonna get your head out of your ass?”
He blinked.
Well... that was straightforward.
“Huh?”
“Don't play dumb, asshole.” Shane pointed the neck of his beer at him. “Look, I get it. Shylo wasn't a hundred percent honest with you from the get-go. But she had her reasons—good ones. She didn't know who she could trust. Using you to get to me crossed her mind, but I believed her when she said it lasted all of five seconds. And once you two started falling for each other, it got a hell of a lot harder for her to tell you the truth.”
Seth lowered his gaze to the floor, his thoughts miles away.
He'd replayed those weeks in his head more times than he could count. Every memory ended the same way—with him wondering if the hurt and sense of betrayal would ever ease.
“I've never seen you this crazy about a woman before,” Shane continued. “Hell, I don't think I saw you look twice at another woman after Shylo came to town. That means something.”
He took a slow pull from his beer before continuing. “I've been in love three times in my life—Sarah, Tucker, and Paige. I know what it looks like and how damn stupid men can get when that emotion gets involved.”
Seth's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond.
“And now you're butt-hurt, and it's making you miserable.” Shane shook his head. “She's miserable too.”
Seth looked up before he could stop himself. “She is?”
“Yeah, dumb-ass. If you actually looked at her instead of avoiding her, you'd see it. Jeez... Teaching you about relationships is like teaching Ashley how to walk all over again.”
Despite everything weighing on him, the corner of Seth's mouth twitched.
Shane chuckled. “Well, look at that. First smile I've seen on you since the whole 'I'm your sister' bomb was dropped in my lap. Han Solo handled finding out Leia and Luke were siblings better than you did with Shylo and me.”
After a moment, the humor faded from the man’s expression. “Look, Seth. She's not going anywhere. She's family now, and you've been family for a long time. So, what's the plan? Avoid her forever? Skip Sunday dinners? Holidays? Pretend she isn't standing in the same room?” He leaned forward. “Or are you gonna man up and tell her you love her?”
“I don't—“ The denial died before it left his mouth. He scrubbed a hand down his face, exhausted by the fight he'd been having with himself for two solid weeks.
