Page 73 of Penny & Royce

“You knew it was only a matter of time,” he murmured.

Lincoln arched a single brow. “What was a matter of time?”

Right at that moment, the front storm door swung open, and his father appeared. His arms were crossed, and his dark eyes assessed him. Much like Lincoln, he seemed to judge Royce’s clothing choices with suspicion.

Well, shoot.

This wasn’t about the wedding.

It didn’t even seem to be about Penny.

Which meant he still had a secret to keep while trying to protect Penny from the aftershocks of their revelation. He swallowed hard, his arm tightening on the helmet. “Whatever it is you want to say, just say it.”

He tensed, preparing himself for whatever it was his brother wanted to throw at him.

“You’ve been slacking.”

Royce couldn’t have controlled his reaction if he’d trained for years to do so. His jaw dropped, and he glanced at his father to confirm he felt the same.

It wasn’t a surprise that his dad didn’t correct Lincoln or add to it.

He was simply watching.

Huffing, Royce shook his head. “I’ve been pulling more than my weight. I get here early?—”

“Get here?” Lincoln’s face scrunched with a mixture of confusion and argument.

Royce coughed and threw his fist to his chest. “You know what I mean. I get out here early. I do all the work no one else wants to complete. I help when you insist you need me over someone else. I run all kinds of errands?—”

“And that’s the problem.”

Stilling, Royce watched his brother impatiently. He didn’t see any problem.

“You’re always heading to town when someone else can handle whatever it is you’re doing. You’re second born. You’re supposed to be my assistant, learning everything I have to do in case something happens to me. How am I supposed to know that you’re capable of doing any of it when you’re not even here most of the time?”

The tightness in his chest was excruciating.

This wasn’t about Penny or his secret marriage. It wasn’t about breaking the one rule their family had regarding staying away from the Taylor bloodline.

This was about Lincoln making sure the family was taken care of.

What he didn’t know was that Royce wanted none of it.

He glanced at the house and the property. While he loved working the fields and being the farmer his parents had raised him to be, he wasn’t sure he wanted all the responsibility that came with running the family farm. Sure, he was second in line. The chances were slim that he’d have to step up.

But there was a chance all the same.

“Maybe I don’t want this.”

His brother barked out a laugh. “What?”

“You heard me. I don’t want to be the one in charge of any of this.”

Lincoln laughed again, but their father wasn’t amused.

Well, neither was Royce.

Lincoln stepped toward him. “You need to grow up and realize this isn’t about you. This is about family.”