Page 95 of Penny & Royce

But he couldn’t let the last words between them be annulment and lawyer and goodbye.

Penny was panicking right now. He knew that. He’d seen the way fear had taken over after both families showed up at her apartment, and he hated every second of what it had done to her. Eventually, she’d realize she was making this decision out of fear. Eventually, they’d work everything out.

That was what he continued to tell himself as he spiraled.

This was different from before he’d won her over. Different from the nerves he’d experienced when he’d first noticed her and had to dig up the courage to tell her he was already falling for her, even though they didn’t know each other. Different from the way his heart had pounded when he’d taken her on that date and promised he could help her fall in love with life again.

This was just… different.

The only thing keeping him sane was the understanding that they were married, and ending a marriage wasn’t as simple as slamming a door. They had made vows. They had built something real, even if the rest of the world had crashed in on it too soon.

Time.

Penny just needed some time, and everything would work out.

True to her word, Quinn had allowed Royce to stay with her in her guest room. Royce made sure to get up early enough every day to go work on the farm. And every single day, he was cornered by one of his siblings. Sometimes it was to tell him to leave since he’d made it clear he’d rather betray the family than walk away from Penny. Other times it was to try to convince him to make peace with his brother and father.

The fact was, Royce hadn’t wanted to come back to work. Each time he stepped foot on the premises, he was reminded that he was officially the black sheep. And yet he couldn’t stop himself.

This was his home.

His family.

Feud or not, he still belonged here unless they called the sheriff and had him removed for trespassing.

He glanced up from where he was inspecting the latest field of crops. Or rather, the irrigation line. There seemed to be some issues with the watering schedule in this part of the field.

Bentley was striding his way, all confidence and purpose.

It was infuriating.

Lately, there seemed to be a divide among the family. The men against the women. While his stepmother and half-sisters were on the side of true love, his brothers claimed to be realists. It didn’t matter how many times Royce was reminded that nowoman was worth the issues between him and his father, he wasn’t willing to accept it.

“Your turn, huh?” Royce muttered as he adjusted his cowboy hat and continued down the irrigation ditch.

“What do you mean by that?”

Royce grunted. “You know exactly what I mean. How many times is Dad going to send one of you out to talk to me and get me to see reason? Heck, how long is it going to take for him to scrounge up enough nerve and forcibly remove me?”

When Bentley didn’t respond, Royce sighed.

His lack of answer said enough.

They continued to walk the edge of the field, and Royce noted everything that needed to be double-checked in a little notebook he kept in his front pocket.

“Dad’s not wrong, you know,” Bentley murmured.

“And if you were in my position? Would you still agree?” Royce stopped and faced his brother. His heart hammered like it always did when he started thinking about what was at risk. “What if you fell in love with one of those Taylor girls? What if one of them became the person who made the whole world feel less heavy? What if being with her was the first time in your life you understood what Mom meant when she talked about real love?”

Bentley didn’t comment, though it was unclear if he was considering Royce’s words or if he simply didn’t care.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Royce said, his voice roughening. “Because you don’t know what it feels like to think about losing someone because of the grudge our family has with the Taylors. Love doesn’t care about old family rules, Bentley. It doesn’t ask permission. It just shows up and changes everything.”

He pressed a fist to his chest right above his heart, and his voice broke. “I found it. And now that I have, I won’t let it go.Not for you. Not for Dad. Not for the farm. Not for anything in the whole world. So do me a favor and don’t bring it up again. Because the next time you do, I might not be patient enough to have a reasonable conversation with you. Especially since she’s thinking of not staying with me anymore, just because of how difficult everyone is making it.”

If Royce had expected his brother to show any indication of fear or anger, he would have been wrong.

Bentley merely shrugged, then nodded. “Okay.”