“Not a clue.”
He chuckled. “Throw away that map. Ma goes a little overboard. It’s easy to find. Go five miles east on the gravel road. Turn right at the first four-way. Two miles later on your right, you’ll come to a barbed wire gate. Go through it and follow the tire tracks along the fence line until you see dust and tractors.”
“Much easier.” She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
Kane gestured to Sky’s Subaru wagon. “You takin’ this?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“’Cause with the rain there’s a couple places you might get stuck.” He pointed to a dented and muddy red Dodge. “Take my truck. Keys are in the ignition. Leave it here when you’re done.”
“But…what will you drive?”
“Colt can come and get me, no biggie.” Skylar’s distrust must’ve been obvious because Kane said, “I’m sure you’re wonderin’ why I’m doin’ this. You’re here to make things right with my brother, or else you’d be willin’ to wait until he’s done workin’, right?”
She nodded.
“Good.” Kane sighed. “Look. I never apologized for how I treated you on our date last summer, me bein’ such a dick and all. When you started seein’ Kade I’ll bet you thought I had a miraculous personality change, huh?”
“In hindsight, it should’ve been a big tip off you were two entirely different men.”
“Well, I ain’t surprised Kade jumped at the chance to redeem us both. The poor guy’s had no choice but to put up with the fallout from bein’ my twin. With women who scream at him in public because I didn’t call them back. Hearin’ come-ons and put-downs just because we look alike. Guys pickin’ fights with him because they think he’s me and I’ve done plenty to piss lots of folks off around here. It ain’t never been fair and I never cared until last year.”
Skylar waited for him to find the words to finish.
“Dag dyin’ sucked. But you know what was worse for me? Watchin’ my brother, who’d always been the backbone of our family,” Kane’s voice dropped an octave, “seein’ Kade losin’ hope. He cut himself off from everybody. I’d never seen him hurtin’ so bad and I’ve never been so ashamed of myself for havin’ a part in it. Yeah, I know he should’ve come clean with you. He made a mistake. Probably threw him for a loop because he hardly ever screws up. He always does the right thing.”
“He’s a good man. A great man. He’s the very best man in the whole world.”
“Glad someone finally recognizes that. Make him happy, Skylar.”
“I intend to.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Kade didn’t pay attention when his brother’s pickup parked next to his along the fence. He looped another pass in the field, trying to stay awake. On his third round, he saw Skylar standing beside Kane’s truck. He snapped upright, half-afraid he’d fallen asleep and was dreaming of her.Then the apparition waved.
Holy shit. That was Skylar.
In the south hayfield.
Why?
Sweet Jesus. Something bad must’ve happened.
His heart slammed into his throat as his brain raced through all the awful scenarios. Kade managed to park the tractor next to the nearest the fence. After shutting it off, he hopped to the ground and sprinted across the stubbly field.
Skylar met him halfway.
He clamped his gloved hands over her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I just—”
“Is Eliza all right?”
“She’s fine. She’s with your mom.”
“So the rest of my family is okay too?”
“Yes.”
“Then what…” He took a deep breath. Everything was fine. Thank God. “Sweetheart, why are you here?”
She bit her lip and glanced away. A nervous gesture? From the always confident Skylar?
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Eliza rolled over today.”
He blinked with confusion and then he grinned. “She did?”
“Yeah, and little miss was mighty pleased with herself. You weren’t there to see it. All I could think about was how you deserved to be there for every milestone in her life—big or small. And how badly I wanted you there for every damn one, not just for her, but for me, too.”
Sweet Lord, she looked like she was going to cry. “Hey, it’s all right.”
“It is now that I’m here with you.” Sky wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing against him as if she was trying to crawl inside his skin. “So I showed up because I missed you, Kade. I missed you so much. And I couldn’t wait another day to tell you that I love you. I love you like crazy. With all my heart, all my soul, with everything I am. Please. I’ll do anything to make this right. Please come home.”