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The second he entered the barn, he could sense something was off. The horses shuffled restlessly in their stalls. A couple of them poked their heads out of their stalls and tossed their manes before nickering and retreating.
Caleb dismounted, alert and on edge. The hairs on the back of his neck lifted. Whatever was spooking the horses was inside. It could be anything. With the temps dropping, prey was harder to find for the larger predators. There could be a coyote or a wolf somewhere inside the barn.
Maybe it was the change in the weather. Sometimes the animals got antsy when a storm was on its way. Though he knew better than to believe that rationale. He’d just been outside and there wasn’t even a cool breeze to speak of.
He cleared his throat and lifted his chin, wishing for the first time he’d carried a shotgun with him on his rides. “Hello? I know you’re in here. The horses don’t lie.” He worked his jaw, his eyes darting from one side to the next. “You might as well come out, or I’m getting my brothers and when we find you?—”
“Geez, Caleb, will you chill out?” A familiar figure emerged from an empty stall. The beard on his face only momentarily threw Caleb off.
“Carter?” he whispered. He took a step forward, then he ran toward his twin and grabbed him close into a bear hug. Their hold on one another was constrictive and yet more comforting than anything Caleb had experienced in a long time. He didn’t realize he had tears in his eyes until he pulled back and gave his brother a once-over.
Carter had a black eye. His hair was disheveled and mussed, and his beard needed a good trim. The T-shirt and jeans he wore were torn and filthy. It looked like he’d come straight from a bar fight.
Caleb shook his head. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing.” Carter looked away as he stepped back. “I shouldn’t have come back.”
“What? No. You’re not leaving again in your condition.” Caleb’s hand shot out and grabbed Carter by his upper arm.
His brother jumped and yanked his arm out of Caleb’s grasp. He glowered at Caleb, then blew out a harsh breath as he raked a hand through his hair.
“Hey,” Caleb said, quieter this time. “You can tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll help. That’s what family does.”
Carter continued to scowl, but this time he turned his fury to the ground. “Yeah? And does family steal? Does family threaten to run away and take steps to never be found again? I think it’s safe to say that I’ve lost the privilege of being called family.”
Caleb wanted to reassure his twin. He wanted to tell him that he was wrong. But how could he tell him any of that when he’d been preaching his whole life that honesty and loyalty are the most important things? If he wasn’t willing to hear Emma out and offer her forgiveness, then it didn’t make sense for him to tell Carter that he’d be welcomed with open arms.
A lump formed in his throat, and he felt sick to his stomach. Wade would argue. Most of his siblings would likely tell Carter that there was a path back from what he’d done.
“You want to know something ironic?” Carter asked, finally looking up to meet Caleb’s gaze. “You were right.”
“About what?”
“Family.”
Caleb’s brows pulled together, creasing. “What about it?”
“It’s everything. Family is the most important thing in this world. I didn’t see it. I didn’t acknowledge it. Our family is one of the biggest in town. You would have thought that if two people were willing to create a family with twelve children, they would love them. But we were abandoned, Caleb. Our parents didn’t want us.”
They’d talked about this before, but usually it was Caleb who was venting about the pain he felt over their loss.
Carter shut his eyes and a tear slipped down his cheek, disappearing into his facial hair. “And even with that terriblestart, we made it. We had Wade and Annabel. We understood that our family was what kept us strong and safe.”
Caleb listened in silence. His heart ached for his brother. Or maybe he was actually feeling the ache his brother experienced. Either way, the tightness in his chest had become unbearable.
“Then I had to go and ruin it. I had to break the bond I had with the people who actually cared about me. What kind of person does that?”
“You’re right,” Caleb said.
Carter flinched.
“The people in your family are the only ones you can trust—or should be able to trust. But we’re human. Even family can betray you.”
Another tear slipped down Carter’s cheek. “That’s why I can’t… I won’t go in there and face them.”
It wasn’t hard to understand what he was trying to say. He didn’t think he could talk to their family. Caleb understood that feeling to his core. Hadn’t he done wrong by Liam? He’d been judgmental to the point of tearing Liam away from Margot.
They were quite a pair.
