For the most part, I’m not great at waiting. I’m even worse at being idle. So when I’m forced to wait and have nothing to do and no way to control the situation, I’m like a bear with a thorn in his paw.

I pace the floor, anxiously awaiting Haley’s return. I know John was going to tell his daughters tonight at dinner, so she’ll have to come back after that. Well, I assumed she would, but I guess if she’s determined to avoid me, she could stay elsewhere. Bunk with one of her sisters or take the couch somewhere.

I’m mentally picturing having to scour every inch of the ranch looking for her when the door opens. I turn to find her standing just inside it, staring at me. Her expression tells me all I need to know. She’s still mad. Very mad.

“Haley, I—”

“Don’t. We have nothing to say to each other.”

“Like hell! I have a lot I want to say to you.”

“Okay, then I have nothing to say to you.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just listen.”

“I’m not interested in your excuses.”

“I don’t have excuses. I have explanations. There’s a difference.”

“Fine. I’m not interested in your explanations. Better?” Sarcasm drips from every syllable.

She slams the door shut behind her and tries to walk around me. I step into her path. “You’re seriously going to shut me out for keeping your dad’s secret?”

She stops and looks up into my eyes. Her expression is unaffected, which is how I know she’s avoiding me to keep from feeling anything. She thinks I’ve hurt her on purpose, and she’s protecting herself. “Yes.”

“Do you really think that’s fair?”

“I don’t care if it’s fair. I told you about Jason, about how he used me to get to the ranch, and all the while you were doing the same.”

“I wasn’t using you for anything. I already had the ranch.”

“A detail you conveniently left out.”

“I couldn’t tell you. I—”

“You could’ve. You just chose not to.”

“Out of loyalty to your father. He asked me not to, so I didn’t.”

“And what about loyalty to the woman you were trying to sleep with? See, in your mind, you don’t see it this way, but what you’re basically saying is that you chose to deceive me and keep my father’s secret. And all because of this godforsaken ranch.”

“So you’d have me betray your father just because I’m interested in you?”

“You didn’t have to betray him. You just didn’t have to go so far to deceive me.”

“I didn’t purposely deceive you. I just didn’t tell you.”

“You’re splitting hairs. You let me think you worked here for my father. The moment I told you about Jason, you should’ve either fessed up or backed off. I was honest with you going into this. I expected the same from you.”

“Were you so honest with me? You didn’t tell me about the baby.”

I see the color drain from her face. “That…that was a detail I wasn’t ready to share.”

“A detail? A detail? That’s not a detail. The semantics of working for or with your father is a detail. If we were both supposed to be so honest with each other, why leave that part out?”

“It…it was too painful to talk about. I don’t talk about it. At all. With anybody. For God’s sake, Hannah is the only person I’ve ever told. Every man I’ve ever trusted has betrayed me. And I told you that. Did you really expect me to just open up and fall down at your feet because you wanted in my pants?”

“No, but I would’ve liked the chance to earn that trust. You wouldn’t even give me that.”

“Because you haven’t earned the right to get that far. You lied to me right off the bat. It might not seem like a big deal to you, but it sure as hell is to me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some packing to do.”

With that, Haley pushes past me, stomps to her room, and slams yet another door shut behind her. I stare at the solid wooden panel. Something tells me that’s not the only door she slammed shut between us.