The Cowboy's Love

{Chapter} 28

{Chapter 28}

“What was that about?” Aubrey sat Wade and her father down at the kitchen table, standing in front of them with her foot tapping.

“Ask him” Daddy shoved a finder in Wade’s direction.

Wade looked at Daddy and rolled his eyes, rubbing his bruising jaw. “He didn’t like what I said to him earlier.”

Aubrey sighed. “I knew it. Daddy, you’ve got too much pride. Wade was just protecting me from what he thought was a bad thing. He doesn’t understand how we operate.”

“Then help me understand” Wade said. “By what stretch of the imagination is hitting a woman okay?”

Roy opened his mouth to reply, but his voice was interrupted.

“I saw the whole thing,” Jay said from behind them.

Aubrey turned to the boy. “Is that so? Then please tell me how this happened?”

“Sure” Jay sat at the table with Sadie in his arms. “Well, after Pa went into the barn, Mr. Roy came outta the dark and punched him back on the ground. Pa got up off his back and acted like nothin’ happened, sayin’ that he wasn’t gonna fight him. Mr. Roy was madder ’n a hornet and started sayin’ all this stuff about how he should face him like a man. Pa never raised a finger to ’im. Then Mr. Roy put a finger in Pa’s face and Pa pushed it aside. Then Mr. Roy punched him again. Then we heard you squeal and Mr. Roy looked awful scared then.”

Wade put his head down and Aubrey saw his neck heat during Jay’s narrative. What did the man have to be embarrassed about? He behaved nobler than her father ever could.

“Is that true?” She asked the both of them.

“It didn’t happen exactly like that” both men said at once.

Aubrey looked at Jay.

“It happened like that,” Jay said.

“Daddy, how could you? Jumping a man like that” Aubrey felt her eyebrows drawing close together.

“A pure coward is what you are” Brooke piped up for the first time from her place off to the side.

Daddy sent Brooke a look, to which Brooke replied with the same expression.

“Now you two are going to sit here and resolve this right now. Daddy, apologize” Aubrey commanded.

“Why?” Daddy asked as if she told him to do something impossible.

“Because you punched Wade twice for seemingly no reason. Swallow your pride and apologize or I’ll have Brooke tell Momma all about this” Aubrey threatened.

Daddy gave Wade a strange look.

“Aubrey, its fine. We’ll just forget about the whole thing. I have to take care of the horses” Wade stood.

Aubrey sent him a look. “This is ridiculous. Daddy, you’re acting like a child!”

She had never seen her father act so immaturely. It was degrading to her entire family.

“Let’s cut the chit-chat and get down to what this is all about” Wade spoke up, turning to her. “Aubrey, do you want to stay here with me and Jay or go home? I’ll respect either decision you make.”

“Your mother and I have decided to give you back your inheritance. When we die, the store is yours. You can live with us in the meantime” Daddy told her.

“What about the will?” Aubrey asked.

“Well, there’s a little catch to that. If you haven’t found a husband after four weeks, you can move back. We weren’t allowed to tell you that until after four weeks,” Daddy explained.