“You need to tell her.” Brad shoved his hands in his jeans pocket and stood beside Jed at the bottom of the front steps. “I need to call Emily, too.”
“You should call your wife, but you should go home too, Brad. Appreciate all you’ve done, but I’m sure Emily needs you home.” Jed stared up the road at the retreating taillights of Margaret Gordon’s car. She was an intriguing woman who reminded him so much of his wife’s own passion and dedication to a cause. They both gave all of themselves to anything they took on. He didn’t know what made him look, but he spied two riders coming in from the north trail. As he looked closer, he realized it was Andy riding that pure white Arabian he’d bought. He straightened his stance when he caught a glimpse of Scarlett and his wife, Diana, riding her.
“What the hell is she doing on a horse?” He started toward the barn, ready to lay into her—and that cousin of his, for taking her out to begin with.
He staggered a bit.
Brad grabbed his arm. “Whoa, take a breath. I think I’ll call that doc to get back here or haul you back to Seattle myself.”
Jed pressed his fingers into his forehead as a wave dizziness finally passed. “I’m fine. Just moved too fast, is all. And I made my decision. I told you and that doctor, too.”
“Jed, if you don’t tell Diana, I will. You’re not being fair to her. This is her decision, too. She’s your wife.” Brad dropped his hand. “And you need to tell Mom and Dad. Neil, too. We’re family, Jed.”
Jed glanced at his brother and into his solemn eyes, and before he could allow his brother’s feelings to affect him, Jed started toward the barn, where both horses were now tied and Andy and Diana had both dismounted. Diana saw him coming, and her deep blue eyes widened right before she pursed her lush, kissable lips.
“What the hell are you doing, taking my wife out riding a horse? She’s pregnant. I don’t want her on a horse, period. Have you forgotten what happened last time?” Jed felt the fury snap in his words, and he had to fight the urge not to plant his fist in Andy’s face, because right now, Andy was crossing lines that he had no business treading.
“Jed, stop it. It’s not Andy’s fault. He only went with me because I wouldn’t listen to him, because he sounded just like you do now.” Diana ran her hand over Scarlett’s flank and took a few steps closer to Jed. Then she stopped, placing her hand on her hip. Her t-shirt clung to her full breasts, and her shapely hips were outlined nicely in her faded jeans.
“Jed, you’re right. She shouldn’t have been on a horse.” Andy held up his hands, and Diana glared at him as if she wanted to kick him.
“Well, both of you, as far as I’m concerned, can take your cave-man attitudes and shove them. I’m done with it, Jed, with you protecting me and keeping me out of the loop.” Diana yanked on the leather buckle and unfastened the saddle. “And then you decided to confide in some other woman and not me, your wife, and you let her dismiss me from my own house. I’m done with all your secrets,” she shouted, then started to yank off the saddle and horse blanket.
Jed stepped forward. “Don’t you dare lift that saddle.”
But it was Brad who calmly stepped in and took it from her. “Diana, you and your husband have some things to talk about.” He turned to Andy. “Andy, I’ll help you with the horses.”
Jed stared at his wife, who stood just outside his reach. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, and her long red hair hung in her face. A beautiful sight, even when her eyes were spitting fire as if to roast him alive.
“What do you have to tell me, Jed? That you need your brother to tell you to talk to me? Oh, wait. Your lady friend, the doctor—let me guess, she already knows, too.”
Holy crap, he’d need a pair of tweezers to yank out the stinger from that sharp remark. “Diana, let’s go inside.” He held out his hand, but instead of taking it, she crossed her arms and stepped around him, stomping away toward the house.
Jed glanced at his brother, who winced, and at Andy, who looked rightly confused, squinting at Diana’s retreating backside and then at Jed.
“When you’re done talking to your wife, I need to have a word with you about that grant,” Andy said.
Jed couldn’t think about the grant, and at the moment, that was the least of his concerns. Brad was right. He did need to tell Diana, and he couldn’t bear to see the look in her eyes when all he wanted to do was protect her and keep her safe, but what he had to say would crush her.