“No.” This wasn’t the first time he’d encountered that bit of logic. “Why does everyone think that?”
“Because you got married out of the blue.” Rhett rocked in silence for a bit. “If it wasn’t a shotgun wedding, why did you get hitched all of a sudden?” He gave Hayden a knowing look. “You can tell me.”
The truth pressed at the back of Hayden’s throat. But Evie couldn’t afford even a whisper of their marriage being anything but love based. “I always liked spending time with Evie. Back then, I just didn’t realize she was my person.” The moment the words were out, Hayden knew they were true. Evie was as much his person as he was a Bennett. He met his brother’s gaze squarely. “I can’t explain it.”
“Don’t try.” Rhett patted him on the shoulder. “You finally found the woman worth breaking that vow you made to protect your heart. And here I was worried that you’d be lonely the rest of your life.”
“Like that was a big worry of yours,” Hayden scoffed.
“It has been.” Rhett shaded his eyes as he looked toward the setting sun. “Every time I try to talk to you about Mom or Grandpa, you change the subject.”
“Because—”
“See!” Rhett laughed as if Hayden was a hot mess and didn’t know it. “You did it again.”
He hadn’t. “I don’t see you talking about how your marriage ended with Kristin over and over.”
“That’s because once I got over Kristin leaving us, I didn’t need to whine about it anymore.” Rhett set his cowboy hat on his knee, leaning toward Hayden over the arm of his rocking chair. “But you…” He chuckled. “You’re not over Mom leaving or Grandpa losing his mind or Vi getting cold feet. Why? Because you hold your feelings close to your chest. Let me tell you. That stuff doesn’t heal if you don’t clean it out and make some repairs.”
“Repairs?”
“To your heart and your mental health.” Rhett sat back in the rocker, setting his cowboy hat on his head.
Hayden rolled his eyes. “I see you’ve earned your marital therapy degree since I saw you last.”
Rhett blew a raspberry, pointing toward the sunset. “My wish is that you finally listen to me and let your guard down, not just with Eve but with all of us.”
It was on the tip of Hayden’s tongue to wish Rhett would shut up. But Rhett wasn’t done.
“We stopped in Denver to say hello to Grandma Capshaw.” Their maternal grandmother. “She went into her usual mantra that Mom always wanted to take us with her when she left, but Dad refused.”
“Easy to make that argument when Dad isn’t around to refute it.”
“Look, the learning here is that divorce is hard. I’ve seen the fallout on my own kids. It put things in perspective for me about our parents’ divorce. We don’t know what kind of marriage Mom and Dad had. But we have to see both sides, whether we’re in a relationship or looking at one from the outside.”
Although Hayden found Rhett’s newfound self-awareness interesting, he wasn’t about to tell him that. “You definitely have been reading self-help books.”
Rhett swatted Hayden with his cowboy hat.
“Will you shut up about Mom and feelings if I say I’ll think about your wise words in my own free time?”
“Yeah.” Rhett set his cowboy hat back on his head. “And trust me. Eve will thank me if you do.”
“Ha, ha.” Hayden watched the sunset, wishing the path he’d taken to be where he was today had been different.
The two brothers rocked in silence as the sky turned purple.
Hayden broke the silence. “Can you help me and Roddy continue moving livestock tomorrow?”
Rhett stopped rocking. “Dude, I just drove from Texas to Montana with two little girls. I’m not going to just drop them in your wife’s lap for the day. I promised them we’d ride around the ranch.”
“The ranch you’re going to inherit? Willow Creek?”
“No. This one. The one where I grew up. Mostly.” Rhett’s voice was rising, along with the color in his cheeks. “Come on, Hayden. Think like a parent. From what Katie said, you haven’t taken her out riding since you got married. You haven’t even given her riding lessons. You need to take a personal day.”
“I can’t. And you can’t either.” There was a schedule to keep, taxes and bills to be paid. The reminder brought the weight of things pressing hard on his shoulders.
Rhett shook his head. “Kids grow up fast, Hayden. I’ll help you get ready for the livestock auction, but only if we have a family day tomorrow.”