Free Heartland Wedding by Renee Ryan Page A

Nor did he make eye contact with her.
    “Are you going to tell me what happened?” she asked.
    “I…” He clamped his lips shut, then leaned an elbow on the table as if his weight was too heavy for him to hold up on his own anymore.
    Rebecca knelt in front of him and placed her hands on his knees. “Edward, please. Tell me who did this to you.”
    At last, he looked directly at her. She gasped at what she saw in his eyes. Sorrow, guilt and unprecedented anger.
    His fight had been about her.
    Oh, Lord, please no. Not that. Let me be wrong.
    Even though she dreaded what his answer would be, she needed confirmation. “You were defending my honor, weren’t you?”
    His gaze darted to the back door again. “Ja.”
    “Oh, Edward. Who did you fight?” Not Pete. Please, not Pete.
    He mumbled his response, but she caught enough of what he said to send a wave of panic shooting past the last threads of her remaining calm. “ Which Tully?”
    He shuffled his feet again. “All three.”
    “You fought all three Tully brothers?” She gripped her throat and stumbled away from him. “By yourself?”
    He nodded, but his gaze was remarkably unrepentant. “Ja.”
    The situation had gone far beyond anything she could have imagined. Gossip was one thing. Her ruined reputation a mere inconvenience compared to this. Edward had been beaten up defending her honor against three— three! —bullies.
    What if one of the Tullys had carried a gun? Or a knife? Would she be preparing Edward for his funeral? The idea was too terrible to contemplate.
    Yet, she had to face the truth. Edward could have been killed today—because of her.
    Closing her eyes a moment, Rebecca called upon her favorite verse from the Book of Joshua, the one she’drecited over and over throughout her travels from Norway to America. Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid.
    She knew what she had to do. Her pride no longer mattered. Her reputation wasn’t important, either. This was about protecting her only living relative as best she could.
    Rebecca stared down at her brother as an uncomfortable silence hung between them. They were both breathing hard.
    Thankfully, Mrs. Jennings returned and Rebecca shifted her gaze to the woman. “Can you serve supper without me tonight?” she asked. “I have someone I need to…find.”
    Eyes filled with concern, Mrs. Jennings looked from Rebecca to Edward and then back to Rebecca again. “There’s nothing wrong, is there?”
    Rubbing her palms together, Rebecca lifted her chin at a determined angle. “Nothing I can’t fix with a short conversation.” And an equally short ceremony.
    “Well, then, by all means, dear. Do what you have to do.”
    Edward grabbed her arm. “You don’t need to go to him, Rebecca. Pete’s coming for you on his own. Tonight.”
    “Pete’s coming here? Tonight?” Her heart skipped a beat. “Then he knows about your fight?”
    “He broke it up.”
    “Oh, Edward.” Her knees threatened to give way, but she refused to collapse into a heap of nerves.
    “He said to put on your prettiest dress,” Edward added.
    “Yes, of course.” Her tone came out flat. There were just too many emotions to sort through to give into any one of them.
    “Yes, of course?” Edward lifted a single eyebrow. “You have nothing more to say than that?”
    She shrugged. What else could she say? Pete was comingto propose. Only this time, it wouldn’t matter what words or what tone he used. Edward’s safety was all that mattered.
    A wave of sadness flooded through her. All her dreams of a happy future with a man who loved her solely for herself were disintegrating.
    Her choice of a husband was no longer hers to make. Marriage to Pete was inevitable now.
    But, maybe, if she dug deep enough, all the way down to a hidden spot in the back of her soul, she might be able to find a spark of hope waiting to ignite. A small, tiny thread of anticipation that had her wishing the inevitable didn’t have to be a bad