The Texan's Engagement Agreement. Noelle Marchand

man rubbed his palms together. “All right, then. Who’s ready for a wedding?”

      His brothers cheered. Chris shook his head to clear it. Surely—surely this was a nightmare he would awaken from at any second. Adelaide’s gaze connected with his from across the room and the panic in her eyes was undeniably real. They’d been ambushed. There was no way out but the truth.

      Adelaide didn’t quite seem to understand that. She sounded genuinely troubled as she said, “Oh, but I couldn’t possibly get married without my mother present.”

      “I agree,” Mr. Holden said, looking decidedly unamused by the turn of events.

      Sophia took Hans’s hand and shooed the other boys toward the kitchen. “Let’s all go check on the cake, boys. Perhaps it’s cool enough to frost.”

      Once Chris’s siblings left, Pastor Brightly searched the faces of everyone left in the room. “Is there a problem?”

      “Yes, there is a problem.” Finally finding his voice, Chris crossed the room to stand beside Adelaide, then addressed his parents. “Y’all cannot possibly expect us to agree to a wedding with absolutely no warning.”

      Olan gave a tired sigh. “One would think that a five-year engagement is warning enough.”

      Marta went to place a comforting hand on her husband’s back. “Adelaide and Mr. Holden, I understand your objections to having the wedding without Rose present, but you can always have another ceremony later. You also must remember that Rose has not approved of Chris for the past five years. I see little reason to hope that she will change her mind about my son unless she has the opportunity to get to know him as her son-in-law.”

      “I agree with my wife. I would also like to point out that if a young lady truly loved my son no one would be able to persuade her not to marry him.”

      If Chris hadn’t already been watching Adelaide, he would have missed the hurt that flared in her eyes before her lashes lowered to cover them. Her voice trembled slightly, betraying her high emotions. “And you, Pa? What do you have to say about all of this?”

      “Adelaide, you are old enough to know your own mind. It’s your decision to make—yours and Chris’s.”

      That was not the response that Chris had expected from the man. Yet, Chris realized, it was the only one he could have given that would truly allow Adelaide the freedom to choose. If Everett had outright forbidden Adelaide to marry Chris and she’d capitulated, she would have appeared weak. This, at least, would allow her some strength and dignity in her inevitable refusal.

      Chris also realized that she would leave as soon as she articulated that refusal. He’d have no reason to see her again. She’d been ripped from him before without a goodbye. For some reason, he couldn’t let that happen again. He touched her arm. “Come on, Adelaide. Let’s talk about this outside.”

      A fierce March wind met them at the door. Not wanting to take a chance at being overheard, he kept walking until he reached the gate, then turned to face her. “I’m so sorry, Adelaide. If I’d had any idea that my parents would spring this on us, I would have done everything I could to prevent it.”

      The wind teased at her hair and skirt as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I know.”

      “You don’t have to go back in there. I’ll break the news myself.”

      She nodded. “I’d appreciate that. Please tell your siblings I said goodbye. It was nice to see them again.”

      She couldn’t seem to look at him. He wasn’t sure how or why, but what his father had said must have struck a nerve with her. Chris didn’t know how he felt. Anger had deserted him—at least for the moment. The only emotion he was left with was one he couldn’t seem to name. Whatever it was, it begged him to pull her into his arms. He shook the errant thought from his head. “Goodbye, Adelaide. Thank you for trying to help me.”

      “Goodbye, Chris.”

      He left her at the gate, announced to his family that there would be no wedding, now or ever, and said goodbye to Everett. Pastor Brightly left soon after. Chris removed himself to one of the chairs on the porch, feeling tired and bruised.

      The sound of the front door opening interrupted his swirling, unmanageable thoughts. He glanced up as his father took the chair beside him. Jaw clenching, Chris shook his head. “You hurt her feelings.”

      “I did?” His father frowned and cast a concerned glance down the street in the direction Adelaide and Everett had walked. “That wasn’t my intention. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d let it go this far.”

      A beat of silence passed. Chris looked at his father. Olan’s mouth slowly curved upward on one side. Chris straightened in his chair. “You knew.”

      Olan lifted an eyebrow and gave a single nod.

      Chris’s mouth fell open. “How long have you known?”

      “Chris, you are my son. Do you really think I didn’t see your hurt and anger the past few years? There’s also the matter of you flirting with your sister’s friends. The man I raised would never do that while betrothed to someone else.”

      “Why didn’t you say something?”

      “At first, I wanted to give you time to heal. Then I wanted you to come to me. Finally I just got sick of it and made you as uncomfortable as I possibly could to see when you’d finally break down and tell me.”

      Chris hiked his thumb toward the house. “The wedding. That’s what that was about. You actually set me up with a fake wedding, and you say I’m the one who took it too far?”

      “It wouldn’t have been a fake if you’d gone through with it.”

      “You knew we wouldn’t.”

      “Actually, I wasn’t sure. Adelaide’s always had a hold on you. She still does.” Olan waved off Chris’s protests. “I saw the way you kissed her.”

      “That was just to keep her quiet.”

      “Was it? Because, I’m pretty sure that by the time I slapped you on the back you’d forgotten not only where you were but why you were kissing her in the first place.”

      Heat crawled up Chris’s neck. He stood and walked over to the porch rail. “Pa, what are you getting at? Are you trying to make me admit that I care for her? Why? What does it matter now?”

      “We men don’t like to talk much about our feelings. I understand that. However, the way I look at it, feelings are a lot like seeds. You can bury them all you want. They’ll just keep growing. The only way to conquer them is to dig them up, bring them to the light and deal with them with God’s help. You’ve kept quiet about what you think and feel for Adelaide for so long. That isn’t a healthy way to live. I want you to talk to me. For the first time in five years, be honest with me and tell me what you’re feeling.”

      “I feel...angry. Not just at her, but at myself.” He turned to face his father and forced himself to speak the truth. “I could have fought for her. I thought about it so many times. How hard would it have been to get on a train to Houston and have an honest conversation with her? But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not after how she threw me away—threw away the future I wanted us to have together. I thought we were in love. I must have been wrong, if she was able to turn away from it so easily. Since then, I’ve just been numb. I tried to find a girl who would be content with that. No one ever was. But maybe now that it’s truly over, I can finally put it all to rest.”

      His father was quiet for a long moment. Right when Chris was beginning to feel uncomfortable for revealing all of that, Olan spoke. “What’s stopping you from fighting for her now?”

      Chris gave a short laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. Sanity, probably.”

      “Hey.” Olan leaned forward, brow furrowed. “I’m serious. You might say you’re ready to put it to rest, but I can see you still