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He couldn't be a complete failure if he had the love of a man like Aiden.

"Go on," Aiden said with a faint, encouraging smile. "I'll be waiting for you when you're done."

Chapter Twenty-Six

SETH

Seth could hear his sister muttering to herself in a dark, evil-sounding voice when he entered the barn. She didn't bother looking up at the click of the latch when he closed the door to keep the wind out. Dim sunshine filtered through the wooden slats, lighting the barn with the holiness of a Sunday church.

Seth had given Tessa a few minutes head start to the barn, but she hadn't calmed down even a little. She was snorting angrily, breath steaming in front of her face as she furiously loaded hay into the back of the newly repaired feed truck. She'd forgotten her hat, and her winter coat was so thick and fluffy that it hindered her movements, but judging by the look on her face, she'd beat the brakes off him if he interfered.

Seth leaned back against the door and shoved his hands into his pockets, heart aching as he watched.

She'd always been a cheerful, bright spot in his life—the only happiness left after he'd distanced himself from Aiden. He hated to upset her, but more than that, he hated to disappoint her…and he felt like he had.

"You don't have to do that," Seth said gently, unsure how to put them back on familiar footing.

His stomach felt like a queasy knot every time he remembered how she'd looked running out of her bedroom, but it was nothing compared to how he felt when he saw the anger in her expression now.

Tessa didn't even blink. She lifted hay into the truck's bed with practiced ease, as if he hadn't spoken.

He tried again. "It's my job."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Tessa sneered, whirling on him unexpectedly and jabbing a pointed finger into his chest. "This is my home just as much as it belongs to you! I've been bucking hay since I was old enough to walk!"

"You shouldn't have to?—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" She threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "You've got to stop treating everyone like we're your playthings!"

Seth stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her in shock and confusion. "I don't do that," he protested.

Tessa barked out a laugh, cutting him off before he could piece together a better argument. Hurt and frustration suffused every facet of her body language, from her beet-red complexion to the tangle of hair she kept shoving off her sweaty forehead. "It's exactly what you do! What you've always done! Dad treated you like a prodigy; the whole town acted like you walked on water, and you let it go to your head. You never exactly got a childhood of your own; you were too busy giving advice to grown men twice your age. It gave you an inflated sense of responsibility."

Seth crossed his arms, unimpressed, and shored up his straining patience to say calmly, "You've got no idea what you're talking about. You were just a squirt back then."

"You always acted like being little made me blind," she said, rolling her eyes. "I paid attention to everything. I still do—and I know one thing: you can't keep doing this, Seth. You can't keep trying to control everything and everyone around you."

"I'm not trying to control anything," Seth shot back tightly. "I'm trying to protect you!"

"Yeah?" She plucked her hands on her hips and lifted her chin, giving him a condescending sneer that sparked his temper when nothing else could. "Who nominated you for that job?"

"Dad—when he died," Seth snarled.

"He asked you to raise me, not give me a lobotomy! I have my own brain, you know. My own spirit! Just like everybody else. What right do you have to decide you know better than the rest of us about our own lives?"

Seth's eyes narrowed. "You're changing the topic. Riley had no business in your bedroom, Tessa. You're too young to be making those kinds of decisions."

"Too young?" Tessa's voice rose in disbelief. "I'm not a child anymore, Seth! I'm over eighteen. I can make my own choices."

"Even if they're wrong?" Seth countered, purposely keeping his voice low, trying to scale back their rapidly raising volume. "What do you want me to do? Just stand back and let you get hurt?"

"Yes!" she screamed. "That's the whole point! You can't shield people from their own mistakes, Seth. It's wrong. Pain is how we all grow, isn't it? What right do you have to keep that from us?"

Seth jammed his hands in his pockets, grinding his teeth so hard he could feel the muscle in the side of his jaw ticking. She didn't get it, but one day, when she was responsible for someone other than herself, she would. "I just want to keep you safe," he said quietly.

"Safe?" Tessa asked, eyes flashing. "Or controlled? You've been trying to control everything around you since before Dad even died. You did it with me, and you're doing it with Aiden."

Seth stiffened. "This isn't about Aiden," he said tightly.