“Morning, Lily. Hope you don’t mind, but Otley wanted to get here early and finish off his jobs from yesterday.”
His jobs?I thought I made it clear when we parted ways that I didn’t need his help anymore. I shake my head as I almost stumble off the porch. “That’s really not necessary…”
“Let him. Please.” Tristan bites his lip as he falls into step beside me. “Otley likes to keep busy, and he’s yet to encounter a task he doesn’t excel at.”
“I’m not worried about him doing a bad job.” I grimace as he tests the tension in the sail and the ladder gives an alarming creak. “I don’t want him falling and breaking his neck!”
“I’m pretty sure he’s okay.” Tristan peers up at his mate, who’s barely touching the tree’s trunk as he tugs on the eyehook. “Ot, how is everything going up there?”
“Fine,” he calls down without a glance in our direction. “I worked out the dimensions last night and Charlie has advised me on the appropriate angle for best coverage.”
Charlie – one of my field hands – gives me a wave from where he’s unrolling the next shade sail and I cringe at the fact that I didn’t even notice him there. But I can’t take my eyes off Otley. He’s dressed in a shirt that’s too thick for the morning heat, but at least it might provide some protection if he slips and tumbles into the rose bushes…
“Just wait!” I snap, my panic finally propelling me into action. “There’s a harness somewhere in the barn. Keep hold of that trunk and try not to fall!”
Otley finally looks down at me, his brow furrowed. “It’s really not necessary…”
“Hold. Tight.” I give him a warning scowl as I scurry past, not even realizing Tristan is on my heels until I’m in the barn and peering around for the harness. The barn is what Logan likes to call organized chaos, with each corner devoted to different piles that I keep promising myself I’ll get around to sorting. I quickly head towards the tree-pruning equipment, but Tristan has drifted over to the opposite corner, and I’m distracted by the look of soft wonder on his face. It only takes a moment to realize why he’s smiling, and I feel my nerves settle a little as I look at Leo’s old wooden crib. It’s next to his first bike, the training wheels still in place, and an equally tiny saddle, the leather so worn I can barely see the initials Logan carved into it on his fifth birthday.
When Tristan catches me staring, he holds up his camera. “Can I take some pictures? Not for the campaign or anything. It’s just that…”
Ellis would like to see them.
He doesn’t need to say it out loud; that corner of the barn is a time capsule of Leo’s early years, full of old toys and sporting equipment I could never bear to part with.
When I nod, Tristan leaps into action, oohing and aahing over every picture he takes. I focus on locating the harness, butwhen I drag it out of a box, I frown as I inspect the nylon webbing, which is worn and fraying in places. The buckles have also started to rust, and my panic grows as I try to remember the last time one of the field hands used it. We used to hire a tree-lopping service to maintain the trees around the public areas, but money has been so tight, I’d convinced Rosie to cut back…
I only realize my hands are shaking when Tristan reaches out and grasps them. “Do you have a fear of heights, Lily?”
I look at him in surprise.How can he spend five minutes in my presence and swerve right around my guard rails?
“Ladders. Planes. Cleaning the dust off the exhaust fans.” I give a mirthless smile. “If it’s more than a foot off the ground, I can think of a way it will lead to a very messy end.”
“That sucks.” I try to shrug off his sympathy, but Tristan’s hand tightens on mine. “You really can’t fly? Then how did you make it to California?”
“It started… after that.” I’m careful to avoid his eyes, since I have no intention of admitting that my phobia was triggered by that harrowing flight home. Somewhere over Death Valley I’d completely lost it, locking myself in the bathroom of Crest’s private jet in a full-blown meltdown. I don’t remember the gruesome details, but I’m pretty sure there were lots of snotty tears and helpless whimpers for my scent mates. Despite the sympathetic efforts of the flight attendant, I was so inconsolable, the pilot had to come back and command me to open the door so they could sedate me. The shame I’d felt at the pity in his dark eyes had lingered for a long time. But even after it faded, I never forgot the terror I’d felt as the bond in my chest had stretched thinner and thinner with every mile I traveled away fromthem…
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tristan says softly, and the next moment I’m in his arms, his minty scent like a balm on my ragged nerves. He holds me like I used to hold Leo after a night terror, and I suddenly wonder when I was last given a hug purely to makeme feel better. Rosie pats my shoulder plenty, and Leo gives me squishy hugs when he wants something, but Logan and I are still in that strange place between friendship and more. Kaysie says I give off unapproachable vibes when we go out for the rare social drink, not that the dating pool is exactly humming in Knotty Falls. But is this what I’ve been missing? An embrace from a kind man who can sense my pain and wants nothing more than to soothe it away?
When Tristan finally pulls away, he tucks a stray curl under my bandana and gives me a soft smile. “How about I go to the store and get a new ladder and harness?”
“You don’t need to do that…”
“I’m kinda invested in Otley’s survival as well, you know,” he replies with a wink. “And getting him off that ladder will be a lot harder than convincing a buff guy at the hardware store to help me load up your truck.”
I can’t resist rolling my eyes, because I can easily imagine a line of burly locals vying for the honor of helping Tristan out. “That would be great. Just let me grab my credit card.”
“Forget it.” Tristan gives me a warning scowl, although it looks adorable on his pretty face. “The guys owe you a decade of financial support, Lily. I think we can spring for a couple of things to help around the farm.”
His tone is gentle, but it sets off a swirl of unease in my belly. “I don’t expect that.” I pull back, wrapping my arms around my waist to hold in a shudder. “I never reached out because of the money.”
Even when things were at their worst, I didn’t consider it an option. Not when I was haunted by the contempt on Crest’s oily face as he accused me of trying to trap the guys.Like I was some kind of a gold-digging hick and first-class clinger.
“Hey, no one thinks that.” Tristan pulls me out of the memory with a gentle nudge with his elbow. “But just so you know,solving your problems with massive amounts of money is Otley’s love language.”
I shake my head, refusing to think of Otley James and love in the same sentence. But when Tristan sticks out his hand, I don’t hesitate to drop the old harness back into its storage box and follow him out of the barn.
And if my hand lingers in his for a moment, I tell myself it’s just the soothing gesture of a kind man and nothing more.
