“I’ll come back,” I finished.
She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she didn’t push.
My phone buzzed again.
Dad:Weather service just upgraded the warning. This might get nastier than we thought. Stay put if you’re not feeling great.
I stared at the message, torn between relief and frustration. Part of me wanted to take the out—stay in bed with Alex while the storm did its worst outside. But if Dad was upgrading his concern level, that meant the situation was serious and I needed to do my part.
Me:I’m good to help. Give us 20 minutes.
I set the phone down and looked at Alex, who was reading over my shoulder.
“You don’t have to go,” her worried eyes met mine.
“I know. But Luke’s out there, and Dad’s worried enough to text instead of just handling it himself. I need to help my family.”
“Just... promise me you’ll come back if it gets bad? The headache or whatever?”
“I promise,” I turned to kiss her, slow and thorough. “You planning to stay here and be warm and dry?”
“Actually,” she sat back and ran her hands through her hair, “I was thinking I might head over to the main house. See if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t have to,” she was already climbing out of bed, moving toward the dresser. “But I’m here with you. Seems like the least I can do is help.”
I watched her pull out jeans and a hoodie before taking them to the bathroom to change and my heart turned over in my chest. I dressed while she fixed her hair and brushed her teeth. She grabbed her laptop bag along with her rain jacket. “I can work from the main house while you’re out,” she said. “I’m sure Tab’s got projects I need to review.”
“Smart thinking,” I smiled, pulling on my work boots and thenmy ball cap. “Though knowing my family, they’ll probably put you to work doing something completely different.”
“I don’t mind,” she shouldered her bag. “I’m happy to help.”
The rain was coming down harder when we stepped outside, beating against us as we made our way to the main house. Alex stayed close beside me, her bag tucked under her jacket to keep it dry.
Inside, the main house buzzed with activity. Dad was standing at the kitchen island with a hand-drawn map spread out, talking rapidly with Luke and two ranch hands I recognized. Mom was at the stove making coffee, and Elowyn sat at the breakfast table with her laptop, monitoring weather updates.
“Morning,” Dad looked up as we shook off our rain jackets. “Glad you’re here. Storm’s moving faster than the forecast predicted.”
He pointed to different areas on the map—rough sketches of the property with various locations marked in pencil. I dug my finger and thumb into the corners of my eyes, trying to wake up more.
“Main concern is the upper pastures,” he continued. “Creek beds that are usually dry this time of year are running, and we’ve got equipment scattered that needs to be moved to higher ground before it gets washed away. Luke and I were headed out with Tommy and Mike here to relocate the portable fencing and move some of the cattle to the south pasture.”
“What about the access roads?” I asked, studying the map. It took a minute to come into focus.
“That’s the other problem,” Dad tapped a different section. “Bridge over Miller Creek is holding, but if this keeps up, we might lose the north route entirely. I want to get everything critical moved before we can’t drive out there safely.”
Alex settled at the table next to Elowyn, pulling out her laptop. “I can coordinate from here if you need communication support,” she offered. “Keep track of where crews are working, relay updates.”
“I’d sure appreciate that,” Dad nodded approvingly. “Radio reception gets spotty out in the back country when it’s raining this hard.”
I grabbed a tumbler of coffee and a couple of breakfast bars from the counter, kissing Alex quickly before turning toward the door.
“Be careful out there,” she said, catching my hand briefly.
“Always am, darlin’,” I squeezed her fingers. “We’ll be back in a few hours.”
The last I saw of her, she was settling in at the kitchen table, laptop open, ready to help coordinate while staying warm and dry.
