He places a kiss to my forehead and plasters on a smile that makes him look like the Joker, just like the other day at the festival.
I pull back from him, my stomach churning. “Everything about that just made me more suspicious. What’s going on?”
“I missed you. It turns out I don’t sleep very well without you by my side.”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Charlie grumbles. “I thought I was okay with this, but the image of y’all sharing a bed is too much.”
“Charlie, wait.” I reach out to grab his wrist. When he turns back to me expectantly, I grab Jax’s face and pull him toward me, planting a big kiss on his lips.
“Yup, I’m out of here. I’m going to check out the cafeteria food.”
Jax arches a brow. “You’d rather eat hospital food than watch us kiss?”
“Yes, you’re that gross.” Charlie marches off.
I giggle, turning to Jax. Thankfully he’slaughing too. Maybe I was reading into things too much before. Maybe everything is fine.
“What have you been up to since I left? Did you get any sleep?”
“No, but I got a lot of work done.” I give him a tired smile.
“You need sleep.”
“You and I both know that’s not happening yet.”
He pulls me to sit down in an empty chair. “Have you heard anything from the doctors?”
“They said they got him in for treatment early enough to minimize the damage to his heart. They’re going to hold him through tomorrow night, but then he can come home the next morning. He’s going to have to take some medication to lower his blood pressure while he works on some lifestyle changes to reduce his stress, but he should be okay.”
“That’s great news! You should be relieved, right?”
I nod, worrying my lower lip. “I am, but I’m stillcautiouslyoptimistic.”
He chuckles. “That sounds like my girl. Tell me what work you got done.”
“I called Rhett this morning, and we’ve scheduled an interview with the cowboy I told you about. Dad’s excited because it’s the same morning he comes home. I might have to physically restrain him to keep him from showing up. He doesn’t need to jump right into things as soon as he’s out of the hospital.”
“You know your dad.”
“Yup, he’s as stubborn as they come.” I roll my eyes. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I’m really excited about the cowboy we’re interviewing. Did I tell you he has experience working on a regenerative ranch?”
I can’t contain my excitement long enough to wait forhis response. “Oh, and speaking of regenerative ranches, we’re going to start adjusting the fences for the pastures this week and plant some of the cover crops next week. That way we can slowly get the cattle used to the changes instead of all at once.”
A family walks through the front doors, bringing in a sweep of cold air and sending a shiver through me. Without missing a beat, Jax takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to me.
I give him a soft smile in gratitude as I shrug it on. “I’m a little nervous the cattle won’t forage the way they’re supposed to. I read that it can take some time, but I believe it’s the right move for Copper Hill. I just can’t get distracted by the fact that if any of this goes wrong, it’ll fall on me.”
“Take a deep breath.” He sets a comforting hand on my knee.
I do as he says. “Things finally feel like they’re falling into place on the ranching front, but there’s still that tiny bit of fear in the back of my mind.”
“It’s going to be great, Freckles. With the amount of thought and effort you’ve put into this, there’s no way you could fail.”
“Thank you.” I place my hand over his and swipe my thumb across the back of it gently. “I did some research right before you got here. There are all kinds of grants offered for farms and ranches that get into regenerative ag. Securing one would really help us stay afloat until we settle into our processes and start seeing the benefits of the cost savings. I might need some help finding all the requirements for the applications though. Could you help me this week?”
“Of course.”
I shift in my chair. It didn’t take long for me to learnthese hospital chairs are extremely uncomfortable. “So, what have you been up to today?”
