“I didn’t, but Google had some tips.”
“This is incredible. Thank you.” I pull him toward me, giving him a tender kiss.
“Okay, you better stop that or I’m not going to want to leave you alone, which defeats the whole purpose of this.” He pulls away from me. “This is your time. Don’t think. Just let yourself be. None of your problems matter right now. We’ll deal with them tomorrow, okay?”
I give him a soft nod. I don’t know how he manages to do that, but his words are really comforting. I actually believe them, and I think I can put aside the chaos in my mind for a few moments to let myself relax.
I sink into the tub, opening my book to the first page. Idon’t come out until the water is cold and I’m about forty pages into my book. Jax is fast asleep on my bed, his phone resting on his chest. I can tell he fought hard to stay awake for me. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m not going to waste this. I remember Olivia and Callie’s advice, and it hits me that I can’t expect our relationship to go anywhere if I don’t open up to him, and gosh, do I want it to go somewhere because my feelings for Jax are awakening parts of me I didn’t even know existed. With him, I’m somehow funnier and kinder and better. He makes my smile brighter and my laugh deeper. At the end of the day, IknowJax will support me no matter what because it turns out the right person will be there to lift me up instead of tear me down. I can’t believe I almost settled for less.
“This cold front just came out of nowhere. We’ve had such a mild winter this year.” Cooper, one of our newest cowboys, brushes his hands off.
“We should’ve prepared for this anyway,” I say, lugging the heater to the corner of the barn. “We should always be prepared.”
“This isn’t on you.” Rhett touches my shoulder. His eyes are earnest, but his touch is stiff. I don’t think he’s used to comforting anyone besides Olivia. “None of us thought to plan ahead for this. We still have time to get it sorted out before the freezing temperatures hit tomorrow evening. We’ll be fine.”
“But I’m the one in charge now. I have all sorts of lists organized. I did research on emergency prevention before I took over the ranch. Iknewwe were supposed to preparefor this.” I sit down on a bale of hay, placing my head in my hands. “How did I let this slip my mind?”
“You’ve had a lot on your plate. It shouldn’t all be on you. That’s what I’m here for.” Rhett draws back, standing taller. Since Austin left the ranch, he’s taken over as head cowboy. As much as I’d love to have full control over the ranch, I quickly realized I can’t do it all, especially not up to my standards. If I’m going to trust anyone, it would be Rhett. He loves what he does, and he’s great at it.
“You’re sure your dad can’t help with this?” Waylon asks.
“I told you, he’s busy.” The words come out in a growl, which immediately floods me with guilt. Waylon doesn’t deserve that. He’s sweet and has a heart of gold. It’s just that my dad doesn’t need the stress of managing the ranch.
I stand, joining Waylon by the water tank. “We need to learn how to do things without him anyway.”
I nearly choke on the words as they come out, but it’s true. Someday, my dad won’t be around. Ideally, it’ll be that he’s able to retire from the ranching business. He’s been doing well, and the doctors are optimistic his lifestyle changes can help decrease his blood pressure and resolve the issues he was having, but they also warned us he has to stick with these changes or his condition will worsen. As much as I hate it, today only shows we always need to plan for the unexpected.
“The good news is this heater should last a couple years,” Rhett says, giving me a kind smile. He must sense how tense I am right now. I’ll feel better when I know this is taken care of and I can enjoy my dance lessons with Jax tonight.
Cooper and Waylon work on the heater while Rhett and I line insulation along all the pipes. We want to makesure the water line doesn’t freeze. We only have two tanks for the whole herd, and if one goes, there’s no good way to make sure the cattle are all taken care of.
Bang!The two men on the water tank shuffle around as a surge of water sprays out.
“Shit!” Waylon shouts, stepping back and throwing his hands up in the air.
“Don’t just stand there! Turn the water off,” Cooper hollers at him.
In an instant, Rhett and I are standing over the top of them taking in the scene.
“What the hell happened?” Rhett growls.
“We punctured the tank.”
“I thought you said this would be easy to install.”
“It’s supposed to be,” Cooper says sheepishly.
“Is the heater still okay to use?”
Cooper bites his cheek.
“No, this thing is toast,” Waylon announces, looking grim.
“What about the water tank?”
“We can try to patch it, but no guarantees it’ll be effective.”
“Oh my god.” I suck in a breath.This isn’t happening.“There’s no way we can get another heater on such short notice.”
