Mama Mae wiped her hands on a towel and leaned in closer. “Then we make sure it won’t be.”
I pulled my phone out and opened the notes I’d been taking since we crossed the county line.
“Then I need two trucks on the road,” I told her. “One visible. One not. I need eyes at the gate and eyes along the property line all day. I need Lucas inside the fence unless I’m with him.”
Mama Mae nodded, already reaching for her own phone. “Done.”
“And I need you to keep the house busy,” I added. “Make it look normal. If anyone comes sniffing around, I want them thinking this is a ranch full of people who don’t leave their doors unlocked.”
Her mouth twitched. “Hon, this house has been loud since way before you ever got here. You’re not asking for much.”
“I’m asking for everything.”
Mama Mae’s expression softened just a fraction. “I know you are.”
She tapped a contact and started texting like a woman who could summon a small militia with a few words. “Owen’s on ridge. Brody has the dog. I’ll send Kane to the gate for the day shift. And I’m putting Callum on the road.”
I blinked. “Callum is in town?”
“He is, and he’s got nothing better to do than act like he’s busy when I tell him to,” she said. “You want eyes, I’m giving you eyes.”
That was why she scared people. Not because she was loud. Not because she was sharp. But because she loved like a storm and didn’t apologize for it.
I grabbed two plates from the counter, loaded with eggs and biscuits and bacon, and started toward the door.
Mama Mae’s voice followed me. “Caleb.”
I paused. She didn’t sound like a commander anymore. She sounded like the woman who’d raised me.
“You take care of that girl,” she said quietly.
I swallowed. “I am.”
“And don’t confuse protecting her with owning her.”
That one landed. I didn’t flinch, but my chest tightened. “Yes, ma’am.”
Mama Mae snorted like she’d heard my tone and didn’t believe me for a second. “Go on. Feed them.”
I left before she could say anything else.
Lucas was awake when I got back, sitting at the table with his hair sticking up and a scowl on his face.
Marisol stood by the sink, rinsing a glass, her hair piled high and messy. She had on an old T-shirt that did nothing to hide her curves and my flannel thrown over it. The sight hit me harder than it should have. Like she belonged here. Like she was made to be part of my world.
She turned when I walked in. Her gaze found mine, then dropped, then lifted again like she didn’t know where to put it. There was a faint flush on her cheeks that hadn’t been there yesterday. She remembered everything too.
I set the plates down. “Eat.”
Lucas stared at the food, then at me. “Are we prisoners?”
“No.”
“Then why can’t we leave?”
“Because someone tried to hurt you,” I said, keeping my voice level. “And until we know that’s done, you don’t go wandering.”
His jaw tightened. “I didn’t do anything.”
