“What?!” The question ripped from my throat with a scoff. “Aboslutely not. You cannot ask Jesse to do that. That’s their home.”
“We didn’t ask him, sis.” Bea lost the battle against her smile, her whole face shimmering with warmth. “He brought the option to us.”
My entire body stilled, and my lungs refused to fill with air. Jesse offered to move? I blinked a few times, groping for my next words. “Why would he do that?”
Bea’s gaze darted to Tag before she looked back at me, but she didn’t answer.
“Seriously, Bea, why on earth would Jesse do that?”
“He cares about you, Hollie.” Her voice was slow and gentle, like I was a skittish wild animal.
A flash of panic tightened the walls of my ribcage. “I can only be his friend.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t about that, I can assure you. Jesse’s only concern was that you have the option to stay, even if you can’t take it.”
Jesse and Cade had been living in that cabin for six years; it was the only home Cade knew. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
Tag spoke. “You don’t need to say anything right now. Take the time you need to work things out. Just know you got a place here at Meadowbrook if you want it.”
“Okay.” I furiously blinked the welling tears from my eyes.
“We havelovedyou being here. It can get lonely as the only woman with all these cowboys. I know life is complicated, but selfishly, I’d love to have a sister here.”
I smiled. “Thank you. Selfishly, I’d love that, too.”
I continued into the kitchen to grab the ice cream sandwiches, my heart beating wildly in my chest the entire way.
THIRTY-FIVE
Jesse
Cade staggered out of his bedroom, his hair mused, his t-shirt on backwards and inside out. I sat at the kitchen table, pulling on my boots. “Morning, buddy.”
He flopped down in the seat beside me, immediately slouching and letting his eyes close.
“You okay?”
He swallowed hard. “My head hurts.”
I frowned, noting his skin was a little red, too. I reached over and laid my hand against his forehead. It felt like a furnace. “Oh no.” I shook my head with a long sigh. “You’ve got a fever.” He didn’t open his eyes or acknowledge that he heard me in any way.
I sat at the kitchen table for a few long moments, trying to sort out what I should do. I could stay home with him today, but that would require a total shift in Tag’s schedule. This morning, Penny, our veterinarian, was scheduled to come for a wellness visit. She came on an emergency basis, but otherwise, we had to schedule her. And being a vet in a remote area meant her time was incredibly limited. My jobduring her visit would be rounding up the horses and bringing the ones she needed from the pasture while she talked through health concerns with Tag.
Harlan couldn’t do it because he had a trail ride scheduled with the cabin guests at 10 a.m.
Realistically, I’d be busy fetching animals until she finished around one o’clock.
One o’clock was hours from now.
I raked my fingers through my hair. This was a textbook single parent issue: the need to work versus the need to parent. I wasn’t sure what to do. “Cade.”
His eyes fluttered open.
“Penny is coming today.”
He nodded—already knew what that meant.
“I have to help until she’s done. Why don’t I grab you some breakfast at the big house and bring it back here? You can stay in, watch TV, and I’ll get the walkies so we can stay in touch.”
