Reeves stuffed his feet back into his and looked at his jacket with a frown on his face. “I threw the bread. It’s somewhere outside. It’s cinnamon chip, and it makes great French toast.”He nodded at Graham and then Eli and Stockton, while Graham tried to figure out the right words to express his gratitude. He couldn’t, and he ended up following Reeves toward the garage exit.
“Thank you so much again,” he said. “You seem to know a lot about what to do in a situation like this.”
Reeves slid his arms into his coat and faced Graham. “Yeah, a little,” he said. “I’m from a little town right on the Canadian border in Montana, and I’ve done a lot of outdoor camping, hunting, and fishing.”
“So that’s how you knew how to build that blind of boxes,” Graham said. “To hold the heat, right?”
Reeves nodded, his jaw jumping. “Right.”
“What do you think?” Graham gestured behind him, indicating the whole house. “Do we need to call the paramedics?”
Reeves looked down the hall too, his eyes eventually coming back to Graham’s. “I think she should be checked out,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s an emergency. She’ll probably be fine here, and you can go when the storm is over. They might want to do a CAT scan or something to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion.”
Graham nodded. “Of course.”
“You can watch for the signs of concussion,” he said. “Headache, vomiting, blurred vision.”
“Sure,” Graham said, and while he didn’t know all the symptoms, he knew he could look them up.
“Is she alone?” Reeves asked. “Or is she married?”
“Oh, no, she’s single,” Graham said. “But I bet I won’t be able to get her mother away from her tonight.” He chuckled, knowing full well he might be sleeping at Bailey’s tonight as well.
If they didn’t stay at Bailey’s tonight, they’d most definitely stay in town. Both Andrew and Beau lived here, and Grahamcould also get them a hotel, as he knew Bailey didn’t have a guest room in Butte and certainly wouldn’t have extra beds here.
“All right, well, I’ve got your number,” Graham said. “I’ll make sure she has it too. And really, just thank you so much.” He opened his arms to hug Reeves, plowing forward with the gesture, though the man stiffened and his eyes widened. Graham gave him a stilted, awkward hug that lasted a couple of seconds before he forced himself to pull away.
Reeves nodded and ducked out the garage door, leaving Graham to turn back to Eli and Stockton. “Let’s see if we can get the truck better positioned to finish the unpacking.”
“I bet we can back it into the garage,” Eli said. “Or at least right up to it, so the ramp isn’t in the snow.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Graham said. “Let me tell Laney.” He moved down the hall to do that.
Bailey came out of the bedroom before he could make it inside, and he said, “We’re going to try to get everything else unloaded.”
She nodded. “Momma says I have to sit down, and she wants me to have something to drink.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll call the paramedics unless you think we need to, but I think you should get checked out in the next day or so, just to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” He pulled her into a hug, and she sagged into him and hugged him back.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll do that.”
Graham met his wife’s eyes over Bailey’s shoulder, and he knew that she would make sure Bailey was checked out, settled, and absolutely okay before she ever returned to the lodge.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
It’s your last final today, right?Cash’s text came in just as Lark swept her phone off the bathroom vanity to tuck into her pocket before she left for said final. Yes, her last final was today, and she couldn’t wait to be done for the semester.
I’m hoping so, his next message said.Because I prayed real hard this morning that you would do well on it, be happy with your performance this semester, and be able to get back to Coral Canyon this weekend.
Lark smiled at his text and this new game they’d been playing while they’d been apart. She’d come up with it by texting him,I prayed for your flight to go well today. Good luck in Las Vegas, the Wednesday after she’d left town.
That evening—really very early in the morning, he’d texted her,I prayed for your boss to be nice to you about the end-of-year grading, so I hope that comes true.
Her boss in the Agricultural Science Department had not been that much nicer, but Lark knew how to handle him, and she only had to work for three more days before the winter break.
Every morning and every night since then, they had been texting each other what they’d been praying about for the other person, and it made Lark feel less lonely. She knewsomeone somewhere was thinking about her, and she knew what messages she’d been getting across to them about what she was worried about, or concerned over, or hoped for.
