“Nothing for you to concern yourself with.” I grab a saddle from the rack, hefting it over my shoulder. “She needed somewhere safe to stay, somewhere quiet. I offered.”
Truett exchanges a look with Jesse. “You offered? Mr. Don’t-Even-Come-Over-For-Christmas offered up his sacred bachelor pad?”
“She was scared, all right?” The words come out sharper than I intended. “You didn’t see her face. Didn’t see how she was shaking, trying to hold it together. I wasn’t about to drop her off somewhere and leave.”
Jesse raises his hands in surrender. “Easy, brother. Just surprised, is all. It’s not like you to get involved in other people’s problems.”
“It’s not like that.” But even as I say it, I know it’s a lie. Something about her pulls at me, makes me want to be closer. Makes me want things I haven’t wanted in a long, damn time. Maybe even fucking forever.
“Sure, it’s not.” Jesse grabs his own saddle. “Keep lying to yourself.”
“There’s nothing going on.” The memory of her lips against mine, the way she pressed her body into me, asking me to make her forget—it’s burned into my mind like a brand.
“Whatever you say.” Jesse’s eyes narrow. “But I’ve never seen you move that fast for anyone outside family before.”
“Can we just get to work?” I lead my horse out of the stall, throwing the saddle blanket over his back.
Truett comes up beside me, lowering his voice. “She really okay, though? That kind of thing can mess with someone’s head.”
I appreciate the genuine concern in his voice. Truett might give me shit like Jesse does, but he’s been family since we were kids. “She’s shaken up. Trying not to show it, but I can see it in her eyes. Just needs some time to feel safe again.”
He nods, understanding. “And you’re giving her that time. At your place. Where no one goes.” The words drop in between us, a small smirk playing against his lips.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m just saying, for a man who values his solitude as much as you do, that’s a big step.”
I cinch the saddle tight, focusing on the task instead of Truett’s knowing eyes. “She needed help. I helped. That’s all there is to it.”
“Sure.” He doesn’t sound convinced. “And when she’s feeling better? When she doesn’t need that help anymore?”
The question catches me off guard. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Last night was about getting her somewhere safe. Sleeping in the same bed, taking her mind off everything…well, something else entirely. I haven’t considered what happens next.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” I mount my horse, looking down at them both. “We moving this herd today, or are we just gonna stand around talking about my personal life all day?”
Jesse laughs as he finishes saddling his horse. “Just admit it, Dev. You like having her there.”
I don’t answer, but the truth is, I do. Waking up knowing she was in my house, seeing her in my bathroom, it felt right in a way I can’t explain, even with the circumstances being what they are.
We ride out to the pasture in silence, the afternoon sun warming my back. It’s a clear day, the kind that makes you appreciate living in open country. Up ahead, the cattle are scattered across the field, some grazing, others resting in the shade of the few trees.
“So,” Jesse says as we spread out to begin gathering the herd. “Tell us what happened. How’d you end up being the one to save Atlee Walsh?”
I sigh, knowing they weren’t about to let this go. “She called me. Said she was in trouble and needed help.”
“She called you?” Truett asks, eyebrows raised. “Not 911? Not her sister?”
I shrug, trying to seem casual about it. “We’ve been…talking. Off and on.”
“Talking?” Jesse’s grin is wide enough to split his face. “Since when?”
“Since that night Truett got hurt, and she helped out. We’ve texted some. Talked when she’s working at the diner.” I guide my horse around a small group of calves, nudging them toward the others. “Nothing serious.”
“Serious enough that you’re the one she called when she was in trouble,” Truett points out.
The memory flashes through my mind—her voice on the phone, small and frightened. The way my heart had stopped at the sound of it. How I’d dropped everything and raced to the pharmacy without a second thought.
“When I got there, things weren’t good. Atlee was fighting for her life, looking like she’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight.” My grip tightens on the reins. “She didn’t want to go to the hospital and didn’t want her sister to see her like that.”
