He had to believe he and Riley would find a way to work together peacefully this summer. Otherwise, he'd never be able to stay sober.
Recalling how angry he'd been at his parents and Jake when they dragged him home last fall and forced him to dry out, he decided he needed to give Riley some grace and space to work through whatever tormented her.
So, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do because he'd loved this woman all his life, he backed out of the room and softly closed the door between them.
CHAPTER 4
Despite the amazing smells of bacon and waffles that assaulted Daniel when he stumbled through the back door of the big house for breakfast on Saturday morning, he wished he'd decided to forgo food in favor of more sleep. It had been close to two by the time he finally fell into a deep sleep, so his six-a.m. alarm went off way too early.
Jake stood from the table and carried his plate to the sink before Daniel could even sit down with his food. "Zane, keep an eye on 168 today. She's in labor, but I recall she had trouble delivering her last one, so she might need help with this one too."
Ah, Jake must have spent the night at the calving sheds.
Daniel should have volunteered to work the calving sheds for all the sleep he'd gotten last night. Choosing to walk away from a distraught Riley had been hard. Blocking out the memory of her tortured cries even after he'd returned to his bed had been even harder.
Daniel's dad nodded. "I'll be glad when we finally get all these calves here."
"Me too. Only a couple dozen to go." Jake gave a half-hearted wave before pushing open the swinging door that led to the great room. "Let me catch a few hours of sleep, then we can discuss bringing on some ranch hands. Hopefully as early as next week."
"Sure thing." Daniel's dad turned to him after the door swung closed behind Jake. "You look like you could use a few more hours of sleep yourself."
His mom slid into a chair across the table from Daniel. "Did you have a bad night?"
Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh. "Yeah."
"Was it the same nightmare?" Her voice was gentle. At his nod, she asked, "Did Riley coming home cause it?"
Daniel cut a bite of waffle but didn't bring it to his mouth. "I don't know. Maybe."
"I imagine her being home stirs up all kinds of emotions in you, but stay strong and focus on your goals." She put a hand on his arm. "If it's meant to work out between you two, it will. Stressing over it won't change anything."
Daniel only had one goal: stay sober.
After six months of almost constant inebriation, the seven months he'd remained sober weren’t enough to dull the frequent desire for a drink. As for things working out between him and Riley... He couldn't go there. He needed to prove to himself he could stay sober long-term before getting into a relationship. The last thing he wanted was to let down a woman he cared for. Especially the one woman who meant more to him than even his family.
Considering the way Riley took out her rage on the punching bag the last night, a relationship was the last thing on her mind right now too. Which was probably for the best.
Daniel gave his mom a tight smile and a nod before shoving the bite of waffle in his mouth. He thought about the things Emily had taught him. The only things he had control over were his words, behavior, and mindset. So that's what he'd do. It didn't matter that Riley was back at the ranch, acting strange, he would focus on the things he could control.
His dad rose from the table. "I'm going to start feeding the cattle. You hit the stables when you're done eating."
With thousands of heads of cattle in the surrounding corrals and pastures, getting feed to them every day was a monumental task even with the help of a tractor. It would be a lot less work after they moved most of the herds to summer grazing pastures.
"We also need to move more straw to the stables today."
Daniel acknowledged his dad’s words with a nod.
His dad paused by the door to the mud room before walking out. "Hopefully, Riley will come help you when she surfaces, but I'm not sure what to expect from her yet."
Riley was a hard worker, but she was not a morning person. Considering what he witnessed last night, Daniel doubted he'd see her before noon.
Fifteen minutes later, he pushed open the big double doors and walked into the stables. After ensuring there was enough straw for today, he turned the horses out into the corrals and set to work cleaning the stalls. He'd finished the third one by the time Riley walked into the stables.
Despite his thoughts at breakfast about avoiding a relationship right now, his breath hitched, and his heart rate kicked up a notch. She'd always had that effect on him. When he was young, it was because she was fun to be around. Then just before he left for college, she blossomed into a young woman, and he'd started to see her in a different light. He’d been attracted to her ever since.
Shadows ringed her eyes that had a decidedly pink tint to them, and exhaustion lined her face, but she was still pretty in her faded jeans, pale pink t-shirt, and layered pink and gray flannel shirt with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Sorry, I'm late." She barely glanced at him before looking at the blank job board. "I assume I'm supposed to help you?"
