I toss my bag of mulch onto the ground beside his and yank off my work gloves. I start toward the retirement center. Ryan and I are going to have a little chat. Probably Ethan too. Hell, maybe all the guys in Courage County.
Cord puts a hand out like he’s going to touch my shoulder, but the glare I shoot him has him retracting it. He holds up both hands in a motion of surrender. “That’s one way you could do it. You could barge in there and demand that she never talk to another man again.”
I nod, satisfied with the solution. It sounds perfect to me. But before I can point this out, Cord continues. “But that’s not likely to win you any points with her. And that’s what you’re really after here, isn’t it? You want her to pay attention to you?”
I deflate at his words but don’t say anything aloud. That is exactly what I want. I want all of her attention and focus to be on me every day for the rest of her life. I don’t care if that makes me selfish. I’m willing to give the same in return.
Since the moment I met her, other women have ceased to exist to me. There’s only Bree with her brilliant sunshine smiles and her sweet demeanor and the way she gestures with her hands when she talks. I love the way she takes care of the patients at the retirement center so gently and how she’s such a good friend to Lauren. All of these things make her beautiful inside and out.
“What’s your suggestion?” I finally spit out, realizing he wants to tell me something.
“You need a plan,” Cord insists. “You need to come up with a way to spend time with her. One that doesn’t feel like a date, but maybe allows for a date.”
“Like what?”
He shrugs. “You’ll figure it out.”
I spend the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon trying to think of a way that I could get Bree’s attention all to myself. In the meantime, there’s an emergency. Not the medical kind. Nope, this has to do with the water pipes.
“What do you think?” I ask Bronco quietly when the water to the building has been shut off, and we’re standing on waterlogged laminate boards. The community room has flooded. It’s where the residents spend most of their time. It’s a combination dining room and social area.
Dining tables are set up on one side where residents enjoy their meals, and the other side of the space is filled with oversized chairs, bookshelves, TVs, and entertainment options. Prints from famous artists and residents alike hang on the walls. It’s a beautiful, cozy space that would make anyone feel at home here. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of water damage now.
“It’s not good,” Bronco answers just as quietly.
Elaine surveys the room too, looking bleakly around. Sure, she smiles when she thinks anyone is looking at her. But it’s obvious that she’s feeling more than a little overwhelmed by this.
Bree and Lauren are huddled near Ethan, and the three of them are whispering. They sound like they’re discussing patient care. Any Marine who’s spent serious time in combat understands the importance of water to survival. When we’re talking about elderly residents, the need for clean water is even more critical.
I glance at Bronco, and he gives me a nod, letting me know he’s thinking the same thing. He pulls out his phone and speaks quickly to Ridge in a hushed tone. The call takes less than sixty seconds, and dozens of cowboys will arrive at the community center within the hour to help out.
As soon as he’s done, I approach Elaine. “We’re going to get the pipe fixed and the water back on within a few hours.”
She puts a hand to her chest, her gold bracelets clinking together as she does. “Oh, thank goodness. That’s the most important thing.”
Bronco steps forward. “Ridge is en route with clean drinking water right now. He’s bringing gallons from storage.”
I’m not even a little bit surprised that Bronco would easily have access to enough water to provide for a hundred people. Like most gunnery sergeants, he can figure out how to get his hands on just about anything. I’d bet he has a hell of a bunker underneath that farm filled with enough supplies to get the town through the apocalypse.
A woman in a floral dress with bright red lipstick hurries into the room. She glances around as she splashes through puddles in her heels. This is all going to have to be removed. I know Elaine has insurance, but I’m doubtful they’ll be helpful. They’ll drag their feet on paying–if they pay at all. Nope, it’s going to come down to the good people of Courage County looking out for their neighbors if this place is going to get fixed up.
“This is terrible,” the woman gasps. “The spring dance will have to be canceled now. What about my tango?”
Elaine steps forward and puts a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Joyce.”
Ethan frowns. “I thought you just had hip surgery.”
“Must have been someone else you were thinking of,” Lauren answers quickly.
Bree gives Joyce a sympathetic look. “I know you were looking forward to the dance. We all were, but this is going to take weeks to repair the damage.”
There’s a crackling over the intercom as Ethan is paged. He excuses himself from the conversation to check on his patient.
“It’s going to be a huge undertaking to repair all of this,” Lauren says and for a moment, her sunny smile dips, replaced by a wobbling of her chin. She holds it together though and doesn’t cry. This has to hit her and Elaine pretty hard. Unlike the rest of the staff, this is their home as much as the residents.
That’s when the perfect idea comes to me. I know exactly what I can do to get Bree all to myself. “What if this year the dance was outside? We could set up tents and allow everyone to enjoy the spring weather. Could probably even get Bronco and his men on making a few temporary platforms for the outdoors.”
Lauren looks at Bronco like she just heard about his Medal of Honor. “You could do that and get the pipes fixed, all within a few days?”
