He smiles faintly.
“Fair point.”
We sit at the table while the kettle heats, silence thick around us, punctuated only by the crackle of the storm and the occasional clatter of a loose shutter tapping the siding.
“You okay?” Wyatt finally asks.
“Fine.”
He gives me a look that says he absolutely does not believe me.
I look away.
“I don’t enjoy storms,” I admit.
“Because of the ranch?”
“Because of everything,” I murmur.
He doesn’t push. Just nods with understanding.
The kettle finally whistles. I pour the water. We sit across from each other, nursing steaming mugs as if the warmth can chase away the foreboding hanging between us.
“We should check the horses at first light,” Wyatt says. “They’ll be spooked.”
“I’ll check them before sunrise,” I say automatically. “You get some sleep.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not letting you go out alone in a storm.”
“I won’t be alone,” I argue. “Plus, it’ll be calmer by then.”
“It won’t,” he counters, staring at the window as another bolt of lightning forks across the sky.
He’s probably right.
“Okay,” I concede. “We’ll both go.”
We drink in silence again. But my mind isn’t quiet.
It keeps drifting, toward the ranch, the fields, the woods beyond the fence line that look calm now but are the first to ignite when lightning hits dry ground.
It drifts toward the animals, the fences, the hay storage.
Wyatt exhales slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses.
“If this keeps up,” he murmurs, “I’m not gonna make it to Dusty Spur. Emmett wanted me to check in on a few of the horses that were acting off.”
I glance at him over the rim of my mug. “They’ll understand.”
“Yeah, but…” He shakes his head, jaw tight. “Red doesn’t worry unless something’s really wrong. If I can’t get out there…” Another crack of thunder drowns his words. “Well, let’s just say this storm isn’t helping anything.”
I nod, because he’s right.
The land is too dry. The lightning too constant.
And the roads out toward Dusty Spur turn to slick clay when the weather loses its mind.
“They’ll be alright for a day,” I try.
