Just as Xavier was about to put down his now empty coffee mug and get back to the cold plunge tub, Aaron brought up something that made him stop in his tracks.
“You know what Bailey said to me yesterday?” he asked.
Xavier raised his eyebrows at him. “No idea.”
“She told me to keep an eye on that Jed guy,” he replied, frowning.
Xavier paused. He’d had a similar conversation with Hannah the night before, too. She had tried to make it sound as casual as possible, but he could tell from her expressions and body language just how much it bothered her. Jed had said some stuff to the women, she’d told him, that had given them reason to wonder if his motivations for being at the sanctuary were entirely pure. She wouldn’t go into the details, but she just asked Xavier to look out for Jed to see if there was anything strange that he noticed about him, too.
“What did she say?” Xavier asked. Had the women been talking about him among themselves or had they all just overheard him make a few off comments and wanted to do something about it? Either way, his ears perked up. He knew how guys could be when they thought there was nobody important listening. Unfortunately, for some men,nobody importantincluded women.
“Apparently, she was helping Hannah and River put up lights outside and he approached them and made a comment about Sarah. It had them wondering why he was really here,” Aaron explained. “Bailey hadn’t really had contact with Jed before that, but she said Hannah and River were uncomfortable around him.”
“Hannah mentioned something similar to me. She doesn’t really think he fits here, like he’s putting up a fake front for some reason. What do you think of him?” Xavier asked, his eyebrows drawing together.
“I haven’t spent much time with the guy either,” he admitted. “I’ve seen him standing around some outside, not talking to anyone, just looking around. But nothing to make me think something was going on.” Aaron shrugged. “However, River and Hannah are around the guests more than we are, so if they feelsomething’s not quite right, I’m inclined to believe them. What about you?”
Xavier sighed. “I don’t know, I haven’t really been around him either. I met him when he arrived and he recognized me as an owner, which I have to admit was odd. That’s not something we advertise outright,” he answered thoughtfully.
“If the women are worried enough to bring it to our attention, we need to mention it to Cade and Lawson.”
“River told Hannah that Cade’s already aware. I’ll bring it up to Lawson when I see him later.”
Aaron nodded. “Sounds good. We all need to be alert.”
“When I first saw him, I thought maybe I knew him from somewhere. He had a familiar ‘feel’ to him. He kind of reminded me of my brother.”
Aaron cocked his head. “Your brother?”
“Max,” Xavier replied. It felt strange to say his name out loud after holding it in for so long. “The look in his eyes, the way he carried himself.”
Aaron nodded again, waiting for Xavier to continue.
Xavier could tell that Aaron knew how big of a deal it was for him to bring up his brother like that out of nowhere. It wouldn’t have surprised Xavier if Lawson had mentioned Max to Aaron and filled him in on everything that had happened to allow Xavier’s family ranch to fall into their hands, leading them to create Warrior Peak Sanctuary in the first place.
It used to hurt to even think of him. And there was still a deep, raw sadness when Xavier considered the fact his brother was gone—really, truly gone. But he couldn’t keep hiding from it for the rest of his life, no matter how tempting it might have been. He was ready to face it. To talk about him, to remember more than just the last few brutal moments of his existence. Max had been so much more than his death, and Xavier was making a point to try to put that first in his mind.
He had been talking to Hannah a lot about him, which had helped. Just simple stories about the two of them growing up, nothing serious, but she listened intently like he was reading from the next great American novel. She peppered him with questions, encouraging him to keep going, and Xavier found himself chuckling fondly at some of the memories he hadn’t touched in years.
“Nothing out of place turned up on the initial check run on him when he arrived or else it would have been brought to our attention immediately, and he wouldn’t still be here. If he uses a different name than Jed Black, though, then we have no way of knowing.”
“Since he seems legit on paper, what do you think we should do?” Aaron asked.
“I guess we keep an eye on him,” he replied. “Make sure he’s not up to something that we’ve been missing.”
Xavier and Aaron turned their attention back to the tub and worked for the better part of another hour before Xavier checked his watch.
“I should go get cleaned up before my meeting with Sarah,” he remarked. “Can I leave the rest with you for now?”
“Sure, I’ll take it from here,” Aaron agreed. “But if this ends up a hot tub by accident, then it’s on you.”
Xavier grinned. “I have faith in you,” he assured him.
Aaron paused for a moment, as if considering his next words. “Everything going okay with Sarah?” he asked.
Xavier shrugged. “Guess so.”
“You seem better,” Aaron replied.
