On his way out of the bedroom, he tapped the thermostat in the hallway down a couple of degrees, wanting to keep the room cool before going to the kitchen to grab a can from the refrigerator.
Tesha lifted her head to watch him move across the room.
“He’ll be all right, girl. He just needs to sleep.”
Reese returned to the bedroom with the can, easing it beneath Brantley’s neck, knowing the cold pressure would alleviate some of the pain.
When he returned, Tesha was sitting on the couch, focusing on the hallway. She had slept soundly last night, curled up on the couch, glad to be back home. He got the feeling she knew Brantley wasn’t feeling well because she didn’t jump up with excitement, instead watching the hallway as though that might make Brantley emerge sooner.
“It’s just you and me, girl,” Reese told Tesha as he grabbed his shoes from the closet in the hallway.
Reese had learned to stash clothing around the house so he didn’t have to bother Brantley when he was like this. If they were lucky, Brantley would get up in a few hours. If not, it would be dinnertime before the headache subsided. Reese intended to ensure no one interrupted Brantley in the interim.
“Come on, girl. Let’s go for a run.”
An hour and a half later, after their run and after Reese took a shower in the guest bathroom, he was dressed and ready for the day. He didn’t cook breakfast because the scents could make Brantley nauseous. Instead, he grabbed a plastic tub of cantaloupe and grapes for himself, as well as Tesha’s food, and took both to the barn. He settled Tesha in with her breakfast before starting the coffee.
The team hadn’t arrived yet, but he knew JJ and Baz would be coming shortly. He’d closed the curtain on the back door to signal that they shouldn’t come in. It was something JJ had suggested to ensure they didn’t walk in on something that would make her want to bleach her eyes out. Her words. Brantley had teased her relentlessly since JJ was prone to joking aboutwantingto watch them.
The thought made Reese smile as he realized Brantley never did close that curtain. If Reese didn’t know better, Brantley figured the simple fact someone could walk in at any time made their mid-day encounters hotter. He wasn’t wrong.
Reese had just poured his first cup of coffee when the door opened.
“When did it start?” JJ asked, her forehead creased with worry.
“He didn’t wake me up, so I don’t know.”
“Poor Brantley.” Her attention shifted to Tesha, and she grinned from ear to ear. “Hey, girl. You miss me?”
Reese watched as JJ knelt to give Tesha hugs and kisses and sneak her a treat, as though Reese couldn’t see her.
When she stood up, she noticed he had been watching.
“What?” she said with a smile. “Ramona has been experimenting with dog-friendly treats. I picked it up on my way here.”
He knew that if Ramona Weber, the owner of Batter & Bliss, was cooking treats for dogs, it was because JJ had asked her to.
“So what did you do with Deck?” JJ asked as the door opened and Baz strolled in carrying her bag and a box filled with what could only be donuts.
“He took the jet to Dallas,” Reese told her, then looked at Baz. “I made coffee.”
“Thanks.”
JJ pulled out a chair beside the box of donuts and sat. “Did he say anything on the flight home?”
“He did not.”
“Did B interrogate him?”
“No.”
“Is he mad? Brantley, I mean.”
“He’s not thrilled.” Reese understood Brantley’s frustration with Decker. Not because of whatever he’d been doing but of how he’d gone about it. Going off the grid was stupid and reckless. At the very least, he could’ve maintained his check-ins, and no one would’ve been the wiser.
Reese watched as JJ took a donut from the box. Her gaze bounced from Baz to Reese to Tesha, then to the donut in her hand. She was stalling, but he couldn’t imagine why.
“Did I forget to do something?” he asked when Baz disappeared into the small kitchenette for coffee.
