Regan sat beside me and took my hand.
Skye adjusted the curtains until the room fell into soft shadow.
Cal lingered in the doorway.
I braced myself.
Here it came.
The disappointment.
The lecture.
The old cowboy judgment that would somehow hurt worse than legal consequences, because Cal’s disapproval felt like being weighed by the land itself and found foolish.
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then said, “You scared a lot of people who love you.”
My throat tightened.
“I know.”
“You made a mess I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
“I know.”
“You could’ve died.”
“I know.”
His jaw flexed.
For one second, I saw it then.
Not anger.
Fear.
Cal had been afraid too.
That was unfair. I did not have room for more guilt.
He stepped into the room, came to the side of the bed, and tucked the blanket higher over my shoulder with one rough hand.
“You get some sleep,” he said. “We’ll sort the mess while the sun’s up.”
I stared at him.
“That’s it?”
His eyes narrowed. “You want a speech?”
“No.”
“Then don’t look disappointed.”
“I’m not.”
