Page 58 of Downpour

“Can you back your truck up under that tree?” I pointed to the big one by the pond that Brooke liked. “I wanna hang a tire swing.”

Christian lifted an eyebrow, but got back in his truck and did a neat three-point turn in my yard until the bed was situated under a heavy branch that stretched out over the grass toward the water.

While Christian hopped out of the truck and walked around to the tailgate, I locked my chair, bent over, and picked up the tire.

“Let me get that for you,” Christian said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I grunted as I heaved it over my head and into the bed of his truck.

It landed with an echoingclunk. The long rope hung over the edge of the truck bed and coiled on the ground. I grabbed the bulk of it off the grass and threw it in after the tire.

“Damn,” Christian said as he worked through the length of the rope to find the end that needed to go over the branch. “That’s impressive.”

I didn’t respond because what was I supposed to say?

“So, you wanna tell me why you want a tire swing in your yard?” he asked as he pitched the end of the rope into the air. It missed the branch and slapped the metal truck bed.

I watched as he picked it up to try again. “Figured the girls could come down and use it if they wanted to.” It was half of the truth.

Well, maybe a quarter of the truth.

Christian paused. “You mean that?”

I shrugged. “I guess Bree might be a little old for it.”

Christian’s brow furrowed. “No. She’ll love it. I’ll see if I can convince her to come down here and check it out.”

“What do you mean?”

Christian threw the end of the rope at the branch, but missed again. “She’s hurt, man. I kept them from seeing you when you were in the ICU. They lost their mom, and I didn’t know what seeing you intubated would do to them. They wanted to see youwhen you woke up after the accident, but you wouldn’t let them,” he said, sighing and picking up the rope. “You moved back to the ranch and refused to see them for a year while you were up at the main house. Then you had this place built, and you still wouldn’t let them see you. Then you just showed up at family dinner unannounced. They’re hurt. They feel like you don’t love them anymore, and they need time to work through that.”

I scrubbed my hands down my face. “That’s… That’s not it.”

“You know that, and I know that,” he said, hitting me with a sharp look. “They don’t know that, no matter how much I tell them you just need time.”

I sighed. “I’ll work on it.”

He threw the rope again. The third time was the charm as it made it over the branch and slid down.

I grabbed the end of the rope and pulled until the tire lifted off the ground. “Hold it there,” I said when I got it to the right height.

Christian held the tire, taking the weight off the rope so I could get the knot tied. When it was secure, he let go.

“Mind testing it out for me? I don’t want the girls to fall.”

Christian shrugged, braced one cowboy boot in the middle of the tire, and hopped on. The branch creaked under his weight, but the swing held strong. “Looks good,” he said as he swung back and forth for a few seconds before hopping off.

“How’s the lodge construction?” I asked as he shut the tailgate.

Christian leaned against the side of the truck and lifted his cowboy hat off his head to run his hand through his hair. “Fine. The foreman said some tools went missing Thursday night. Cass is going through all the cameras we have at the gates.”

Thursday? Why was this the first I was hearing about it?

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Christian shrugged. “Didn’t want to bother you with it. You don’t work for the ranch. Not your problem to deal with.”

“I live here. You didn’t think I should know someone stole shit off our property?”

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