Page 32 of Bravo

“He was angry. Wanted to fire him.”

“He should’ve fired him. I’m actually surprised he didn’t.”

“I asked him not to.”

Lani grins. “Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“Oh, just that he didn’t fire him.”

“Why is that interesting?”

Lani takes another bite then swallows it down with a swig of water. “Bradyn is very black and white in a lot of ways. This ranch is one of those things. He doesn’t let things slide here. He’s more than willing to give someone a chance, even a secondchance a lot of times. But Arthur putting hands on you? On top of his lack of performance in his actual job? Those are both grounds for firing, yet he let him stay. All because you asked.”

I try not to read too much into that. The last thing I need is Lani feeding the delusion that Bradyn Hunt might actually be interested in me. Especially when nothing can come of it. “I’m sure he just felt bad for me. I was pretty panicked that he would fire me.”

“Maybe.” But Lani doesn’t look convinced. “Do you like my brother? As a boss, of course.” She grins, letting me know that’s not how she meant it at all.

“He’s great to work for. And with. All of them are.”

“But Elliot’s not who you went to when you broke Arthur’s nose. You went to Bradyn when any of them could have handled it for you.”

“Bradyn’s just who answered the door. I went to your parents’ house.”

“Uh-huh. All in God’s timing.” Lani grins.

“What isthatsupposed to mean?” Frustration gnaws at my earlier exhaustion.

“I just mean that it’s interesting how Bradyn was at my parents’ house at the exact time you arrived.”

I take a bite of pizza. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Sure, I will. One day.” She grins. “So, what were you planning to do tonight before I crashed your solo party?”

“Crawl into the kitchen and make something to eat. Then probably have some tea and do some reading.”

She glances at my bedside table. “The Bible?”

“What? Oh. No. That was my mom’s.” I get up and tuck it into the bedside table before returning to finish my pizza.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s okay. I just had it out because I was looking for something.”

“What?”

“A psalm my mom used to read out loud occasionally. It popped into my head last night, and I was looking for it because I can’t remember anything but the first two sentences.”

Lani finishes off her water. “What are the sentences? I’ve been studying the Bible ever since I was old enough to talk. I might be able to help.”

I consider letting her in on this. It’s personal, which is typically on thenolist of conversation topics, but since I can’t see what it would hurt, I recite words my mother spoke more times than I can count. “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

“Ahh, yes. That’s a good one.” She stands. “May I?” she asks, gesturing toward the bedside table.

“Sure.”

Lani crosses the small cabin and retrieves the Bible then heads back. She sets it down, completely ignoring the faded blood splatter on the worn leather Bible. I’ve tried so hard to get it out, but nothing works. It remains there, branded onto the cover like my grief is tattooed on my soul.

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