Page 4 of Grayson's Angel

“Fine. I’ll run the ranch for one week.”

It took everything in Grayson to suppress the smile that wanted to spread across his face. It was the first time he had seen hope in his brother’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

Noah snorted. “Don’t thank me yet. Who knows if this place will be standing when you get back.”

“I have faith in you.”

“We’ll see.” Noah turned and headed toward the house.

“I thought you were going to give him more time to get acclimated.”

“Shit! You scared the crap out of me, Thomas.”

Thomas Carpenter was the foreman at Lazy S Ranch. He flicked a piece of straw he’d been chewing from his mouth. “You think he’s ready for this?”

“I don’t know.”

But Grayson felt he had to do something. Watching his brother walk around with no life in his eyes was killing him. The doctors and nurses at his brother’s rehab facility were struggling to battle his depression. They had thought it might help if Noah went home.

Thomas walked into the stall and took the rake from Grayson. “I think you’ve done enough today, son.”

Grayson had to hold back the growl threatening to escape. He hated looking weak. “I can finish the stall.”

“Let the young bucks do this.” Thomas jutted his chin in the direction Noah had gone. “How do you think he’ll do without you around?”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Grayson answered, “I think he’ll do fine. With me gone, he won’t be able to hide away in the house, on the computer. I’m heading to Montana for a week with some of my military friends.”

“Don’t worry about this place. We have it handled. I think you're right that Noah needs a swift kick in the ass.” Thomas left the stall, taking the rake and shovel with him.

Grayson muttered a “Thank you” at Thomas’s retreating back. The inside of his knee was throbbing. He didn’t have any fight left in him. Grayson reached for a towel to wipe away the sweat running down his face. The sweat wasn’t caused by the heat. It was from the pain radiating from his knee. Maybe a weekend off would be good for him also.

Later that night, Grayson called Hank Patterson to let him know he would be in the neighborhood. So many times, Hank told him about fishing and hiking in Montana and the crystal-clear streams. He couldn’t wait to dip his pole into the Montana water.

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