Page 77 of Last Chance Love

“Roam?” Mona asked, then cocked her head. “You mean you’re willing to let them off the ranch?”

“Sure, we generally send someone when one of the animals inevitably gets out,” I told her. “It happens at least once a week.”

“That’s quite the evolution from ‘they’re finally doing well,’ don’t you think?”

“I didn’t say ‘finally doing well.’ I said they’ve been doing well. As a matter of fact, they’ve been doing far better than I expected. I think it’s time we put our money where our mouths are and let them have more space…and trust.”

“I’m not saying it’s a terrible idea,” Mona began, but I could tell from the way she sucked in her bottom lip, she didn’t mean that. “But I’m not sold.”

Neither was I, not completely. There was a possibility of it going to hell in a handbasket. The worst thing was that part of me believed something would go catastrophically wrong with the decision, and yet, I still had an overwhelmingly good feeling about them. I didn’t know how to reconcile the two opposing feelings, but?—

Well, maybe I needed to take a page from Reed’s book and start approaching things more confidently. At least when it came to decisions, which I had always held in suspicion. Against all odds and sense, Reed seemed to believe in me, which, well, I couldn’t say I gave a shit about the man as deeply as I did and not take his advice to heart.

Plus, it was more than a little annoying to feel like I was being nudged forward by Mona while simultaneously having her doubt me at every turn.

“Look, Mona,” I said, deciding that if I was going to crash and burn because I pissed her off, then at least I could do it while standing up for something I believed in. “I can’t figure out what you want from me right now. Either you want me to take control of the situation and own it, oryouwant me to do exactly what you want. If it’s the second, I wish you’d say so because this back-and-forth is confusing. Just say what you want.”

Mona fell silent, her face giving nothing away as she stared at me, her fingernails tapping against the blank screen of her tablet. Mr. Isaiah watched her from the corner of his eyes for a moment before leaning forward, curling one of his hands into the other, and setting them on the desk.

“Do you really think they’re ready for it? That step is normally a show of faith in the success of the men and the program,” he asked, sounding more serious than I’d ever heard. “And considering, well, Reno’s previous problems and that Elliot hasn’t exactly proven himself to be the most responsible in the past.”

“Elliot can be impulsive and immature or sometimes seem that way. I won’t argue with that.”

“Seem that way?”

“I’ve seen the way he works, and he works hard, even if he has to throw in some goofing off and jokes. He’s also clearly figured out how to work, live, and get along with someone that, by all accounts, should have been impossible for someone like him. He’s been taking his medicine as far as I know, and he has a way of working with others since most people seem to bear him some fondness…even if that is tied in with plenty of annoyance and exasperation.”

“And Reno?”

“He’s trickier, mostly because he simply doesn’t like other people getting into his business, and he comes off as one big, living temper. But there’s more to him, and I think being around Elliot has helped.”

“And how has he managed to help? From what I’ve heard, it has helped. I just wonder how.”

“Well, honestly, I think there’s been a lot of room for growth with Reno, and Elliot, well, he’s not the best people person, but he wants to be. Elliot does good with others, but he’s not good at making friends, and Reno is the same. And hell, maybe it’s because Elliot is generally a happy person. It feels like a good balance to Reno, who is …not.”

It was almost the way Reed and I were with one another. It wasn’t quite upbeat versus downbeat. It was in something subtler. I had always oscillated between knowing what needed to be done and obsessing over what I should do next, questioning myself constantly. Reed, however, had never lacked confidence, but when it came to his life, at least outside his chosen career, he had always been content to let things happen.

I had forgotten how nice it was to have someone around who could calm some of that noisome anxiety in my head. As far as he was concerned, I knew exactly what I should do and should act with the confidence necessary to make sure those things happened. He had as much faith in me as he did himself, showing he trusted me to deal with things…except taking care of myself.

“The point is, whatever is going on between them isworking,” I told Mr. Isaiah, firmly aware Mona was watching me but keeping my eyes on him as I spoke. “And their progress is commendable. I think the best thing we can do is give them a chance to show their progress and show we believe in them. Otherwise, this entire thing was for nothing, and it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

I managed to stay calm, but for God’s sake, this was me talking to the two people in charge of the ranch. I was just some convict who’d managed to get far enough into a program they helped design, and I was in charge of helping other guys who had once been like me. Either one of them would be well within their rights to throw me out of the program and back into prison, where I would live out the remainder of my sentence without any of the help they offered guys in the program.

“Hmm, and what do you think, Mona?” Mr. Isaiah asked, glancing at his second in charge, whose expression hadn’t changed from when I snapped at her.

I knew what was going to happen, and I groaned as soon as the grin appeared on her face. “Well, Garrett, I would say that if he’s so insistent on being right, then we let him prove it…again. His track record has been good, so why not?”

“This is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?” I asked accusingly.

“What I wanted is immaterial,” she said.

“I doubt that.”

She laughed, and the tension I’d sensed in her disappeared. “Well, maybe it isn’tcompletelyimmaterial. But in this case, we’ll put my concerns on the back burner.”

“So, is that a yes?” I asked, raising a brow. “To my idea, not whatever scheme you have running around in your head right now.”

She smirked. “I think you’ll find we’re more than happy to accommodate your idea.”

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