Page 49 of Keep You Safe
“Careful.”
“I’ve got it.” My voice came out as terse as the rest of me felt. Maybe it was time to have this out, reluctant as I was. I exhaled hard, mentally yanking up my Wranglers and girding my heart. “Should we talk?”
“I don’t know. Should we?” Not surprisingly, Adler was defiant. As well he should be, given that I was the one stringing him along. We might both be avoiding the hard conversation, but I was the one at fault.
“I—”
“Grayson?” Maverick saved me from figuring out what the hell I’d been about to say as he strode in through the other machine shop door, bringing a gust of cold air with him. “Oh good. Adler’s here too.”
“What’s up?” My senses instantly went on high alert, the way I could always tell when a horse was about to spook or a piece of equipment was about to break. Something was wrong, as evidenced by Maverick’s wild eyes and pink cheeks.
“We’ve got a situation.”
“What sort of situation?” I kept my voice wary, hoping to God this wasn’t a problem with the trust or needing to sell the ranch. We’d come this far. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if he were tossing in the towel.
“Not ranch business.” Maverick sounded like he’d run the whole way to the machine shed. “Colt’s brother was injured in the line of duty.”
“Fuck.” Adler summed up my own reaction. “How badly?”
“Pretty bad.” Maverick clenched and unclenched his hands, the sort of restless energy he hadn’t had since before the wedding. “They’ve taken him to Germany, and the current plan is to get him to DC for more long-term treatment. Colt and his mom want to be in DC when he arrives on a medical transport flight.”
“You want to go too,” Adler guessed before I could. “Colt will need you.”
“Yup,” I agreed. “You should go.”
“Well, Colt says he’s fine to go alone.” Maverick gestured dismissively to show what he thought of that notion. “But yes, I want to go along.”
“Can Faith handle the girls? I can help.” Adler was quick as ever to volunteer.
“That’s what I was hoping.” Maverick gave a tight nod. “Colt’s aunt can help with the girls as well.”
“I can hold down the fort with ranch business.” Finally, something concrete I could offer. “No need to worry about us. Slow time of year, but I’ve got it covered regardless.”
“I know I can count on you.” Maverick exhaled and rubbed his gloved hands on his jeans. “I have a bunch of meetings scheduled for next week, relating to the dude ranch project. I’ll need you to cover for me, Adler.”
“Me?” Adler widened his eyes. “I mean, I’ll do my best, but I don’t want to sign off on anything without your approval. Grayson’s the ranch expert, not me.”
“I trust you. Grayson can go to the meetings too, but you’re my right-hand person on this project. You know as much as I do.”
“I’ll do my best.” Adler didn’t look any too sure.
My stomach churned, but not from doubt. He probably did know more hands-on, day-to-day ranch details than Maverick. He was also the hospitality expert, more than capable of making decisions in the best interests of future guests. My sick feeling was more to do with the bitter wind of change Maverick’s news had brought. I’d known Adler’s time as a hand was drawing shorter, but this was likely to accelerate things further. However, nothing for me to do other than nod.
“We both will. You go worry about Colt.”
“I will.” Maverick chewed the corner of his mouth. “Thank you. I need to go finalize travel plans. And dinner.”
“Work on the travel first.” Adler squeezed Maverick’s shoulder. “I’ll finish up here and then come fix dinner. You shouldn’t have to cook tonight.”
“Thanks.” Maverick offered a grateful smile, seeming marginally more at ease than when he’d entered the machine shed. “I doubt Colt will eat, but that’s one less thing on my plate.”
“Consider yourself finished.” I gestured at Adler. “That’s a good idea, making sure they’re fed. You go on and clean up. Door can wait.”
“Thanks.” Adler headed for the other door, turning back to address Maverick. “I’m going to go take the world’s fastest shower, then head to the house to help you.”
“Thank you.” Maverick let out a low groan as Adler left. “Gah.I have a feeling I’m going to be saying thank you a lot over the next few weeks.”
“Understandable. And keep delegating. Let folks help,” I advised. “I’ve got things on the ranch end.”
