Page 18 of Better Together

Remi sank to her knees and whispered to Grant. “Can I let go now?”

He sniffed. “Yeah.”

She released her hold on him and wiped a sleeve under her nose. Dark red spread over the brown fabric. It was all over the front of her shirt and the back of Grant’s.

“I’m sorry,” Grant stuttered through fresh tears.

“Breathe, Grant,” Remi said. Her hands shook and her heart pounded.

She’d never get used to handling physical altercations. No matter how many times the kids walked away or made up, it still brought her back to the defenseless kid she’d been. When the kids were out of control, it really shook her to her bones.

Hadley jogged up beside her, wide-eyed and ready to jump into action. “Is it broken?”

Remi wiped her eyes with the other, semi-clean sleeve. “I don’t think so.” She ran her fingers over the bridge, and it didn’t seem knotted or crooked. The pain, however, was a knife in the middle of her face.

“Let’s get you back to the main house.”

Remi waved her off. “You take the kids to the barn. Jess can give them a horse grooming lesson while I clean up. I’ll meet you back there.”

Hadley nodded, already switching gears. “You sure you’re okay?”

Remi wiped her sleeve under her nose again. Fresh blood was still flowing. “I’m fine. Just need to figure out how to get it to stop bleeding. Jameson will know what to do.”

Thankfully, the foreman had spent years as a paramedic before taking the full-time position at the ranch. He gave pretty good advice when it came to handling injuries.

Hadley’s brows pinched together. “Right. Call me if you need me.”

Someone tugged on Remi’s sleeve. Grant and AJ stood beside her with matching pained expressions and red-rimmed eyes.

“We’re sorry, Miss Remi.”

Remi swallowed past the burning in her throat. Emotions were hard to handle, even for adults. She remembered being their age and stomping down everything she felt. At least these two knew how to offer a genuine apology.

“You’re forgiven. Let’s remember to have fun and keep our hands to ourselves.”

She usually had better wise words, but today, the pain and watery eyes were clouding her thoughts.

“Yes, ma’am,” the boys said together before running off to join their friends.

Remi turned to Hadley and sniffed. “I’ll have someone bring Grant a clean shirt from the clothes closet. You think he wears a ten?”

Hadley studied the boy as he ran from two other kids. “Sounds about right. It’ll at least get him through the day. I think his parents are on a trail ride.”

Remi waved a lazy hand. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She pulled out her phone and called Ava. The boss might need an incident report too.

“Hello.” The greeting was flat, and fresh worry over Ava’s sickness clouded Remi’s already swirling thoughts.

“Hey, is Jameson with you?”

“He’s in his office. You need him?”

“I’m on my way. I got pegged in the nose, and it’s still bleeding.”

Ava’s tone was stronger this time. “You need me to come get you?”

Remi sniffed and stuck the back of her arm under her nose. “I’ll make it to the main house. Do you have someone who could grab a size ten boys shirt and take it to the barn? My nose bled all over one of the kids.”

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