Page 61 of Trails of Temptation

I slumped onto the dusty floor and felt real tears budding in the corners of my eyes. I let them fall. I’d lost my mother but damn, I felt good knowing she was exactly where she wanted to be, and with who she’d missed more than life itself.

I felt good knowing I had someone in my life now who made it worth living.

I just needed to make things right with her. I needed to make things right with Pete, too, before anything else could happen.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, dialing Grant.

“You think you can get the herd out here?” I asked, practically choking on a laugh. Grant replied with a relieved laugh of his own.

By next summer, this house would be mine again.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Keely

Grant sat down across from me in the living room. I fidgeted, wondering why he’d asked to talk to me and seemed so solemn about it. Several hours ago, I’d woken up to him talking on the phone to George. My day had gone on like normal, though, but by lunch I’d almost forgotten all about it.

Panic rushed into the forefront of my mind as I looked over him.

“Are you firing me?”

“Keely,” he breathed, running a hand over of his. “Why the hell would I fire you?”

“I just feel like I’m in trouble for something,” I admitted.

“You’re not in trouble, I just have some news I needed to relay to you.”

“About George?” I whispered, fresh panic welling in the pit of my stomach. “Is he okay?” Oh, God, is he hurt? Was I wrong about why he left? What happened—

“Keely, George got a call the morning after his big fight with Pete. It was the hospital down in Helena. His mom had a heart attack—”

“Oh,” I mouthed, my chest aching. “Oh, God, George—”

Grant took a deep breath, shaking his head. “She passed away yesterday morning. He’s been in Helena trying to take care of things for you, you know. She had a large estate she inherited from his father that apparently, which came as a surprise to George, included his childhood home and the familial ranch he thought his mom lost after his dad passed away when he was a kid. So, that’s what’s going on,” Grant mumbled, stumbling over his words a bit. “It’s a lot to take in myself, honestly.”

“Oh, my God,” I whispered. “Oh no… Is he—Is he all right?” The thought of him going through this alone this whole week… And then I thought he’d left me. “I am so stupid—”

“Keely, listen—”

“Where is he now?”

“About half an hour east of here, actually. Edgewater Ranch. It’s in pretty rough shape. But, listen, George is all right. He feels like an asshole for not telling you and he told me not to say anything yet but you’ve been moping around for days and I just can’t—I can’t do it anymore, so I told you. He loves you, all of that—” He waved his hand in dismissal, looking more than exhausted. “His head hasn’t been on straight, all things considered.”

I jumped off the couch. “How do I get there? What does he need? Oh God, Grant, what the hell do I do right now?”

“He mentioned… well he needed some extra clothes. He stayed in that house last night, trying to figure out what needs to be done… He has it mind he’s going to fix it up, you know. Uhm…” he trailed off, shaking his head as he laughed. “Could you run that over to him?”

“Is he all right?” I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. “His mom died? Grant—”

“He’s okay, Keely, Jesus.” Grant stood up and hugged me, patting my back like I was a child he was comforting. “He’s fine, I think. Maybe a little out of his mind but George has a weird way of dealing with things like this, you know. Tends to lean in to work even if there’s no work to be done so he can keep busy.”

Well, I knew that to be true. George liked to deflect his emotions and let them fester.

“How do I get there?” I asked, and within ten minutes I had an address and was at George’s house on Grant’s property, rifling through his clothing. I threw everything into a backpack I found in his closet and hoisted it over my shoulder before sprinting out of his house and out to my truck.

I was losing my mind, truly. I felt like I was in flight or fight mode as I dialed my brother and held the phone to one ear while I drove like a maniac down the long dirt road leading out the Hallston Ranch with the other.

“Pete!” I sobbed.

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