Wildfire Omens (Wildwood #1)

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rhett

I woke up the next morning with Chey in my arms, her hair splayed across my chest. Ash stared at me from eye-level, like she was mad I was in her place. I reached over to scratch her behind the ears, trying not to move and disturb the beautiful woman in my arms. But Cheyenne’s eyelashes fluttered against my chest and she gave a lazy yawn, then sat up, pulling the sheet with her.

“Oh,” she said with a guilty look at the clock. “I slept late.”

I looked over at the clock and snorted. “It’s five thirty-seven. That hardly counts as sleeping late.”

“It does for me.” She leaned down and gave me a shy kiss. “I need to shower before we head to the ranch.”

“Why?” I asked as I played my fingers over her ribs. “You’re going to get sweaty and dirty at work and have to come home and take another one.”

She threw a pillow at me. “Because I’m already a mess, thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her face softened. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.” With one quick tug, I pulled her back down on top of me and gripped her face, pulling it in for a kiss. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” She grinned.

“Skip the shower. We’ve got better things to do.”

“Okay,” she murmured in between kisses. “You convinced me.”

When we pulled into the ranch, I could tell Cheyenne was nervous.

“Relax,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to tell them,” she said, glancing over at me.

I shrugged. “Then we wait until you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere either way.”

“You’re really staying?”

“I really am.”

Her face flashed with a bit of doubt.

I squeezed her hand again. “This is where I want to be. Minus a few trips to keep myself from going stir-crazy. I’ll work for myself, remember? So I can set up shop here but take off and travel a few weeks each year. And before you ask, I’ll always ask you to come with me.”

She didn’t say anything in reply, but the smile on her face told me all I needed to know.

“Let’s go,” I said, eyeing Claire and Travis, who had emerged from the barn and were staring at Cheyenne’s truck. “We’ve got an audience, or I’d kiss you.”

Actually, if we hadn’t had an audience, I’d have done a lot more than that.

“Good luck with Walker,” she said, raising her eyebrows and giving me a quick wink.

“It’s gotta be better than shoveling horse shit,” I joked.

Though I wasn’t really sure about that.

Cheyenne deliberately ignored me when we got out of her truck and walked straight to Claire. They headed into the barn together, with Claire shooting me funny looks the whole time.

Travis glanced at them as they walked away, then back at me. “Shouldn’t you be in bed or something? You look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know what I mean.” He winced, looking at my face. “I know it’s healing, but it looks even worse now.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Neurologist cleared me to start easing back into things. Thought I’d start by coming over, hanging out with Dad for a while.”

His brows furrowed. “Hanging out with Dad?”

“Yeah. Play cards or something. Catch up. I haven’t really seen him since I got here.” And what had been a purposeful choice to avoid him now made me feel as guilty as hell.

“That’s good. He’ll like that.”

“Yeah, well, maybe not. But where’s he going to go?” I snickered.

“True.” He grinned. “Good luck.”

“That’s what Cheyenne said.”

He clapped me on the back. “That’s because you’ll need it.”

Before I made it upstairs, I was intercepted by Mom. Cheyenne had updated her on the neurology appointment, but she was still surprised to see me—and even more surprised I’d come over to hang out with Dad. Her eyes got misty when I told her.

“I have to warn you,” she said, her mouth going flat. “He’s been in a bit of a mood lately. You know your father. Keeping him off his feet is about to kill him.”

“I get it.”

She squeezed my shoulder, then gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “I know you do. That’s why you’re probably the best one to be with him right now. If you’re feeling up to it, come down for lunch at noon. We’re grilling bison burgers today, and I’ll have hot potatoes roasting in the fire outside.”

“That sounds delicious.” My mouth started watering at the thought of it.

“If you haven’t eaten yet, there’s leftover breakfast casserole. I just took some up to Walker and put the rest in the fridge. Want me to heat you up some?”

“Nah, I’ll do it. You’re already cooking for half the country today.”

She smiled. “Not quite, but it feels like it sometimes. I’m assuming Cheyenne drove you here and that you didn’t steal her truck and leave her stranded at home?”

I laughed. “That was one time, Mom.”

“Still have to check.” She gave me a wink. “So since you two rode together, do you think if I invite her to family dinner she’ll say yes?”

She gave me a questioning look that I knew was about more than dinner.

“I don’t know for sure,” I admitted. With Cheyenne wanting to keep things quiet, she might not be ready for a family dinner.

Mom’s face fell.

“But she might,” I added. “You should ask her.”

She brightened. “I will. I’ll do it before they head out.” She pulled off her apron and gave me another peck on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re here, son.”

“Me too.”

My stomach cramped as I climbed the stairs to Dad’s room. The man still made me nervous all these years later. As much as I liked to pretend his disapproval didn’t matter to me, it did.

A lot.

I knocked on the door of the bedroom he shared with Mom.

“What?” His voice was gruff, like I’d disturbed his peace.

I poked my head in. “This a good time? If not, I’ll come back later.”

He blinked a couple times. “Rhett? Hell, son, it’s good to see you upright. Didn’t know you were here.”

I walked in and plopped down on the chair sitting in the corner. “Thought I’d surprise everyone.”

He looked me over and shook his head. “You look rough.”

“So do you,” I said, smirking.

“Trust me, I know,” he said, groaning. “I’m sporting some new hardware too. Screws in my pelvis and a metal plate running down my femur. At least my face is in one piece though.” His face hardened. “Still can’t believe Thomas did that to you. He’s lucky I’m stuck where I am, or else he’d have to deal with me.”

I chuckled. “He wouldn’t know what hit him.”

“Damn right.” He picked up his coffee, took a swig. “I guess you’ve been going as stir-crazy as I have been.”

“It wasn’t too bad. The doc says I can start getting back to normal activity. I’m hoping to be back to one hundred percent here in a few days. I bet you’re ready to get back on a horse again, huh?”

“You can’t even imagine.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. “Seeing as how we’re both on restrictions, how about some poker?”

He grinned. “I’ll wipe the floor with you, son. You never had much of a poker face.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I’ve improved.”

“You’re on.”

I dragged my chair over to the bed and put his tray in between us, then started shuffling the deck. “So how much longer until you’re back to normal?”

He grimaced. “They say it could be a couple months before I’ve got my full strength back. I can get around a bit with the walker now, but I have to be careful how much weight I put on that leg. Physical therapy comes by every day, makes me do their stupid exercises.”

“Not stupid if it makes you stronger.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what your mom says.” He rolled his eyes.

I dealt our hands. “What happened, anyway? It’s not like you to fall.”

“Bad luck, I guess. I was up on the extension ladder, repairing a spot on the barn roof. The lock failed, the extension fell—fast—and I lost my balance. Hit the ground hard enough to shatter my hip.”

I frowned. Bad luck, bad timing—or something else? “Dad, any chance you were sabotaged?”

His face blanked. “Sabotage? What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you think someone sabotaged the locks on the ladder deliberately?”

He picked up his cards and gave me a look like I was crazy. “Who’d want to do that to me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the same person who left me for dead on the side of the road.”

He scowled. “Thomas.”

“This happened after you’d already taken Diablo, right?”

“That’s right.” He nodded.

I shook my head, disgusted. “That man blames everyone but himself for losing that horse. If he was willing to attack me over it, I wouldn’t put it past him to arrange for an accident for you, too.”

Dad glanced at the clock. “I’ll have Travis look at the ladder, see what he thinks. If he thinks something looks off, I’ll call Sheriff McGrath to check it out, see if he needs to add anything to the charges. Thomas is in jail, right?”

“Yeah. He’s in jail.”

“Good.” Dad’s face flashed with relief.

But I didn’t share it. Jail or no jail, I wasn’t convinced this was over.