Chapter 6 Devlin
SIX
DEVLIN
I’m still half hard when I pull up to the barn at Grizzly River Ranch. Jesse and Truett are already there and watching as I put the truck in park and then hop out. “Why are y’all looking at me like I’ve grown a second head?”
Jesse gives me a grin. “Heard that Atlee’s at your house. What the fuck? You never invite anyone over. Hell, I don’t even know what the damn place looks like, and I’m your brother.”
“Maybe because I like my privacy.” I grab my hat from the passenger seat and put it on, adjusting it to block the morning sun. “Not all of us need an audience for everything we do.”
“So why’s Atlee there?” Truett asks, leaning against a fence post. His eyes are studying me like I’m a problem that needs solving. “Word travels fast around here. Heard there was trouble at the pharmacy.”
I inhale deeply, trying to push away the anger that’s been simmering since I found Atlee last night. “Some piece of shit roughed her up during a robbery. Beat her pretty bad.” My jaw clenches at the memory. I’m ready to beat the shit out of someone again. “I got a call and went to get her.”
Jesse straightens up, his expression hardening. “She okay?”
“Physically? She’ll heal. Face is bruised, split lip. But she’s tough.” I walk past them toward the barn, not wanting to talk about the way my chest tightened when I saw her injured face, and how I wanted to keep the bastard for myself, instead of handing him over to the sheriff’s department.
“Doesn’t explain why she’s at your place instead of her sister’s or even hers,” Jesse points out, following me. “You two got something going on I should know about?”
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with.” I grab a saddle from the rack, hefting it over my shoulder. “She needed somewhere safe to stay, somewhere quiet. I offered.”
Truett exchanges a look with Jesse. “You offered? Mr. Don’t-Even-Come-Over-For-Christmas offered up his sacred bachelor pad?”
“She was scared, all right?” The words come out sharper than I intended. “You didn’t see her face. Didn’t see how she was shaking, trying to hold it together. I wasn’t about to drop her off somewhere and leave.”
Jesse raises his hands in surrender. “Easy, brother. Just surprised, is all. It’s not like you to get involved in other people’s problems.”
“It’s not like that.” But even as I say it, I know it’s a lie. Something about her pulls at me, makes me want to be closer. Makes me want things I haven’t wanted in a long, damn time. Maybe even fucking forever.
“Sure, it’s not.” Jesse grabs his own saddle. “Keep lying to yourself.”
“There’s nothing going on.” The memory of her lips against mine, the way she pressed her body into me, asking me to make her forget—it’s burned into my mind like a brand.
“Whatever you say.” Jesse’s eyes narrow. “But I’ve never seen you move that fast for anyone outside family before.”
“Can we just get to work?” I lead my horse out of the stall, throwing the saddle blanket over his back.
Truett comes up beside me, lowering his voice. “She really okay, though? That kind of thing can mess with someone’s head.”
I appreciate the genuine concern in his voice. Truett might give me shit like Jesse does, but he’s been family since we were kids. “She’s shaken up. Trying not to show it, but I can see it in her eyes. Just needs some time to feel safe again.”
He nods, understanding. “And you’re giving her that time. At your place. Where no one goes.” The words drop in between us, a small smirk playing against his lips.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m just saying, for a man who values his solitude as much as you do, that’s a big step.”
I cinch the saddle tight, focusing on the task instead of Truett’s knowing eyes. “She needed help. I helped. That’s all there is to it.”
“Sure.” He doesn’t sound convinced. “And when she’s feeling better? When she doesn’t need that help anymore?”
The question catches me off guard. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Last night was about getting her somewhere safe. Sleeping in the same bed, taking her mind off everything…well, something else entirely. I haven’t considered what happens next.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” I mount my horse, looking down at them both. “We moving this herd today, or are we just gonna stand around talking about my personal life all day?”
Jesse laughs as he finishes saddling his horse. “Just admit it, Dev. You like having her there.”
I don’t answer, but the truth is, I do. Waking up knowing she was in my house, seeing her in my bathroom, it felt right in a way I can’t explain, even with the circumstances being what they are.
We ride out to the pasture in silence, the afternoon sun warming my back. It’s a clear day, the kind that makes you appreciate living in open country. Up ahead, the cattle are scattered across the field, some grazing, others resting in the shade of the few trees.
“So,” Jesse says as we spread out to begin gathering the herd. “Tell us what happened. How’d you end up being the one to save Atlee Walsh?”
I sigh, knowing they weren’t about to let this go. “She called me. Said she was in trouble and needed help.”
“She called you?” Truett asks, eyebrows raised. “Not 911? Not her sister?”
I shrug, trying to seem casual about it. “We’ve been…talking. Off and on.”
“Talking?” Jesse’s grin is wide enough to split his face. “Since when?”
“Since that night Truett got hurt, and she helped out. We’ve texted some. Talked when she’s working at the diner.” I guide my horse around a small group of calves, nudging them toward the others. “Nothing serious.”
“Serious enough that you’re the one she called when she was in trouble,” Truett points out.
The memory flashes through my mind—her voice on the phone, small and frightened. The way my heart had stopped at the sound of it. How I’d dropped everything and raced to the pharmacy without a second thought.
“When I got there, things weren’t good. Atlee was fighting for her life, looking like she’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight.” My grip tightens on the reins. “She didn’t want to go to the hospital and didn’t want her sister to see her like that.”
“So you took her home with you,” Jesse says, no longer teasing.
“What else was I supposed to do? Leave her there?”
“Could’ve taken her to Lennon’s,” Truett says. “Or brought her here so that Aubree could fuss over her. But you took her to your place.” He stops so that the next words carry a ton of weight. “The one place none of us are allowed to go.”
I don’t have a good answer for that. It hadn’t even occurred to me to take her anywhere else. From the moment I saw her, bruised and shaking, all I could think about was getting her somewhere I knew she’d be safe. Somewhere I could protect her.
We work in silence for a while, guiding the cattle toward the south pasture. It’s familiar work, the kind that lets your mind wander. Mine keeps wandering back to Atlee, to the way she looked at me this morning, to the feel of her in my arms.
“You know,” Jesse says as we reach the gate to the south pasture. “Having Atlee at your place, maybe it’s not such a bad thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugs, guiding his horse alongside mine. “Just that maybe what you’re missing in your life is a woman around. Someone to come home to.”
“I’m not missing anything.” The words come automatically, a defense I’ve used for years.
“Sure you are. We all need someone, Dev. Even you.” He smiles, and it’s not his usual shit-eating grin. It’s softer. “Look at Aubree and me. I never thought I’d want someone around all the time until we stopped fighting each other. Now I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“That’s you. I’m different.”
“Are you? Or have you just convinced yourself of that because it’s easier than taking a risk?” He opens the gate, letting the first of the cattle through. “All I’m saying is, now that she’s there, you might find you don’t want her to leave.”
I don’t respond, but his words settle in my chest like a stone. The thought of Atlee leaving, of my house going back to being empty and quiet—it doesn’t sit right.
We spend the next few hours moving the rest of the herd, the rhythmic work giving me time to think. About Atlee. About what Jesse said. About the way I felt when I woke up this morning, knowing she was right there next to me.
When we finish, the sun is high overhead, beating down on us as we make our way back to the barn. I’m sweaty and tired, but my mind is clearer than it’s been in a long time.
“Heading home?” Truett asks as we unsaddle our horses.
“Yeah. Want to check on Atlee.” I don’t bother hiding it now. They’ve already seen through me.
Jesse claps me on the shoulder. “Tell her I hope she feels better. And Dev?” He waits until I look at him. “It’s okay to want something for yourself. It’s okay to let someone in.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. As I walk back to my truck, I can’t help but wonder if Jesse isn’t right. Maybe what’s been missing from my life isn’t just peace and quiet. Maybe it’s been someone to share it with.
The thought of Atlee waiting for me at home makes my step a little lighter, my heart beating a little faster. For the first time in years, I find myself looking forward to something other than solitude.