Chapter Seventeen
Harper hovered by the living room door. "I don't have to go just yet. I thought Blane would be back before now."
"It's fine," Emmett told her. "He'll be back any minute. And even if he got held up, Janey's on her way over. She just texted." He held his phone up, as if to prove his point.
Harper still didn't move.
"I'm not going to move from the couch until someone gets here. I promise," Emmett assured her.
"You can't say that. Everyone might get held up. And if you need to go, I know you. You'll crawl to the bathroom if you have to."
"True, I will. But I wouldn't make a promise I wasn't fairly sure I'd be able to keep." He checked his watch. "I'm more concerned about you being there for Tanya when she comes out of school."
She checked her watch. "If you're sure."
"I'm sure, I'm sure," he told her with a smile. "I'll be fine."
"I'll see you later, then. But text me if you need anything."
"I won't. But thanks."
She made a face. "Okay, okay, I'm going."
He chuckled. "Hey, I'm not mad. I appreciate it. It's just..."
"Yeah, I know. You don't need it." She checked her watch again. "But Tanya does, so I'll be on my way."
"You drive safe," he called after her.
He leaned back against the pillows and listened to the front door close, and then, a few moments later, her truck starting up and pulling away. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe deeply. Pain seared through his chest. But that didn't stop him.
He opened his eyes again and tilted his head to the side when he heard another vehicle approaching. By the sound, he'd guess it was Blane rather than Janey — it sounded like a bigger truck.
"Hey, Blane!" he called when the front door opened.
Blane came in looking even grumpier than usual—which took some doing.
"What's up?" Emmett asked.
"Nothing, now that I'm back. It took me longer than expected. Sorry, bud."
"There's nothing to be sorry for. I told you that you didn't need to rush."
"I didn't. I gave myself enough time to do everything I needed to. Trouble was, I didn't factor in Mav needing a word before I left. Harper left you alone, then?"
"She didn't want to. She was hanging around. But I told her, and I'll tell you—again—I'm fine by myself."
"I'm not saying you're incapable, I'm saying I want to be here. In case I can be useful." He looked around the house. "I was gonna ask if there's anything I can do, but it looks like Harper's already taken care of everything."
Emmett looked around the living room. It looked... different. It wasn't as though Harper had been cleaning or rearranging anything. But somehow the place looked and felt more... lived in than it had for years. He liked it.
When Blane went to stand in the corner and took up his usual stance, Emmett raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. I'll sit down if it makes you feel better." Blane came to sit in the armchair across from him.
"Thanks," said Emmett.
"You're welcome. So, what's the plan?"
Emmett chuckled. That was the way Blane worked; he'd expect a plan for Emmett's recovery.
"To get better as fast as I can and get things back to normal."
"Yeah, that's the big picture. But what do the next couple of days look like?"
"Janey's on her way over. We're going to go through the appointments for the rest of the week."
"She's covering today and tomorrow, right? And then what do you want to do? Are you holding out for getting back out there? Am I acting as your chauffeur and assistant?"
"I'm hoping so," said Emmett. "But I'll have to convince Janey."
"That's why I'm asking now, before she gets here. If I've already decided that I'm going to be with you the whole time, she's less likely to argue—or to think she might win."
"Thanks."
Most people thought of Blane as stubborn; Emmett knew better. Almost everything Blane did was calculated, and once he had the objective, he was already three moves in.
"Yeah, want me to fix you a drink or anything?"
"We might as well wait until Janey arrives. She should be here any..."
His words trailed off, and they smiled at each other when they heard a vehicle pull up outside. Blane started to get to his feet, but Emmett held up a hand. "There's no need to get the door. You're not the only one who just marches right on in here, you know."
One side of Blane's mouth quirked up into a half smile. "Good to know. But then, I guess, Janey considers you a brother the same way I do." His smile grew wider, and he added, "Just that she thinks of you as a big brother while to me, you're my little brother."
"Three days, Blane. You were born three days before me."
Blane chuckled as he got to his feet. "Could have been three minutes, Mitty. The amount of time doesn't matter. The fact that I arrived first is all that counts—it puts me in big brother territory."
"And don't I know it," said Emmett.
"You should by now. It ain't ever going to change."
"Hey, guys," Janey called as she came in through the front door. "How are we doing?" She went to Blane first and went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek as he gave her a hug.
"I'm good, Janey. Just keeping an eye on this fella so he doesn't cause any more trouble. How about you, darlin’?"
"I'm good. And I'm trying to do the same thing.
" She turned her gaze on Emmett. "Trying to make sure that you don't get into any more trouble.
I don't think we need to do this, you know.
Or at least we can make it a very short meeting.
One where we decide to reconvene this time next week.
I can cover your appointments, Emmett. Honestly, it's not a problem. "
"You know I appreciate it, Janey. But it's a problem for me. I need to get out there. I can't spend the whole week sitting here on my ass."
"That's exactly what you need to do. You know it. I know it…" She turned to Blane. But he just lifted a shoulder.
"I'll be with him the whole time."
Janey let out a short laugh. "I should have known. The two of you always stick together. But you should know better, Blane. You look out for him. You should be helping him to get better."
"And I am. Like the man just told you, sitting on that couch all week wouldn't do him any good. He needs to be out and about. And I'll be with him to make sure he doesn't overdo it."
"That's what worries me," said Janey. "Your version of rehab is what the rest of us would call boot camp."
"I was going to grab us a drink," said Blane. "What do you want, Janey?"
She shook her head with a rueful smile. "I'll take a soda, thanks."
"Me too," said Emmett.
Janey sat down in the chair that Blane had just vacated. "Okay, then. So how do you want to handle this?"
"I figured we could go through the appointment book and..."
Janey reached into her bag and held the book up. "I knew you'd say that. And I think I also know which appointments you'll insist you have to go on."
He smiled. "It's not that I don't think you're capable. You know that."
"I do. It's that some of the crusty older ranchers don't think I'm capable."
"No, Janey. They know damn well you're capable. They just feel more comfortable with me."
"I know. I'm not mad at you, Emmett."
"Good. I'd hate that. And I wanted to suggest something."
Janey met his gaze. "Me too. You go first."
"I was thinking you could mostly work from home while I'm out. The techs could..."
She smiled. "They could. But the puppies are still there. And there are the clinics. And I think it's better if I keep going in."
"Yeah, but Janey."
"I highly doubt that anyone is going to break in a second time.
But before you try to convince me, I'll make it easy for you.
Rocket was thinking along the same lines that you are.
He didn't want me going into the office without you around, either.
" She smiled. "He's volunteered to work as our new receptionist for the next couple of weeks. "
That made Emmett smile. "A receptionist? Are you sure he isn't sitting in the back with the puppies the whole time?"
Janey laughed. "He brought their pen out into the front office so that he can play with them while he works on the computer."
"And you don't mind having him in there?" Emmett had to ask.
"I don't mind at all. I love it."
"He's a good man."
"You don't need to tell me that. That's why I married him."
"Okay. So, we have the office covered. We can go through the book and see which appointments..."
"I have another idea I want to run by you," Janey interrupted.
"Go ahead."
"Remember my friend, Hallie? She called me last night. She's back from Argentina and she was wondering if I knew of any openings."
Emmett's eyebrows drew together.
"I didn't say anything, but she's good, and you know her. If we wanted some temporary cover for a while..."
Emmett didn't know what to say to that. He didn't want temporary cover. He wanted to get back to work. But at the same time, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.
"Let me think about it," he told Janey as Blane came back in with the drinks.
~ ~ ~
Harper leaned back against the kitchen counter and waited for Alana to calm down.
"Why is it always the same place? Every single time I trip up on that one stupid line." Alana huffed out a big dramatic sigh and picked up her script from the table, glaring at it as if it were the paper's fault that she stumbled over the same line every time.
She'd asked Harper to run lines with her while Tanya was telling Emmett all about her visit to the MacFarland ranch where she'd been hanging out with Nat after school today.
"You'll get there," Harper told her. "You still have time yet."
Alana sank down into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "There's not that long left, you know. We've been rehearsing for months, and there's only a few weeks until the show opens now."
"A few weeks is still plenty of time. You'll get it. I'll help."