Chapter Fourteen Bree #2
I felt shame at the way I’d handled things that day. I’d been hurt, and my head had spun off its axle when I heard he was going to marry Sherry. Something inside me just broke, and it still wasn’t fixed.
“Yeah, I hear you.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and he gave me a little shove toward the path. I swung my leg over Toby and slowly began to head up toward the ranch. One of these days I had to concentrate on mending myself.
“You’re slipping.” Patrick laughed from where he stood on the porch.
I flipped him the finger, then jumped when Dad stepped in front of me. “Bree.”
“Dad.” I glared down at the fat little runt in Dad’s arms. “Breakfast?”
“You know, if you were nice to him, he’d be nice back.” Dad rubbed the porker’s head.
I looked over at Patrick, who watched with amusement. “Maybe if he was nice, I’d be nice back.”
“He knows you want to eat him,” Patrick called over his shoulder as he went inside the house.
I grinned down at Kevin. “Good, remember that.” I made a V with my fingers and put them to my eyes, then pointed at him as if to say I’d be watching him.
“Behave.” Dad scowled. “Here.” He held up a set of keys. “She’s old, but her engine works, and she’s got decent tires. It’ll get you from A to B.”
“Poppy’s truck?” I held the keys up like they were for a new Lamborghini.
“Your truck is done, and you need to be able to get around.”
“Dad, thank you, but I know how special his truck is, and honestly, I just haven’t had the time to get a new car, but I can.”
“And until then, Pop would want you to use his. Now, I need to help your mother with a few things, and you need to figure out what’s up with your brother lately.”
“I’m already on it.”
“Good.” He put Kevin down and slapped his thigh as he left, and the little bacon slab followed him.
I squeezed the keys in my hand and knew I had to take her out for a spin.
I started the engine and eased her out of the barn. I grinned happily as I drove down the driveway and headed for the hospital.
The ER seemed quiet, and I was pleased to find Maxine standing in front of the vending machine. She just stared at it as though she were stuck in some kind of trance.
“Max,” I called out, but she didn’t turn. “Max.” I touched her arm, and she finally looked at me.
“Hey, Bree.” She forced a smile, but the bags under her eyes told me she was well past exhausted. “Did we have plans?”
“Nope, but I brought food from Bailey’s Diner.” I swung the bag, and I watched a little life come back to her face.
“You’re a good person, Bree Jaminson. Good people bring hungry people food, and I’m so hungry.” She used her badge to let us into a small, unoccupied room, where we sat on an uncomfortable leather couch.
“I feel like I’m auditioning for a porn shoot,” I joked as the fake leather squeaked beneath us.
“Try sleeping on it.” She yawned and ripped the paper off the barbecue wrap. “Not that I don’t love surprises like this, but is everything okay?”
I popped open the box and started on the salad before my wrap. I stabbed a crouton and decided not to bullshit her. She was clearly exhausted, and mind games weren’t something she needed.
“Truth?” She nodded. “Patrick is scared you’re cheating.” Subtle, Bree.
“What!” Her face fell, and tears flooded her eyes.
I held up a hand. “I laughed when he said it, but I have to ask, are you okay? Because for Patrick to bring up something like that is big.”
“I’m not cheating—I love your crazy brother.”
“I know that,” I assured her with a squeeze to her arm. “That’s why I laughed, but you do seem off lately, and I just need to know you’re okay.”
She took another bite of her wrap and closed her eyes like food was all she could think about. “I’m really not sure I can tell you.”
That was interesting. “Why?”
“Because Lainey made me promise not to say a word.”
Of course, I should’ve known. “Okay, what did she tell you?”
“That things are tight at the ranch and a huge party that she was banking on to cover some of the bills canceled without notice. It set them back, then a pipe broke in cabin one, and the chimney in the main house is causing some concern. Charley can fix some of it, but he’s not a plumber.
I just took on some extra shifts to try to help out. ”
“Max, that’s not your problem.”
“Yes, it is, Bree. We all live there, and we all want to see the ranch succeed. It’s on all of our shoulders, not just Lainey and Charley’s.”
I respected that, and since I’d been gone and not helping, I felt horrible. I knew things were tight but not to this degree. “I’m sorry, Max. I had no idea. But why can’t you just talk to Patrick about this?”
She brushed a tear away. “Because he puts everything on his own shoulders and tells me not to worry about things. He works so hard at the ranch and was even talking about getting a second job. Bree, he works from sunup to sundown. It’s the last thing he needs to do.
” How I wished that I’d come home sooner.
“Your sister has great ideas, but they’re costly.
In time it will even itself out, but not when things keep breaking. ”
“Listen, I’ve got some money saved and will offer it to Lainey to help.
” I inched closer. “Thank you for being honest, Max, but I do think you need to do the same with my brother. Lainey and I haven’t had much time to talk lately, and Mom would never breathe a word.
” She sniffed, but I had one more question.
I hated to ask it. “Don’t kill me for even asking this, Max, but Patrick mentioned some doctor, he calls him McSteamy.
” I chuckled, and she did too. “He’s worried about him. ”
“He really needs to get into ESPN.” She crumpled up the paper from her wrap.
“Dr. Matt is just a young doctor that was open to me working under his rotation. He’s new and loves being in the OR, and like I said, I’m taking as many hours as they’ll give me.
But the idea seems to be taking a toll apparently, and not just on me.
” She leaned forward and rubbed her head.
“I’m so tired.” She sniffed. “I just want a night with Patrick with good food, TV, and an early bedtime.”
“Okay,” I said, and she looked at me confused, “but you’re not going to get that at the ranch. There’re too many distractions. I still have my place in New York. Let me call my neighbor and get her to fill the fridge for you two, and you can enjoy a long weekend reconnecting.”
“What about the chores? We can’t leave everything on the others.”
“I’ll cover you. Just get the days off and spend some time with my brother so you guys are right again. I hate seeing you two like this.”
“You’d do that for him?”
“No, but I’d do it for the both of you.” I leaned in for a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about the ranch troubles. But I’m here now. Think of me as extra hands and extra income.”
“Please, don’t tell Lainey I told you.” She leaned back, and I could see how hard these past few weeks had been on her, and my heart broke. She’d inherited the ranch struggles, and that just wasn’t right.
“You have my word.”
“’Kay.” She left, and I tried to recover from that kick to the gut. My family needed me, and I hadn’t been around enough to see it.
I had texted Brad a few times looking for an update on our possible new suspect, but he told me nothing had come back. I really hoped we were looking at the wrong man.
As I drove through the streets of Sheffield, I let my mind wander.
I’d spent years studying the Barbed Wire Killer, and I’d always come up empty.
He was meticulous and smart. There wasn’t one shred of evidence of who he could be.
He was a ghost to everyone, an afterthought by now, but to me he was still very real, and the thought that my life was like a game of chess for him burned hot inside me.
I parked and blinked at where I had ended up without even realizing it. The café had the best cup of coffee in town. I thanked my subconscious and went inside.
I ordered, paid, and carried my cup over to where the cream was.
A man moved in beside me and smiled at me as he ripped open two sugar packets and poured them into his cup.
He skipped the cream and stirred. I couldn’t help but recognize that it was just like Brad’s order.
I let my mind go there, and I wondered what he had been up to today.
My heart wanted him—I knew that—but I kept going back and forth in my head about my life in New York City.
I loved my job. I’d worked so hard to get where I felt I was really giving back.
It had brought me so much joy and filled something that had been desperately missing in my life.
Being back in Sheffield brought back that constant, deep-seated fear in the pit of my stomach.
If it weren’t for Brad, I’d never consider moving back here.
“God, it’s good to see you.” Suddenly Charley wrapped me in his arms and squeezed me tight.
“You’re back.” My voice was muffled by his shoulder.
He leaned back and held my chin up to study my face. He squinted as if to read my mind. “Sit with us?”
“Sure.” That was odd. I followed him to a back table where it was quiet, and my sister waved at me as I approached.
“Hey, Lane.”
“Hey, baby Sis.” She gave me a hug, then looked at Charley like I’d missed something. “I’m going to order a few things for our guests. I’ll give you a few minutes alone.”
“Okay.” I was clearly missing something. I held the hot coffee between my hands for warmth.
“I need to apologize, Bree. I wanted to come home the moment I heard what happened to you, but my moth—”
“Charley, where is this coming from?” His worry came from left field.
“You’re upset. I can see it. I’m upset, too, and your sister needed me.”
I cut in again. “So does your mother. I’m fine, Lainey is fine, even that jerk of a pig is fine . . . for now,” I added for good measure and grinned. “Charley, we’re all okay.”
“Then what’s with that face that I just walked up on? Because that was a serious face you were wearing.”