Finally, as the faint rays of dawn had crept through my bedroom windows, I’d decided to get up and work in the office.
“How’s Covie doing?”
“Better. Winn stayed at the hospital again last night.” Against my pleading texts for her to sleep in a bed, not that damn chair. But if I was in her position, I would have done the same. “Sounds like Covie should get to head home today.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Glad to say it.” I didn’t want that sort of loss for Winn.
“What’s new?” Knox asked, taking a sip of coffee. “Feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“You sat beside me at the rodeo.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.” Since Winn had invaded my life, she’d been the constant focus. Before her, I’d head to the restaurant and let Knox cook me dinner once or twice a week.
“You’re serious about this one, aren’t you?” he asked.
“I am.”
“Damn.” He blinked. “Thought you’d deny it.”
“Not with Winn.”
“Remember that time when we were, what, twelve and ten? We made a pact to never get married.”
“I remember.” I chuckled. “Girls are gross. Boys rule.”
“We were going to build a tree house and live in it forever.” Knox laughed. “Then we hit puberty and the tree-house plans were torched.”
We’d both been fairly popular at Quincy High, and neither of us had gone long without a girlfriend. Though Knox had always dated more seriously, I’d been a typical teenage boy—in it for the sex.
Hell, that’s how it had been my whole life. That’s how it had started with Winn.
But if there was a woman to steal for the future, it was her.
I’d thought there wouldn’t be time to add another person, another commitment, to my life. But being with her wasn’t work. She fit. Seamlessly.
I wasn’t getting any younger. My family was big and loud and exhausting more often than not. But the idea of building my own legacy, having my own children, grew more and more appealing each day.
I shook my head, getting ahead of where we were. First, we’d start with introductions to my family. And a date. She deserved a first date. “I’ll bring Winn down to dinner. Tonight, if she’s up to it.”
“That would be great.” Knox went to the island and slid onto a stool.
The normal stubble on his face had grown so thick it was almost a beard. His hair was longer than it had been in years, curling at the nape of his neck and as shaggy as mine. With the black tattoos on his biceps peeking out from beneath the sleeves of his T-shirt, he looked more like the bikers who rolled through Quincy each summer on their way to Sturgis than a successful businessman and chef.
Though I guess that’s probably what people thought of me too. I wore dirty jeans and scuffed boots to run this multimillion-dollar ranch.
“Mom and Dad told me about Briggs this morning,” Knox said. “Sounds bad.”
“It is.” I sighed. “And the worst part is how fast it’s happening.”
“He’s been coming into the restaurant for lunch. Two, three times a week. Seems totally fine.”
“I think most of the time, he is. But that doesn’t matter if during the bad times he tries to burn the goddamn ranch down.”
“Agreed. Dad said he was going to make some calls today.”
“It’s the right thing to do. You’d do it for me.”
“I would.” Knox nodded. “Just like you’d do it for me.”
I waved it off, not wanting to talk about this today. Not wanting to think about my brother going through something like this.
Knox and I were the closest in age. At only two years apart, the two of us had been inseparable as kids. We’d explored the ranch, building forts and hunting invisible monsters with our BB guns.
We’d both been disgusted with our parents for having three girls. And by the time Mateo was born, nine years younger than me, we hadn’t played much with him as a young boy. The times we had, it was as a babysitter.
I loved Mateo, but my bond with Knox went deeper. He was the one I’d called my senior year when I’d gotten too drunk at a keg party and needed a ride. He’d called me to bail him out of jail after getting tangled in a bar fight years ago. A woman at the bar had been arguing with her boyfriend, and when the boyfriend had backhanded her, Knox had taught the son of a bitch a lesson.
Gone were the drunken nights. Anymore, the two of us would sit on my porch and have a few beers. Sometimes he’d crash here instead of driving to his place in town.
“Are you working today?” I asked.
“Always. You?”
“Every day.”
Jim, Conor and the other hands had already stopped by to check in for the day. With all of them out working, I’d decided to stick closer to home. Mostly, I wanted to be around if Winn came out.
“Speaking of work”—Knox drained the rest of his coffee—“I’d better get going. Prep work is waiting. We’ve been slammed lately.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
He grinned. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Knox’s dream was to run his own restaurant. He’d always loved being in the kitchen, working beside Mom, soaking up everything she could tell him. When he’d announced that he was going to culinary school, none of us had been surprised.
“I’ll be in for dinner. With or without Winn. Maybe after, if you can get away, we can head to Willie’s for a beer.”
“You’re on.” He stood and, with a wave, headed for the door.
I finished my own cup of coffee, then found my work boots and went to the barn.
My plan was to spend an hour or two outside, then take a shower and, if I hadn’t heard from Winn yet, head to town. This was the longest I’d gone without seeing her in a week. With all she had happening with Covie, I was worried.
She hadn’t replied to the last message I’d sent her this morning to check in. She was probably busy getting her grandfather out of the hospital and to his home. But still, I worried.
Mom had told me once that we worried for those we loved most.
For Winn, I’d always worry.
It was something I’d have to figure out. Get a handle on. She had a dangerous job, and though she wasn’t out on nightly patrols, there were times when she’d be on the streets with the wackos. It was the reason I’d stayed awake on the Fourth. I’d known she was out and that had kept me up until she’d come over.
Those worries were a constant rattle in my head. Even an hour doing physical chores in the barn didn’t clear my mind like it usually did.
I was in the middle of cleaning out Jupiter’s stall when the crunch of tires came from the driveway. I strode into the sunshine, and the knot in my chest loosened as Winn stepped out of the unmarked Explorer she drove for work.
“Hey, baby.” I walked right to her and pulled her into my arms. “How are you?”
She stiffened, shying away. “Fine.”
“Oh, sorry.” I brushed at my sweaty chest and the bits of hay stuck to my T-shirt. “How’d it go at the hospital? How’s Covie?”