Movement on the roof makes me catch my breath. I swear I’m seeing a ghost and laugh quietly at the thought. I squint, wishing I had a pair of binoculars, but it’s got to be her, and it appears she’s climbing back inside the attic through a window. What was she doing? It must be more than thirty feet high. Jesus, was she going to jump and then changed her mind?
I have to keep myself from going over there. She’s a grown woman. She’s not my responsibility. Still, the urge to save her—from her demons, from herself—is overwhelming, and I don’t get a lick of sleep the rest of the night.
I’m walking through the back door of the lodge before seven. Joe is already there, fixing breakfast. He’s a retired Army cook and perfect for the job. Lives in a trailer off the main road halfway to town. Comes when we need him and watches old war movies from his BarcaLounger when we don’t. A patch covers one eye. He tends to keep to himself, so I never have found out if his eye is damaged or fully missing.
“Joe.” I nod.
“Morning, Aaron. You’re here early. You doing the tour today?”
“Luca is. I’m just checking on our new housekeeper.”
“Devyn? Already come and gone. Cute as a button, that one. If only I were fifty years younger.” He chuckles and cracks eggs into a mixing bowl.
I can practically feel my blood pressure spike. “She’s gone?”
“Took a muffin and a Coke. I told her I’d be happy to make her a frittata, but she simply wrote something in her journal and went on her way.”
I cross the kitchen, walk down the back hallway, go past the mudroom, and push open the bedroom door. Relief sets in when I see her pack in the corner and three shirts hanging in the closet. I touch one of them. She needs more clothes, but she won’t take charity. I’m determined not to make her feel like less of a person. Whatever she’s going through, she doesn’t need me adding to her problems.
“Which way did she go?” I ask Joe on my way out.
He nods to the east. “Thataway. Seems to me, though, she’s not the type of gal who wants to be followed.”
“No, I suppose not.” I glance at the basket of muffins. “Do you mind if I take one?”
“Help yourself.”
I thank him and leave. After crossing the yard, I examine the roof. It looks even more dangerous from down here than it did from my cabin. The pitch is steep but not so much you couldn’t walk on it. It makes me shudder, thinking of her up there. Every ounce of me feels the need to protect her. Yet somehow I know if I push too far, she’ll leave.
I finish my morning chores, which mainly consist of riding the ATV along the fences to check for breaks or weaknesses and then putting more hay out for the pastured horses. Any barn worker or ranch hand could do it, but that’s what I am, without a formal label. Maddox does the same things from time to time. Like me, he never complains about mundane tasks. The only difference between us, other than our nine-year age gap, is that I have a formal education. I earned my degree in petroleum engineering. If I plan to help expand this ranch and its capabilities, I need to know how to do it without fucking up the environment more than it already has been.
Maddox conveniently emerges from one of the stables the moment I pull up. He smiles. “What does the other guy look like?”
“Fuck off,” I say without heat and park the ATV.
“Seriously, Aaron, what happened? Andie told me you had a shiner. You and Quinn get into some trouble in Fort Worth? Aw, hell, you didn’t take up bronc riding, did you?”
“It’s nothing.”
He follows me all the way to Reuben’s stall. “If it’s nothing, why not tell me how it happened?”
“Don’t you have better things to do?”
“Fine, you don’t want to talk about it. Changing the subject now. Can you and Quinn wrangle up some day laborers? I want to get the entire south wall sanded and painted by next week when phase two of the project starts.”
I laugh. “I know the same people you know, cousin. I’m not sure who you think I can bring to the table, but I’ll ask him. You talked to the Diamond Duce or Thousand Acre Ranch yet?”
“Called them yesterday. Told them I’ll pay top dollar. They said they’ll send anyone they can spare. At this point, I’m willing to accept anyone who can climb a ladder. If I could get Reuben to hold a paintbrush, I’d use him, too.”
I run a hand down the horse’s mane, deep in thought. “How much are you paying?”
“Twenty dollars an hour.”
“Do they have to fill out any paperwork?”
He shakes his head. “The way it works is each day laborer is treated as an independent contractor. Technically, I have to fill out an I-9 for each one, and I do keep up with that, but mostly for my accounting purposes. The IRS doesn’t require me to submit those forms, just a good faith number and an affidavit swearing that’s what we paid. If the worker makes over a certain amount, they have to claim it on their taxes.”
“So if someone worked for you for, say, a few days and earned a few hundred bucks, they could do it without having to file anything or pay taxes?”
He holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m not giving tax advice. What the people do with the cash I give them is their responsibility. As long as I cover my own ass, what they do is up to them.” He narrows his eyes. “Why the third degree?”
“Just trying to learn everything I can about the business side of things.”
He pats me on the back. “I’m glad you’re getting into it as much as you have been. Owen says you’ve been shadowing him at least once a week, learning all the ropes.”
“Maddox, I worked here seven summers in a row. I think I know the ropes. I’m only helping out where I can.”
“Earning your one percent, are you?”
“Are you ever going to ease up on me about owning seven percent more than I do?”
He chuckles. “I have to have something to hold over your head. You’re damn near perfect. You have a degree and graduated with honors. You work as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen, and you’ve got the lodge starting to turn a profit in less than a year. When you’re my age, you’ll own a hell of a bigger percentage than I do right now.”
I kick dirt. “Yeah, my life is so fucking perfect.”
He looks concerned. He’s one of the few people who knows about Cameron. He pats my shoulder. “Damn. Sorry.”
I lead Reuben away. “Gotta get to work.”
He means well, and he treats me like I’m normal, but he has no idea that I wake up every day feeling like shit when I watch the sun rise. Or that I go to sleep at night wondering why I have the right to enjoy sunsets.
I can never make up for what happened. But I sure as hell plan to do everything in my power to try.
Chapter Ten
Devyn
I transfer the load of plain white towels from the washer to the dryer. I get they are easier to clean, but they’re boring. A place like this should have towels with more character.
I strip the sheets from the bed in guest suite eight. I can’t imagine what they must have done to make them look like that. I’m careful not to touch any of the stained areas. After I finish making up the room, I spray air freshener to cover the smell of sex. At least I think that’s what the smell is.