“Yes, ma’am.” Nate managed to appear somewhat apologetic.
“And you…” Gran’s age-spotted hands found her hips again as her eyes pointed at me. “Things worth having are worth working hard for, and I know you aren’t going to tell me a good woman isn’t worth having, are you?”
And get my ears boxed? “No, ma’am.” The penciled-in slashes above her eyes rose like sunflowers at noon. “I mean, yes, ma’am, a good woman is certainly worth some hard work. No, ma’am, I’d never tell you otherwise.”
“All right then.” Her head bobbed. “Now that’s settled, I think our guests are about finished with their meeting in the dining room.” She opened the back door and waited, her message to get back to work clear.
Nate walked past Gran, but I stopped beside her and planted a kiss on the loose skin around her cheekbone.
She laid a hand on my arm. “Most women don’t need flowery words, Malachi. All we’re looking for is a steady heart.” She tapped my chest. “And you’ve got the best there is.”
Which girls couldn’t see if I couldn’t talk to them. “Thanks, Gran.”
I nearly ran into Nate’s back at the entrance to the dining room.
“Their meeting not finished?” I peeked over his shoulder, and he moved to the side.
Tension suffocated the room. The familiar faces I’d seen laughing at each other as well as themselves over the last three days were gone. In their places, statues. Stony expressions that only moved in order to throw visual daggers with their glares.
“What kind of business meeting could have results like that?” Nate whispered.
Wait. Where was Jocelyn?
Nate leaned a shoulder against the wall as if the hostility in the room didn’t puncture his good mood. “It’s really none of our business, but anyone want to tell us what happened, or y’all require the frustration release of slinging bales of hay today?”
Miss Tonya sniffed. “Some people can’t take a little criticism.”
Coming from her,a littlewould be enough to drown a person.
“I thought it would be a good idea.” Jayden, who’d I’d been surprised to learn was head honcho of the bunch, stared straight ahead, not focusing on anything in particular.
Was the guy in shock? Over a silly business meeting?
“I thought, since the peer reviews wouldn’t be anonymous, everyone would only say nice things. Encourage each other. Help to bring us all closer together. I didn’t think…”
“It’s not your fault.” Bill, the oldest of the group, spoke while shooting an accusatory frown Henry’s way.
Little mousy Henry? The one who’d shared the statistics and probability of a person dying because of a farm animal?
He shrank lower into his seat. “I only gave voice to what you all thought as well.”
Donald turned from his place by the window. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
Henry blinked in rapid succession. “Affirmative action—”
“Shut up, Henry,” Sam spat.
The muscles in my neck corded. “Where’s Jocelyn?”
Sam turned to me, looking uneasy. “She said she needed some air.”
On over three hundred acres of land, air could be found anywhere. Unfortunately, so could trouble.
“I’ve got them,” Nate assured, then lifted his chin toward the door.
My insides tugged in two different directions. Part of me wanted to send Nate to find her. He could make her laugh and forget the hurtful words she’d been made to bear. The other part of me needed to see for myself that she was all right.
I nodded to Nate and stalked out of the house. Bringing my fingers to my lips, I whistled for Scout. He’d been pinned to Jocelyn’s side since she’d stepped foot on the ranch. If he wasn’t already with her, he’d be able to find her for me.
