I nod before remembering he can’t see me. “Okay.”
The line goes dead. I look up at Grady, whose eyes have been on me the entire time. I can’t talk about this right now, so I don’t offer an explanation before getting right back to work.
The family meeting is just me and Holden, Rosie, Sam, and Dolly. Cash and Monroe are on a video call since they’re currently in Milan for a photo shoot withVogue.
We weren’t able to contact Sterling. He was shipped out on another mission and out of range.
“Well, now’s the time where everyone has a chance to speak up on how we move forward,” Holden says. His face has a shadow of facial hair covering his jaw. “Pops won’t be with us much longer. And his care for the next few months is going to be a challenge, to say the least. Rosie thinks he’ll be needing full-time care, pretty much starting now.”
The stone fireplace behind him is dark and empty. The sixteen-point buck mounted on the wall behind him was my first big kill on the ranch when I was twelve. Pops helped me skin and clean it.
“I want him here for as long as possible.” I say.
Rosie speaks up. “If we go that route, we need to get home hospice involved to help with bathing, medication, things like that.”
“Okay.”
“Are you sure about that, Duke? You’ll be stuck at the ranch twenty-four/seven,” Cash says.
“I’m sure.”
I can’t imagine sending him off to a cold, sterile hospital to die. He might’ve been emotionally checked out and dependent on alcohol for most of my life, but he’s still my father. And I want to honor his last few months on earth in whatever way I can.
Holden studies me for a few moments, his brows lowered with concern. Finally, he nods. “If that’s what you want, I support it. We’ll need more hands and maybe some help from Sam for the time being since you’ll be with Pops.”
Sam nods. “Whatever you need. I’ll talk to Billy about what guys we can spare.”
Billy is his ranch foreman at Moonlight Ranch, which is just down the road from us. Sam inherited it when his grandfather passed away.
“As far as the surveyors go, I don’t know how long they’ll be here, but we legally have to allow them access. We just need to keep an eye on where they are.” Holden’s gaze switches from mine to Sam to Cash.
Shit. Because of the bodies.
6
DALLAS
“So, yeah, I found a cheap place to rent, and I moved out—for good this time. The divorce finally went through last week. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was just … dealing with it.”
Rosie’s eyes soften. She reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly. We’re outside in her backyard, and our two sets of twins are playing in a sandpit Holden built for his girls.
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this alone. And I’m proud of you for being brave and for leaving. I know it couldn’t have been easy to do, especially with the boys.”
I nod, sucking in an inhale. Rosie has been a very supportive friend, and I feel bad for not telling her sooner. But the things that Matt put me through are hard to articulate. It almost sounds like I’m making it up, even to my ears. When I talked to my parents about it, they gave each other a look that said it all.
It wasn’t that they didn’t believe me. It was more like they didn’t knowhowto believe what I was saying.
He didn’t punch me in the face.
He left me with a few faint bruises once after fighting with me to take my phone, but they went away within a week. It’s not like it was a black eye.
He didn’t go out and cheat, as far as I know.
He likes to drink, but he doesn’t have some raging alcohol or drug addiction.
I don’t have any hospital records to point at and say,Look, it’s all right here!A professional has confirmed it. I’m a battered wife, who has every right to break her family apart and rip my kids’ home in two.
Because that’s what I’ve done. My boys are three years old, and I’ve already caused them trauma by forcing them to split time between me and their father.
