“Thank you,” he said. Her gentle support seeded a sense of calm in a place deep inside him. Denying it wouldn’t make it any less true.
Raiden parked. He hopped out of the driver’s seat and came flying at Blaize. He tensed up for a fight. Instead, his brother wrapped him in a bear hug.
“Hey, man. I’m so sorry about Lynn. I would have been there for you if I’d known,” Raiden said. It dawned on Blaize that he wasn’t the only one making calls to Raiden and Phoenix. Raiden must have had a conversation with Kit.
“There wasn’t anything anyone else could do,” Blaize said, embracing his brother.
“Bull hockey. We could have been your support system. Phoenix would have been there, too. We both feel like jerks for not taking your calls. Or, maybe I should say that I know he feels like a jerk since I haven’t heard back from him.” Maybe there was something to this birth-order bit. Raiden was being the go-between for Blaize and their youngest brother.
He cracked a smile. “You’re here now. Kit needs all three of us. This ranch needs all three of us if we’re going to keep it in the family.”
“I’m just here for the weekend, man. Came to tell you that Phoenix and I think we should dump this place,” Raiden said.
Blaize took a step away from his brother. “You talked to each other without including me?”
“Not in the last forty-eight hours. The last time I spoke to our brother, we made a pact. Plus, you made your position clear, Blaize.”
“And so you just left me out of the conversation altogether?” His temper was getting the best of him.
“That’s why I’m here now,” Raiden said. “That and to tell you how sorry I am.”
“So, you’d toss Kit out on her ear? Make her lose the only home she’s known for her entire adult life? The home she built?”
Raiden stood there, studying, listening. “You want to know the truth?” he asked.
“What kind of question is that? Of course I want to know the truth.”
“Kit is the one who urged me to sell. Said you are being hardheaded and that I needed to find Phoenix so we could both show up and convince you to do the right thing and dump this…what did she call it…shanty.”
Wait. What?
To say he felt blindsided was an understatement. What was Kit thinking?
“Said it was falling apart at the seams and that you, being you, wanted to fix it up for her but it’s too much work, and we all have our own lives. Said she didn’t want to get in the way.”
“And you believed her?” Blaize asked, incredulous.
“She sounded sincere, man. What am I supposed to think? Kit is a firecracker and knows herself. Said she doesn’t want to live in a place that’s falling apart anymore.”
Color Blaize confused. “Did she mention that she tripped and fell last night?”
Raiden shook his head.
“Hit her head on the dresser and ended up with a pump knot.”
Raiden stood there, brows furrowed. He crossed his arms over his chest as he listened.
“She needs us more than ever, Raiden. Can you rightly see kicking her out of here?”
“The place needs a lot of work, Blaize.”
“Nothing the three of us can’t handle.” Was he being overly optimistic? He didn’t think so. It would take dedication and time.
“What about the financials?” Raiden asked.
“They are as bad as you think they might be.”
“Kit said you’d try to talk me out of my stance,” Raiden said. “She was one hundred percent right.”
