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So yeah, I was jealous of my normally crabby zebra.
I was so much more than just a creeper.
I left Nolan to Jerry’s care and hurried to finish up my chores. I’d planned to keep my distance from Nolan, but the need to know what was bothering him overruled my common sense. I’d already written my invitation to dinner on my phone when I saw Nolan heading up the path from the livestock barn. I easily caught up with him as he neared the driveway. I tapped on the siding of the building next to us. Nolan slowed and eventually turned. I hated how gaunt and pale he looked.
I was working him too hard.
My invitation to dinner forgotten, I started a new message and handed my phone to him.
What’s wrong?
His brow lifted slightly and he handed the phone back to me. “Is there anything else you need me to do before I leave, Mr. Kent?”
I frowned at that.
Why are you calling me that?
“Is that a no then, sir?” he asked tiredly.
Irritation went through me, and all thoughts of easing Nolan into a conversation about what was going on with him evaporated.
Tomorrow I’m going to show you how to clean the habitats in the small animal building. I’ll take over the livestock.
“No,” Nolan said calmly as he handed me the phone.
Disbelief went through me. No? That was it?
“Is there anything else, sir?”
I tapped on the phone screen at the message he’d already read.
“If you need me to clean the small animal habitats tomorrow in addition to my normal duties, that’s fine,” Nolan said stiffly.
I was typing my next message reminding him who the boss was when he turned on his heel and walked away from me. I tapped on the side of the building again. Nolan stopped and spun around.
Then he was practically in my face. The motion detector light above us showed the brittle anger in his eyes as he jammed his finger into my chest as he spoke.
“You said I was going to earn every penny of that money! Don’t you dare take that from me, Dallas Kent! Don’t you fucking dare!” he snapped.
I was too stunned to respond.
“You want to fire me, that’s fine. Do it! But you don’t get to ignore me for two weeks straight and then play the hero. I don’t need you to coddle me!”
I expected him to storm off, but he crossed his arms and looked pointedly at my phone. Despite the fact that he was pissed at me, he was showing me enough respect to let me say my piece, since I couldn’t just call out the words to him.
I shook my head.
What was I supposed to say?
I had ignored him and I was trying to play the hero by protecting him. I wanted to feel better about the situation. I’d wanted to protect little Nolan Grainger from a world that was too hard for him.
Only, he wasn’t little Nolan Grainger anymore.
He’d proven that by working his ass off for two long weeks without any kind of complaint. And he’d done a good job. In addition to being kind to his charges, he’d taken pride in the quality of his work. The stalls were spotless, the water practically sparkled in clean buckets, and everyone had been getting their proper feed, supplements, and medications.
Nolan turned his back on me and headed to his car. I told myself not to follow him, but the instinct was too strong. I couldn’t make sense of it. In my mind, I knew he could take care of himself – hell, he’d been doing it for ten years now.
So why couldn’t I stop?
Why couldn’t I not spy on him day after day to make sure he was staying warm and not wearing himself out?
Why was I obsessing over what was happening in his personal life that left him looking dejected day in and day out?
Why did the fact that he’d figured out I was purposely ignoring him hurt so damn much?
Why, even after everything he’d just said to me, could I not stop myself from hurrying to my truck so I could follow him to make sure he got home okay?
Once I reached the house, I snapped my fingers at Loki, who responded to the command and ran into the house through the doggie door. Since I was wearing jeans and a sweater under my coveralls, I quickly tore them off and tossed them into the back seat as I climbed into the front seat. My truck roared to life and I turned up the heat as I put it into gear. When I’d built the center, I’d wanted to keep the entrance to the center itself separate from the house, so I’d built a second driveway about a hundred yards west of the center’s driveway.
So the last thing I expected to see when I was halfway down my driveway was another car sitting in the middle of the road with the headlights off.
