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In surprise, she turned to the sound of his voice. “I’m losing it, and you’re proud of me?”
Her brain did a reboot as she took another drink and was finally able to hold the glass in her hand.
“You didn’t eat more than a bite or two at the evening meal and I’ll bet you were experiencing low blood sugar and dehydrated as well,” Hank said, tipping the glass to her lips with a nod. “Drink it all.”
When the glass was empty, she sat back, feeling weak as a newborn foal. Both men had pulled up chairs to her and were holding her hands. She was shocked to find that Grace and Grandma Kate were also standing in the room. When had they arrived?
Oh, yeah, when I was wigging out. Awesome!
Travis said, “Nika, your location was revealed by someone who, for whatever reason, has a grudge against you. You are not safe here. Yes, you salvaged the day in an…amazing way. But you have to see this from our perspective. It’s obvious those ladies love you. The asshole behind this, though, does not. It’s that person we’re worried about right now.”
“But—but if I leave the ranch, everyone will think I don’t feel safe here. I brought this down on their heads and—”
Grace took Travis’s seat when he offered it, concern in her eyes, and said, “Veronica, you’re not safe here. The person who did this was able to pinpoint your exact location using the Internet and possibly the GPS in one of your mobile devices.”
“Oh my god, Grace. I’m so sorry. I’ve endangered your anonymity, and maybe even your family’s safety—”
Grace scoffed and patted her hand confidently. “Don’t you worry about me or our safety. The guys, and every man on this ranch for that matter, are aware of the implications of today. They’re going to do all they can to keep me safe, but right now I’m more concerned about you, honey. We have to get you off the ranch.”
“I feel so bad for making everyone drop all their work today.”
Grace shook her head and said, “Don’t. Life happens and sometimes you have to back up and punt.”
“I can’t simply abandon my work either. I’m so close to being done with the next book. I can’t stop writing right now.”
Grandma Kate took her other hand and said, “Listen to me, sweet girl. You told me yourself you can work from anywhere as long as you have the Internet, right?”
Veronica nodded and looked around at her work spread out over the large table. “But Duke put a lot of work into setting up my work station. If I leave, he’d have to do it all over again or I’ll have to work from just my laptop without all my stuff. This is too much—”
Grandma Kate smiled and gently stroked her cheek. “Duke works in IT and security. Do you think he’d place more importance on your safety or on whether he has to move your setup to another location?”
“Well…my safety, I suppose. I think it’s too much…I can’t—”
Grandma Kate tipped her chin when she looked down at the floor. They couldn’t understand how she felt. “Look at me, sweet girl.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw Hank and Travis both watching her and her cheeks filled with heat but she focused on Grandma Kate.
“Veronica Benedict, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been a shy, introverted, and misunderstood person. It is simply impossible for you to understand and accept that a group of individuals would drop everything to help you, isn’t it? You feel that you have to make it up to people when they do nice things for you so they know you’re grateful. You feel there’s no way you can make up for today, don’t you?” Grandma Kate paused, silently requiring an acknowledgment and Veronica lowered her eyes as she nodded. Grandma Kate had the rights of it.
Taking a seat in front of her, Kate continued. “Sweet girl, in Lusty, and here in Divine, family means something different to folks than it does among the Montana Benedicts. You’re used to having nowhere to turn but to yourself, so when you come amongst those who accept you—when you find that there is someone to help you at every turn—you don’t know how to act, do you?” She glanced up and saw the blue fire in Kate’s gaze. She was indignant.
