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“Thank you, Garrett. This is because of you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up that day.”
There was a long pause. Elise wished she could see his face to know what he was thinking. He cleared his throat and she wondered if he was holding back emotion. “I’m just glad I could help,” he said. “You did it though, Elise. You took care of the boys, and got your family to this point. I’m happy I could step in, but you need to take the credit.”
“Thank you. I hope you know how much I appreciate you. You were the answer to my prayer.”
There was another long pause. “I just did what needed to be done.”
“Yes, you did. Thank you, for just being there. I’ll let you get back to work now.” Elise hung up and looked around the house.
She had never imagined herself living in what was built to be a bachelor pad with Garrett and her two brothers. But at that moment she had never been so thankful for anything.
19
“Idon’t know about that,” Garrett said. He stood with his hands on his hips inside the barn and looked between his brothers gathered there.
“It’s a great idea,” Jenson piped in. “You wouldn’t have to leave her behind.”
“But it’s a lot of work and travel. She would probably be bored.”
Jenson wiggled his eyebrows up and down as he looked between Garrett and Hawk. “No way! What wife wouldn’t want to spend time with her cowboy husband while he works? And you’ll have a few nights at a hotel, alone, without the boys.”
Garrett’s mind raced to think how he could say no. Elise wouldn’t want this. She was making it clear that she was doing her own thing, and he was sure she would say no. How would he explain that to his brothers? Any of them would love to have that time with their wife. “I don’t know. She isn’t big on the idea of leaving the boys.”
Sawyer waved a hand in the air. “Oh, they would have a blast. They could stay with us, or Jenson, or at the main house. And they could spend the days with our kids around here, or Sierra could let them ride horses, or they could just run around like wild bucks.” He laughed. “You know like we did when we were kids.”
Garrett smiled. It would be so good for the boys. Elise was doing a great job, but they needed to run and play and get dirty. He couldn’t think of any other excuses to say no to the trip. “Okay, I’ll ask her and see what she says.”
Hawk clapped his hands together. “Perfect.”
Garrett furrowed his eyebrows. “Why do you guys care so much? You’re not actually getting anything out of this.”
“Sure we do. We get a happy brother. And let’s face it, before Elise, you were starting to get pretty grumpy in your old age.”
“Old age? I’m twenty-three.”
“Yeah, but you act more like a grumpy old man. Trust me. We’ll benefit from this trip and any other time you can spend with that wife of yours.”
Garrett shook his head and moved to his horse. “If it’s okay with y’all, I’d like to get to work now.”
“Sure thing,” Jenson said. “You just pick up your phone and call Elise on your way out the door.”
Garrett rolled his eyes as he mounted, turning back to his brothers to give a little salute before heading out of the barn. He couldn’t be mad at them really. They only thought they were encouraging him to spend time with his wife. So why did it feel like he was being pushed into it? He should be thrilled for the chance to get away with her for a few days. But that wasn’t their relationship.
And he didn’t know how Elise would respond.
No way to know until he asked. Reaching in his back pocket, he pulled out his phone and hit the button to call her before he could change his mind.
“Hey,” she answered after a few rings.
“Hey, how are you?” he asked. Keeping his promise, he had made sure not to wake her that morning, so now part of the day had gone by without them even talking.
“Fine,” she said.
“Good,” he replied. “Listen, I have to go out of town on Thursday. There’s an auction in Abilene, and Hawk can’t go because Maggie has a doctor’s appointment. I’ll be gone Thursday until Saturday.”
“Okay, I understand. That’s nice for you to cover for him. Thanks for letting me know.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s a little more than that. My brothers have suggested that we make it a little couple’s road trip.”
