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She stilled, her eyes fixed on the doorknob.
“I’d understand if you needed me to leave, if you needed to drop me from our contract—”
“No, that’s not what’s happening. I just want you to know that you can trust me, Moira. For Christ’s sake. You can trust me. And you don’t need to go carting Day around because you’re afraid your ex is going snatch him the second he’s out of your sight.”
She swallowed, looking up at me. “He likes it here, you know.”
“I know he does. I hope you like it here, too. I hope you’re comfortable here.”
“I am.”
“Then let me keep him here while you meet with the professor, whatever his name is. Take a break. Get some sleep without worrying about him.”
“You don’t have to do this for me.”
“I want to,” I said, giving her a smile. “You’re doing a lot for me right now. You’re saving my ranch.”
“That’s hardly the truth.” She sniffled, then smiled, her eyes creasing. “It’s just a section of the ranch.”
“But I fight for what’s mine. I’m sure you can understand that.”
Based on the look on her face, I was sure she did.
“Okay. I’ll go, and Day can stay here. If you’re sure—”
“I’m sure.”
She took an audible breath, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes before saying, “I’m sorry, Grant. I should have told you.”
“It wasn’t my business until… the panic attack.”
“They don’t happen often anymore,” she replied, chewing her bottom lip.
We stood in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but decided against it, closing her mouth again before reaching for the door.
“I gotta get ready to meet with the contractor,” she said, tilting her head toward the door.
“I’ll go with you. Maybe I can get ahold of my neighbors on the way, give them one last chance to cooperate before the EPA swoops in on them too.”
I followed her down the stairs, and then reality hit me.
What the hell had I just signed up for?
Day, on the other hand, was trembling with excitement when Moira announced that tomorrow night he’d be sleeping over at my house, rather than sleeping in the bunkhouse. He didn’t care at all that Moira was leaving him behind, which seemed to hurt Moira’s feelings a little.
And as I leaned against my truck, my phone pressed to my ear as I waited for my neighbor to pick up his phone, I could tell Moira was going over the what-ifs in her mind as she walked around with the contractor, pointing to areas along the barren patch of earth.
She was trying to talk herself out of it, fighting with that inner voice telling her that she’d never be safe, and Day would never be safe.
I hated it. I wanted nothing more than to find out just who this fucker was and put an end to it for good.
But I couldn’t press her for more information, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to break her trust by asking my lawyer to look into it for me.
The standoff in my office was the first time in a month Moira had let me get close to her, the first time we’d talked about something outside of work. I wasn’t going to give that up just because I wanted to rip the man her to pieces who’d put his hands on her.
As long as she was here, on my land, in my home…
I was going to keep her safe. She could trust me.
