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There was a brief pause then another of her cousins spoke up. “I don’t think they see it that way. Mike was just trying to get his grandpa’s place back in working order. You know Rose, she’s too nice. Of course she’d jump at the opportunity to help. She loved Helen.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mike just up and left.”
Rose’s heart tightened further, and her stomach lurched. She hadn’t been certain that Mike had left. Of course, she knew he needed some space to work things out. But that didn’t mean he’d left for good.
Did it?
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do, anyway. If he’s gone?—”
“Then we make it clear he can’t come back.”
Heat seared her face and Rose jumped out from her hiding place, much to the surprise and chagrin of the men in her life.
“You’re not going to do any such thing. Mike belongs here just as much as any of us. And especially just as much as Ethan or me.” Rose stared hard at her brother, accusation seething from every pore. “You should know better than to throw him under the bus like that. Mike’s family has been around longer than even the Reese family, from what I remember.”
None of them would make eye contact with her now. She shook her head with disappointment.
“As much as I can appreciate that you want to protect me from him, I don’t need protecting. Mike was the only one who was willing to push me toward something that would make me happy. I know you guys won’t understand, but it is what it is. If Mike wants to come back to Rocky Ridge, none of you has any business telling him he can’t. It’s a free country!”
Her oldest cousin glanced up at her but didn’t say anything.
She stared daggers at Bo. “Didn’t Mike show up during that storm and help without being asked? Without being paid? He came because he cares about this place as much as any of you do. He wanted to make sure everyone was going to be okay.”
“Yeah, she’s right,” Ethan murmured. “He insisted on coming out with me and my group to get the stragglers. He was a big help. We have to remember that Mike is the kind of guy who doesn’t know how to show that he cares about this place—except that he keeps coming back.”
“Didn’t you say that he stole some supplies from the hardware store?”
Rose glowered at her brother. Ethan didn’t have any proof of that assumption. “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
Ethan groaned. “Okay, Rose, but even you have to admit that it doesn’t add up.”
“Did you go out to the hardware store and ask them if they sold the exact same set of tools to anyone else?”
“Well, no, but?—”
“Then you don’t know. I can’t believe you would tell them that you think Mike is still a thief.”
“That’s because he is.”
“You don’t know that!” She raised her voice this time. “Have any of you considered that he’s been more aloof because no one around him gives him a chance? He doesn’t have many opportunities to prove himself, and even if he did, do you think he’d want to risk you guys judging him? He’s a decent man and he’s made mistakes. I’d challenge any of you to prove that you’ve never made a mistake before.” She was pointing her finger around the room at each of them.
Once again, she’d managed to put all of these men in their places. They stared at their boots and shuffled uncomfortably.
“Mike was just trying to prevent the house from getting sold to a developer. When his grandparents were around, he had a hard time expressing how much he cared, but I’d say that with all the effort he’s put into fixing that place up, he’s showing just how important it was to him. He just needs practice sharing what’s in his heart.”
That was when everything clicked into place. Rose couldn’t believe how blind she’d allowed herself to become. Mike had liked her drawing of him. She’d seen it in his eyes before he’d shut her out. The problem with the drawing wasn’t in its quality, it was that the image had shown Mike just how vulnerable he was. And if there was one thing Mike didn’t like to be, it was vulnerable.
Forcing him to share certain aspects of his life with her was like pulling teeth. Mike simply had a hard time letting anyone in. Even her.
Rose’s eyes widened. “Guys, I need some help.”
All of them met her eyes then. Not a single cowboy looked like he was going to fight her on her next request.
She shifted where she stood, wringing her hands as she did. There was no telling how much they knew about the storm or what was going on with Mike, and she wasn’t going to give them any more ammunition to put him down than they already had. But she wasn’t against asking for their support after what Mike had been through.
“I have some money set aside—or rather, Mike does, but he never got it from me.” She sliced her hands through the air dismissively. “That part doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he needs us.”
“What are you talking about?” Ethan stepped closer. “You’re aware that he left, right? Someone said they saw him pack up his truck and head toward the city.”
