AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bo continued as if he hadn’t heard Grant speak at all. “Whoever is causing the headache is going to be out. I don’t care if it’s you or someone else. We’re a family here and we expect everyone to act as such.”
Grant nodded and it took all his energy not to react defensively. While Bo made it a point not to target him, he certainly didn’t make Grant feel like he was in the clear. It didn’t feel good being on the other side of things when it came to running a business.
Grant could have bought Sagebrush Ranch several times over. The only reason he was working was to keep up appearances. The last thing he needed was additional unwanted attention.
Over the next several hours, Grant pushed aside detrimental thoughts that Bo and Eli had inadvertently created. Working at the ranch gave Grant a purpose he enjoyed, and he was determined to do just that. He painstakingly checked every post, wire, and gate. He walked the perimeter and stress tested everything that might cause issues for the herd. When he was about two-thirds of the way done, he took a break to eat the sandwich he’d grabbed from the kitchen.
The fields rolled out in front of him, so different from the cityscape he’d grown accustomed to. He could understand why Dee had wanted to move here so much. It wasn’t until he had experienced it himself that he could truly appreciate it.
Blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see. Not a cloud hung overhead, but a gentle breeze tugged at his clothes and ruffled his hair. Grant leaned against the tree where he sat, picked up the canteen of water, and took a long pull from it.
Times like this, he could see himself moving out to Rocky Ridge permanently. He didn’t know that he’d want to be a ranch hand at Sagebrush, but he wouldn’t mind getting a small piece of land and a couple of horses. Nick would probably like that a lot.
If he could figure out the custody issue that was plaguing him, maybe he could look further into making that kind of change. He smiled, a strange kind of feeling overcoming him. Grant blinked a few times and sat up, but the dizziness intensified. His vision blurred and his hands tingled.
He could barely keep his eyes open, sleepiness starting to set in. This wasn’t right. Something had happened. Was it a reaction to something? He attempted to look around him, feeling the grass, but nothing made sense.
Grant leaned his head against the tree and took in several deep breaths. Maybe it was a panic attack of sorts. He was worried about so much right now. And the deep breaths weren’t doing anything to ease what was going on inside him.
His heart rate increased as the panic set in. Dizziness. Incoordination. Fatigue.
Grant scrambled for his phone. Eli and Bo would want to know what was going on. Grant clawed at the tree as he stood up in an effort to prolong his consciousness. Just as he was about to call his boss, he stopped himself.
What if this was another one of those situations where he was getting framed for something?
Would Eli believe him? What might appear was happening to him from the outside? He shut his eyes tight then opened them and forced himself to focus as he pulled the sheet of paper from his pocket. Bella was the only one he could trust. She had no skin in the game. If he called her, she’d know what to do.
With his last bit of energy, Grant pushed the call button and prayed that she answered quickly.
CHAPTER TEN
Bella stared at her phone where it sat on her desk. She’d given the guy her number only a few hours ago. Of course he wasn’t going to call her. Did she even want him to? That would mean that something was wrong.
What if he called because he wanted to talk? He could ask her out on a real date.
She pushed away from her desk and got to her feet, scowling at the phone. She didn’t want him asking her out—at least, that was what she kept telling herself. It wouldn’t make sense for them to start anything.
The investigation was more important than matters of the heart.
Her eyes darted up to the clock that was fixed to the wall above the door. It ticked incessantly, reminding her that she still had a full day of work to do. It didn’t matter that she’d already filled her time with reorganizing the files, charging all electronics, servicing her firearm, and cleaning out her patrol car.
Nothing she could think of to keep her mind busy and off Grant was helping. Worse still, she wasn’t obsessing over the case so much as she was obsessing over seeing a certain cowboy again.
Bella pressed her palms to her eyes. What was wrong with her? Grant was so not her type.
Her phone buzzed loudly against the wooden desk, dancing diagonally with each ring. She stared at it like it was a viper, ready to strike. From where she stood, she couldn’t see the number on the screen. It probably wasn’t even Grant and yet she hated how much she wanted it to be.
Lunging for the device, she grabbed it only to fumble with it so she could answer the call. “Officer Whitfield.”
“Bella…” the voice slurred.
“Grant?” She spun around as if doing so would help her see what was going on. Something was obviously wrong. “Grant, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Need… help.”
“Where are you?” she demanded. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me where I can find you.” Bella hated how weak her voice sounded at the end of her statement. Worry plagued her. He didn’t sound good. “Grant,” she pleaded. “can you drop a pin? Send me your location?”
“Mmhmm.”
