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“What are you thinkin’?” Garrett approaches her and when I see how angry he is, I quickly stand up in front of him.
“Talking to her when she’s in this state isn’t gonna do any good. Let’s just get her to bed.” I rest my hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. He’s got so much going on right now, this is the last thing he needs. “Thank you for getting her home, Zayne.” I turn my attention to him and smile politely before attempting to pull Savannah up onto her feet. Her limbs resemble a ragdoll’s and it's clear I’m gonna need some help.
“And where’s Mason now?” Garrett puts his anger aside and picks my friend up in his arms when he sees that I’m struggling.
“Noah dealt with it. He put him on his ass.” I can’t remember ever seeing Zayne smile, but a teeny tiny hint of one twitches on his lips.
“Come on, let's get her upstairs,” Garrett huffs as he makes his way toward the staircase and I follow after him while Zayne sees himself out.
“So much for a peaceful night, huh?” I rejoin my husband downstairs once I’ve made sure Savannah is settled.
“She’s playing a dangerous game, Maisie.” He turns around from the liquor cabinet where he’s standing, holding a crystal tumbler in his hand. “You know as well as I do why she was flirtin’ with Mason tonight. She wants a reaction from Cole, and the kind of reactions my brother gives, are the kind you can’t take back.” He shakes his head before taking a seat in the armchair.
“What she did tonight was stupid, but she’s hurting. She told Daniel to go back to L.A. today. She’s holding on to hope that Col?—”
“That’s no excuse, Maisie. She knows how dangerous the Mason family are and she knows how much we hate ‘em. My boys have got enough shit to be worrying about without havin’ to look out for your friend.”
“Your boys?” Suddenly I feel defensive.
“Well, how about you talk toyour boysabout showing some respect? Your brother is being a stubborn asshole. You know as well as I do that he’s in love with her, and yet he continues to break her heart.”
“Cole’s just bein’ Cole, pushing the people he cares about away is what he does.”
“And that makes it acceptable, does it?” I shake my head back at what I’m hearing.
“I don’t pretend to know what goes on in his head, Maisie, and right now I haven’t got the time to worry about it. I gotta be the face of a fuckin’ election campaign that I don’t wanna be involved in. I gotta protect this family and somehow try to get over the fact my mom killed my fuckin’ brother all because I let my guard down. Not only that, but I trusted her with the most precious thing in the world to us.” I notice how his eyes are red rimmed and brimming with tears. Ever since the night that Teresa took Brianna and killed Dalton, Garrett has been reeling in guilt. He barely sleeps and has been throwing himself into work around the ranch as well as trying to figure out all this election stuff. Even when he listens to me and tries to relax, I can tell his head is somewhere else.
“Why don’t you just say it, Garrett?” I stare back at him because I know what the real problem is here, and finally I have the courage to attack it.
“You blame me. You blame me for everything that happened, because despite you and everyone else around here warning me about your mother, I begged for you to give her a chance.”
Garrett’s silence says everything I need to know. “C’mon, out with it.” I raise my voice and when Garrett looks away from me, I feel my heart crack down the middle.
“I’m sorry.” I crouch down in front of him. “I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry that she let you down. I?—”
“I wanted to kill her… I still do,” he tells me weakly as he turns his head to face me. “She was standing in front of me, making all the excuses she could think of to justify what she did, and all I could think about was shooting her.” I can see how ashamed he is by his confession and I feel the sudden urge to comfort him.
“Garrett, that's a natural reaction to have. She took our little girl, she killed your brother.”
“No, it ain’t. There’s nothing natural about wanting to kill the woman who gave birth to you. But worse than that is knowing that she’s still out there. I was weak in my judgment. I should have blown her damn head off.” There’s no sadness in his eyes anymore, just pure, undiluted rage.
“Deal with your friend, Maisie. If she wants to continue living under this roof she’s gonna have to grow the fuck up.” He stands up and walks toward the door, grabbing his hat and jacket from the hook and heading outside.
“Looks like someone was in the dog house last night.” Wade kicks the bottom of Garrett’s boots when we catch him asleep in the stable. He’s got his hat pulled over his head and a horse rug covering his body, and as he stirs awake he looks at us both through narrow eyes and sits himself up.
“What happened, ya leave the toilet seat up again?” Wade mocks, and I chuckle when Garrett shoves him hard in the stomach and knocks the wind out of him.
“Actually we fell out over Savannah. Zayne brought her back late last night after she spent the night flirtin’ with Leonard Mason.” Garrett turns his attention to me, smiling sarcastically when he realizes that he just knocked the smile right off my face.
“Leonard Mason.” I repeat the name just to be sure I’m hearing him right.
“The one and only. Apparently he’s takin her to the dance next Saturday.”
I don’t say nothin’ just clench my jaw as I let what he’s tellin’ me sink in.
“Don’t be fuckin’ stupid, Savannah wouldn’t be seen dead with a fuckin’ Mason.” Wade shakes his head and laughs to himself as he starts filling a bucket with water for Hooter.
“It’s true, I heard it from her own mouth.” Garrett shrugs, as he stands up and folds up the rug that kept him warm last night.
