Page 22 of Keeping His Brat

“Your old phone? I want to plug it in so it can charge. You’ll need something until you can get a new one.”

“Oh yeah. Bottom drawer in the living room. Shit, I forgot about the phone. Hey, can you do that rice thing to dry it out?” There was a note of hope in his voice that she hated to crush.

“I think that’s a myth.” She retrieved the other phone and brought it back with her. A quick check showed the chargers were compatible, so she plugged it in and left it on the nightstand. It wouldn’t work yet, but maybe he’d be feeling well enough later to call up and get it switched back on. She didn’t suggest he do it now because she didn’t want anyone calling and bothering him while he was resting anyway.

She’d wanted him to eat or at least drink something before she left, but he was snoring already. The glass of juice she left within reach would have to do until she could get home. She manhandled him further onto the bed, without waking him up somehow, and then dragged a blanket over him.

By the time she got to the barn the hands were milling around looking for their assignments. Ben had taken charge and was sending people off to various jobs, so there hadn’t been any trouble there. He knew what to do if Sam was late, which did happen from time to time—especially since Charlie had come into his life again.

She took full blame for that; occasionally she could be very distracting in the morning, almost irresistible, when she tried hard enough. It wasn’t easy to get Sam off track, but when she really pushed, well … knowing he had Ben here to get things rolling meant that he didn’t have to feel too guilty about it.

The animals had a strict feeding schedule, and they weren’t patient about waiting so if Sam wasn’t there on the dot, Ben didn’t wait. She slipped through the crowd to stand next to him as he finished, and he turned to her looking surprised. “If you’re looking for work, there’s really nothing important but I’m sure Sam can find you something.”

His awkwardness was to be expected. Ben was painfully aware that she was half-owner of the ranch, so he left it to Sam to give her jobs. Charlie understood why that might feel strange, so she usually went around him and reported directly to Sam when she wanted something to do. She preferred that anyway and suspected everyone did.

“I’m not looking for work, Ben. Can you handle things for the day … maybe a little longer? Sam’s sick and I think he’s going to be out for a few days.” She tried to keep her voice neutral but even she could hear the worry in her tone.

Ben frowned. “That sick huh? I noticed he was looking peaky yesterday. That time of year anyway. We had two guys out earlier this week so I’m guessing he caught it from one of them.”

It helped a little to know that. If they were back to work already then Sam was bound to get better soon. “He’s a mess right now. High fever, chills and shakes. I’m keeping him in bed as much as I can.”

Ben grinned. “You are huh? How’s that working out for ya?” While the people who worked on the ranch might not know the specifics of their relationship, they definitely knew Sam was the one in charge. Not that they could have considered any other dynamic as bossy and dominant as Sam was.

She laughed and shrugged. “To be honest it’s not too hard since he can barely stand right now. I suspect it’ll be harder once he starts to get over whatever he’s got.”

“I’d say you’re right about that, so I’ll just wish you good luck. I can handle the daily stuff without trouble, ‘specially this time of year. There’s a feed order that was supposed to go in last night. I guess you better check and make sure he got it done. Oh, and payroll.”

She made a face about the last. She’d done payroll for her father a few times, but it wasn’t her idea of a fun job.

He caught her expression and laughed. “Sorry, I’m no good with computers or I’d offer to do it. I’d say it could wait but to be honest—” He waved an arm in the general direction of a few of the men. “— most of these guys live check to check so they depend on getting their pay on time. I can explain that he’s sick and they’ll understand but if you’re thinking he’s going to be out for at least a few days …”

She couldn’t do that to the hands. Most of them had worked on the ranch for years, and Ben was right, most of them would try to be patient but it would be a hardship. “I wouldn’t do that to them. No worries I’ll take care of it if Sam didn’t. Anything else need to be done?”

“Well, let’s see.” Ben headed towards the office, musing about various things, but the truth was he really didn’t know much about the paperwork side of things. Between the two of them they were able to sort out a few things that were pressing. She was relieved to see that hehadgotten payroll in.

“Uh, what about these?” she asked, holding up a stack of bills. Riffling through them she saw some of them were coming due later that week.

Ben shrugged. “No idea. I don’t deal with the invoices. I know some get paid when the delivery comes. Some go through the lawyer, and some Sam pays but couldn’t say which is which.”

She frowned. “I’ll have to ask him. For now, they can wait, I guess. I’m sure our credit is good enough to stand a few days.”

“That’s probably true. Anyway, I can’t think of anything else that needs to be done immediately. I think we can hold things off for a few days,” Ben assured her.

She took him at his word and didn’t hover around making sure things got done. Ben was solid and trustworthy. Anyhow Sam was the one who needed looking after, not experienced men who knew their jobs.

“Make sure you call me if you have trouble, not Sam. I want him to rest. Anyway, he killed his phone yesterday and hasn’t set up a new one yet.”

“I gotcha, Charlie. You’re the one who’ll have to deal with his snarling if he feels like he’s cut out though.” He was clearly intent on leaving the arguments to the bosses and staying out of it.

It seemed fair enough. “Yeah, I’ll handle it, but not until he’s well enough to stand,” she said, laughing.

“Got a point there. All right then, I need anything, you’ll get the call.”

Charlie made sure he had her number and then left feeling like things were in good hands. The longer she was away from Sam the more anxious she was to check on him. As stubborn as she was, she knew he was just as bad. Images of him trying to get up and falling filled her head and hurried her steps.

But when she entered the house, everything was quiet and calm. He was still in bed where she’d left him and appeared to be sleeping deeply. She blew out a long slow breath as she watched him. The anxiety didn’t go away even though she could see he was fine. There really wasn’t much she could do anyway.

She couldn’t seem to settle and instead ended up roaming around the house looking for things to occupy her. Normally it would send her into a cleaning frenzy. Unfortunately, her punishment the day before meant that everything was spotless so there were no household chores to hold her attention. She made a few trips out to carry in armloads of wood from the cord stacked around the side of the cabin and then built up a cheerful fire.

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