Page 38 of Love Me Back
The rest of breakfast was subdued; quiet conversation sputtered around me as I wondered what Grayson’s motivation was. I helped Addie with the dishes, like I did after dinner. I was so thankful she was here for two reasons.
One being that it meant I wasn’t the only woman living in the house at the moment. The other was that Addie could cook. I was hopeless in the kitchen. My mother gave both my sister and me lessons on how to cook. Justina took to it like a duck to water. I, on the other hand, promptly drowned and would die of starvation if it weren’t for takeout. And Ellie.
“Ready?”
I turned and found Grayson right behind me. His smile was mischievous, and I wondered again what he was up to.
“Sure.” I grabbed my shoes and slipped them on. “Is this the first time you’ve used the ramp?”
“Yea. The first day home coming out of the barn, I ended up on the ground when the chair flipped.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” I asked, my frustration with his pride overtaking my temper.
Grayson shrugged. His demeanor was that of a scared little boy, and my anger at him diminished. I had to remember that it wasn’t always easy to ask for help. Especially for men.
I knew from Addie that Grayson had been running the ranch since his parents passed away. They all relied on him to take care of the ranch, them, their legacy. That was a lot of pressure to put on one man’s shoulders.
“Okay, let’s work on going up and down the ramp, then we can take a walk.”
We spent the next hour teaching Grayson how to maneuver his chair at an incline and decline. One of the ranch hands was working suspiciously close and ran over to help the few times Grayson had tipped the chair until he finally got the hang of it.
“Where would you like to walk?” I asked when a 4WD Gator drove up and parked. It had two seats and an open truck bed, similar to a miniature pickup truck.
“I need to check on my horse.”
“Boss, not sure taking Jessie to see the demon horse is a good idea.”
“We’ll be fine, Hank, just help me get in the truck. Jessie, think you can drive this thing?”
“Yeah, I can drive it,” I said, rolling my eyes at Grayson. “But I thought we were taking a walk?”
“The chair won’t do well over the terrain.”
He was right. Between the two of us, we would have a rough time walking to the barn. I jumped in the driver’s seat and waited for Hank to fold Grayson’s chair and place it in the back.
“Will there be someone out there to help you get out and into the chair?” Hank asked.
“I can help him. Despite what he might think.” I put the vehicle in drive and sped off, Grayson holding tight to the roof to avoid being thrown out of the doorless truck. “Where are we headed?”
“The main barn,” he said through clenched teeth. “Maybe slow down a bit. I’d like to make it in one piece.”
“You take the fun out of everything,” I mumbled as I slowed down.
We pulled up to the barn, and the doors were wide open. I hopped out and quickly pulled the chair from the back andunfolded it, pushing it around to the passenger side and locking the brake.
Standing in front of the chair, I waited for Grayson. His focus was on the barn, a confused look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I followed his gaze.
“I don’t know. Something feels off.”
“You want me to go check the barn?”
“No!” Grayson grabbed my arm and pulled me against the side of his leg. “Let me call the boys.”
Grayson scanned our surroundings as he held the phone to his ear. He instructed Emerson and Hudson, as well as Hank, to meet us at the barn. He never let go of me while we waited for his brothers and foreman to arrive.
I heard the roar of a truck and the pounding of hooves. The tension in the grasp Grayson had of my arm finally eased. I didn’t know what he was sensing, but something had spooked him. It made me think of the last day I saw the horse, when something invisible spooked him in the paddock.
