Page 36 of Due North
My eyes rolled, and I was sure she could see it from the corner of her eye, but I didn’t care. My breath held as we approached the old wooden bridge. I wasn’t worried about getting across it. I was worried about what happened once we were over it.
Cece navigated it with expertise and bounced the Jeep over the gravel road toward Heavenly Lane. A puff of air escaped my lips when my gaze picked out the swaying bison heads in the pastures. They were breathtaking and made me feel like a cowboy from yesteryear who danced with these majestic creatures every day. They were powerful, steadfast, and didn’t care about the snow, rain, or wind. I was none of those things. Unfortunately, my heart still skipped a beat at the sight, and it still told me I was home.
“You can just drop me off at my cottage. I have things to do.”
“No can do, sorry,” Cece said, sliding the Jeep to a stop in front of the main house. “There’s a shareholder’s meeting this morning.”
“Give me a break,” I moaned, banging my head on the back of the headrest. “There’s no shareholders meeting. Those two nosy women just want to shake me down for information!”
She held up her hands and got out of the car, grabbing the paperwork and her purse before she ducked her head back inside the vehicle. “I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.”
Cece slammed the door just as I noticed Beau come out of the house in his signatureWranglers and flannel. Why was I not surprised?
Beau yanked the Jeep door open and leaned on the top of it. “Good to see ya, Tex. Your fans have a pot of coffee and cinnamon rolls from Midge’s ready for the meeting. They asked me to fetch you.”
“More likely, they wanted you to carry me up the stairs like some kind of invalid.”
Beau looked at Cece and back to me. “Nope, no mention was made of carrying anyone. I think they want to make sure that you don’t run to your cabin before they get their hooks in ya, boy.”
I huffed and climbed out of the Jeep. “Like I’m going to run anywhere. Fine, you know what, fine. I’ll talk to them, but then I’m going home.”
Beau clapped me on the shoulder and kept his hand there on the way up the stairs. I saw it for what it was, and I wasn’t ungrateful. I was walking better now, but I had to use a cane. The doctor warned me it could be two or three more weeks before my muscles stop fatiguing after just a few steps.
“You are home, Tex. That’s the part of the story you keep forgetting to write. You were home the moment you accepted a job on this land. For good and for bad,” Beau said, holding the door open.
My shoulders fell when Beau’s arrow hit its mark. He was right. I knew it, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t stay here if I couldn’t do my job, and according to the doctor in Duluth, it would be at least December before it was safe for me to do anything physically taxing. The problem was, my insurance through the ranch was what allowed me to get the treatment I needed. If I didn’t have the insurance, I wouldn’t get treatment, and then I would never get better. That was the never-ending circle in my mind every hour over the last few days. I was screwed ten ways from Sunday, as Beau would say.
I kicked my boots off at the front door and hung my coat on the hook, knowing even if I got mad, I wasn’t going to storm out of here and run to my cabin. I would have to suffer through this meeting and then beg for a ride back to my house. What I was going to do when I got there, I didn’t know.
“Ba!”
I glanced up, and Poppy Rose pushed herself up from the floor where her toys were laid out.
“Ba!” she yelled, clapping with excitement.
I waved with both hands, my face animated now that I could smile again. God, it was so good to smile without thinking about it, especially when a little doll baby with the sweetest curls was the recipient.
I sat on the couch and scooped her up, knowing it wasn’t wise to stand while holding her in my arms. I could easily fall and hurt her if I did.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me like a monkey while I rubbed her back. Her little body was warm, and the longer she held me, the more I relaxed. It was good to be home.
The word fell onto my heart and broke another piece of it off. I was home. These people were my home, but how would I stay if I couldn’t do the work they needed me to do?
“How are you feeling, Caleb?” Amity asked from the rocking chair where she was holding Eden. “You look good. I’m happy to see your smile again.”
I rubbed my cheek on Poppy’s head for comfort before I turned to smile at her. “Thanks, Amity. I’m feeling better. I’m not one hundred percent, but I’ll get there.”
“I have no doubt,” she said on a wink. “I’m going to go put Eden down for her nap and then do the same with Poppy. Everyone else is waiting for you in the kitchen.”
“I know, but I don’t want to let her go,” I admitted, my arms tightening around her.
“You can see her again after she wakes up,” Cece reminded me. “I’ll bring her to the cabin, and you can have the afternoon with her.”
I pulled her tiny arms from my neck and held her hands in one of mine. I pointed at my chest and held up one finger. She pointed at hers and mine and held up two tiny fingers together just to make my heart hurt even more in my chest.
How was I going to let her go?
I pointed at her and then put my two hands to my head like a pillow. She shook her head, but I held up a finger and then pointed at her and then me. Then I put my fists together and moved them around in a circle. It meant we’d be together soon.
