Page 67 of A Lot Like Forever
And saw he was sleeping. Nate checked he was covered, made sure he looked comfortable, then sat in the chair beside the bed. He sipped slowly at the rest of the coffee even though the roof of his mouth was scalded, settled back until he finished it, and reached for one of the spare blankets, tucking it around himself. Seeing his granddad sleep was only reminding him how tired he was himself—it was about time he just shut his eyes for a bit and turned his brain off.
Nate did exactly that, letting himself relax for once. Until he thought about Faith. His jaw hardened and he went back to thinking about the ranch, to the oil they’d found.Thiswas why he’d turned into even more of a workaholic than usual. Trying to keep his goddamn mind off the woman who’d gotten under his skin.
* * *
“I was starting to think you were never going to wake up.”
Nate blinked and rubbed at his eyes, realizing where he was and why his neck hurt like hell. His back was stiff and even stretching didn’t give him any relief.
“How long have I been out?” he asked.
“It’s light outside, if that’s what you mean,” his granddad said with a chuckle.
“Oh hell,” Nate muttered, glancing at his watch and seeing that it was almost 7:00 am. He’d slept the night. “I came by to check in on you and then I was supposed to meet up with Chase.”
“He’ll think you had a good night out with a beautiful woman. I doubt he’s reported you missing yet.”
Nate grimaced. “Not likely.”
“The woman or the missing persons report?”
“The woman.”
“We never forget the first one,” his granddad said, leaning back deeper into his pillows. Nate jumped up to help him adjust his position, pouring him a fresh glass of water and holding the straw to his lips so he could sip. “There’s something about enjoying every woman that so much as looks in your direction, then finding the one.”
Nate laughed. “First of all, she’s not the one. If she was I wouldn’t be fucked off with the world; I’d be with her.” He grinned at his granddad. “And secondly, tell me who she was, this first one who got to you?”
“Your grandma, you fool.” He started to cough and Nate held the water for him again, ready to call for help if they needed it.
“Of course it was Grandma. Who the hell else could have tamed you? Or put up with you for that matter.”
He reached for his granddad’s hand and held it until his breathing was less raspy and the coughing had passed.
“She made me work for it, but damn, was she worth it.”
They sat in silence, Nate smiling as he thought about his grandparents. When his grandma had died, they’d all been hit hard. She’d been the true matriarch of the family, the glue that held everything together and made everything good with the world. She’d been elegant yet at the same time able to sit down with the ranch hands and throw back a glass of whiskey with the best of them; and she’d been the one to tuck the boys into bed after their dad had left and make them feel as loved as they had felt when their mom had been alive and holding them in her arms.
Nate had known too much loss in his lifetime, of those closest to him, and it was only about to get worse.
“Don’t be a fool if she’s the one, son. But if she isn’t, then forget her. Simple as that.”
Nate only wished itwasthat simple, because one part of him told him not to stop until he had her back in his arms and the other told him that everything had turned out for the best. Nothing had changed, nothing that could make things work between them long-term, so it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.
“Now tell me about that oil.”
Now that was something he was happy to talk about. “It’s better than we ever thought. I just wish you could be there to see that black gold spewing from the ground.”
Nate looked up when a nurse entered, let her go about her business and check the charts and dispense medication. He nodded when he was offered a spare plate of breakfast and coffee, offering his thanks, then turned back to his granddad.
“There’s something about oil that makes my pulse race,” he admitted, sitting back and grinning at the old man smiling straight back at him.
“It’s because you love the chase as much as I do, Nate. Being the one to make something big happen always gave me a kick.”
The chase. It was the one thing Nate wasn’t used to doing when it came to women, beyond a point, and it was what made him uneasy about what had happened with Faith. Maybe he’d given up too easily. Maybe he needed to chase her, kick himself up the ass and just do it, to hell with being shit scared about having a future with her.
