Page 55 of Burned

“What if I start taking her over to mine?” I ask. “I could start first thing tomorrow. Tonight, I can go into town and get the stuff I would need, and then over the next few days, we can get her accustomed to my place.”

“You want to adopt her?” His eyes go wide.

I would love to adopt her, but Rhett and the kids are in the back of my mind. Betty needs someone that can care for her and only her. I would always be nervous about the kids, and while I know Betty was only scared when she bit me, I don’t know when she’ll be scared again. The responsible thing to do is find someone who fits her needs better than I do.

“Not adopt,” I reluctantly say. “Just keep her safe and calm from now through the event. Keep her comfortable.”

“Fine by me,” he says. “Just be careful. If you get hurt again, Rhett might lose his goddamn mind.”

I snort and roll my eyes. “He’s such a worrier.”

“Having two kids on your own will do that.” He rests his head back on the wall. “On top of having to take care of all of us as kids…and as adults.”

“You mean Dean?” I ask, figuring that’s what he means by taking care of them as adults. Because Wells seems to have his life mostly together, and while Hayes can slack off, he’s still a fully functioning human. But I haven’t heard much about Dean, and I’m guessing he’s the one causing the extra stress.

He hums and nods. “A lot of that fell on Rhett. Dad tried at first, but when Rhett took over the ranch, it had to be him that fronted the money for all of Dean’s failed rehabs.”

“That has to be hard.” I reach out and give his hand a quick squeeze. “I grew up in a small town where almost everyone was addicted to something at some point in their life. It was never a family member, but I had friends. That was hard to watch.”

“We never thought it was an issue when Dean was younger because we were all drinking and partying. It felt normal.” He shrugs. “But then he started grabbing a beer before heading out on the ranch…at six in the morning.”

I wince.

“Yeah.” He groans. “We should’ve known then. But we just kept making excuses for him. And when we’d go out, he would drinkso much, Poppy. Like, if it had been any of us, we would’ve been on the floor. But it’s like his tolerance was just so incredibly high.”

“How’d you decide enough was enough?”

“Yeah, that’s not a pleasant story.” His head falls forward into his hands, and he rubs them down his face. “The first time we realized something was seriously wrong was when he got drunk and yelled at Momma. And I meanyelled. He came over for Saturday dinner and went to get a drink. Momma had emptied out the entire house of alcohol. I guess she knew something was wrong before we did. He fucking lost it on her.”

I can’t imagine anyone yelling at Katherine. It breaks my heart to think about her own son screaming at her over throwing out the alcohol.

“Rhett had to drag his ass outside. The next day, Dean started going to AA meetings. He did pretty good, at first.” Wells’ face has the saddest expression, and it just breaks my heart. “He got a few chips under his belt before he relapsed. We should’ve expected it, honestly. But Addie’s death hit us all hard, and it was difficult enough to take care of ourselves, let alone the functioning alcoholic.”

“Oh, Wells.”

He gives me a weak smile.

“Anyway, after a few months of that, we got him into a short-term care facility. On Rhett’s dime, obviously. He came back a new man. He looked healthier and seemed so much happier.”

“He fell off again?” I ask, assuming that’s where we’re headed.

He nods. “Didn’t even last a month. Pops kicked him out. And I mean out. He wasn’t allowed within a hundred feet of the ranch for years. He never even knew Rhett and Leah got married. He wasn’t here for Jo or Wade being born. Dean was just…gone.”

“Where’d he go?”

Wells shrugs. “No clue. He just showed up one night, beggin’ for forgiveness. It was pouring rain, and Momma couldn’t stand to let him just freeze to death. She convinced Pops to let him in, and for months, she babied him and tried to help. Rhett spent thousands on therapy and in-home visits with addiction counselors.

“About three months ago,” he continues, “Rhett shipped him off to some fancy long-term in-patient rehab in Colorado. I know it has to be expensive. And I know that’s why the ranch is struggling. He’s sank so much money into Dean that he’s barely keeping his head above water on anything else.”

“Three months ago… Shouldn’t he be coming back soon?”

Wells nods. “Rhett paid for six months. Said the last time he did ninety days, it didn’t do shit. He was getting six months of therapy and rehab before he was allowed to step a boot back on this ranch.”

“I can’t imagine the amount of stress.” I play with Betty’s ears between my fingers and try to think of what to say. What can anyone say? “So not only does Rhett have his kids and his ranch to worry about, he’s also worrying about Dean.”

“Every damn day. I know Dean is on his mind constantly.”

“Why hasn’t he said anything?”

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