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The storm had stopped, and according to Chris, if the weather service was to be believed, it would be a good day.
Quinn was curled up on the sofa in the corner, nearly in Levi’s lap, both focused on whispering whatever married guys talked about. They were good together, no doubt about it, and yeah, I needed to back off worrying about Quinn because he was right. His personal security was on Levi now, and he didn’t rely on me.
No one did now.
Great, and now I’m having a lonely-ass pity party for one.
I took another sip of my coffee, trying to shake off asmall pang of what seemed a lot like envy. Quinn and Levi had found something special, something I hadn’t realized I wanted until I’d started battling with Neil. It was hard not to feel envious of their easy affection and how I could never imagine it for myself.
I didn’t do soft and sweet.
Micah and Daniel stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and needing coffee. They’d gone up an hour before to crash, but I guess neither could sleep.
“And?” Levi asked.
“I’ll make the coffee. You do thetalking.” Daniel waved at Micah, exhausted, leaning on the counter and yawning. Micah seemed more awake, or maybe he was still riding the adrenaline.
“You think the landslip is dangerously close to the old barn?” Levi asked, concern creasing his brow.
Micah stopped, his hand frozen mid-reach towards a mug of coffee. He looked more shocked than he had been about the massive scar on the property, his eyes wide and face pale as he met my gaze. Something had rattled him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice low and urgent.
His expression was grim. “Nothing.” His voice was barely a whisper, but the fear in it was unmistakable. No one else heard his words. He had his back to everyone, but he was spooked, and a chill ran down my spine, my muscles tensing.
“Micah? Do we need to get everyone out of here?” I asked, needing to know what had shaken him so much.
“No. We’re okay, we’re…” He blinked at me, then snapped out of whatever he had going on and got his coffee. I didn’t like that reaction and could only assume he was worried about the property, but he’d tell someone else, right? If he wasreallyworried? He’d talk to Levi. To his husband?
Rachel arrived in the kitchen carrying a sleepy Oliver, Scott not far behind her. “Did I hear you mentioning the old barn?”
“Yeah, wondering how close the slip gets to it.”
She huffed. “That barn needed demolishing anyway. The well’s probably caved in under it.”
“You think?” Levi asked.
Micah flicked me another glance, frowning, put his coffee down, clenched his fists, then crossed his arms over his chest on the next beat, as if he couldn’t find a comfortable position. His agitation was palpable, a restless energy that made me wonder if it was just the landslip eating at him. Was it only me who noticed how he kept staring at me? No one answered Micah.
I inclined my head to the door, implying I was here if he wanted to talk. He shrugged and shook his head.
“We’ll call someone out here to assess the damage and figure out what needs to be done next,” Levi said.
I half listened to him and Rachel discussing land surveying, soil, and rock stability, and getting out an environmental engineer. I finished my coffee and set the mug down, stretching my stiff muscles, unsure where I fit into all this ranch talk, and thinking I’d go down into town and see if anyone else wanted help.
“Is there anything else I can do to help up here?” I was talking to Micah, who seemed to want to say something else, but he turned away to mess with the coffee pot.
“Nothing any of us can do until the engineer gets out here,” Levi said. “Except watch the horses and hope for no rain.”
“I’ll get out of here, then, see if I can help down in town.”Find Neil and force myself into his space as sheriff’s assistant for the day. Tease him. Do rash things to make him lose his cool.
Kiss him.
Nope. No to the kissing. Kissing was for real connection, not with someone I wanted to fuck once to get him out of my system.
“I owe you one,” Levi said, hugging Quinn closer. As for Quinn, he glanced up from his cozy spot with Levi and gave me a grateful smile.
“Thanks for everything, Connor. We’ll catch up later.”
