Page 28 of SEAL of Valor

The stairs creak, and a black dog races down right before Reese comes into view, wearing a green sweatshirt and pink flannel pajama pants. Her red hair is slightly tangled, and there are dark circles beneath her eyes.

For a moment, nothing is said.

We just sit here, staring at each other. Two strangers who once had no secrets.

“I’ll go.” I shove up from the chair. “Let me know your thoughts on the idea. I really don’t mind.” Grabbing my notebook, I head for the door.

“Weston Hayes, you are not leaving.”

I stiffen, then turn toward Vivian. “This was not a good idea.”

“And why not?” Vivian demands as she gets to her feet. She looks from me to Reese, who is still standing on the stairs. “You are my partner on this ranch, Weston. Reese, you are my daughter. As long as this ranch is owned by me, the two of you will have to see each other. So, either figure out how to get along, or—” She stops abruptly, her eyes widening as she pales.

I drop the books and rush forward. “Vivian, what’s wrong?” I take her hand and help her lower slowly onto the dining room chair. She seems so fragile now, where moments ago she’d stood like a solid wall.

The skin of her hand is paper-thin beneath my fingers, and I keep my gaze locked on her, trying to figure out what could be wrong. She’d said she was just getting old. That her health issues weren’t anything serious.

Was she lying?

“Mom?” Reese rushes forward, kneeling in front of her mother, so I release Vivian’s hand and take a step back.

“Just a little dizzy, that’s all.” She tries to laugh, but it’s empty. Devoid of anything but the exhaustion she’s clearly battling.

“We need to get you to the doctor,” Reese insists.

“I’ve been to the doctor,” she snaps.

“Well, we’re going again.” Reese straightens and glares at me. “Can you please stay here until I can get my shoes?” For the first time since I laid eyes on her in that coffee shop, she’s not looking at me like I’m enemy number one. There’s fear in her gaze, and I would do anything to chase it away.

“Of course. I’ll do anything for Vivian,” I reply, hoping she sees that I’m doing it for Vivian and not her. Though I can admit to myself that that’s far from the truth.

Even after all these years, and everything that’s happened between us, there’s still nothing I wouldn’t do for Reese.

Chapter 9

Reese

“This is ridiculous,” my mom says for the tenth time since we were taken back to a private room at the hospital. It’s been about an hour and a half, and they’ve already run a CT scan and taken blood for the full toxicology report I asked them to run.

According to her, they’ve run every other test.

“The jury is still out on that. You looked like you were about to fall over.”

“Well, you and Weston weren’t exactly making it a low-stress morning. I’m an old woman, Reese. That was a lot to deal with.”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Mom, you can’t fix what’s between us, okay? Why would you have him over at the house?”

“We have a standing weekly meeting,” she replies, all while refusing to make eye contact with me.

“You couldn’t have done that at his place? Or the barn?”

Now she meets my gaze, pinning me with a glare that would have me straightening when I was a kid. “That is my house, Reese Lillian Faye. I will do with it what I please.”

I move over toward the window to look outside. The sun is high in the bright sky. It’s the type of day where I’d love to be anywhere but inside. “I’m just not sure why he had to be there. Ranch hands were never a part of the business dealings anyway. Dad always kept them separate.”

“Weston is not a ranch hand.”

I turn toward her, noting the shift in her tone. “What do you mean?”