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“Is that a proposal I hear?” Hunt walked in with his usual cockiness.
Chase kissed Shelby quick before turning to his brother. “Are we good?” He didn’t think there’d be any repercussions after killing Kyle, but...
“All good. He had a knife and was about to kill Shelby. It was a righteous shot.” Hunt sighed, and whatever weighed on him sagged his shoulders. “I also want to say, I’m sorry I didn’t put you in an ambulance the second I saw your wounds at the grocery store and go after Shelby and Eliza without you. When I saw you fall, I thought...” Choked up, Hunt’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I thought you died.” His gaze came up and held Chase’s before it moved to Shelby. “I’m sorry. You and Eliza could have lost him because I didn’t do my job, and I wasn’t the brother Chase needed me to be.”
Shelby let Hunt off the hook. “Let this be a new start for the two of you.”
Chase had to admit, he was choked up, too, and it really hit home how close he’d come to dying. Again.
“Thanks for showing up, Hunt. I know things haven’t been easy between us for way too long, but I hope that changes.”
Hunt held out his hand. Chase shook it, though it hurt his back to hold his arm up. Remmy sat up and pawedat Hunt to pet him. Hunt obliged. “Good boy. You kept him calm all night.”
Chase was actually surprised they let Remmy stay in his room.
Shelby squeezed his thigh. “You were restless in the ambulance and when they were taking you away to surgery. I thought maybe going full-on military mode might have messed with your head and brought back all the bad memories. Not that they’re ever too far from your mind. Anyway, I kept Remmy here with you. The doctor and nurses were completely sympathetic, especially when Remmy jumped up and sat with you and your blood pressure went down.”
Chase rubbed Remmy’s chest. “Good boy.” He really appreciated all Remmy did for him. Drake had been right. He didn’t have as many panic attacks. His anxiety went down just petting the dog and shifting his focus to him.
He’d made progress. He had a long way to go still. But with Remmy and Shelby and Eliza by his side, he saw a brighter future, one where he didn’t lose himself in the past but enjoyed the moment and looked forward, not back.
His dad and Max walked in.
Max had Eliza in his arms, her little head on his shoulder as she slept. “She conked out about twenty minutes ago.”
Chase smiled at his sweet girl, then met Max’s gaze. “Looks like I’m not going to be much help at the ranch for the next couple weeks.”
“No worries. I’ve got it covered.” Which meant Max would try to do all the work, expecting to have his effort overlooked again.
Chase thought Max deserved more and turned to his dad. “I think it’s time you made it clear to everyone who works on the ranch that Max is the boss.”
Max’s eyes went wide. “You’re not coming back?”
“I’ll be back as soon as the doc and Shelby say I’m fit, but that doesn’t change the fact that you run that place. Yes, with my help, but you’ve been carrying the load and getting none of the respect you’ve earned and deserve.”
Max rubbed his hand over Eliza’s back. “I like how things have been these past few weeks. I like working together.”
Chase appreciated the sentiment and the words. “And we’ll continue to do so, but you and the men need to know I’m not running things on my own. We do it together. And that needs to come from the top.” He pinned his dad in his gaze. “It’s time you stepped back and put Max in charge and let everyone know it.”
His dad turned to Max. “I should have done it a long time ago. Well before Chase came home. I’ll make it official, and you’ll get the raise you deserve. You and Chase will be equals.”
Max nodded, looking a little overwhelmed. “Thank you. I appreciate it. Now I need to take this one home.”
Shelby released his hand and walked around the bed to the cupboard by the window. She opened the door and pulled out her purse, then handed her keys over to Max. “Before you take her, I want to wake her so she can see that her dad is awake and everything is okay.” Shelby reached for Eliza and pulled her close to her chest. “Hey sweet girl, wake up. Daddy wants to see you.”
Eliza’s sleepy eyes opened. She spotted him and held her hands out for him to take her. He couldn’t move verywell, so Shelby pointed for Remmy to move to the other side of the bed, and she set Eliza on his right side. Eliza immediately lay her head on his chest. He held her close.
“Hey, sweetheart, I love you so much.”
Eliza lifted her head. “Ouchy go away?”
“The doctor fixed me up, but it still hurts. I’ll be better in a few days.”
Shelby laid her hand on Eliza’s back. “Kiss Daddy bye-bye. Uncle Max is going to take you home to play and eat lunch.”
Eliza leaned up and kissed his cheek.
His heart warmed and he got a little choked up thinking about how close he’d come to losing her and her mom. If something happened to them... He couldn’t go there.
