“That’s the other reason I came to get you. Your dad’s awake and is demanding to see his first born.”
Ro smiled and her eyes mist with tears.Again. The rollercoaster of emotions over the past two days had taken a toll. “Can I borrow some clothes?”
Outfitted, once again, in baggy sweatpants and a giant hooded sweatshirt, Ro walked hand-in-hand with Zach across the interior of the compound toward the clinic. He’d tried to carry her, but she’d argued that she was fully capable of using her own two feet. Graham was nowhere in sight, and Ro was grateful for the reprieve. She had no idea how respond to the bomb he’d dropped. He thoughtshewas the grenade in this situation? She’d just been minding her own business when they’d shattered her preconceived notions about relationships and sex andeverything. And now her sister knew that she had been with them both. Ro wouldn’t let the fear of her dad finding out change anything. When she’d first embarked on this … relationship … with Graham and Zach, she’d decided she was going to own it. She couldn’t do any less now. If there was even a relationship to own. But that didn’t change the fact that her dad was probably going to lose his ever-loving mind. So she’d just hope that his discovery would come later.Much, much later.
She tugged at Zach’s hand, pulling him toward the clinic. Her excitement to see her dad had her breaking into a jog. Ro pushed the door open and smiled widely when she saw her dad sitting propped up against a stack of pillows.
“There’s my girl,” he said, grinning broadly. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, honey.”
“How are you feeling?” She surveyed the bandages that wrapped from the upper right section of his chest over his shoulder.
“Just fine. Only a few scratches. Nothing to worry about.”
Ro arched a brow. “A few scratches?” Typical Dad response. He’d label anything as ‘just a scratch’ unless it involved losing a limb.
“I’ll be good as new by tomorrow.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Beau interrupted. “And I’ll say the same thing to you as I did to her: you need to take it easy for a while. You just had minor, non-anesthetized surgery, and I’m gonna be pissed if you start bleeding again. The painkillers are making you feel like Superman now, but you’re going to feel it when they wear off.”
“Okay, okay.” Her dad held out his hands in a placatory gesture. “Doctor’s orders, I get it. Now come here, Ro. Your old man needs a hug.”
Ro settled herself on the left side of the bed and carefully squeezed her father’s uninjured side. “Missed you, Dad. Thanks for waiting for me.”
He rubbed a few tears off her cheek. “None of that now, honey. We’re all fine. And you know I’d wait on you as long as it took.” Ro reached up to dash the rest of the tears away, and the sleeve of the sweatshirt slid down to expose her wrist. Her dad snatched it up. “What the hell happened to you? Did they do this?” His features turned feral as he looked from Zach to Beau and then to Graham, who’d just entered the clinic.
“No, but it’s … a long story. None of them had anything to do with it,” Ro reassured him. Her dad pulled her other hand up and surveyed it.
“Jesus, Ro. What the fuck?” Graham bit out. He was across the room and kneeling at her side before Ro even realized he was moving. Before she could respond, Beau was rolling toward her on his stool and shoving Graham out of the way to inspect her injuries.
“I guess you’re up next. And let’s hope this is the last time you need first aid for a while. The antibiotic shot I gave you with your stitches should be sufficient.”
“Stitches?” Her dad was frowning at her. “What the hell did you need stitches for?”
Ro sighed. “Like I said, it’s a long story.”
“Then you’re lucky I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.”
Graham was impressed with the rather edited version of events that Ro shared with her father. She’d managed to omit the fact that she had slept with him and Zach, not that he expected her to share that particular detail, but she also glossed over the part about how she ended up leaving the ranch by herself. Graham suspected that had Rick Callahan not been doped up on painkillers, he would have noticed the holes in her story and demanded answers. It was easy to see where Ro had gotten her bulldogged determination. She and Erica had spent the remainder of the day at their father’s bedside. After they’d eaten the fried catfish Travis made for dinner, Beau had shooed them away with orders that Rick needed to rest.
Graham sat on the couch in the dark, alone with his thoughts and one of the several bottles of Jack they’d stored. One question had been plaguing him since the sun had set: where was Rowan going to sleep tonight? He’d been informed that Allison had set Erica up in the cabin that Lia was using. Graham couldn’t picture the ultra-timid woman getting along with the rough-edged country girl, but reports indicated they’d clicked nicely. It was a small cabin with two sets of bunk beds, so there was certainly room for Ro, if she chose. And that was the problem: Graham didn’t want her to choose to sleep there. He still wanted her in his bed. He’d just taken a swig of whiskey and was thinking about Erica’s words outside the clinic when the door opened on silent hinges.
Ro tried not to appear nervous as she cut behind the mess hall to head to Graham and Zach’s cabin. But her palms were sweaty and her heart raced, so she figured she probably looked just as nervous as she felt. She was going so far out on a limb, and the only assurance she had that it wouldn’t break off beneath her was Zach’s declaration. Graham was the wildcard, and she didn’t know how he’d react to her presence. The cabin was dark as she eased the door open and crept inside. It was the opposite of the move she’d made thirty-six hours before, and the irony wasn’t lost on her. She shut the door behind her and tiptoed to Graham’s bedroom.Empty. She padded across the living room and stuck her head in Zach’s room.Empty.Where the hell were they?
“Looking for someone?” Graham’s voice came out of the dark.
“Jesus, fuck, you scared me!”
“Why are you sneaking around in the dark in my cabin? Or is that just your M.O.?”
Bravado flaring to life for the first time since she’d returned, Ro asked, “Are you going to hold that over me for the rest of my life?”
Light flickered from the oil lamp on the table as Graham lit it. “You could have been killed. If we hadn’t been there ... Hell, I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Why did you come after me? You told me you couldn’t spare anyone. What made you change your mind?”
“Why are in you in my cabin?” He lifted a bottle and swigged, ignoring her question.
“This conversation is going nowhere.” Frustration gripped her. The spark of optimism she’d felt on her trek to the cabin was doused. “I’ll go find somewhere else to bunk, and you won’t have to worry about where I am.” She pivoted toward the door and took two steps before she was yanked off her feet and tossed over Graham’s shoulder. She barely comprehended what was happening when she landed with a hard bounce on the mattress.