Cowboy Take Me Away(168)

“Kimi, darlin’, I only get five minutes with her.”

Kimi laughed, stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Okay. I’m goin’. Take care of yourself.”

“I will.” He started to say something and then stopped.

“What?”

“You’ve been in my life longer than any woman besides Caro. We’ve been through some great times together. Through some real shit storms too.”

“This counts as one of them shit storm times. And I’ll admit that it wasn’t just me keepin’ Cal away from here. Caro’s been as much a part of his life as I’ve been of yours. The four of us are tied together on so many levels…” She blinked away more tears. “This is eating him alive, Carson. Knowin’ he can’t do nothin’ to help you through it. Or me through it.”

“What’s he been doin’?”

“He’s been over at Kade’s, wrenching on that damn hot rod pickup Kade’s been tinkering with for twenty years. Eliza, Shannie and Peyton have been helpin’ him, getting greasy and loving every minute of it, although I don’t think Skylar’s too happy about it.” She smirked. “I figured Eliza is buttering up Gramps to buy her first car sooner than Kade wants her drivin.”

“Can’t blame Kade. When Keely turned eighteen and bought that Corvette with the money her Grandpa West had left her? I thought about takin’ her car out and totaling it just so she couldn’t drive it.”

“You tellin’ me Liesl isn’t already scheming for a car?” Kimi demanded.

“Nope. She’s got Anton to drive her where she needs to go. She’s a bit gun shy on account of her peg leg. Hayden’s not helpin’ Cal?”

“He’s splitting his time between early morning chores with Kane and workin’ for Ginger at the law office in the afternoons. Maddie and Paul are at camp during the day for a week or so. Rumor has it that Hayden, Ky and Anton are out tearin’ it up at night. Hard to believe I was Hayden’s age when I met Cal.”

“Doesn’t seem possible. If Keely would’ve showed up at age eighteen and announced she was getting married like Caro did to Eli at that same age? I’da…” Lost my mind and threatened to cut her off like my dad did to me.

“It’s a different world now. Carolyn was young, but you both knew what you felt was real. Fifty years later you’re still goin’ strong.”

“Cal said something like that to me the day I decided to propose.” He studied her. “So if in a couple of years Eliza shows up wearing some guy’s ring, you’d be okay with it?”

“Hell no. And if she got knocked up? I’d shoot the guy if Kade didn’t get to him first.”

Carson laughed.

“I know that makes me a hypocrite and I’m good with that.” Kimi stopped before she turned the corner. “Is your truck unlocked?”

“Yep.”

“I might bum a smoke or two.”

“Go ahead. It’ll be our secret.”

For some reason that released a fresh flood of her tears before she disappeared.

He didn’t have time to eat his sandwich before his hourly visitation. He washed up, suited up and scooted the rolling stool beside her bed.

“Hey sugar. I’m sittin’ here beside you. I know you can hear me. I need you to hear me. Come back to me. I need you to know that I’m right here, I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

He paused and feathered his thumb over her knuckles.

“Your pesky little sister just visited. Kimi is missin’ you like a limb. She didn’t carry on as much as I expected, but I suspect she recognized how close I am to the edge and she didn’t want to be the one to tip me over. Guess Cal’s havin’ a rough go of it too. The man is always on an even keel. But do you remember the time she and Cal had that epic fight right after Kade found out he was a daddy…?”

By the time Carolyn surfaced after hearing Kimi’s name, she no longer heard Carson’s voice.

Had Kimi been in here?

No.

She definitely would’ve made her presence known. Because her crazy little sister knew how to make an entrance…

Carolyn had spread out the ranch books on the dining room table, lost in numbers and contracts, knowing she had to get it all straight before she could start plugging the information into the computer.

The front door slammed and she didn’t bother to look up, figuring it was Carson.

Footsteps—angry ones by the sounds of it—echoed and stopped.

Aha! There was that lease. She squinted even though she had her cheater eyeglasses on. Wait a minute. This document was supposed to have three pages, not just one. As she shuffled through another stack, she heard the liquor cabinet open.