Page 15 of Love Wells Kept

My chest rises and falls in time with the rhythmic hiss of the ventilator, keeping me sane as it keeps Jackson alive. It doesn’t get easier seeing him like this, covered in a blanket of tubes and wires with bandaging wrapped tight around his head.

“Want some coffee?” Denny asks softly once he notices I’m awake. “Was thinking I’d venture downstairs to find some.”

I lick my parched lips. Hospital air has a way of sucking the moisture from your skin. “A cup of Earl Grey would be nice, thanks.”

“Maybe put a shot of something in it for you?” He chuckles.

“Now you’re thinking.” I smile at him, clasping my fingers around the armrests and pulling myself up to a normal seated position.

“Hey, so, I called Dad last night after you two passed out.” Denny glances over at Austin to confirm he’s still asleep.

Mere days after their mom died, Bennett Wells decided it was too painful to be on the ranch, so he up and left. At eighteen, twenty, and twenty-five, the three boys had no choice but to take on the multigenerational cattle ranch themselves. It hit extra hard because their grandpa had passed earlier in the year, and not a single one of them really understood what it took to operate a ranch of that magnitude. Dozens of employees, thousands of head of cattle, hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

Between the four of us, we managed. We all suffered and sacrificed during those first few years, but we survived. The boys’ relationship with their dad, however, has never been quite the same. Denny was the first to let him back in. Jackson held a grudge for a lot longer, but fond memories of growing up with a tight-knit family had him yearning to mend the broken bonds before Odessa was born, for her sake. And since then, Bennett’s been around more—not a lot, but more.

But Austin took him leaving the hardest, by far. Honestly, I think we’d all given up on him ever forgiving Bennett, but he surprised us by making his first real effort to form a new relationship with his dad after talking to him at Denny and Blair’s wedding.

“Is he coming here?” Austin mumbles under his hat.

“Yeah, he’s on his way. Should be here pretty soon, so, uh…you gonna be good with that?” Denny tilts his head to get a read on his oldest brother. “Or are you gonna be an awkward motherfucker and make this room even more tense than it already is?”

“I’m fine,” Austin replies. “He should be here.”

I nod. “Thank you for thinking to call him, Denny.”

Leaning forward, I slip my fingers between Jackson’s and give a tight squeeze. We made it through the night. He’s alive, his brain is healing, and one day this entire experience will be nothing but a tiny blip in our story.

“Thanks for staying last night, guys,” I say…to all three of them, truthfully.

“I’m glad we did. I would’ve been awake and worried sick in the hotel room all night.” Denny slowly pulls himself to stand with a yawn that nearly forces his jaw to unhinge. “I probably would’ve called you a hundred times to confirm things were all good.”

The yawn works its way around the room, with Austin blinking back watery eyes, then I cover my gaping mouth with the back of my free hand.

“Coffee?” Austin asks.

“That’s exactly where I was planning on going. God knows I need it.” Denny stretches his arms above his head.

“I’ll come with you. I should give Red a call—make sure he’s got a handle on everything back at the ranch.”

I rub at the itchiness of exhaustion behind my eyes. “If you need to go back to the ranch today, I’ll be fine here, honest. I know that place doesn’t run on its own.”

The words barely leave my tongue before Austin’s shaking his head, unable to hide how stupid he thinks I am for even suggesting such a thing. “We’re here for as long as you are. Or at least I am. I know Blair might need help with the baby so—”

“Nope,” Denny interjects. “We’re staying here. Blair told me last night that she’ll kick my ass for ditching Kate at the hospital.” He hooks a thumb toward his brother. “He’s checking on Red because he’s a control freak. The guys have it handled.”

Red’s dad started as a Wells Ranch cowboy before any of the boys were even born, and even after town drama drove the Thompsons to move away, Red came back as soon as he’d graduated from high school and has been on the ranch ever since. He might not be a Wells brother by blood, but in this family, that sort of thing has never mattered. He’s a brother.

In a gruff, tired-of-Denny’s-shit voice, Austin says, “I’m doing my job. My job is to make sure Red is doing his job.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same shit, control freak.” Denny rolls his eyes and takes a step toward the door. “Kate, you wanna come with us? Get some fresh air?”

My grip on Jackson’s hand tightens. “No, thanks. I’ll take that Earl Grey tea, though.”

I’m not sure I’ll be able to stomach it, given the way my stomach’s starting to grumble with familiar swells of morning sickness, but I’m so exhausted, I’m willing to try.

Denny smiles. “Right. With a shot or two of liquor, coming right up.”

“You think they sell alcohol at the hospital?” Austin makes a face.