Mouth quirking, she said, “Not really. Just going over everything that needs to be done here today. They’re going to be bringing in the tents this afternoon to set up where we’ll have the food and drinks. That has to be done first.” She pushed her hair behind her shoulder as Reese came over and sat in his chair at her elbow. Her heart blossomed with such need of this man, who was like a quiet oasis in the storm of her life. And that’s what it felt like right now: a hurricane shrieking around her.
“It’s stressful, but we’ve got everything organized, Shay. Noah, Harper, and Garret are good men. They’re leaders in their own right and they’ll all be out there as your lieutenants. You’re the general. Everyone will come to you and then you’ll defer to one of them. Whoever has that area of responsibility, will take it, and then you’re freed up again. It will work fine.”
She absorbed his tender look and hungrily soaked in his low, deep voice still laden with sleep. “What woke you up?”
“Dunno,” he said, sipping the tea. “Just woke up. Figured you’d be out here, so I got up.” His eyes crinkled as he held her gaze. Max laid down between them.
“I just want this to go well, Reese. I’m so worried . . .”
He reached out, sliding her hand into his. “It’s going to go fine. Like clockwork. You have military-trained people here running it. We know how to organize and execute. You know that.”
“You’re always the voice of reason in my life,” she offered weakly, giving him a grateful look, hungrily soaking up the strength of his long, warm fingers around hers. “Thank you, Reese . . . You’ll never know how much I lean on you, rely on you. I don’t know what I’d do right now if you weren’t here with me.”
“You’d soldier on,” he told her. “You’re stronger than you think, Shay. You don’t have to do this alone. You have four of us, and we won’t let you down.”
Blowing out a breath, Shay closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. Opening them, she fell into his dark green gaze that told her he yearned for her. Her lower body felt like coals coming to life once more; she was a woman who desired Reese. “I know that, and it gives me the strength to get through this.”
“Everyone coming on Saturday wants to help you, Shay. The only potential problem I see is your father. And that’s an emotional pull on you that no one can shield you from.”
“It’s okay, Reese.” She gave him a wry look. “And poor Garret. This was the first time he’s ever spoken up about his family. I felt so sorry for him last night. I could see he hated admitting it to us.”
“I’m sure he had it rough,” Reese agreed. “But like you, he’s stronger for it. Adversity always makes us stronger, whether we realize it or not.” He squeezed her hand. “I was proud of you with your father today. You kept your boundaries with him. That’s a huge step, Shay. Don’t you think?”
She rolled her eyes. “It is, yes, but I have to maintain it. I have to do it every time with him. That’s what is scary, because it means I have to have a secondary alertness. I get easily distracted. I’ve got to totally retrain myself to do this right, and I will. But then to have him ask to be out here on Saturday? His request blew me away. I wasn’t prepared for it. I’m still not.”
“But we’ll have people in place to protect you from him tomorrow.”
“Isn’t it sad, Reese, that I have to have protection?” She searched his darkening eyes. “I feel like a wuss. Like I should have anticipated all the things we talked about at dinner tonight. But I hadn’t.”
“You’re an ACOA, adult child of an alcoholic, Shay. There’s patterns that are in play between you and your father that you don’t even realize. Others see them, but you don’t. Someday, you will. Garret gave you a lot of excellent advice. And you’re acting upon it.”
“Of all the days he wanted to come to the ranch,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Why now?”
“Do you think it’s because he misses the ranch? Misses the way of life he’s known?”
Snorting softly, Shay said, “I think he wants to come out here and start telling me how to run the ranch. That’s what I think.”
“I thought the same.”
Shay stared at him. She felt his hand tighten a little around hers. “I won’t allow him to do that,” she said firmly.
“Legally, you’re in charge and the ranch belongs to you,” Reese reminded her.
“I don’t want a war with him over the ranch, Reese.”
“Don’t go there. At least, not yet.”
She felt fear invade her. Felt as if the whole world that she was trying to build, based upon her vision, suddenly was unstable. Her father was a hard, willful man and she knew how brutal he could become when he wanted his way. “Do you think he’s coming out here to see what’s going on? See how he can plan on taking it back? Taking over?”
Shrugging, Reese said gently, “We don’t know, Shay. Not yet. I think when you talk to Diana, and if she’s in agreement to be your intercessor with your father, she’ll keep her ears open. He might ply her with questions about the ranch.”