The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,70

you so much for bringing this. It literally saved us.” He looked up to the ridge as Tyson turned off his police spotlights and the land up there went dark.

“Anytime,” Jeremiah said. “Glad to help.”

“Wish it wasn’t three a.m.,” Micah said, but he wore a smile on his face. “Even though it is, it’s fine. We take care of each other out here.”

“I know Bear and Ranger and Ward appreciate it,” Brady said, clapping Jeremiah on the shoulder.

With the crane ready to go, Jeremiah got behind the controls again. Micah sat beside him in silence. Tyson Crockett hadn’t moved, and he stood in front of his car, his eyes trained on his phone.

“It’s nice to have family around,” Micah said quietly, and Jeremiah didn’t think there had ever been truer words spoken.

“Say a prayer for them on the way back,” Jeremiah said. “I’m sure they’re not out of the weeds yet.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Preacher looked up from the gaming forum when he heard Ward’s soft snores. His cousin had sat with him for hours while Preacher had slept, and he could certainly do the same in return.

His heart squeezed tight at the sight of Ward’s closed eyes and placid face. His chest steadily rose, and then fell, and he looked so at peace. So calm.

He hadn’t been calm last night, though Preacher hadn’t talked directly to him. He’d gotten a call about four-thirty in the morning, and Bear had explained the situation with Dot.

Preacher had thought life on the ranch would be boring for Charlie, but when she’d awakened and he’d told her he was going to spend the morning at Bull House with Dot and Ward to make sure they were taken care of, she’d said, “Wow, there’s never a dull moment around here, is there?”

He’d grinned at her, taken her into his arms, and kissed her. She’d promised to do her morning broadcast and then come sit with him, and a trickle of guilt moved through his stomach that he wasn’t watching her on Nexus. He didn’t usually have time, and she didn’t want him there anyway.

He knew about her online video game life, and he participated in it regularly. But she was a different person online than she really was in person, and Preacher preferred having the blonde woman in person than sharing her with others on the Internet.

His phone vibrated, and he looked down again. I’m here, Charlie had said. Do I just come in?

Yep. Preacher sent the text and got to his feet to go greet her. He hadn’t knocked on the door at Bull House that morning, though the sky was barely light and the clock had ticked to six on his walk over from the Ranch House.

Ward hard been in the kitchen, of course, because Ward couldn’t start the day without coffee and over-hard eggs. He’d tried to feed Preacher, who’d turned him down repeatedly before Ward finally stopped.

Dot had been asleep in the bedroom just down the hall, and Ward checked on her every fifteen minutes. Her brother had brought a glucose monitor that could take readings of her breath, and she’d allowed Ward to tape it near her mouth.

They’d been steadily decreasing since the three a.m. delivery of insulin, and by the time Preacher had checked on Dot, they were normal. Ward had taped a piece of paper with the numbers on the nightstand next to Dot, along with Tyson Crockett’s phone number, and he’d given Preacher explicit instructions to wake him if Dot’s levels got one stitch above normal.

Preacher had been there for four hours, and Ward had been asleep for three of them. Dot hadn’t woken at all. He worried about that, but he wasn’t sure what to do. He’d read a little bit about diabetes and glucose and blood sugar, but he didn’t truly understand it.

The front door opened when he was a couple of paces away, and Charlie entered. Her presence made Preacher light up, and he took her into his arms. “They’re both asleep.” He buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath of the soft scent of her skin.

“I need to check Dot’s numbers, and then maybe we can sit outside to talk.”

“Have you been outside?” she whispered. “It’s not warm, Preach.”

“The office then.” He indicated it on his left, and Charlie nodded. She went into the office while Preacher retraced his steps to the living room. Ward hadn’t moved, and Preacher hoped he’d sleep for a long, long time. He hadn’t silenced his