kill anyone with his bare hands. It had been so shocking—despite his size and strength, Beckett was normally quiet, calm, and even-tempered. “That’s the only time I ever saw you get in a fight.”
“Wasn’t much of a fight.” Chest puffed up, Beckett took a drink of his beer.
“True. So you’ve kept in touch with Maddie?”
“For a while, when we first went away to college. Then her mom died, and out of nowhere, she dropped out of school and got married. I didn’t hear from her for a while.” He paused and took another sip. “But while I was living in Manhattan, she came and stayed with me for a few days.”
“Really?” I stared at him, surprised. “Did anything happen between you?”
He shook his head. “She was still married. And actually, she was pregnant. She ended up going back to him, even though I tried to talk her out of it.”
“Why’d you do that?”
His jaw ticked. “Because he didn’t deserve her.”
“Was he abusive?”
“Not physically. He was just a jerk. They ended up getting divorced about a year ago.”
“So now she’s a single mom?”
“Yeah. She’s got a six-year-old son, Elliott.”
“Huh.” I tried to picture Maddie Blake. “Does she live around here? I don’t think I’ve seen her since high school.”
Beckett shook his head. “She lives in Ohio, but she’s coming up here in a few weeks to sell the house she grew up in. Her mom left it to her, and she’s been renting it out. Actually, I was going to ask a favor of you.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Could you maybe take a look at this house and give her an estimate on some improvements? The property manager neglected to do any maintenance, and it’s been vacant for a while.” He winced. “I’ve looked at it from the outside, and it’s in pretty bad shape.”
I sipped my beer. “I can do that. No problem.”
“I don’t know how much money she has,” Beckett said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’ll take a look and see what we’re dealing with. Don’t worry, I’ll give her a good price.”
“That’s what I told her.” Beckett sounded relieved and picked up his beer again. “Thanks, man.”
“Is she going to stay there until it’s sold?”
“Actually, she’s going to stay with me.”
I looked at him in surprise.
“She was going to stay there,” he went on quickly, his tone slightly defensive, “but that place is a wreck. I don’t think she realizes how bad it is. We’ve got plenty of room, and she said her son is really excited about visiting a farm.”
“Well, there you go, you can finally bang her,” I joked.
He rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, asshole. I’m just doing something nice for an old friend.”
I decided to lay off him, since he was obviously under a lot of stress right now—but I remembered the way he’d looked at Maddie Blake in high school, even if he’d never admitted how he really felt about her. “She’ll be here in a few weeks, you said?”
“Yes, as soon as Elliott is out of school for the summer. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from her.”
I sipped my beer. “You do have a lot going on.”
“Tell me about it. I’m gonna wake up with white hair one of these mornings, just like my dad.”
“My advice is to get a fake wife and have lots of sex. It’s excellent stress relief.”
He laughed. “A wife is the last thing I need, fake or otherwise. I’ve got enough people to take care of right now, not to mention a herd of cattle, some goats, chickens, horses, a dog—”
“Okay, okay.” I held up one hand in surrender. “You win. No wife. How about I buy the next round?”
Beckett nodded and finished off his beer. “Sold.”
Later that night, when Bianca and I were curled up in bed after a round of target practice—I made sure to call it that—I thought about Beckett again. “Hey, if I ever lose my mind and start wandering around town babbling nonsense, don’t let our kid feel responsible. Put me in a home or something. Just make sure they have good food.”
Bianca picked her head up off my chest. “What?”
“Beckett’s dad has dementia, and Beckett has to deal with it.” I told her about Mr. Weaver’s erratic behavior, and how Beckett was struggling to keep him safe while running the ranch on his own.
“Poor Beckett,” Bianca said, laying her head down again. Her bare legs were twined with mine, and she was playing with the hair on my