away from the ranch. “Just drive.”
“Listen, young lady. I realize you’re having a difficult time accepting this move. But this is home now. I suggest you find a few things you like about it and focus on those because we’re not moving back to Wyoming. And from now on, when you get in this car you say hello to me and your brother. And you need to stop yelling and slamming things. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” she murmured, still facing the window.
“Can you look at me, please?”
Kacey turned her body slightly toward him, and stared at the floor.
“Looking at me involves me seeing your eyes.”
Slowly she lifted her gaze to his. Tearstains streaked her cheeks and her eyes were pink-tinged and puffy.
“Have you been crying?”
She blinked once as her bottom lip began to quiver. “I’m just tired, Daddy.”
Garrett wasn’t buying that excuse. “If you’re too tired, then maybe we shouldn’t go to Uncle Harlan’s tonight.”
Kacey’s eyes grew wild. “You said every weekend Ivy and I could have sleepovers. You can’t break your promise.”
“Well, honey, if you’re so tired that you were crying on the way home from school—”
“I just need a nap.”
His daughter had never once asked for a nap. When she was little, she always fought her mother when she tried to get her to take one. Something was wrong and he wanted to know who or what had upset his daughter.
“I wish you would talk to me and tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Can we go home now?”
Garrett wanted communication with his kid that went beyond one-line answers. A few weeks ago, this hadn’t been a problem. Now it had become their normal routine and he hated it.
“Yeah, we can go.” Garrett started the truck. “Do you have homework this weekend?”
“A little.”
“How about you start on it before we go to your uncle’s house.” At least that would keep her in the kitchen where he could help her.
“Ivy and I were going to do it together.”
“Together better mean you do your homework and she does hers. Not you do one subject and she does another, then you copy off each other like you did last week.” That was a problem with having cousins in the same grade.
“We won’t copy.” Kacey already had her fingers wrapped around the door handle as they pulled up in front of the house. No sooner did he park than she was out of the truck and up the stairs and jiggling the knob. She would just have to wait a minute because the door was locked and he still needed to get Bryce out of his car seat. “Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom. Can I have the keys?”
Garrett sighed, not knowing whether to believe her or not. She did have an hour-long bus ride home. Deciding he’d had enough battles with his daughter for one day, he tossed her the keys. “Leave them on the kitchen table, please.”
By the time he got inside with Bryce, she had firmly shut herself behind her bedroom door. Just as he figured. He wanted to knock. Hell, he wanted to drag her out of her room and hug her until she opened up to him, but he knew she’d have no part of it. He missed his sweet little girl.
She used to be the perpetually happy kid. He always knew where she was by her laughter. That all changed when Rebecca died. The anniversary was eleven days before Kacey’s birthday, and his in-laws always made such a production of the date, it clouded Kacey’s special day. This year he had decided his daughter deserved to have a happy birthday. Maybe then he’d hear her laugh again.
* * *
THREE HOURS LATER, Garrett helped his brother clear the table while his sister-in-law tried to teach Bryce how to eat and not wear his dinner.
“Good luck with that, Belle.” He laughed. “I used to think it was a hand-eye coordination issue, because he appears to miss his mouth, but he’s been tested for everything under the sun. One doctor told me he thinks Bryce likes the feel of the food, that’s why he wears it. It’s also the reason we never eat at a restaurant.”
Belle held a forkful of food out to Bryce. “If you can eat this nicely, then you’ll get another.” Bryce frowned and reached for the plate, but Belle pulled it away. “One mouthful at a time, sweetheart. Finish this first.”
“Daddy, can we go play in my room?” Ivy asked. Kacey hadn’t said two words to him since their talk earlier, but she’d chatted nonstop with her cousin since they walked in the door.
“Go ahead, but be back in a half hour for dessert.”
“No copying each other’s homework,” Garrett reminded them.
“You seriously don’t think they went upstairs to do homework, do you?” Harlan asked.
Garrett waited until he no longer heard the girls’ footsteps on the stairs before answering. “Has Ivy mentioned anything about Kacey being upset in school or on the bus?”
“Not to me.” Belle wiped Bryce’s face with a napkin and handed him a spoonful of baked beans. “Did something happen?”
“When she came home today, she had obviously been crying. I tried to talk to her about it, but I couldn’t get anywhere. I just thought maybe she had said something to Ivy.”
“No, but I’ll see what I can find out,” Harlan said.
“Just don’t let on that I put you up to it.” The last thing Garrett wanted was his daughter thinking he was spying on her. He was, and owned that, but she didn’t need to know about it.
“Please.” His younger brother nodded to the sheriff’s hat hanging by the back door. “I have my ways of getting people to talk without them knowing it.”
“Yeah, that’s why you were so successful getting Ivy to confess to taking the neighbor’s bunny last year.” Belle shook her head. “Kids are complicated. I was one of the worst.”
“You sure were,” the men said in unison.
“Now, that’s not right.” Belle wadded up her napkin and threw it at them. “Let me tell you, growing up around you two was no picnic. Now hand me a dish towel. I think I’m getting somewhere with this one.”
Garrett admired Harlan and Belle. They had grown up together, gone their separate ways and then found their way back to each other last year. Now they were expecting a baby in May. Despite their playful digs at one another, they were the happiest couple he knew, outside of Dylan and Emma. Garrett had been the first of the five Slade brothers to get married, and he’d never been more sure of something in his entire life. And he’d thought it would last at least fifty years, if not seventy-five, considering they married straight out of high school. He missed that companionship. He missed those knowing glances across the table. Having someone to hold all night long. He missed his old life, and if Kacey felt a fraction of the way he did, he understood where she was coming from.
“In all seriousness,” Harlan began, pulling him out of his thoughts. “I’ll see what I can find out and let you know. How’s it going at Silver Bells this week?”
“Better. I think I’m finally getting to know everyone’s names and what they do. I need to get creative on where we can save on the renovations. I think the biggest savings will be in sweat equity and bartering. Maybe a week or weekend at the ranch in exchange for services rendered.”
“That’s a great idea. I did quite a bit of that when I built the rescue center.” Belle’s Forever Ranch opened last year on the other side of their property. The nonprofit rescued animals and provided desperately needed medical care. Once they were rehabilitated, they helped give comfort