On the way back, Tiffani kept up a constant stream of chatter. She was thrilled that her mother now approved of Adam, because she was pretty sure he was what she wanted.

They were just driving onto the ranch when Adam’s phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and handed it to Tiffani. “Would you answer that for me?”

She slid her finger across the screen. “Adam’s phone.”

“Tiffani, this is Caleb. I think Nick is about to blow. Can you get to our cabin as fast as you can?”

“Yes, of course! We just drove back onto ranch property.”

“Hurry!” Caleb sounded very concerned, which told Tiffani all she needed to know.

She hung up the phone and said, “It’s Nick. Caleb wants us there ASAP.”

Adam nodded, taking a side road from the main one. He drove fast, but not recklessly. When they reached the cabin, he jumped out and hurried inside, not even waiting to see if Tiffani was following him. She understood completely, wondering if she should follow. She wasn’t a trained specialist in kids. She was just the woman who was coordinating their fundraiser. Their fundster.

After a moment of indecision, she followed Adam into the house, prepared to stay out of the way. What she saw when she arrived really surprised her. Every boy in the house was in the living room. Both Benjamin and Caleb were there talking to Nick, and Adam was sitting beside him on the couch, his arm around him while he cried.

Caleb walked over to where she stood and said softly, “We were in the middle of group therapy, and the other boys confronted him about not doing his share of the chores. Every new boy is eventually confronted for it, because none of them consider themselves team players. Not at first.”

“So what happens now?”

“Adam will talk to him for a while. With his gift, he always knows their emotions, and he can get through in a way the rest of us can’t. We’ll wait for him to work his magic, but Nick has to face this in front of everyone, because he’s hurting everyone with his behavior. I know it sounds strange, but it’s the way we do things here.”

“I think that’s great,” she said softly. “He should have to answer to everyone…everyone but me. I’m going to go ahead and drive home. I don’t think I have any right to be here.”

Caleb nodded. “We like you, but you’re right. This is between his housemates and Nick.”

“Tell Adam I left to go grocery shopping. I’ll make something good for dinner if he wants to come over, but I’ll understand if he’s too busy.” She took one last look at Adam, who was doing his very best to get through to the boy, and she left the house, heading for her car.

She would make a lasagna for dinner. If he wanted some, he was welcome to come over. If he didn’t, she could eat on it for a few days. She was a huge fan of leftovers, because it meant she didn’t have to cook for a few days.

She picked up everything she needed for lasagna, salad, and garlic bread at the store, and then headed home. When she got there, she was surprised at how quiet it sounded. Bob came out to greet her, rubbing against her legs. She was surprised, because he usually gave her the cold shoulder when she’d been gone for a while.

At just before six, she was putting the food on the table when she heard a knock on the door. Hurrying over to answer it, she opened it wide, glad to see Adam there. He looked exhausted, as if every single ounce of energy had been drained from his body by the ordeal at the house.

She walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and just held on. “Are you okay?” she finally asked.

Adam nodded. “Before I got there, he was threatening suicide. When I walked in, he was ready to do it. I could feel the despair washing off him in waves. I sat with him and talked about what was expected of him here on the ranch again. I told him that each of the boys has gone through the same thing. It took hours, but we got through to him. When I left, the boys were all fixing supper together, and Nick was laughing with the others. He needed to break so he could start mending.”

“Is that typical?”

“Yeah. We go through it with just about every boy who comes to live here. It’s hard to deal with, because I want every one of them to be happy and fall in line, but I know it doesn’t work that way.” He sank onto the couch and rubbed his hands over his face, the exhaustion apparent. “But I heard my best girl was making dinner, and I couldn’t not come. So are you going to feed me? Or are you going to let me sit here and starve to death?”

She laughed. “It’s ready. I’ll just set the table, and we can eat.” She hurriedly set the table and put the salad on, bringing them plates with the rich, gooey lasagna. “I hope you like Italian.”

“I’m surprised you can cook something other than Mexican. You seem to only be happy when Mexican is available to you.”

She shrugged. “I like lots of food, and for some reason, I was craving lasagna tonight.” She got them each a glass of water, and herself an extra glass of ice, before bowing her head for the prayer.

In his prayer, he thanked God that she was there and that they’d been in time for Nick. He asked God to watch out for the boy as well. She was touched that he was already so attached to a young man who had caused nothing but trouble in his time on the ranch. After the prayer, he ran his hands over his face, his eyes full of something she couldn’t quite place.

As they ate, she talked to him about how well things seemed to have gone. “What would have happened if you hadn’t been on the ranch?”

He shrugged. “They’d have held him at bay. If they’re having a group session, and one of the boys tries to leave the room, they make a human wall to keep him from going. The boys have all been there, and they’ve done it time after time. It would have been done automatically.”

“Do your brothers try to counsel if you’re not there?”

“They do, but I’m rarely gone. We’ve never had to face this without me right in the middle of it. I feel bad that I wasn’t here when it started.” He shook his head, the gaze that met hers filled with pain.

She looked at him with surprise. “You think you always need to be here?”

“This ranch is my entire life. It’s not just the Hippocratic Oath for me. It’s that I feel the need to help each and every boy here. I know they count on me, and the state of Texas counts on me. It’s not just my job. It’s my everything.” He ate the last bite of his lasagna and wiped off his mouth. “I’ve never let a woman take me away from my duties before. I think I need to reevaluate where I stand.” He stood up, setting his napkin on the table. “Thanks for dinner.”

He left before she could respond, leaving her staring at her empty plate. Did that mean he didn’t think they were destined to marry? Exactly why did he seem angry with her? She couldn’t figure him out.

She sighed, cleaning up the dishes. She wasn’t about to chase after him when she had better things to do with her time.

She finished up the kitchen and walked to her living room, choosing a favorite book from her shelf. She had no desire to be around a man who didn’t want to be with her.

She was even able to make out the words on the page through her tears.

* * *

Tiffani saw Adam and his entire family, along with all the boys from the ranch, at church on Sunday. Adam sat beside Nick, talking softly to him before and after the service. He never turned to look at Tiffani, and she didn’t go to talk to him either. On her way out of the service, she felt a hand on her arm.

“Give him some time. He’s never divided his time between work and someone he cares about before. It’s always been work for him.” Lillian looked at her earnestly, obviously concerned about their relationship.

“I’m going to keep working here, so he has all the time he needs to get things straight in his head.”

Tiffani left the church and went home to her little house and her books. She ate leftover lasagna for lunch and took a good long nap. Her favorite thing about Sundays were the naps. Why a Sunday nap was so much better than sleeping at any other time, she didn’t know, but it had always been that way for her.

She spent the entire evening listening for a knock on the door as she played with the kitten, read, and made some meals for the week coming up. She preferred to take her own cooking for lunches to work rather than go out as she had been. Of course, if she did take her lunches that would mean she’d have to give up her daily Taco Bueno, and no one wanted that.

When she went to bed, she was sad. He hadn’t come by or even tried to talk to her at church. Maybe he was moving on and deciding he wanted nothing more to do with her. As she closed her eyes, she saw his face in front of her, filled with the anguish he’d shown the night before. She prayed that he’d make a decision soon, because she didn’t want to be left hanging for the rest of her life.

* * *

Adam spent Sunday walking the ranch. It was his home and his heritage, and he’d let a woman come between him and his work. How could he reconcile not being on the ranch when he was needed?

As he continued to walk, he sensed someone beside him. Glancing over, he realized it was his father. “Hey, Dad.”

“Adam.”

“What are you doing out here?”

His father shrugged. “Your mother said you were upset and walking. She said you needed me to walk with you so you could get your head on straight.”

“Mom is the right woman for you. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“There isn’t in mine either. I knew the moment I met her I was meant to marry her, just like I know you’re meant to marry Tiffani.”

Adam sighed. “If I marry, Tiffani should be the one. Maybe I’m the McClain who needs to stay single.”

“Why would that be true? You’ve heard all the family lore about how we are stronger when we’re with the woman who completes us. It’s true for you, just like it’s true for every other man in our family.” When Adam said nothing, his father continued. “What exactly happened yesterday that you’re feeling so guilty about?”

Adam frowned, stopping and looking at the ground for a moment before he continued walking. “I had the best day of my life. I spent the day with the woman I care about most. I went to San Antonio with her, and we had lunch with her mother, who liked me. It was such a wonderful day. I don’t think I thought of the boys more than once or twice.”

“So what you’re feeling guilty for is not really being gone when Nick was ready to have his breakdown, but that you weren’t thinking about the boys while you were gone? That’s ridiculous. When I started dating your mother, there was a new boy here on the ranch as well. You know as well as I do that there will always be a new boy on the ranch. It’s the nature of what we do here. But I chose to leave that boy, who was in my house, and I went to San Antonio with your mom. We walked on the River Walk, took the boat tour of the river, and we even went to the mall there. It was truly a glorious day for me, because it’s the day I realized she loved me.”

“I don’t know what’s bad about that. You and Mom are meant to be together.”

“That’s right. But what I didn’t tell you is that while I was gone, the new boy—his name was James—got ahold of a bottle of Tylenol. That was before we locked up the over-the-counter drugs. And he took every single pill in the bottle. By the time I got home, he was already home from the hospital. They’d had to pump his stomach. He was all right, but it could have been so much worse. We didn’t have a staff psychiatrist then, just a counselor.” His father shook his head. “I felt like it was my fault. I was the one James had always connected with best. If I’d only been there to keep an eye on him. If I’d only realized that he was having suicidal thoughts. If only I’d not been so wrapped up in your mother that I abandoned him for a whole day…”

“What did you do?”

“I went to James and apologized. I told him no woman would ever come before my responsibilities again. I told him that from then on I would put him before any woman.”

“So you stopped dating Mom?”

His dad shrugged. “For a week or two while I got my head back on straight. James came and saw me a year or two ago. He’s got a wife and four kids now. He’s as happy as a clam. He told me that realizing that I would give up the woman who I was obviously meant to be with made him know he was important to someone in the world. He thought I was dumb as dirt for doing it, and he was thrilled when we started seeing each other again. But he never blamed me for what he did. As much as I thought he should have, he didn’t. I don’t think you should blame yourself, either.”

“I don’t know. Nick looked at me when I walked in there like I’d slapped him in the face. I was the one he connected with when he first got here. I’m still the one he connects the best with. I need to wait until he’s more acclimated before I try to start a relationship.”

“Son, there’s always going to be another boy with problems. That’s what this ranch is all about. If you give up the only woman you’ll ever have a chance of being truly happy with for your job, you’re a fool. Give Nick a week or two to settle in, and then let your lady know you love her.”

“How do you know I love her?” Adam was surprised. He’d only realized himself the day before.

“Because you feel it would be a sacrifice. You’re punishing yourself for not being here by giving her up. That means that you love her. I know you.”

Adam sighed. “You’re right. I do love her. I never thought I’d meet a woman I would want to spend the rest of my life with, and I met her, and haven’t been able to think of anyone or anything. I almost couldn’t figure out what to say when I got to the house last night. I let my training take over. I used my empathy. But for a minute there, I couldn’t remember what to do. I felt like the worst man alive.”

“I know. I felt the same way when I was in your position. Make sure Nick is good, but know that you’ll never again be happy without Tiffani at your side. You might as well cut off your right arm as let her go.” Patting Adam on the shoulder, his dad turned back toward the house, walking in his slow methodical way.

Adam watched him go for a moment before he resumed his walk. He wasn’t ready to go back to Tiffani and beg her forgiveness, but he knew it needed to happen for them to get past this. He was in the wrong, not her. And he’d blamed her for distracting him. He had no right.

He sighed heavily. Apologizing had never been his favorite thing to do. Maybe, though, he could give it a few days before he went crawling on his knees with an engagement ring in his hand. He loved her, and he couldn’t let her go.

As he kept walking, a plan began to form in his mind. He could give her time to get over the way he’d treated her as he put the plan in place. Maybe he could get his act together and make it happen. If he couldn’t, he wasn’t worthy of her anyway.

He had a spring in his step as he turned and headed back toward the main house. The weekend had been an eye-opening one, and he was determined that he would keep his eyes open rather than closing them again.

He showered and got ready for bed, determined he was going to treat her as any other employee for a few days until he was ready to declare his love and ask her to spend the rest of her life with him.

Once he was in bed, he folded his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. He had too much planning to do to be able to sleep. He was in love, and it was about time his lady knew about it.