Maisey picked idly at the pilling on her yoga pants. The sun was down and from her seat on the porch she could watch the play of the moon light on the land. It had been disturbing to wake up next to Brett for the last two out of three nights. He was always fully dressed and laying on top of the blankets but she was having a hard time reconciling why he did it.
She didn't remember the nightmares, though the day of the sale had been pretty embarrassing when she overheard the new hands asking about the screaming they'd heard. Anna had told her it was a type of PTSD attack she was having and the only way to stop it was for Brett to lay with her. She wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't shown her the video. It unnerved her that her subconscious trusted him so much. And she fretted. Ned leaving the house to her complicated things, forced her to stay. Trapped her.
The last two days had been hard: Brett and Ned were busy getting ready for the sale and her injury made it impossible for her to help with anything. Addie--Adelaine Jean, she reminded herself--had all but moved in to get the food ready for the sale. Maisey didn't understand why they would need so much food for a couple of men to come look at the cows and leave. Earlier that afternoon a delivery company had turned up with a couple of very large pavilions that were set up with a false wooden floor and tables and chairs for nearly a hundred people. The new hires had even finished stripping the garden of weeds and put up a new fence, it was too late in the year to plant but they didn't want the damaged fence and half weeded garden to be an eyesore. A part of Maisey lamented that she had not been able to do it herself, but another part was secretly pleased the work was done.
It was nearly eleven at night. A very tired Brett had skipped another night out with the guys saying he was tired from working so hard but Maisey knew she was keeping him up with her nightmares. The state of affairs of the ranch had been a surprise and she was thrilled for Brett to have the means to hire help and make improvements. She just didn't understand her place in things.
Before she was re-injured cooking and cleaning had been her task, but they'd hired Adelaine Jean for that. She wasn't needed to help with the fencing: Travis had stepped into the foreman role without being formally offered it and with Brett's approval he'd hired five men aside from the ones Brett had hired already. They didn't need her there either. She had no purpose.
"Couldn't sleep?" Brett asked softly, shadowed by a light somewhere in the house. "Want any company?"
"No thanks," she told him, "I'm just about to turn in." She lied, "I'll only be a couple minutes." Her living Jim Bowie, she smiled, remembering how Jim Bowie was always good at supporting friends and fighting off bad guys. One thing in it all was that Brett would stand by her through anything. She watched his shadow recede into the house and heard a door close, cutting out the light. It had been like it saw before the night she'd gone to Slim's: she didn't leave the house except to collect eggs. She still couldn't do as much as she wanted but she could do some.
In the distance she could hear an animal yowling. She looked back at a text she had open on her phone: charges for assault. It was three words she had not expected to hear already: Luke's sister and mother were being charged for assault. Hospital cameras had it all and there was no disputing that. The nurse that helped them was facing disciplinary action for her part.
She watched shadows that could only be bats or owls dart between trees while Brett paced his room, worried. More and more Maisey seemed to be digressing into herself. Sleeping next to her, protecting her from nightmares had been its own kind of hell for him: he loved that she would snuggle into him in her sleep but for himself it was torture having her there and able to touch her but not be able to touch her the way he wanted to. Her trust meant the world to him though and he wouldn't betray it. He paced more, not willing to admit that he was waiting to make sure she came in and didn't need him.
He went to the backdoor again and smiled when he realized she had fallen asleep. He quickly debated whether he should get a blanket or if he should carry her to bed. He opted for the latter knowing that she would be in more pain from her ribs sleeping the way she was. Silently he crouched beside her, talking softly he was grateful that she liked to sit sideways: he put one arm under her knees and the other cradled her torso to his chest. A chest that he suddenly realized was bare: he'd been in bed when he'd first got up and had forgotten. The shock of her face rubbing on his flesh made him freeze and tense as he tried not to groan. She snuggled in tightly and sighed contentedly. Her arms hung loose as he walked, brushing against his hip as he walked, he couldn't help himself, he brushed a kiss on her head as he set her on the bed and covered her up.
"Brett?" she whispered disoriented as he pulled away, "stay with me?" her voice was small and childlike, uncertain.
"Let me go close the door," he whispered. He was only gone for a minute but when he came back he was pulling on his shirt and Maisey, to his surprise had moved to the far side of the bed, leaving the blankets open so he could get in under the same layer as him, "Are you sure?" he asked softly.
"mmhmm," her eyes were still closed, "human contact good for healing the heart," she quoted an article Anna had read them that afternoon. He smiled and climbed under the blankets. She surprised him more when she moved his t-shirt sleeve and pressed her face against his bicep. "skin to skin is best." she quote again with a yawn, "its recommended for babies and people with severe traumas."
"You're killing me Maisey," he told her quietly but removed his shirt. With a content sigh she moved closer and buried her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Her eyelashes tickled as they fluttered closed and her breathing slowed until he knew she was asleep. Brett's mind whirled. She was so close. He would do anything to keep her there and keep her safe. He thought back again to Andy's comments. Did he really love her or was he just feeling protective? It didn't matter, he thought sleepily, this was the closest he would ever get to her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and slept.
"Don't close the door," Ned stopped Adelaine, "Maisey will have a panic attack."
Adelaine took her hand off the doorknob, "Glad you stopped me then," she spoke softly moving away from the door. "I hope you haven't been doing all the morning chores, Ned, she teased." The older man smiled. They both knew that with Travis and the new staff Ned was just there to advise. It was not like Brett to still be asleep at 10 in the morning but Adelaine knew that he hadn't been sleeping well because of Maisey's nightmares. She had been staring at his bare back when Ned had spoken. She may have realized that he wasn't the right one for her but she could still appreciate the fine lines of muscle that were on display. She envied Maisey and prayed that the other woman wouldn't hurt Brett.
"Guests arrive today." Ned told her, "we'll want the pig tomorrow but the barbeque both nights."
"All arranged, you've got everything you need in that commercial fridge Brett rented, that got put in the temporary cook shack at the far end of the barn closest to the pavilions. Andy, Anna and Lucas said they would come help me with a few things this afternoon while you and Brett meet your guests. Travis will have the skeet shoot set up for the morning and we'll have the food ready for five just like you asked."
Ned nodded, "good, good." He glanced toward the room that Maisey and Brett were sleeping it. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, but the Doc had said if Brett's presence calmed the panic attacks that he should, for now, stay close. It wasn't that he worried about a physical relationship, he wasn't dumb enough or old enough to the be in denial that his nephew wasn't a virgin anymore. It was the emotional state of things. He didn't doubt that the boy cared for her, but he didn't think Maisey was ready for any kind of commitment like that. He was glad, though, that Brett was getting a good sleep before their guests arrived, he'd been a bit of a zombie the last two days.
The noise from the kitchen, however careful Adelaine was being, woke Brett. He blinked and realized it was full day, Maisey burrowed closer to him as he tried to move away, "Maisey," he whispered and felt her smile against his chest, "you are already awake aren't you?" she nodded, "Do you know the time?" she shook her head and he chuckled, "comfortable are you?"
"No get up," she said in a playful conspiratorial whisper, "no get up, no clock, just stay."
"What are we, four?" he whispered back and pulled the blanket up over their heads.
Maisey giggled. Brett starred at her-it was the first time he'd ever heard her giggle, "Sorry, I feel a little weird," she said and her voice was froggy, "Silly," she clarified, "I feel like we did something wrong and should be embarrassed about it but that everyone knows and isn't going to say anything and we have to pretend like nothing happened."
"No one did anything wrong," Brett told her, "we snuggled."
"With your shirt off?" Maisey leaned away from him.
"That was your idea Miss-skin-to-skin-is-best." She shook her head and Brett grinned, "You quoted Anna's article at me, I swear." He held a hand to his chest and put one in the air like he was pledging allegiance. She winced when she tried to move and he chuckled, "I think you'd be in a lot more pain if anything but snuggling happened."
"Spoilsport!"
"Ms Maisey are you flirting with me?!" Brett laughed and got up off the bed, teasing her as he did.
"If you two lazy bones are going to be so noisy about getting up," Adelaine called from the kitchen, "At least have the decency to speak clearly and not whisper so I can't hear everything, geesh!"
Maisey flushed and Brett laughed, "Morning Addie." He called, "If you're here then I definitely slept in."
"It's almost eleven," she called back. "Get cleaned up and dressed and I'll make you guys up some lunch. Then you'd better make some appearances or your ranch hands might mutany."
"You going to tell me why you were so melancholy last night?" Brett turned back to Maisey who was struggling to get up.
"Just having a moment," she admitted, "Feeling a little lost and lonely."
Brett crouched down in front of her, putting a hand on either knee and making sure she was looking him in the eye, "As long as you are here at the Bogs you will never be alone," he promised her, "I don't care if we're all in the field or if we're all having a lazy Sunday afternoon," he touched her cheek and for a minute he wondered if he was going to kiss her, "A part of me will always be here with you."
She smiled and nodded. She felt small, and was surprised when he stood her up as he stood up and hugged her carefully, "You're an amazingly strong woman, Maisey. You've survived hell and your place is here with us at the Bogs. Whether it's painting pictures, crocheting, playing in the garden or breaking fences, this is your home now."
"I feel useless."
"You have to remember," he was pulling his shirt on now, "The last time you had broken ribs you passed out for 5 weeks so you didn't have this healing time to deal with. In a few more weeks you'll be ready to start taking on the world again."
"I hate painting." she told him and followed him into the kitchen.