The number of things that needed fixing or were falling apart around here stressed her out if she thought about it too much. So in usual Caley-style, she tried not to. Which meant everything fell into more disarray.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have the money to get it all fixed, it was more that she didn’t know where to begin. It all felt too much.
Tackle a bit at a time, Caley Jane. Small bites.
She knew that was exactly what Dave would tell her. It was his fault, though. He’d taken care of all the day-to-day stuff so she didn’t have to. And now that he was gone…she was lost. Alone. Afraid. She stepped into the shower.
“I’m doing all right. Everything will be okay. I have it all under control.”
If only she had someone to help her. If she’d just had one person to call when it all got too much it might help. But there was no one. She was all alone.
* * *
“Could you be a bit more diplomatic,” Archer snapped as soon as Caley disappeared.
“Not really.” His brother walked over to the sofa where the stuff Caley had been collecting lay in a pile on the floor, he bent over then swayed slightly.
“Oh for God’s sake. Will you sit down before you fall over? Exactly how hard did you hit your head?”
“Not that hard. Made of rocks, remember?”
“Yeah. I remember.”
Archer had screamed that at him. When he’d refused to let him explain about Evelyn. Fuck.
But to his surprise, Isaac sat on the sofa. He must be feeling a lot worse than he was letting on if he was doing anything Archer said.
“Let me look at it.”
Isaac refused to move his hand. “It’s fine. Don’t need it poked and prodded.”
“Fine. Be a stubborn bastard, then. If you don’t care, don’t see why I should.” And he was getting tired of his bullshit. “I’m going to see if I can find some firewood. That fire is about to die out. Do you think she always lives like this?”
Some mess didn’t worry him. He wasn’t a neat freak like Isaac. But this was a bit more of a disaster than he’d been anticipating.
“Don’t know. Guessing so. Someone should be taking care of her. She shouldn’t be out here on her own.”
“None of our business.” Although he couldn’t help but agree. “I’ll go get that wood.”
“I’ll come with you.”
He whirled around. “No. You won’t. Just stay there, you stubborn ass, and rest. You’re pale as a ghost and I can tell you’re in pain even though you’re trying to hide it. Will you just let me look after you for once?”
“You’re always doing that.”
“What?” Archer raised his hands up.
“Looking out for me. Talking for me. Making excuses for me. I’m a grown man. Don’t need you to do that.”
Was he doing that? Well, Isaac was his brother, he wanted to have his back. But was it more than that? Was he always making excuses for him? As though the real Isaac wasn’t good enough?
“Just trying to keep people from wanting to murder you.”
“You’re not always with me. I do okay at keeping people from murdering me the rest of the time.”
Because he lived on an isolated ranch, surrounded by people, who for some reason, tolerated his cantankerous nature. But he was right…he didn’t need Archer.
Sometimes, Archer thought he was the one who needed Isaac. He didn’t have a ranch filled with people looking out for him. He had a string of meaningless relationships. Friends who would stab him in the back in a second if they thought they might gain something. And a family who weren’t any better. A family that Isaac had separated from a long time ago.