“All Savannah’s favorites.”
“Yep, and I went into town and got her one of those cheesecake’s she likes from Milly’s. She’s got to start eating.”
“You think this will do it?” Max asked.
“You got a better idea?” Logan bit out, his frustration clear. “If we don’t do something then she’s going to fade away before our very eyes. She’s pulling further and further away from us.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” But what the fuck could they do if she wouldn’t talk to them?
What would you have done in the past?
He’d have insisted that she talk to them. He’d have sat her down, not letting her leave until she got everything off her chest and if she still held back, he’d spank her.
Well, he couldn’t do that now. The last thing she needed was for him to threaten her with a spanking.
But he couldn’t figure out how to get through the barriers she’d put between them. He hated this. She was their wife. There wasn’t supposed to be this distance.
“I’ll go get her. She was taking a bath.”
Max nodded and started dishing the food out onto her plate then his. When Logan returned, Savannah was beside him, her face pale, her eyes slightly unfocussed. But when she saw him, a hint of warmth entered her eyes. Then she looked down and away. As though she didn’t want him to see what she was thinking.
“Logan cooked your favorites,” Max said and held out a chair for her.
She sat, giving him a smile of thanks. Her eyes widened as she saw all the food on the plate in front of her. “Wow, this looks amazing.”
“Good. Eat,” Logan barked.
Max sent him a warning look, and his brother turned away, his jaw clenched tightly.
Max watched her push the food around on her plate, his frustration growing at his inability to help her. He wanted to demand that she talk to them. And he wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and hide her away so nothing would ever hurt her again.
Pushing his worries to one side, he started to tell her about his day, making certain to keep things light. Little by little the tension in her shoulders eased. She even took a few bites of food.
It was almost normal. Sitting here, talking about their day. Logan remained mostly silent, adding a few things here and there.
“How was your day?” he asked.
Her shoulders tightened.
“Good.”
“What did you do?” he pressed.
“Not much.”
Christ, it was like getting blood out of a stone. He shared a frustrated look with Logan.
“Do you need to talk to us about anything?”
Max kept his gaze on Savannah. She kept her own gaze on her plate of food. “No. I’m good.”
Liar.
He ground his teeth together. Lying was something that definitely would have landed her over his lap in the past, with him blistering her ass.
But was he any better? Wasn’t he lying to both her and Logan about the state of the ranch? Not saying anything was sort of a lie.
“Thanks for dinner. I think I’ll go take a bath. I have a headache.” She strode out of the room.