The two men paused then rolled apart.
“Well, why the fuck didn’t you say so?” Max snarled, standing and walking over to their truck to grab a beer from the cooler in the back.
Logan just lay on his back, panting heavily. Colin moved forward and stood over him with a grin. “Getting a bit slow there, old man?”
Logan opened his eyes and glared up at him. “I’m only three months older than you, pipsqueak.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t let myself go to fat. Better watch out or Savannah will find herself a newer model.”
As soon as he said the words he wished he could take them back. Trace glared over at him. Yeah, he got it. Sometimes his jokes just weren’t that funny.
“Logan, man, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—”
Logan stood and stormed off to the truck to grab a beer.
“Don’t worry about it,” Max said, coming over and handing him a cold beer. “We’re both a bit sensitive at the moment.”
“Wouldn’t blame her if she did,” Logan growled as he came back. “She could do better.”
“Want to tell us what’s going on?” Colin asked.
“Nope.” Max’s right eye was mostly closed by now and he was walking with a slight limp. Not that Logan was any better off. Blood was dripping from his nose. It was already swelling, and he had another bruise forming on his jaw.
“How’s Savannah doing?”
“Not great,” Max replied. “Nothing we do is getting through to her.”
“It’s only been five weeks,” Trace said mildly. “Lila’s asked her out a few times, but she always refuses. Both she and Laken have suggested going for a manicure, back to our place, or to the movies, but I guess she’s not ready to leave the safety of home yet.”
Max paused then looked over at Logan. “Have you seen her leave the house at all?”
Logan frowned. Then shrugged. “No, but what of it? Not like she’s that interested in the ranch, and she probably doesn’t want to go anywhere on her own yet.”
“No, but she used to love to read on the porch. She hasn’t been out there once that I’ve seen.”
“It will take her a while to feel safe again,” Trace commented. “Years ago, when Lila first came to live with us as a child, she clung to Clay. Not that you could blame her. He was our dad in every way that counted. She followed him everywhere, even into the bathroom. In the end, he just took to carrying her around. He never got angry with her or tried to make her stop. He knew she was frightened he’d disappear. Eventually, she started to leave him alone for longer and longer periods at a time.”
“Bet he was glad when he could take a shit on his own,” Colin added with a grin.
Trace just shook his head. “What I’m saying is, if she needs to stay in the house to feel safe then there’s probably nothing wrong with that. Eventually, she’ll venture out. Who’s with her now?”
“No one.”
Colin stared over at his friends. “You left her by herself?” He didn’t want to sound judgmental, but hell.
“Max thinks we should act like things are normal, but they’re not fucking normal,” Logan snarled.
“Well, I don’t think we should treat her like she’s sick. Like she needs to be constantly watched,” Max snapped back.
“And backing off is going to fix things?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. She’s closing us out. She won’t talk to us. She usually tells us everything. Her mother likes to be the center of attention and Savannah learned that whatever was going on with her wasn’t as important. But Savannah doesn’t keep things from us.”
“You’ve never faced something this tough before,” Trace said. “Maybe some old insecurities have risen. Savannah’s used to the two of you being in control, and now you’re walking on eggshells around her. Duncan treaded too softly with Laken out of fear of driving her away and she ended up at Saxon’s with our wives to get his attention.”
“What do you want us to do? Demand she talk? Threaten to spank her if she doesn’t?” Logan bit out. “She was kidnapped and attacked. She needs . . . I don’t know . . . fucking tenderness.”
“It can be hard to share a woman. Takes a lot of communication. Whatever you do, the two of you need to be on the same page. She needs to feel secure in your relationship. Fighting each other isn’t helping anyone.”