Frustration boiled in his gut. They were never at odds about how to care for Savannah. Over the ranch, sure. But not Savannah. Her needs always come first. Her care was top priority. But there was something going on with Max. A bitterness Logan hadn’t seen in a long time. Had everything that had happened opened up old wounds?
“I don’t know what’s going on with you—”
“With me? You’re the one that wants to drag our wife to talk to some stranger. You can’t force her to go, Logan.”
Well, why the fuck not?
Logan had been treating her so carefully, so scared that he might frighten her or say the wrong thing, but maybe that was the wrong thing to do. A shrink might be able to help them. “We need some help.”
“Because we’re fucking everything up. I got that loud and clear,” Max snapped. “I’m going to muck out the stalls. You go check on her.”
Logan sighed as his brother walked away, his body tense. Angry.
Jesus. Things were bad when he was the one holding everything together.
***
Max angrily shoveled out the stalls. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why had he snapped at Logan like that?
Because you know he’s right.
Time wasn’t going to fix anything. Leaving Savannah alone wasn’t helpful. They were supposed to take care of her. Protect her. It’s the way they’d been raised. It was the way things were done in Haven. Might seem a little old-fashioned to outsiders, but around here the men prided themselves on taking care of their women.
Yeah, and how well had they really protected her? One of them should have been with her that day.
He leaned against the side of the stable, breathing heavily.
Staring around, he noticed everything that needed fixing. The worn siding that needed replacing. The broken door. It was the same everywhere he went. If Logan wasn’t so good at repairing things, they’d have been screwed a long time ago.
Buying this place had been his idea. He’d been the one to convince Logan to trust him, that they could make it work. But he was failing. He was failing them all.
The only thing that had been keeping them from being out on their asses was the money Savi brought in. He’d sworn he’d never be like his stepfather. Never let his wife work herself to exhaustion to support him. Not that he’d ever allow Savannah to work herself to the bone like his mother had. But it still didn’t make him feel any better to rely on her for money to keep them afloat.
He turned and with a roar, smashed his fist into the wall. The rotten wood gave way, and he pulled back looking at the hole he’d created with a groan.
Fuck. Shit.
“Good one, asshole.” He placed his hands on his hips, breathing heavily. It was his job to take care of Savannah and Logan. Although his brother would kick his ass if he ever said that to him. But Logan didn’t know how bad things were. He didn’t know about the pile of overdue notices in his desk drawer.
He didn’t know they were about to lose the ranch.
Max looked up at the barn roof. A man took care of his family. He was the oldest. A bad season, a couple of huge bills he hadn’t expected, and it had all gone wrong, fast.
Maybe he should take Atkinson up on his offer to buy this place. Get them out from under this black pit of debt once and for all. He ran his hand over his face. Then he’d be able to spend more time with Savannah. Help her.
Pretending everything would be fine wasn’t working. Look at how well that had worked out for him. He still had nightmares, nights where he couldn’t sleep, flashbacks. Savannah had helped, she’d brought him out of the clutches of that dark hole and back into the light.
She hadn’t even known she was doing it. But her infectious laughter, her love of life, her love for them had slowly brought him back to the living. He’d actually felt happy, really happy, rather than it all being a pretense. And now that she needed him to do the same for her, what was he doing?
Sulking and throwing a temper tantrum.
Max usually had a plan. Maybe that’s what scared him the most. What if he made a decision and it was the wrong one? He felt helpless, and he hated it.
Well, he could damn well do something about the ranch. He needed to get them out from under this debt.
Walking back to his truck, he grabbed his phone. Maybe selling to Atkinson wasn’t the only choice he had.
“Hey, Travis,” he said as the other man answered the phone.