“Savannah, you have your own career. And right now, you have more important things to concentrate on.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to be some pampered princess that sits home on her butt looking at her pretty manicure. Once I feel better,” once she could leave the house without freaking out, “I thought you could show me how the ranch works.”
“I’d be happy to show you how the ranch works.”
“You don’t think I’m capable of mucking out stalls and fixing fences?” she asked, her temper stirring.
“I think there’s no way you’re doing either of those things.”
She wiggled, trying to get free from his hold. “Let me go.”
“No.”
“Max!”
“What’s going on in here?” Logan asked, stepping into the room. “The two of you are making enough noise to wake the dead.”
“Sorry, did we wake you up?” she asked guiltily.
“No, I always wander around the house at two in the morning,” he grumbled.
She didn’t take offense at his attitude, she’d gotten used to how grumpy Logan got when he was awakened unexpectedly.
He took a seat across from them.
“Savannah wants to learn how to muck out stalls and mend fences.”
“She what?”
“Those were just examples,” she muttered, feeling put out. They didn’t need to look so incredulous.
“No way in hell,” Logan stated, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “You are not ever to try to mend a fence. Or muck out a stall.”
“Why not?” she asked indignantly.
“Because if a wire flicked back at you, it could seriously hurt you,” Max explained.
“All right. What about mucking out stalls? Nothing too dangerous about that, is there?”
Logan frowned. “Not dangerous.”
“Good.”
“You’re still not doing it, though.”
“Guys, I want to help. We’re in this together, right? Max, it’s not all on you to keep this place afloat. We’re here too.”
“You shouldn’t have kept this a secret,” Logan growled.
Max sighed. “I know. I know it was wrong to keep quiet while things spiraled out of control. But it made me feel like a failure to admit what was going on.”
“If I’d known how badly we needed money, I’d have gone back to work already.”
Max’s hold on her tightened, and she instantly knew she’d said the wrong thing. He already felt like a failure. Accepting help was not Max’s strong suit. And he’d already told her he’d rather she didn’t work at all. “You are not pushing yourself too far too fast. Your health is the most important thing, Savannah. The last thing you need to be worried about right now is money and this ranch.”
“Max is right,” Logan said shortly. “It’s up to the two of us to sort this out. You should have been discussing this with us, not going off half-cocked and accepting jobs from Travis Andrews.”
“It’s the only thing I could think of that would save us from having to sell this place.” Max took a deep breath. “But that’s an option if it’s something the two of you want.”