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“Brandon stayed home with them for now, though he can pawn them off on everyone else if we need him. Or anyone else can help. Whatever you need. What . . . Why was Shane storming out of here?”

Cora shook her head. “Everything’s all messed up.” Because she’d had the insane thought she could handle this, do this, be this. But a failure was all she was. Useless and stupid like Stephen had always said. A burden to him and Lilly and Micah.

“Cora, don’t go there,” Lilly whispered into her ear, hugging her fiercely. “I know it’s hard when things are bad, but don’t let those old lies back in.”

Cora could see Shane pacing the sidewalk outside the windowed doors. Angry, so damn angry, and yet he was out there stomping out his anger on the sidewalk. He’d said he loved her.

“I wish I was strong enough to do it on my own.” Wasn’t it just weakness to need to know he loved her? To need Micah to need her and Lilly to remind her?

Lilly pulled back, searching Cora’s face. “We can’t do everything alone. What would be the point if we could get through without people who love us?”

“Ms. Preston?”

Cora blinked up at the nurse, who smiled kindly. “He’s out of surgery and doing well, though he’s still under anesthesia and will be for a while. You’ll be able to go back soon, and a doctor will explain everything to you. Just give us a few more minutes to get him settled into a room.”

Cora nodded silently. She inhaled and exhaled. “He’s doing well.”

“He’s doing well,” Lilly repeated, squeezing her close again.

That was all that could matter right now, but no matter how Cora told herself that, her eyes drifted out the window to Shane’s solitary, pacing figure. All she could think was heknew.

The worst parts of herself. There was no taking that back.

Ever.

* * *

Shane didn’t know how long he paced outside after watching Cora be taken back into the hallways of the hospital.

He’d wanted to rush in, to be with her. She didn’t want that. So he walked and tried to find some solution for this. Some fix. Everything was broken, but he could fix it. He’d find away to fix it.

The sad fact of the matter was, no one wanted that. His help, his guidance, his protection. No one wantedhim.

That was a hell of a self-centered thought to have when a kid was in the hospital. So, he walked the sidewalk, thinking if he could just get his brain tofocus, he could fix this. He could....

“Man, I thought I had the market cornered on self-absorbed moping.”

Shane didn’t turn toward Boone’s voice. He couldn’t even work up a good mad. It had all leaked out of him. He’d done everything right. He’d been honest with her. He’dlovedher, and here he was again having it not be enough.

Not remotely enough.

She didn’t believe him. Didn’t trust him. Was somehow furious that he knew. He didn’t know what else he could do, what else he had to give. Certainly nothing to Boone.

“I’m done, Boone. I’m just done. Go home.”

“Situations reversed, you wouldn’t.”

Shane stared into the dark evening around him. He wished for the quiet of the ranch, the dark shadows of the mountains, anything to ease these ragged edges inside of him. “Since when do you care what I’d do?”

“A little longer than you’d think. A lot longer than I’d ever admit.”

Shane didn’t have it in him for riddles. Especially Boone’s riddles.

“Never seen you like this,” Boone continued in that maddeningly conversational tone. As if this were any other day. As if everyone wasn’t hurting.

“I’m begging you, Boone. Don’t push me right now.”

“I’m just interested to see how far you’ll go.” He rubbed his jaw with his palm. “Don’t know how many years I spenttryingto get you to hit me, then you finally did and I wasn’t even trying.”