“Hi. Sorry I took so long. The boys had a lot of extra schoolwork tonight.”
Kyle shrugged. “I can entertain myself. I figured you were busy.”
He watched as she crossed the room to sit in a chair near his. “How’s the cane working out for you?”
“Much better than the crutches. Joe said I shouldn’t even need the cane in another couple of weeks if I’m faithful about the ankle exercises.”
“You should make sure you do them, then.”
“Trust me, I will. I can’t wait to be back to full speed.” He nodded without looking at her. She bit her lip, wondering if he was thinking about how he would never fully recover from his own much more serious injuries.
As relatively minor as her own injury was, it had been both painful and frustrating to be incapacitated for even a short time. She couldn’t imagine how much worse it had been for Kyle.
“I hear you talked to Jacob this afternoon,” she said, deciding to change the subject.
“He told you?”
“He mentioned it.”
“Did he, uh, say what we talked about?” Something about the way he asked made her won der just what she had missed. “No. He just said you gave him a glass of lemonade. He was very cool and casual about it—you know, as if it were no big deal. I’m sure he was trying to make the other boys jealous.”
Kyle looked startled. “What would they be jealous about?”
She smiled a little in response to his cluelessness. “You’re older, you were a marine, you left here to have adventures like the ones they read about in books. Or at least, that’s the way they think of you.”
“Yeah, well, they’ve got the wrong impression.”
“They’re troubled boys in search of male role models,” she reminded him. “Dad and Shane and Memo all represent different qualities to them, but you’re a little more exotic, in their eyes, than the settled, married men who live here on the ranch.”
“They’d do better to look to your father and brother,” he muttered. “I don’t even know what I’m going to do from this point. I’m sure as hell in no position to serve as a role model for anyone.”
“Apparently, you did just fine with Jacob. He seemed a bit more relaxed than usual this evening.”
“He told me what’s been bothering him this week. He knows his father was here,” Kyle said bluntly. “He’s been worrying himself sick about it. I told you someone should have talked to him.”
Molly shook her head regretfully. “I had no idea. How did he find out?”
“He saw him through the dorm window. He asked me to warn the family to be careful. He seems to be worried that his father will hurt someone here.”
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“It’s still a good idea to be on guard. Especially for
Lucy and Annie’s sake.”
Molly could almost feel the blood drain from her face. It had never even occurred to her that Hayes could be so angry about having his son taken away from him that he would be tempted to turn the tables on Jacob’s foster family. “I’ll talk to Shane.”
“Do that.”
Pushing her uneasiness to the back of her mind by assuring herself that Hayes had more sense than to risk anything that reckless, she glanced toward the kitchen. “Can I get you anything? A cup of herbal tea, maybe?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks. It isn’t necessary for you to play the hostess. If I want tea, you’ve shown me where to find everything I need.”
She relaxed into her chair again—at least, as much as possible with Kyle sitting so close by. “Um, Kyle…?”
“I talked to Mack today,” he said suddenly, the change of topic startling her for a moment. “I called to check in and let him know what time my flight will arrive on Sunday. He agreed to pick me up at the airport.”
“So you’ve made your reservations?”