Grant glanced over at her, a hint of a scowl on his face. “It’s Texas. We get bad weather all the time. What’s got you all bothered today?”
She shrugged. “It’s Rome’s first class on his own today. I’m worried about him.”
He got up from his desk and moved to her side. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled at her bare neck, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. “He’ll be fine, Brenna. We hired him because he’s good at this sort of thing. This is what he does. He’s had intensive training for these kinds of situations, remember?”
There were a few fallacies in his thinking, which worried Brenna. First of all, she’d hired Rome because he’d showed up, not because he was the most qualified candidate. She figured he needed the job and he’d work all the harder because of it.
She hadn’t been the only one to take Rome at face value. Pop had adopted the guy as if he was just another one of his sons who had shown up on the doorstep, looking for work. Colt and Dane had been leery about him at first, but when a few days had passed and no one had raised the alarm, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rome was a hard worker and a quick learner. If he was missing a few gaps in his knowledge, no one had noticed yet, and she didn’t plan on ratting him out.
Of course, now that the weather had taken a turn for the worse, she was rethinking her brilliant plan. Rome had taken out a small group that morning, three men, all first timers. If something happened, she wasn’t sure that any of them could take care of themselves.
A new bolt of lightning lit up the sky and illuminated a small group of men coming in from the woods. Brenna gasped and pointed. “Someone’s come back.”
Grant kissed her cheek and then moved to the coat rack, grabbing his rain slicker. “You stay here. I’ll see what’s going on.” He tossed it on, flipped up the hood, and then trotted out into the pounding rain.
Brenna pressed her face to the glass, trying to make out who it was as the trail of men came in from the woods. Her heart sank when four heads emerged, then two more, then two more. That was too many to be Rome’s group, unless he’d come in with either Dane or Colt. She forced herself to wait, drumming her fingers on her arm impatiently as the men headed across the sodden clearing toward the main lodge.
When the men came inside, though, she saw her worst fear had been realized—Dane and Colt had brought their groups in and were chatting with Grant. “The river’s flash flooding,” Colt said. “It’s not safe to hit our usual areas, and there’s a chance of tornados. I’d rather wait a day or two and see how things shake out.”
“First rule of survival’s knowing when you’re licked,” Dane agreed.
Grant took in the conversation, grimly nodding. “You guys know best. We’ll make arrangements for our guests, then.” He gestured that the wet, bedraggled men should make themselves comfortable on the lodge couches. “Brenna can get some towels and hot coffee—”
“Brenna’s busy,” she butted in, moving to Dane and Colt’s side. “Did you guys see Rome anywhere?”
Dane shook his head.
“The trail was pretty washed out,” Colt said, rubbing his chin with concern. “We should go back out and look for him. He’s not as familiar with the grounds as we are.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brenna said, running back to her desk and grabbing the keys to the ATV shed. “Just give me a moment—”
“What? You’re not going with them,” Grant interrupted, a furious look on his face.
Brenna tilted her head, staring at him, then snapped her fingers. “You’re right. We’ll cover a lot more ground if we split up.”
“No, I mean you’re not going out in this weather.” Grant moved to her side and grabbed her elbow. “Absolutely not. If it’s that dangerous, I don’t want you out in it.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t be ridiculous, Grant.”
“Trust me, I’m not.”
She ignored that, and the steely tone in his voice, and tried to simply move around him. He stood in the way, blocking her, and her jaw dropped in surprise. “Grant, I’m going after him.”
“No, you’re not.”
On the far side of the room, Dane pointed at the door. “Colt and I are going to hike down to where his group was and see if they need any help.”
“I’ll be along, too,” Brenna called over Grant’s shoulder. “Give me a few minutes.”
“No, she won’t,” Grant said. “I mean it, Brenna. You’re not going anywhere. Not on my watch.”
“You’ll let them go out?”
“They’re trained survivalists.”
“I’m the assistant! It’s my job to assist!”
“Not this sort of thing. Let the others handle it. Rome doesn’t need you going after him.”
“Funny, I’m not sure we agree.”
“It doesn’t matter if we agree. I want you staying here with me.”
She stared at him for a long, searching moment, trying to understand him. “Please tell me this isn’t some sort of wacky plot to keep me here because you’re jealous of Rome.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Grant said, tight-lipped. “I’m not jealous.”
“Then step aside and let me go out. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not leaving this lodge as my employee.”
“Fine. Then fire me and I’m still going after Rome. You can’t stop me.”
“Goddamn it, Brenna!” His face was white with fury. “I won’t let you get hurt!”
Exasperation swept through her. He was making her crazy. “No one said I was going to get hurt!”
“There’s a million things that could go wrong. You could get a flat tire. Skid into a ditch. Lightning could strike your vehicle. You could flip over. Those things aren’t safe. In fact, I don’t want you driving them at all anymore.”
She stared at him as if he’d grown another head. “Are you kidding me? Lightning striking the vehicle? I have better odds of a sinkhole opening up underneath me.”
“Another very good reason why you’re not going out there.”
“Grant,” she protested.
“No. Absolutely not.” His mouth was tight, his gaze unforgiving. He looked ready to snap. Tension was vibrating off him in almost palpable waves.