Chapter 5

Link rolled over when his phone buzzed. He didn't silence it completely at night, because sometimes things happened on a ranch, and sometimes Uncle Ward or Uncle Preacher needed all cowboys on deck.

Irritation fired through him, because it had taken him forever to fall asleep. Misty lingered with him even now, and he felt like he'd been asleep for maybe five minutes.

"Holy stars in heaven," he said when he saw Misty's name on the screen. He sat up and threw his legs over the edge of the bed, and he didn't have to keep his voice down when he answered with, "Misty? What's goin' on?"

She wouldn't call him in the middle of the night for no reason, he knew that. Sure, she was a night owl and he was an early bird, but it was three-twelve in the morning. He glanced over to Mitch, who would only wake up if bright lights flashed in his face.

Still, Link got up and left the bedroom while Misty breathed into the receiver. "Can you talk?" His pulse rate spiked. "Where are you? I'll come get you."

"Say something," another woman said, and Link tilted his head as he tried to place the voice. Had to be Janie.

"Lincoln," Misty finally said, and Link would never get back to sleep now. He loved it when she called him by his whole name, and he pressed his eyes closed and let her pretty little voice say his name in perpetuity in his head. "We had an electrical fire in our apartment building."

"You're joking," he said.

"I wish." She heaved out a couple beats of laughter. "The cops are asking people to call family and friends to see if they might have somewhere we can stay. They're setting up other shelters?—"

"Just ask him," a man said. Ralf. "Do I need to do it? We can explain later."

"I can do it," Misty griped. "Just leave me be." Scratching came through the line, and Link simply waited. He knew what Misty was going to ask, and he wanted to run down the lane to the first empty cabin and make sure it was ready for her and Janie to stay in tonight.

"We need somewhere to stay," she said. "The cops are talking to ranches and farms who might have extra cabins, as I guess that's something a lot of you guys have, not just Shiloh Ridge. But I thought—I don't want to go sleep in the high school gym tonight."

"I wouldn't think so," he said quietly. "I'll drop you my pin. You've got your car?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I know how to get to Shiloh Ridge."

"It's a big place once you get here," he said. "My pin will lead you right to me, and I'll go two doors down and make sure the beds are ready for you." He drew in a deep breath, wondering if he needed to call Uncle Ward once he got off the phone with Misty. "You, Janie, and Ralf?"

"Yes," Misty said. "Janie and I can stay in the same room or bed or whatever."

"Not necessary," Link said. "Unless that's what you want."

"How many cabins have you got? There might be more people who need somewhere to stay."

Link definitely needed to get on the horn with Uncle Ward. "How many people are out of a bed tonight?"

"Hundreds," Misty whispered. "All six apartment buildings in my complex, Link. We had an electrical fire in my kitchen."

His heart seized, and in that moment, Link knew he'd do whatever he had to do in order to help Misty. Just because she didn't want to get serious with him didn't mean he wanted her hurt or scared or upset.

"Are you okay, Misty?" he asked.

She sniffled and said, "Yeah." She took a breath. "Yes, sir, cowboy. I'm not hurt physically."

"Then I'll get the two cabins on this lane ready for you, Janie, and Ralf, and I'll call my uncle and let him know there are others who could use our cabins."

"Thank you, Link."

"See ya real soon," he said, and the call ended. His exhaustion thumped at the base of his skull, but Link had been raised to help others if he could. And it sure seemed like he and the rest of the Glover Family could help a lot of people who'd been displaced tonight.

He stepped outside and sent a map pin to Misty, which she could use to navigate right to him once she got on the ranch. Then he went past the third and fourth cabins, which housed cowboys, to the fifth, which didn't.

The door was locked, but Link opened it with an app on his phone and left the door open to let out some of the mustiness that had gathered from unuse. He called Uncle Ward, who unsurprisingly answered on the third ring.

"Link, there better be something on fire."

"There was," Link said. "Not here, so don't panic. But Misty called, and there's been a fire at her apartment complex. They're relocating everyone—six buildings' worth of people—and she said the cops are trying to put people up on ranches and farms if they have extra room."

Uncle Ward didn't say anything, which gave Link time to switch on all the lights in the cabin where he stood. He walked down the hall to the first bedroom, which stood ready with a made bed and a bare desk. Bedroom two held the same items, and Link wandered back to the kitchen as Uncle Ward said, "I see the texts and alerts that have gone out."

He sounded exhausted, but he'd text down to town and let them know what they had available at Shiloh Ridge.

"I'm putting Misty and Janie in cabin five on my lane," Link said. "Ralf in cabin six, but there will be another bed there."

"Okay," Uncle Ward said. "That leaves a single on your lane and all five cabins up by the Top Cottage."

"And the Top Cottage," Link said. "No one's there." His aunt's sister and her family had lived there for a few months last year, but then Uncle Duke had offered them a job—with a house—at his ranch, and they'd moved across the ranch border to the Rhinehart Ranch.

"And Preach has a single down in his community," Uncle Ward said. "I'll call Brady."

"Sounds good," Link said. "I'm up, and I can come help."

"Get your friends set up, and then head over to True Blue. We'll operate from there."

"Yes, sir," Link said, and the call ended. He took his phone off silent and started tidying up the dusty cabin. The fridge held no food, but he couldn't do much about that, unless he wanted to call Momma and tell her about the three a.m. happenings of tonight.

He did not want to do that, as he'd have plenty of raised eyebrows and questioning glances and outright questions once Momma and Daddy learned that Misty was going to be living two doors down from Lincoln.

"Living isn't the right term," he said. "She might only be here for a single night." His hopes still soared, and Link didn't even know why. It wasn't like anything between him and Misty had changed. She'd get up and go to work at City Hall, and he'd move animals around the ranch while thinking about her restoring art and molding and architecture down in town.

She wasn't going to move here permanently. "She doesn't want anything serious," he reminded himself as he got the air conditioning running. It should be reasonably cool by the time Misty made the forty-minute drive from her apartment to the ranch, and Link left the fifth cabin and headed for the sixth.

He'd become friends with Ralf and Janie over the months he'd dated Misty, and he found himself excited to see them again. Even at four in the morning.

He got everything ready in the second cabin, and then he went back to the fifth cabin and sat on the front steps. Uncle Ward had started a group text with him and Uncle Preacher, and the three of them alone were apparently going to manage anyone who came to the ranch tonight.

Should be twenty-six people showing up in the next hour or so, Uncle Ward said. Some of those cabins by the Top Cottage have bunks, and because they're literally houses with kitchens and bathrooms, we've got families coming to stay with us.

Charlie and I are getting the initial welcome center set up down here, Uncle Preacher said. Then we'll send them up to you and Link at True Blue.

I'm not sure when Misty and her friends are getting here, Link texted to his uncles. I gave her my pin and told her to come right to me.

We'll let her through, Uncle Preacher said.

I can hold down the fort until you get to me, Uncle Ward said. I'll hold people here until you can show them to their cabins. It's dark up there, and they'll be with kids and pets and likely a little unsure.

I'll be there as soon as I can, Link said, glad he had a reason not to linger with Misty. At the same time, he heard the tremor of uncertainty in her voice when she'd called, and he wanted to get her set up in her cabin and then curl himself around her and hold her until she fell asleep.

But again, nothing had changed between them. So she'd called him for help in an extreme emergency. It didn't mean she wanted to get back together, despite what she'd asked his parents at the wedding less than twelve hours ago.

"You're not getting back together," he told himself firmly. Once, then again. He wanted to get out his guitar and play away the minutes, but Mitch was the only deaf one living and sleeping on the ranch. So he sat on the front steps and fantasized over what life could be like if he could find a woman who loved Three Rivers, loved him, and wanted to build a serious life with him right here on this ranch.

Before Link knew it, the crunching of tires over Uncle Ward's immaculate gravel road sounded, and he looked to his right to find headlights carving a path through the darkness as a car turned the corner.

Misty's car.

Link got to his feet, his pulse pounding away the way it had when he'd turned from the coffee truck and seen her sitting with her friends at that metal table almost a year ago. He started down the road and waved her into the driveway at the fifth cabin.

Then three doors opened, and she got out along with Janie and Ralf. They looked around like they'd entered another dimension, and Link supposed they probably had.

"Welcome to Shiloh Ridge Ranch," he said. Misty looked at him first, and even in the middle of the night, with her in purple pajamas, her hair a mess, and a wild look in her expression, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

So much of what he wanted with her wasn't casual, and he pulled on the reins of his thoughts as hard as he could.

He gave Ralf a quick smile as the man extended his hand toward him to shake. "Hey, brother," he said. "I've got you in the cabin one down." Link nodded to it. "Got the AC going. The bed is all made up. We'll be sending someone to stay with you, most likely. My uncle got in touch with the cops, and we're housing almost thirty people here until they can get back in their places."

"No problem," Ralf said. He spread his arms wide, and he held his phone in one palm. "This is what I've got." He grinned, as if this was a grand adventure. "They wouldn't let anyone go back into their unit to get anything. Said they weren't sure what was compromised."

Link couldn't even imagine how he'd feel if he'd been separated from literally everything he owned except his phone. "Well, there's approximately four thousand people who live here at Shiloh Ridge. Closer to dawn, I'll put out a call for food and clothing, and you'll have more than you can handle, I guarantee it."

He surveyed them again, wondering if his gaze lingered too long on Misty. Probably. "We'll put all the donations in True Blue. It's this barn by the main entrance of the ranch. Well, up the hill, once you get on the main part of the ranch." He hated babbling, and he felt like he was saying too much. "I'm sure Uncle Ward will send out a text."

He snapped his fingers. "Which reminds me. I need all of your numbers for him. He'll communicate with you about anything you need here." He looked over to Misty again, and she offered him the brightest ray of sunshine in the whole world when she gave him a closed-mouth smile.

"You know my number," Misty said.

"Sure," Link said as easily as he could, which meant the word choked him. He looked over to Janie, praying she'd save him. Thankfully, she did by rattling off her phone number. Ralf's joined hers in Link's note-taking app, and he'd make sure Uncle Ward had them so everyone could get the messages and updates they needed.

"You ladies are here," Link said, turning to open the door. "It's not much, but you'll have your own bedrooms, single bathroom, and a full kitchen." He entered the house. "Coupla couches. It's…." He didn't know how to finish, and he had no plans to walk Ralf through a cabin tour.

Foolishness hit him hard, and he turned just in time to get out of the way as Janie entered the cabin. She likewise only carried her phone, and she wore a pair of stretchy pants which widened down to the ankle, a pink tank top, and socks. No shoes.

Misty had her fuzzy sandals on, and that alone brought another ray of sunshine to his soul, as small as it was. She loved those sandals; he could still remember the day she'd worn them on their dinner date. She'd just gotten them, and she'd been thrilled she could get such things mailed to her in Three Rivers.

They didn't really match her pale lavender pajamas, which flowed around her ankles in waves of silk. The sleeves reached her wrists, and Link wondered how she slept in such winter pjs.

"Thank you, Link," Janie said as she headed down the hall.

"Beds are made up," he said as the scent of Misty reached his nose. She smelled like fresh linen and flowers, and oh, how Link missed her. Everything inside him wanted to be close to her, as if she was made only of iron and his cells were a magnet.

Misty stood right next to him as if they went together as a pair. He itched to get closer but forced himself to step away, to put just a smidge more distance between them. "Extra blankets and pillows are in the top of each closet."

"Thank you, Link." She tipped up onto her feet and swept her lips across his cheek, branding him.

"Breakfast at my house," he said faintly. "I'm two doors down."

She smiled just as faintly as he'd spoken. "I know, cowboy. You just met us there."

"Right." He had to get out of this cabin. "Well, I have to go help my uncles with the families coming. Breakfast is usually around seven, but whenever is fine."

Link started backing up before he finished speaking, and he turned and left the cabin while Misty's eyes still lingered on him. He strode away from the fifth cabin as he went back toward his, and he finally took a full breath when he knew for certain the air wouldn't be perfumed with Misty's skin, her hair, all of her.

As he got in his truck and headed for True Blue to assist Ward with the placement of the families, Link prayed everyone—absolutely everyone—would be able to get back into their apartments quickly.

"Like, tomorrow, Lord," he said. "I can't live this close to her. I really can't."

His parents had taught him that God would never give him a challenge he couldn't handle, but Misty living two doors down? Link absolutely could not handle that and keep his heart, so he simply needed Misty to be able to move back into her apartment.

Tomorrow.