Chapter 20 — Not Because I’m His Wife

Hallie knew the argument had changed the moment someone said, “There’s no point asking her.”

She stopped beside the work table.

Caleb stood on one side with two assignment sheets. Grant stood on the other. Three workers waited nearby, all carrying the tight expressions of people who had already repeated themselves too many times.

The man who had spoken looked directly at Hallie.

“She’s his wife.”

Hallie looked at Grant. His face gave away nothing.

“What exactly am I supposed to agree with?” Hallie asked.

The man shifted. Grant answered instead.

“One of the repair crews left an assigned job unfinished yesterday.”

Hallie glanced at the sheets.

“Why?”

“They lost two people to unloading when a shortage was marked.”

That caught her attention. The board. One of the workers stepped forward.

“The wagon had to be cleared before dark. We went because nobody else was free.”

“And the repair work?” Hallie asked.

“Still got most of it done.”

“Most,” Grant said.

The worker’s jaw tightened. Grant looked at Caleb.

“My position is simple. If a crew leaves assigned work unfinished, the missing work still has to be made up.”

The man who had dismissed Hallie spread his hands.

“See?”

Hallie frowned.

“See what?”

“You’re going to say he’s right.”

Grant’s gaze shifted to her. He waited. Hallie looked down at the assignments.

The original repair job had not been optional. Neither had unloading the wagon once the shortage appeared.

The board Hallie had helped build was supposed to make urgent gaps visible so Cedar Draw could respond without waiting for an order. Two men had responded. Now they were being told that because they had done so, they owed extra work on top of what they had already contributed.

Hallie looked at Grant.

“I don’t think they should make up all of it.”

The silence that followed was satisfying. Caleb lowered the papers. Grant’s brows rose slightly.

The man beside Hallie stared at her.

“You don’t?”

“No.”

Grant folded his arms.

“Why?”

Not offended. Interested. Hallie pointed at the second sheet.

“They didn’t walk off because they were bored. They answered a shortage Cedar Draw wanted answered.”

“The repair still didn’t finish.”

“I know.”

“So somebody finishes it.”

“Yes.”

Hallie looked at the workers.

“But if every person who moves to an urgent job is punished with extra hours afterward, they’ll stop moving.”

One worker nodded. Grant glanced at him, then back at Hallie.

“That creates another problem.”

“It does.”

“People could use every shortage as an excuse to leave work they don’t like.”

“They could.”

The man who had assumed she would agree with Grant looked between them. Hallie continued.

“That’s why I don’t think the answer is that nobody owes anything either.”

Grant’s expression sharpened.

“Then what do you think?”

Hallie considered the question. A month ago, she would have answered from Bellamy Creek training: define a rule, make it consistent, establish who approved exceptions. Cedar Draw already had people responsible for making that call.

And Caleb was the one who managed the work rotations. Hallie looked at him.

“I think this is yours.”

Caleb blinked.

“Helpful.”

“I’m serious.”

She tapped the assignment sheet.

“You know how much work the repair crew lost. You know whether the two men were needed at the wagon. You know what still has to be covered today.”

Caleb nodded slowly.

“My opinion is that responding to a real shortage should count as work, not absence. But the unfinished repair still matters.”

Grant uncrossed his arms.

“So Caleb decides how the remaining work is covered.”

“Yes.”

“And whether anyone owes additional time.”

“Yes.”

The worker nearest the table looked at Grant.

“Are you fine with that?”

Grant’s eyes stayed on Hallie.

“She disagreed with me.”

The man waited.

Grant added, “That wasn’t the question.”

Hallie tightened her grip on the table. His attention made the crowded argument feel briefly private.

The man looked confused. Grant finally turned to him.

“You asked whether I’m fine with Caleb making the call. I am.”

“And with her disagreeing?”

Grant’s gaze came back to Hallie.

“Yes.”

He answered without hesitation. The people watching did not make him shrink the disagreement. Caleb cleared his throat.

“Since everyone has remembered this is actually my work problem, here’s the decision.”

Caleb tapped the sheets. “The unloading counts as work. I’ll cover the unfinished repair after I check the afternoon crews.”

One worker started to object.

“After I check them,” Caleb repeated.

Caleb looked at Hallie.

“Happy?”

“It isn’t my decision.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

Hallie smiled.

“Yes.”

The tension around the table loosened. The man who had dismissed her earlier lingered after the others began to move away. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I thought you’d back him.”

Hallie glanced toward Grant.

“Why?”

The man gave her an incredulous look.

“You married him.”

“That means I married him.”

Grant made a low sound that might have been a laugh. Hallie ignored him. The man looked from her to Grant again.

“You really don’t care?”

Grant answered before Hallie could.

“I care what she thinks.”

The simplicity of it silenced them. Grant picked up one of the remaining sheets.

“If she agreed with me every time, I’d learn less.”

Then he walked away. Hallie stood still. Caleb looked at her.

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were going to.”

“Probably.”

That distinction mattered more than winning. When Hallie crossed the yard a few minutes later, the man who had assumed she would simply defend Grant stepped aside to let her pass. This time, he looked at her before he looked at the Alpha she had married.

Hallie kept walking and handed Caleb the other sheet. The next decision was still his to make.