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“Okay.” He turned to leave, his hands shrouded by the deep denim pockets they were shoved into. At his truck, he turned around. “For what it’s worth, Maggie, I love you.”
Her heart beat wildly as the words trickled past the defenses she’d erected to prevent just that. “You do?”
“I do. I didn’t need a lick of the success I have now, nor did I seek it out for my own gain. I did it for you. For us. I always figured you’d come back, and I hoped I would get another chance to show you what is possible when we work together.”
Now her heart threatened to stop beating altogether. She leaned on the side of the porch railing to steady herself through a wave of dizziness.
“I know you need to do this on your own right now, and I won’t get in the way. But the way I feel about you isn’t going anywhere and neither am I. If you need anything, Maggie, I’m right here.”
Until he wasn’t. Because by the time her heart caught up to her head and went to reply, the last of the dust from his truck speeding down her driveway had settled.
The next morning, Maggie was up before the sun to take care of her chores and shower off so she could look her best for the interview. If Patrick liked her and her product, they’d all head to San Antonio to check out the warehouse and production line. That was the easy part in her opinion. She’d sourced only sustainably mined metals, contracted with only small businesses with upstanding results and an appreciated staff, and hired locally first. She had a top-tier business and that was why Orin was even interested.
If only she wasn’t so tired. Not even a cold compress with tea bags had helped shrink the hay bale-sized bags under her eyes. Bennett’s words kept spinning in her head like a quick wash cycle gone haywire.
He loved her. And always had, according to him. The thing was, her heart—aching and sore from the gauntlet Maggie had put it through of late—believed him. The question was, did she feel the same?
Yes! her heart screamed.
It isn’t that simple, her mind shot back. She’d listened to the latter before and it had steered her awry, but choosing between her organs wasn’t so simple, either. Bennett was wonderful; he was the direct and indirect reason it hadn’t worked out with anyone else since.
But was that enough?
Maggie got out her phone to text Jill, but her friend hadn’t responded to Maggie’s last text sharing the good news about her interview with Orin. Nor the second text of the handsome county firemen installing her fire system.
Jill must be pretty peeved if she was ignoring muscled men in uniform.
Maggie put her phone away and peeked out from behind the wood shutters she’d recently installed in her father’s living room. To that end, she’d hired staff to re-envision the whole downstairs in farmhouse chic—something she’d imagined and drawn up when she was nine years old, far before the look was en vogue. It suited the room.
Bennett, too, was perfectly designed for not only ranch life, but leading ranchers. From her vantage point behind the blinds, she watched him orchestrate the ranchers and their assignments, his hands waving in all directions as he sent folks where they needed to go. Her skin warmed with each of his movements.
His voice was loud but not aggressive.
His actions were firm and decisive without micromanaging.
His fitted jeans and flannel were all the reasons she needed to appreciate ranching. Knowing what lay underneath those clothes didn’t hurt. Her overactive memory would need to appreciate that particular Bennett trait from afar now, though.
As if he could sense her gaze on him, he turned to face her. His gaze bore into hers, somehow filled with both pain and love. He invited her with a nod to join him, and a thrill coursed over her skin.
And at that moment, her heart won the argument. The one she’d been having with herself since she saw him standing on her porch her first day home. She loved Bennett Marshall and always had. Probably always would, too. It leapt with joy and wanted to scream the good news through the pane of glass to him. Except—
The doorbell rang. She longed for nothing more than to run to Bennett, to tell him how she felt, but her head still had some pull in her decision-making. It demanded she leave Bennett’s request unfulfilled and open the door to a part of her future she could control, a future that no longer seemed as promising if she didn’t have him to share it with. That was her father’s voice, telling her that love, while amazing and wonderful, wouldn’t help her reach her goals or keep a roof over her head.
A ball of confusion lodged in her throat.
For the first time since accepting the meeting with Patrick, she didn’t know what she’d say if he formally gave her a contract. If only he had a branch that was closer than San Antonio.
Something pricked her thoughts—a seedling of idea that sprouted to a counteroffer she could make. A smile spread across her cheeks.
She wasn’t going to give up Bennett, not without a fight—a fight that began with something she could offer Patrick York that just might help them both.
*
Bennett nodded Maggie’s way. He’d like to say goodbye before he left. Even though she’d made it abundantly clear he held no claim on her, he couldn’t help the feelings of propriety and unbridled love that washed over him every time he laid eyes on her.
For a moment—a brief moment—he’d sworn he saw the same feelings spread across her features, bathing them in light. But then she’d turned and walked away, and the blinds had remained still ever since. Twenty minutes had passed, and Bennett was running out of reasons to stall the cattle drive.
“We leaving before those cows give birth? I’m growing gray hair while we sit on our asses,” Jackson complained.
