“You called me sweetheart.” She looks at Top, who’s still holding her hand, but doesn’t appear to be registering what’s going on. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you.”
Ash brushes a strand of hair out of her face. “You didn’t need to. We both knew it was time to move on. But we’ll always be friends, right?”
She nods. “Always.”
We ride in silence for the rest of the trip, and when I steer around a bend, the helicopter appears in a clearing to our right, its rotors turning, ready to go. I park the ATV, then Ash and I hop out, intending to help the medics, but we quickly see that it’s best to get out of the way and let them do their job. I don’t have to tell them Top needs attention too. After a quick assessment they load him in the helicopter with Rhonda, then take off.
“Well, the network should be pleased with this ending,” I say.
Ash has his hand over his eyes to block out the sun as he watches the helicopter disappear over the horizon. “I’m sure those jerkwads will get a hard-on when they see the footage. We should tell them it was Top’s idea to film everything.”
“Good idea. He said he needed a win. I think he just got it.”
“So, what now?” he asks.
“I think we’re done. Let’s go home.”
“What about the ATV and all the equipment?”
“You mean the network’s equipment?”
He laughs. “Good point. They can come get their own damn equipment. Let’s get off this mountain. We have a presentation to make.”
CHAPTER 50
Maddie
“Where is she? Can I talk to her?”
Elsie called and told me what happened. I’m sitting in my office looking over my final plans for the clothing line, and now I don’t care about any of it.
“She’s in a hospital in New Zealand. I can get you a flight if you want to be with her. I’ll be happy to cover the costs.”
Why would she do that? She doesn’t even know me. “Is this Riggs’s idea?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
It seems like it should be, but I can’t think of a reason why. Riggs knows she’s like a sister to me, so it makes sense he’d want to do this. “Is he going to be there?”
“No, he and Ash made sure Rhonda was taken care of. She’s in surgery now. I’m told she has a friend who will look after her, so my brothers are booking flights to come back.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah, they call him Top. But I imagine she would be glad to see you. My assistant can get you a flight out of Portland tonight if you want.”
So her new boyfriend is looking after her, that’s good. At least she won’t be alone when she gets out of surgery.
“Thank you. I definitely want to go.” I’m sure Stacy can manage the store while I’m gone. She’s already been running everything while I worked on the clothing line.
“Good, I think you should. Can you do me a favor before you leave?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Since we aren’t able to meet in person, can you leave what you have for the clothing line with Stacy?”
“Sure, no problem. Can I ask you something?”
“What’s on your mind?”
