“No, thank God. But there was a minute there when I thought I was. I was a little late is all. But before I knew, I told him what happened and that I might be.”
“What did he say? Was he upset?”
“No, he was excited.”
“I don’t understand. That was a good thing, right?”
She hesitates. “Don’t judge me, okay?”
I reach over and take hold of her hand. “Of course not. What happened?”
“I told him the truth—that I don’t want kids. I don’tthink I ever will. I’m just not like that.”
Ah, I can see how that could be a problem. And how did I not know this about her? Maybe because there was never a reason to talk about it. “And he wants kids?”
“Yeah. I think there’s something wrong with me.”
I squeeze her hand. “Absolutely not. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting kids. It’s who you are. If anyone makes you feel like that’s not okay, I promise, they’re the ones with the problem. You have to be you, or you’ll never be happy.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” I stand and lean over to give her another hug. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
***
It’s been eight days, and Rhonda is getting rambunctious. We moved her from the hospital to an apartment that Elsie rented for her and Top. That was four days ago. I thought National Discovery should be covering the costs, but Elsie said she’ll deal with them later.
Being confined to the sofa would drive me crazy too. Top spends as much time as he can with her, but he still has a job, and the network is demanding. They sent a crew from California to pack everything up and ship it back to Los Angeles. Top has been tasked with coordinating that project, so he has to leave Rhonda whenever there’s a problem, and there seems to be no shortage of problems. It’s a good thing I came, or I think she would have lost her mind by now.
Sitting with her in the living room I’m finally getting around to telling herabout MacLucifer and what happened with Jake at the poker table. With everything that happened to her, I almost forgot about it. I can tell she loves hearing the story, but I’m interrupted when my phone rings. It’s Elsie. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
I quickly step through the back door to the patio. “Hello.”
“Maddie, it’s Elsie. How are things going there?”
“Good.”
“Rhonda is doing okay?”
“She is. They expect her to have full mobility once her leg heals.”
“That’s good news. Look, I’m a little rushed, so I’ll get right to it. My staff took a look at your ideas for the clothing line. How would you feel about being the official line for the Riggs and Ash clothing brand? We’ve wanted to do something like this for some time, but we hadn’t found the right designer. Turns out we were looking in the wrong places, thinking fashion when we should have been thinking rugged durability. You really seem to know what our type of customer wants.”
There’s a full set of white wicker outdoor patio furniture here and I take a seat in one of the chairs wondering if I heard her right. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“I’m offering you a spot on my team. My company would provide the capital to get things off the ground for global distribution. We’re thinking twenty million to start. In return, I want thirty-five percent. How does that sound?”
I throw myself back into the chair. I thought she’d want to open a small shop in Sweetbriar to sell to our local farmers and construction workers. But she’s talking about… I can’t even imagine what she’s talking about. Selling worldwide? This is the big leagues! And she would let me keep sixty-five percent? Holy crap!
“I’m going to be rich,” I whisper. The words just come out. I can’t believe this is happening.
Elsie laughs. “I take it that’s a yes?”
I pull myself together. “Yes! Hell yes! Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s a lot of work to do. But don’t worry, I’ll put together a team to help you out. In the meantime, welcome to my big-girls’ club.”
“I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe this is happening.” A thought occurs to me, and I have to ask. “Does Riggs know about this?” I can’t help wondering if he convinced his sister to do this deal only to help me out. It’s certainly something he’s capable of.
