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“They do,” he said. “Thank you. We were going to have to stop on the way to buy something to share.”
“Translated, that means I forgot,” Maggie said, bending over to scratch Brulee behind the ears.
“No, not just you,” Justin said. “I forgot, too.”
“So did I,” Amber said.
The chaos of guests leaving ensued. Dave and Amber didn’t kiss goodbye, making Maggie suspicious. Was there trouble in paradise?
Out in the corral, Justin got Spooky loaded up. Maggie had to control her jealousy; Amber was right there, trying to be helpful, so rather than pushing her out of the way so she could do the job, Maggie lagged back, doing a slow burn.
Mind over matter,she thought.In the scheme of things, this is not important. Amber is trying to help. She’s not trying to get on Justin.
Justin asked Maggie to get into the truck and back it up to the trailer so he could hook the trailer hitch.
“Maggie’s a pro at this,” he said, waving her over. Thankfully, she didn’t smash into the trailer.
After the trailer was ready to go, Maggie got in the passenger seat, and Amber got behind Justin.Great,Maggie thought. Now I can watch for Justin to be looking in the rearview mirror at Amber. You’d better get your jealousy under control, girlfriend.
The ride to the range wasn’t as bad as Maggie thought it might be. Amber directed all her conversation at Maggie and left it up to Maggie to include Justin or not. It was a great relief when they arrived. Amber took the food Rose had given them and went to the lodge while Justin and Maggie unloaded their horses.
Dale loved Maggie; that was apparent right away. “I wish my mother were alive to see this. She’d be so happy.”
“That makes me feel close to her, Justin. I wish I had met her.”
“You might have when you were a kid. I’ll ask my dad. My mother was a recluse, so she didn’t go to the parties or attend the parades like your mother does. Rose’s presence is great for my dad in that respect.”
“My mom isn’t exactly a party animal,” Maggie said, brushing Dale’s mane before she put the saddle on him.
“No, but when I say my mother was a recluse, I mean she never left the property. She’d saddle up Dale and go out in the back, take the trail to the cove, but she never stopped, didn’t see anyone, and if someone was out there, she avoided them.”
“Was there something that led up to it?”
“Probably, but I was too young to know about it. My mother was always that way, so when I was growing up, there was nothing unusual about it for me and Dave. Our mother was a horsewoman; she did the books for the clinic and raised Dave and me to be successes. The only time we knew there was something different was when we overheard someone saying something cruel about her, calling her crazy.”
“Oh, how sad. I’m so sorry. But I’m so honored to have her horse and her son.”
“Ha! Yes,” he said, kissing her cheek. “You have a way of making the saddest conversation happy.”
“Aw, Justin, I want to know about your mom. I don’t want to diminish the impact her problem had on you.”
“Yeah, she was a nutjob. What pisses me off now is that my father didn’t force her to get help.”
“Could he have done that?”
Justin bent over, tightening the belt on the saddle. Maggie could see a tic in his jaw, a telltale sign he was thinking of something that upset him.
“He could have, and he should have. It’s too late now. She’ll never see our kids. That upsets me the most. Or know that you love Dale. No one liked Dale.”
“What are you talking about, Justin? Dale’s great!”
“He’s a sweet boy,” Justin said, guiding him out of the trailer. “The men said my mother made him a wuss.”
“What men? I hate that. I don’t want to hear any more.”
“Okay, but you asked.”
Maggie got Dale’s saddle on with Justin’s guidance. The riders were meeting at the gate to the trail, so they mounted at the trailer and rode to the gate. They’d be out a couple of hours and then attend the meeting.
