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I try to shake my head and tell him I want him instead of this thing, but in the next second I’m shouting, “Yes, yes,yessss.”
CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR
ALIGN ME UP
THEO
For the past three weekends, my brothers, Scarlett and Jamison, Marlow and Dakota, and anywhere from five to twenty-five people from town, men and women, have come to help with building the stables. Sometimes all at once. Truth be told, if we just had Steve, the best local contractor, and Magnus, the contractor from Boston who’s helped with the renovations to the resort and seems to like it around here, we’d probably finish the project faster. But it’s been fun having everyone pitch in and be part of this.
More than once, I’ve seen Sofie wiping tears away, so moved that people care about us enough to do this. She’s said the folks in town who have known her since she was a little girl have every right to hold it against her that she left for so many years. I think their showing up has proven to her that they’ve left the past where it belongs and are welcoming her back with open arms.
The stables are the finest I’ve ever seen. Callum outdid himself with these plans, and my brothers and Scarlett have worked so hard to make the place special for Sofie. Grinny and the Golden Girls have organized meals, making food for everyone available at all times. I’ll have to amp up the runs with Fred to work off all the food from the past three weeks.
It’s been a true labor of love, and I love that Sofie is feeling it and soaking it in.
When we’re done here, it seems everyone is on board to help us at her place too. This is what I love most about small-town living…or at least in this one…there’s always someone willing to lend a helping hand.
We’ve been in discussion with Steve and Magnus about how to renovate Sofie’s property with a complete remodel to the house and an expansion on the stables that will make it feel completely different than when her dad bred horses there. As far as the stables here go, this will be where Sofie houses her horses, and the stables at her property with the rescues will be managed by Sofie, Hilary, and Abby. A few people in town have expressed interest in being part of Morgan’s Sanctuary, so I think before long, Sofie will have all the help she needs to make this new endeavor a reality.
I’m priming the walls to the small office that will hold a refrigerator and shelving for paperwork and supplies. There will not be a cot out here, thank you very much. Wyatt catches me by surprise when he walks in, scowling and cursing under his breath.
He looks even more startled to see me in here and I stop what I’m doing to check him out.
“What’s got you so fired up?” I ask.
He runs his hands through his hair and puts his hands on his hips, shaking his head as he stands there, chest rising and falling.
“What is that Marlow girl’s problem?” he says under his breath.
“ThatMarlow girl?She is—oh, I don’t know—I think she’s twenty-seven or twenty-eight? So not exactly a girl. What’syourproblem with Marlow? She’s great.”
He presses his fingers to his eyes and exhales. When he drops his hands, his eyes look greener than ever.
“Why do you look so pissed?” I press.
“She is just so…” His mouth opens and closes, and I stand, waiting for him to finish.
And wait and wait as he shuffles on his feet and keeps taking frustrated inhales and exhales, and for some reason, I envision a smoker standing outside trying to rush a smoke out in the cold.
Wyatt is a lot of things: good-looking, smart, funny, caring, an incredible doctor, sometimes snarky, and a bit snobbish about wine. What he isnotis a smoker—I’m more inclined to partake in a cigar or occasionally a joint now and then than he ever will be—nor is he someone who iseverat a loss for words.
“What’s going on?” I finally ask.
He presses his lips together, looking on the verge of saying something, but he just turns and walks out of the room, leaving me staring after him and more confused than ever. I walk into the stables and see Marlow hugging Sofie and then trying to hurry Dakota out the door. Her cheeks are clenched, and her smile is forced when she makes eye contact with me.
“You okay, Marlow?” I ask.
“What? Oh, yeah,” she says.
She looks back in Wyatt’s direction and he’s watching her. I don’t recognize the expression on Wyatt’s face, so I can’t really say what that look means. He turns away like we didn’t just catch him staring at her, and Marlow turns around quickly, her jaw clenching again.
“We’re just leaving,” she says.
“Do we have to go, Mama?” Dakota asks. “I was having fun with Owen. He’s letting me play with his Her-Hermiopy…Hermio—” She looks back longingly at Owen who has his Harry Potter LEGO people lined up on a temporary wooden ledge.
“You like Hermione?” I ask.
“IloveHermioneep.” Dakota’s tone is so wistful as she watches Owen playing with the little people.
