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“Huh?” Elise’s voice sounded alarmed. “What do you mean?”
“They want me to take you along. They think it would be good…umm, alone time for us.”
“Oh, well, um, I guess that sounds nice for a couple. But I have the boys to take care of. So you better just go.”
“They’ve thought of that too. They’ve agreed to keep the boys. They can stay at one of the other houses and work and play with the kids while we’re gone. Jenson’s kids help out at the barn during the summer and weekends, so they’re used to it.”
“Right.”
Garrett could hear her flipping the pages of her notebook and knew she was looking for some other reason she couldn’t go.
“There’s just still a lot to do at the house.”
“I know, but it’s not going anywhere. Missing a couple of days isn’t going to change it much.” Garrett found himself really hoping she would go. At first, he just wanted her to say yes, so he didn’t have to make excuses to the family. But it stung a little bit that she didn’t want to go at all. “Just think of it as a break for you. I know you haven’t had one in months. Let my family take care of the boys, and you can breathe a little. I promise to take you to the finest steak house in middle-of-nowhere Texas.”
Elise sighed, and he knew she was giving in. “Alright, I guess I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll let them know, so they can decide where the boys will stay. Don’t forget to pack your formal dress for dinner.”
“I’ll get right on that,” she said with sarcasm in her tone.
Garrett smiled. “Seriously, though, do pack boots and jeans.”
“I don’t have boots. Not the kind you mean anyway.”
“You don’t own boots? Aren’t you from Texas?”
“Yes, but I didn’t live on a ranch before.”
“Well, you do now. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that detail before we leave. Can’t have you living as a rancher’s wife with no boots. It’s unheard of.”
“I’ll go look for some this afternoon. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”
“Now, I didn’t say that. I’m sure you’ll look great in boots, but you’re never an embarrassment to me.”
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “I’ll let you go. I’m sure you have a lot to do.”
“Okay. Have a good day.”
“Bye, Garrett.”
“Bye, Elise.”
He hung up feeling happy that she was going on the trip with him. Sure, maybe there would be some awkward moments, but she deserved a break, and he could give that to her.
And he found that he was truly looking forward to spending the time with her.
Alone.
20
Thursday morning arrived much quicker than Elise could have imagined. She’d managed to spend as much time as possible at her parents’ house and avoided seeing Garrett for more than a few minutes here and there.
Now she stood outside the main house, hugging the boys goodbye and preparing to spend three entire days with just him.
She could scarcely take a full breath thinking about it. It was one thing living in the same house, trying to move around each other, and having the boys as a buffer. Now, she would have no buffer, and nowhere to go.
Lydia was hovering over Ethan and Noah telling them all about the fun they would have. It would be nice for them to have a grandmother figure to spoil them. Elise knew she wouldn’t have anything to worry about with the entire Macklin family watching over them.
