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“Oh, you will, unless you want to hear how whiney I can get.”
“You mean you can kick that up another notch?” Whistling, Drew stepped back as Maisie attempted to give Drew a well-deserved wallop, though Maisie’s radiant smile made it clear she was teasing.
Radiant?Drew had no idea where that word had come from.
“Try a hundred notches,” Maisie said with pride. “You might be better on horseback, but I’ll wipe the floor with my whining skills.”
“Everyone needs a hobby. Come on.” Drew poured coffee into a ceramic mug, followed by two steel travel mugs. “Milk? Sugar?”
“Black.”
Drew gave a single nod, committing the detail to memory. How you take your coffee was certainly one of those things a person should know about their wife. Even if they weren’t planning on keeping her long.
Drew handed the travel mugs to Maisie, grabbing the other cup and a single serving package of cookies for her father. When they reached the front room, he was asleep in his recliner, his skinny legs poking out from beneath his tattered robe. It was such a contrast to the strong father she remembered, the handsome cowboy from her childhood, that Drew choked back a sob. But she pulled herself together in an instant, unwilling to show vulnerability, especially in front of this wife of hers she barely knew.
Drew set the coffee and snack down quietly, putting a finger to her lips and saying in a whisper, “This happens a lot.”
There was a kind look in Maisie’s eyes that caught Drew up short. It wasn’t often anyone looked at her that way, like they really saw what all of this was costing her. And there was no trace of pity, a true rarity. A lump formed in her throat, and Drew swallowed hard, wishing she had her coffee.
“Come on. The Gator’s out in the shed.”
Once they’d wrapped up in coats and donned both hats and gloves, Drew led the way outside, waving Maisie to a rugged vehicle that had seen better days. It was funny. Drew didn’t notice these things all that much herself, but ever since they’d arrived at the ranch, she’d been seeing everything through Maisie’s eyes. At least, how she imagined Maisie was seeing them, based on those little expressions of dismay she tried so politely to hide. This place had grown shabby, and it was embarrassing. But there was nothing Drew could do about it right now.
Once they were seated inside, Drew handed Maisie a thick blanket. “Here. Even with the heat on, it can get chilly.”
Drew started the engine and headed off toward the spot of fence she hoped hadn’t fallen down during the last wind storm. As they jostled up and down on the seats, Maisie held on for dear life.
“Is this all part of ranch life? Always having a headache? Ouch!”
Drew looked over in alarm. “What happened?”
“I bit my tongue.” It sounded like Maisie had a cotton ball in her mouth as she said it, and Drew couldn’t help laughing a little.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“How bad is it with your dad?” Maisie’s voice softened, and it was clear she’d decided now was the time to launch into that conversation she’d suggested, the one Drew had been putting off as long as possible.
“He can’t work the ranch anymore, but he won’t admit that. He has to retire, doctor’s orders, or he’ll—” Drew couldn’t bring herself to say the rest.
Maisie sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly recalling that the woman’s own father was dead, Drew felt terrible dumping all of that in Maisie’s lap. Then again, this was the same woman who had climbed into Drew’s truck, expecting to live the high life like she’d married JR Ewing. So maybe it was fair.
Maybe Maisie was right. They needed to get it all out in the open now.
“The ranch is in trouble,” Drew confessed, not bothering to beat around the bush. “And contrary to what your friends may have been saying, I’m not a millionaire.”
“How much trouble?”
“Not sure I can quantify it, but if I don’t turn things around soon, I might be heading to Florida with you.”
“Wouldn’t my mom be surprised by that?” Maisie’s nervous giggle reminded Drew the news would be double the surprise, considering her mother had every reason to expect her daughter would marry a man.
The situation got stranger by the second.
“Anyway, if I don’t come up with some new revenue streams soon, I’m pretty much sunk.”
Maisie sat in silence as she digested the news. “How do you make money now?”
“Cattle.”
