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Her father stood a little taller, and Drew’s heart soared.
“I’m not sure about a wait list, but you leave me your details, and I’ll take care of you, Patty.” Her dad followed this up with a beaming smile and a wink.
An honest to goodness wink.
Drew never thought she’d see the day when Andy Campbell not only spoke in complete sentences but was charming to boot. There had been a time shortly after his heart attack that she’d thought he might never find joy in life again, that grunts and shrugs were as good as she was going to get from him. The prospect of a forced retirement had nearly beaten him, but the changes on the ranch in recent months had brought new purpose. It turned out her dad loved tourists. He was a totally new man.
Drew had one person to thank for it, the woman who was sweeping up the market table like a bloodhound who could sniff out a business opportunity a mile away.
Maisie.
Since their return from Wisconsin the previous month, there wasn’t a single person in Rock Creek Valley who didn’t know this amazing creature was Drew’s wife.
“Actually,” Maisie said, sliding into place beside her father-in-law, “we do have a wait list going, but given your VIP status with Andy, I’m sure you’ll be number one on the list as soon as we announce the opening of the lodge next year.”
Patty squealed, tapping her fingers together like she’d won a prize. Meanwhile, Drew’s dad was piling a reusable shopping bag with Wilbur’s picture on it full of jams, jerky, and other ranch-made products. There had to be over a hundred dollars worth of merchandise in there, but the woman didn’t so much as blink as he totaled it up, acting like he was the one doing her a favor by selling it to her.
Incredible.
Drew pulled Maisie to the side. “We have a wait list? We’ve barely broken ground, and I’m not sure when it’ll be completed given it’s mid-September and winter can settle in any day.”
“Don’t be such a Debbie Downer.” Maisie gave her a playful nudge with her elbow. “Take a page from your father, Mr. Optimism. If you believe everything will go according to plan, chances are it might. As for the weather, need I remind you I’m still wearing shorts?”
“No reminder needed on that front.” Drew took a step back to admire the view of Maisie’s bare legs. “Do we really have a wait list for the new guest lodge?”
“Sure, we do… now.”
Drew tilted her head back, laughing. “Between you, my father, who is looking thirty years younger, thanks to you, and Hannah, I don’t stand a chance.”
“No, you don’t. Not if you keep trying to stand in the way of change.” Maisie inched closer. “Do you know another woman told me your father was a delightful chatterbox. I never thought I’d hear a description like that and your dad’s name in the same sentence.”
“He’s loving all the attention,” Drew happily admitted. “People coming to the ranch, asking him questions. He knows the answers to all of them, like how much a cow weighs. He’s good on that front. Just don’t ask him to talk about anything squishy.”
“Squishy?”
“Like feelings.” Drew wrinkled her nose.
“I see. I guess that’s where I went wrong from the start.”
“Rookie mistake when it comes to the Campbells.”
“Is that right?” Maisie fluttered her eyelashes.
“One hundred and ten percent.” The way the woman was looking at her was giving Drew all sorts of feelings right now, and it was pretty obvious she knew it.
“So, if I asked your feelings about stopping off at the cabin tonight, you wouldn’t want to discuss it because of the f-word?”
“Which f-word are you referring to?”
“The naughty one, of course.” Maisie paused a beat. “Feelings.”
“I’m a much bigger fan of a different word. It has four-letters and ends with a k.”
“Funk?” Maisie sashayed back to the table, putting an extra twist into the movement of her hips, solely for Drew’s benefit. “Why, Drew Campbell, I never knew you had a funky side.”
* * *
“You missed the turn,”Maisie said as they continued down the road instead of turning at the driveway for the ranch.
