Page 51

She belonged up there, running the show.

But she also belonged on the back of a horse sprinting across the valley.

The question was, which place was better suited for Maggie?

And then it hit him.

Both. She was still the same woman who’d loved ranching, but she thought she couldn’t come back if her plans had changed. If their plans had changed.

Show her. Show her what she loved about ranching and Deer Creek before she left. Show her she can have it all.

Her gaze landed on him and, damn, if he wasn’t grinning like he won Rodeo Austin. He sent her a little wave and then inwardly groaned.

Smooth. Real smooth.

Maggie hobbled off the stage and met him halfway across the space.

“Bennett. What are you doing here?”

“I’m on the board. I’m always at these hearings.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t supposed to be here today.”

“I know. But Jax told me what you’re up to and—”

“You thought you’d interfere?”

He frowned. “That’s not fair. I’m just curious about why you didn’t talk to me about this, Maggie. A fire system for the valley? It sounds good on paper, but it’ll take infrastructure we don’t have. I could’ve helped.”

“We talked about this. I have it under control, and if you want to be colleagues, you have to accept that I won’t always need you to fix things for me. I’m a professional and damn good at what I do.”

“I never said you weren’t. But this is different.”

“How? Are you the expert in fire safety?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Okay, then. I’ve already implemented a system like this in Houston, and it can work here. Until my dad’s land is bought and transferred, it’s still my valley, too, Bennett.”

Confusion swished in his stomach. “I never said it wasn’t.”

“Then why would I need to talk to you about plans that concern all of us? I didn’t go over your head—I followed procedure.”

She was getting this all wrong. That was not what he meant.

“Maggie, I’d hoped you’d talk to me as a friend, not a member of the board.” He gently rested a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged out of it.

“But we aren’t friends. You made it clear that friendship is contingent on me accepting handouts from you and I won’t do that.”

Not even friends? This was impossible.

“Maggie, please—”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but we already found a proxy for your seat tonight.”

He nodded. It was standard procedure. Twelve people sat on the board, with five rotating part-timers who filled in when a seated member couldn’t make a meeting.

“I called and let him know he wasn’t needed. I thought my week was pretty slammed, but this is important.”