Page 8

“Yes, ma’am. I’m holding down the fort. I’ll forward you the orders coming up to see if there’s anything you want me to move up, but the only thing of note is a phone call with MB Enterprises. They want to go exclusive, according to the email.”

“What? That’s incredible!”

It would mean a total shift in how Steel Born Ranching Supply ran. Because MB Enterprises was her biggest client by far. If they went exclusive, she could expand, hire more employees, and even bring in more equipment to start on new innovations. She was one step closer to rivaling Orin Mechanics, her number one competitor with national recognition.

“Sure is. The email’s in your box. Let me know how you’d like to respond.”

Excitement fluttered in Maggie’s stomach as she considered the possibilities. She needed to wrap this up and get home.

“Anyway, how’s it feel being back?”

The discrepancy between Maggie’s thriving business and her dilapidated childhood home was stark. “Oh, Jill. My father, he—he let it all go. It’s awful.” Her voice cracked.

“I’m sorry, Maggie. There has to be a reason why. Mr. N wouldn’t have let things go to hell unless he was forced to. Didn’t he have help?”

Me. I was right here the whole time. Why didn’t you ask me, Dad?

Because he wanted Maggie to have a different life. No matter what that cost him.

“I thought he had some ranch hands, but no one’s here. It’s like a ghost town.”

“Want me to fly up for the weekend?”

Maggie closed her eyes. The living room looked like it hadn’t been dusted in a millennium. Papers from the hospital were mixed in with receipts from ranching supply houses in piles that littered every available surface. The rest of the house wasn’t much different.

“Thanks, but I’ve got my work cut out for me here.”

“Are you sure? In a couple hours, I can be there with booze, ice cream, and Richard Gere.”

Maggie smiled and the tears threatened again. “I wish. They all sound good. Keep them handy, though, just in case. I’d love a dash of optimism, too. I’m all out here.”

“Aw, babe. Hang tough.”

“Thanks. I will. Can I call you later tonight?”

“Nope. You finish up, and I’ll check in later this week about the MB Enterprises contract.”

“You’re the best.”

Maggie hung up and finished her tea. The first stars were out, and she had half a mind to make a wish on them as she had as a kid. What would she ask for?

For this mess to be cleaned up.

To be back in San Antonio.

For more time with her father.

Well, that kind of thinking wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Maggie stood up and brushed the invasive dust off her slacks. How had her father lived like this?

Something Jill said nagged at her thoughts. Why hadn’t his ranch hands bothered to chip in and help keep things clean? And where were they?

Well, she was here now, and impossible or not, she’d make this place into what it used to be—hell, she’d make it better—so whoever she sold it to would appreciate it.

Damn if Bennett showing up hadn’t changed her mind about who that might be, and, well, everything else for that matter.

Because, of course, she wanted to offload the ranch, and sooner rather than later. But to Bennett? Their pasts weren’t exactly free of complication. She’d loved him. And he’d run off with a rodeo queen when all she’d asked was a little bit of time to consider what a future might look like if they tied themselves together forever. And if she was being honest, there wasn’t a cell in her body that believed he’d come back to Deer Creek. Why would he when his brother’s fight with their dad led to the Schultz Ranch foreclosing, and a certain barrel racer had offered Bennett more than Maggie ever could?

But he was here, and from what she could tell, alone.