Page 69 of One Summer Day (Prosperity Ranch 1)

The good news was that Knox was calling his mother again. The bad news was him bringing Ruby into the conversation. It only compounded Macie’s guilt for keeping Ruby away from the ranch. Macie closed her eyes against the twisting in her stomach. There would probably be others at the ranch if they were doing any sort of birthday celebration.

Macie did not want to be around a bunch of Prosper residents—the questions would kill her.

Ruby giggled at something on the TV. She really was being such a good girl. So patient with her emotional mother.

“Was that Ruby?” Knox asked.

“Yeah.”

“Can I talk to her?”

This was another first. “Of course.”

Macie unfolded herself from the chair and walked over to Ruby, who was perched on the edge of the bed. “Sweetie, your daddy wants to talk to you.”

“Oh!” Ruby snatched the phone. “Daddy?”

Macie couldn’t help but smile at Ruby’s enthralled expression as Knox’s voice rumbled through the phone, asking her questions.

“Okay, Daddy, I promise!” She handed the phone back to Macie.

What had Ruby promised?

“Are you still there?” Knox asked.

“It’s me,” Macie said.

“Ruby said she’d tell her grandma ‘happy birthday’ for me.”

Macie should be annoyed, even mad, because Knox was definitely manipulating the situation. But she shoved her first reaction to the back of her mind. “Okay, we’ll figure it out.” By that, Macie didn’t know if that meant going to Prosper or maybe calling Heidi.

“Thanks, sugar, I appreciate it more than you know,” Knox said.

“Don’t call me sugar.”

Knox chuckled. “Macie—”

“I mean it,” she said, moving away from Ruby. “You can sweet talk other women all you want, but I don’t want to hear it.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, then finally, “Fair enough. But thank you. Truly.”

Macie exhaled slowly. Civility. She could do this. “You’re welcome.”

Moments later, when she’d hung up with Knox, she still had no idea how the future would work between the two of them. Would it be littered with random phone calls to Ruby? Maybe a visit once in a great while?

She sat down at her laptop, and then her phone rang again.

Holt.

What were the chances? Every conversation with Holt over the past week had been him trying to talk her into coming back to Prosper, and her telling him that she wasn’t ready yet. Holt saying he understood, but if she changed her mind . . . Her telling him that she’d let him know.

“Hello?” she said into the phone.

“Hi, darlin’.”

This was one man she wouldn’t tell to lay off the endearments. Even if she wasn’t sure of the definition of their relationship right now, his endearment was like a cozy blanket. “Hi.”

“What have you been up to today?” His deep voice rumbled through the phone, sure and calm like usual.