Chapter 17
Nash
“Hey, you look great,” I say to Grandpa as we walk into his room, carrying his ginger ale in one hand and holding Magnolia’s hand in the other. Grandpa is sitting in an overstuffed chair, playing chess with Mary. It’s good to see him out of bed.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Mary exclaims. “Someone to relieve me.” She knocks over her king piece and stands up.
“Hey!” Alexander declares. “You can’t just quit! I was about to win!”
Mary shakes her head and says, “I just did quit. You’ve beaten me three times in a row. It’s not fun anymore.”
Alexander scowls. “It’s fun to me.”
I glance at Magnolia and see that she’s fighting a laugh. Her hand squeezes mine, and I smile down at her.
“Magnolia, are you a chess player?” Grandpa asks her.
“I’ve played a little bit, but I’m not very good. But I do know I’m a sore loser.”
“How interesting,” I say.
Mary grabs her bag and jacket. “I’m going to go grab dinner. Call me if you need me sooner.”
“Thanks, Mary. We’ll keep an eye on this guy,” I promise her. She smiles at Magnolia, then leaves the room.
“I’m glad you guys came tonight,” Grandpa says.
“You asked us to be here,” I remind him with a laugh.
“I talked with Max,” he tells me. “He called while you were gone.”
Max is my partner on the Pine Ridge Ranch. He’s been having to work double time while I’m here helping Grandpa. I’m going to owe him big time. I glance at Magnolia, ready to explain who Max is, but she’s busy reading the book titles on the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. “Well, what did he say?” I ask.
“He’s getting ready to do roundup. He was hoping you would be there to help him. I’d also like you to check in on that property that I bought a couple years ago.”
“What property?”
“Oh, it’s something in Pine Ridge. I don’t quite know what to do with the space. I was thinking restaurant or bed-and-breakfast or—I don’t know—a bar and grill.”
“Or maybe a couple of different businesses: like a distillery or maybe a bakery,” Magnolia offers. I guess she is listening.
“Something like that could work,” Grandpa says. “It would be nice if someone actually wanted to live there and run it…”
“I know some people,” she says.
“You know something about distilleries?” Grandpa asks her.
“My roommate and I are planning on going into the business together.”
“Perfect. It’s all settled, then. You and Nash can go to Pine Ridge this week and take care of business for me. Then you can tell me if you think it would work to run a distillery there.”
“Pine Ridge?” Magnolia asks.
“It’s a great little town. Just ask Nash.
There’s a ranch there. I’m sure Nash has already told you all about it, or you’ve seen it yourself by now.
Stay at the ranch house and you can look into things in town at my future distillery site.
Actually, your future distillery site,” he says with a grin.
“I mean, I’d be happy to take a look at it,” Magnolia says, “but I have to be honest with you. I’ve never run a business like that. This is just a dream of Piper’s and mine.”
“Piper?” Alexander asks.
“Yes, she’s one of my roommates. We want to open a distillery together. But someday I’d love to have a cozy little bakery. It’s more of my thing if I had the chance.”
“Pine Ridge would be the perfect location for both of those things. There are a lot of tourists, a lot of camping. The town itself is small, but it’s a really great community. So, if you wouldn’t mind living in a small town and having great neighbors, you could run a thriving business there.”
I don’t know what Grandpa thinks he’s doing, but this isn’t going to end well. He’s gonna get super attached and then get his heart broken when he finds out the truth.
I look at Magnolia and shake my head. She finally glances my way and sees my face.
“Oh, well, you know, I don’t think that’s the greatest idea. I’d better not. I think I need more experience before I can commit to something like that,” she says for an excuse.
“I don’t know about that,” Alexander says, but then he waves us off. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go use the bathroom.”
He climbs out of bed and shuffles toward the bathroom in his sweatpants. I’m glad he’s eating full meals again. He needs it. He’s like a shadow of his former self. I don’t like it. I won’t feel good about him until he looks like his vibrant usual self.
As soon as the bathroom door clicks closed, Magnolia turns to me. “I’m sorry. I got excited, and I overstepped just now. I should’ve remembered that we have to tell him the truth.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I feel like going to a small town together and staying there…There’s no reason for us to go play pretend if my grandpa’s not even there.”
“Of course,” she says. “That makes total sense. Just tell him that I’m going to get more experience before I take on that project.”
“That sounds great,” I tell her.
I can’t help but feel guilty over the disappointment I see in her face, because I know this is what she wants. And here I am, denying her that. It’s not like we can keep lying to my grandpa for the rest of our lives. Eventually, he’s gonna find out the truth.
The door opens, and Grandpa comes back out of the bathroom. “I’ve thought about it, and I need both of you to go to Pine Ridge. You can think about the distillery offer while you’re there,” he tells Magnolia.
I open my mouth to make excuses, but he points at me.
“Don’t argue with me. I was a nearly-dead man, who came back from the grave. Are you gonna tell me you don’t want to take your fiancée out to a picture-perfect town and show her your family ranch?”
With the sharp tone in his voice, if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to manipulate me.
“I don’t want you to be here by yourself,” I explain.
“I’ll be here when you get back. Besides, I’m not saying you have to leave right now. But if you like the space, it would make sense for you to use. Goodness knows I’m not doing anything with it. We can figure out the details later.”
I practically roll my eyes at that. He can be a bit dramatic sometimes.
Magnolia picks up the chess set and scoots it closer to Grandpa, resetting it. “If you promise not to gloat, I’ll promise not to throw the board when I lose,” she tells him.
He grins and fluffs his pillow before setting up the chess pieces again. “It’s a deal, Miss Magnolia,” he says.