Chapter 15 Bode
The auction is busier than I expected it to be. Ranches from all over the state are here, both big and small. I recognize a few lead hands from neighboring ranches and I’m grateful that so far no one from Twelve Acres is here. Not that they’d need to be with our herd now grazing on their land.
Maggie glances up at me as we enter the arena, her eyes big and bright under the corral lights and my fingers itch to push the blonde wave back behind her ear just to give me a better view of them.
But instead, my eyes drift away from her, and my throat bobs with sudden dryness.
“C’mon,” I grumble and lead her towards the bleachers.
I let her go first and point to a section of bleachers that Crew and I usually hide up in during shit like this.
Truthfully, I hate going to the auctions.
It’s loud, chaotic and overwhelming. I’d rather be outdoors watching the sun rise or set over the ranch.
Crew knew that this would get my mind off everything but with Maggie and the responsibility of possibly finding a new herd today both weighing on me, it feels like the opposite is happening.
I know she tried to pull more information out of me…
about me, in the truck and as uncomfortable as the subject of my family is, a tiny part of me didn’t mind her asking because another fucked up part of me felt like it was because she cared.
It didn’t feel like her rambling about any and everything under the sun, it felt welcoming and that’s what scares me the most about her.
I flip the paddle over in my hand and ignore the shuffling of her coat as she slips it off and folds it over her lap. “They’ll start coming out from over there.” I point to the funnel gate off to the side.
She leans forward and peeks over my hand in the direction. “How many cows are we supposed to get?” she asks.
“Well,” I breathe and lean back, unable to help my gaze drifting down her profile, “if there’s good stock then a couple, but if not then we’ll hold off.”
“What do you consider good stock?” Maggie glances back at me as her fingers start to twist in her lap again.
“Healthy, good for breeding, not too old in age.” I rattle off the reasons Crew reminds me of every time we come here. “Younger cattle are better, but calves are high maintenance.”
Her eyes narrow as she huffs, “Wanda is not high maintenance.”
I clear my throat to hide the smile trying to form on my face. “I never said Wanda.”
“It was implied.” She rolls her eyes as the auctioneer steps out into the paddock. “Oh, it’s starting!”
She sits up in her seat as they start announcing the first set of cattle. They let the first set of heifers out into the corral, and instantly, she looks back at me with expectation. “What about these?”
I laugh and shake my head. “You’re impatient.”
“I think you’re looking for excited,” she says, scrunching her nose at me. “Dot could get some new babies today.”
“They aren’t babies, Maggie. They’re profit, they’re food for the hands, mortgage for Dot…” The crowd around us gets louder as the bidding wars start, and I swallow tightly, shifting as I try to talk to her.
Maggie’s brows furrow as she looks from me to the corral and back again. “They’re animals, Bode. Whether they’re income or not, they still deserve good lives.”
“You think the ranch is a good place for them?” I ask.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” she counters as the bidding dies down for the next round, a bull that’s been on the auction block for months now.
Maggie watches as they clear the ring, and the bull is let loose in the paddock. I see the grin form on her face as she turns back to me. “What about him?”
My brow raises. “You want to get a bull?”
“Why not? Bulls mean more babies for the ranch, which also means more cattle.” She shrugs, as if it's the obvious answer to our problems, which, in fairness, she isn’t wrong.
“He's old,” I counter.
“They just said he bred stock last year.” She frowns.
Shit. I hadn’t been listening to the announcements in the midst of our conversation. Having the bull wouldn’t be the worst, letting him loose with the herd to prepare for the spring would be a cheaper way of replacing the cattle we lost to Twelve Acres.
I see her smile out of the corner of my eye like she knows she’s right. It makes me frown but as soon as the first amount is called, her eyes turn panicked, like we’ll miss our chance. I sit up getting the paddle ready to bid.
“Can I do it?” she asks, pointing to the paddle.
I hesitate to give it to her, but as the next few numbers are called, the bid isn’t going up by much, fifty bucks here and there, so we shouldn’t spend too much.
The smile on her face is infectious as it spreads over her features.
She looks at me and, between the breath that it takes to nod my go-ahead, the paddle is in the air, and she's giggling.
The auctioneer points to her and a few of the older gentlemen in the arena turn to take her in.
She’s beaming with pride and I can tell that things are about to get out of hand as one of the ratty-looking men across the way raises his paddle.
Maggie counters quickly, driving up the price with three rapid back-and-forths.
“Maggie-Mae,” I warn but she’s so focused on winning the steer she doesn’t hear a word of it.
The auctioneer adds another zero to the number and Maggie, without hesitation, raises the paddle again, this time narrowing those pretty green eyes at the man.
“Magnolia,” I warn again, this time lower as my hand grabs her knee to get her to look at me.
“What? He’s being rude,” she hisses, turning back to me.
I see the fire burning behind her eyes and this isn’t just about her getting to bid for the fun of it anymore.
Either I let her win the steer and spend way too much money, or we lose the steer and she’s sad for the rest of the day.
And the longer I stare into her eyes, the more I get the feeling she needs the win.
The auctioneer offers another number just as the man calls out a few insults, taunting Maggie into quitting.
Her shoulders stiffen, and the paddle is in the air again.
I can’t stop her and honestly, I don’t want to.
Their back and forth goes on for a few minutes until the old man’s paddle hesitates halfway through the air.
We’re more than halfway over the normal amount a steer goes for and Maggie isn’t giving up.
Her eyes are locked onto the man, ready with the paddle in case he decides to bid again.
I take the opportunity with her back turned to lean back slightly, just enough to lock eyes with the old geezer and raise a brow. A silent… suggestion, definitely not a threat, to give up.
“Going once?” the auctioneer calls out, holding at Maggie’s last bid.
The man’s eyes flicker between Maggie and then back to me before he finally lowers the paddle, sinking onto the bench with a sour look on his face.
Maggie leans forward as the auctioneer makes the final warning for the bid, and I take the moment to watch her, buzzing with excitement and anticipation until he yells sold.
As soon as the call is made for us as the bid winners, she jumps up with a giddy fist pump and turns to me with the brightest smile on her face.
“You did it, cowboy.” I grin back at her. Her eyes find mine as the nickname leaves my lips, one she usually saves for me as an insult, but it only makes her smirk.
“You done calling me a city plant now?” She asks as she plops back down next to me.
“Let’s not get too hasty. We’ll see how well you do gettin’ him in the trailer.
” I watch her as she lets out a breath and sits back against the bench.
The smile on her face falters for a moment and I can’t figure out exactly why.
She got what she wanted. I'll have to explain to Ford why we spent almost four grand on a steer, but it got Maggie to smile bigger than I’ve ever seen and to me, that makes it worth it.
“C’mon,” I say, nudging her knee with mine before standing.
“You did good today,” I offer and finally it gets her to look up at me again, breaking whatever place she went to.
“You think he’ll be difficult?” She asks, trying to turn the conversation towards the steer and away from the thing gnawing at her now.
“To get into the trailer?” I stand with a breath and roll my shoulders back. “Probably, but I’m sure you’ll give him a name and pet him enough he’ll move right in there.”
Her brows raise. “You think?”
“No, absolutely not.” I chuckle. “But it’s worth a try. Now let’s go.”
It takes us almost a full hour to get the steer in the trailer, Maggie does more complaining than she does helping but every time she whines it turns into a defeated giggle, and I get wrapped a little tighter around her pinky finger.
“Buck,” she declares, throwing her hands on her hips.
“What?” I clamp down the door latches to keep the stubborn bastard from kicking the door open on the highway.
“His name. It’s Buck.” Maggie looks at me like I’m insane for just not knowing what she meant. I smile at her, bright and genuine.
“That’s a ridiculous name,” I say.
“It was sort of a ridiculous purchase,” she giggles in return, her body stretches, and the whole thing becomes a long, adorable yawn.
“Let’s get you and Buck home.”
Maggie climbs into the truck without further argument. It surprises me slightly until I hear another soft, squeaky yawn leave her as the door shuts. I climb in next to her and start the drive back to the ranch.
We barely make it to the highway when I look over and see Maggie curled up against the door, her lips parted and eyes closed.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so peaceful.
For once, she’s not grinning ear to ear or rambling on about random things to hide behind whatever is going on at home with her Mama.
Logan told me to go easy on her but if I started now, she’d resent me for it.
And since she hasn’t used her Mama as an excuse to get out of doing things she doesn’t want to at the ranch, I don’t push her on what’s going on.
Still, it doesn’t stop me from carefully shucking out of my jacket while keeping the truck straight and carefully draping it over her.
I’m half expecting her to wake up, but she doesn’t.
Instead, she shifts and burrows herself into my old work jacket like it’s her favorite blanket.
She settles against the door, tucking the jacket under her chin, and my stomach knots with the overwhelming need to protect her from anything that could hurt her.
I sink into my own seat and stare at the highway ahead, knowing the more I fall for Maggie, the harder Ford’s going to hit me.
My eyes flick back to her after losing the staring contest I had with the darkening road, and I know with the sun setting on her softness, any punch Ford Lawson throws at me will be worth any day I get to spend on the other end of her smile.