CHAPTER 37 #2
“Quit acting like you’ve been dragged through a knothole backwards,” she demanded as she mounted her horse. “Man up and find yourself a respectable girl like Maddie.”
Maddie was already on her horse and quickly turning red at that outburst and there wasn’t anything I could do about any of it. Guess I never should have opened my big mouth.
“Yes ma’am. If I could clone her, I would.”
“Hmph,” Chelsea shot at him disapprovingly, and I really felt bad for the guy.
“Joe, take the boys and go mend that fence on the south pasture,” Zane said from his horse. I’m not sure his wife realized it, but it was pretty obvious that he was tossing the young cowboy a lifeline.
“Right on it, sir,” Joe answered, and in a flash he and his cohorts were gone.
The ranch, at six hundred acres, seemed like a lot to Maddie, but I knew better.
The back one hundred or so acres were heavily wooded with a beautiful river running through it.
It was the kind of real estate I could be really happy living on, but it’s also the kind of land that doesn’t support livestock.
That left five hundred acres for Zane’s fifteen hundred head of cattle.
That meant he’s buying hay, and a lot of it.
I did a rough estimate in my head and with all his expenses and overhead, I was pretty sure they needed Chelsea’s income as an accountant to keep the ranch going.
With the price of beef as high as it is at the stores, you’d think that ranchers like Zane and Chelsea would be doing fine, but they aren’t the ones making the money.
Big corporations are, and that’s unfortunate any way you look at it.
About an hour into the ride, Chelsea asked me where Ash learned to ride so well.
I was confused at first. I hadn’t seen Ash all week, and I had seen Rhonda only briefly at the fabric shop.
I figured they were probably like Maddie and me, trying to make the most of what little time they had together.
Come to find out, they were spending a lot of their free time at Zane’s ranch.
Chelsea indicated she already considered Ash as much of a friend as Maddie and Rhonda.
Go figure. She also informed us that Ash and Rhonda went to the coast for the day, so that’s why they weren’t there.
I wasn’t surprised. Ash and I love the ocean, and the Pacific Northwest coastline is known for being one of the best in the world.
About four hours into the ride, Chelsea told Zane that they needed to leave us two lovebirds alone for a while. I can’t say I was disappointed when they headed back to the barn.
It was the best day ever, and not because we did anything special, but because we had the whole day to just talk while our horses followed one trail after another.
We rode through the fields, into the forest, and along the riverbank, and the whole time we talked about everything and nothing.
I learned that she has dreams of starting her own clothing line someday.
I almost told her I could help her get that started, but I wasn’t sure how she’d react.
In the end, I decided not to take a chance on ruining a perfect day. Maybe I’ll bring it up later.
Back at the hotel, we made love like we’re never going to see each other again.
In a way it was kind of miserable because it felt like I couldn’t get close enough to her.
I think she felt the same because she held on to me like her life depended on it.
With a sick feeling in my gut, I held her in my arms until we fell asleep.
We’re at the Portland airport now, and it’s not like I didn’t know this time would come, I just didn’t know it would be this hard. She’s standing right here in front of me, and I miss her already.
“We can talk every day. I’ll have my satellite phone with me 24/7.”
Taking in a deep breath, she looks like she’s doing everything she can to keep from crying. I hope she doesn’t, because if she does, I might lose it myself.
“That’s good,” she says staring at the floor between us.
I put my finger to her chin and tilt her head up. I want to see her eyes. Tears are already welling up in them and it’s a punch to the gut.
She attempts to force a smile as she sniffs and tries to wipe her eyes dry with her sleeve. I hate being the one to make her feel like this.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I lie. We both know this is going to feel like an eternity.
I feel like I need to tell her something true, and only one thing comes to mind. “I don’t think I could handle it if you weren’t here when I get back.” I pause, then add, “Maddie, you’re everything to me. I can’t lose you.”
That releases a flood of tears down her cheeks as she throws her arms around me and buries her face in my chest. “Come back to me, okay?”
I pull her in. “I promise. As soon as this is over, I’ll be on your doorstep.”
She looks up, and as our eyes meet, I know there are no more words to be said. This is it. I lean down and give her a kiss that comes from the deepest part of my heart. Her hands come to the back of my head as she kisses me back with more passion than I deserve.
When it’s over, she takes a step back with, “Ninety-four days. I’ll be counting.”
I want to tell her how I feel about her, that it’s more than I’ve ever felt for anyone, but this isn’t the right time for that, not when my next move is turning around and walking away.
“Ninety-four days,” I say, doing my best to give her a reassuring smile like this isn’t killing me.
She gives me a knowing nod that says it all, that we both hate this. And with that, I exhale and force myself to turn, and leave. It’s going to be the longest ninety-four days of my life.