That brought Madeline’s head up. “What? Here!”
“Oh no, sweetie. I’d love to have you, I would, but, remember, I’ve got that busload of snowbirds coming up from New Mexico on Monday. Want me to call and see if the motel on the Aspen Highway can take you?”
Madeline suppressed a shudder. She’d driven by that hotel on her way out of town this morning when she’d been momentarily turned around and headed in the wrong direction. There were several big, muddy trucks parked outside the rooms, a sign displaying the SUPER LOW RATE OF $19.99 A NIGHT and the L in the word “motel” was half gone. “Umm, no thanks. I’ll figure something out.”
“Why don’t you give Jackson a call?” Dani suggested. “He might have an idea. He’s so smart.”
Smart was not the word Madeline thought of when it came to Jackson. She looked longingly down the hall to her room. She was getting used to her little cub room and was reluctant to leave it. “When do I have to be out?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. I can give you till four if that helps.”
Great. Twenty-four hours to dig herself out of the latest round of chaos. In the meantime, Madeline had a more pressing issue. She was not going back up to the ranch in these shoes, or anywhere for that matter. “Is there a store around where I could pick up a few things?” she asked.
“Walmart out on the Old Aspen Highway, of course. I get these shirts there,” Dani said proudly, gesturing to a blue Guayabera shirt. “Fifteen ninety-nine, you can’t beat that. But if you want something a little more suited for the mountains, you can go down to Tag’s Outfitter.”
Madeline’s phone was beeping at her. She rummaged around in her bag for it. “Tag’s Outfitter?” she repeated as she pulled her phone from the bag. Stephen.
“Just down the street, catawampus from the Stakeout.”
“Outfitter,” Madeline said again as she muted the ringing of her phone.
“Outfitter,” Dani reiterated carefully. “You can get your camping gear there, too.”
“Camping!”
“It’s an option. I mean, if you don’t want to stay out on the highway.”
Madeline almost choked. “I’m not that desperate.”
Dani chuckled. “Don’t be too sure,” she said. “You might be camping before you know it. The mountains have a certain pull to them. You’ll be feeling it in a couple of days.”
Madeline picked up her purse. “Actually, I think I’m more of a beach girl.”
“Well at least go check out the clothes there. Because you can’t keep going up to Homecoming Ranch like that.” Dani winked at Madeline. “How’s your head, anyway?” she asked as Madeline started for the door.
“Better,” Madeline said. “Thanks. The aspirin really worked.”
“Sure it did. Keep them with you. This altitude does all kinds of crazy things to a person.”
Apparently that was true, because Madeline had just broken every rule she had about following all of her rules.
She headed toward the Stakeout, scanning the street for whatever Dani might consider to be “catawampus.” She was fairly certain she had spotted it—a low-slung adobe building with miles and miles of brightly colored ceramic pots in front of it, as well as a crop of big iron chickens on springs. Every breeze made them dip toward the ground and up again. Above the chickens hung a large sun bursting with big orange rays and the words “Tag’s Outfitter.”
Madeline was so wary of the place and the type of clothes they might carry that she didn’t exactly register the ringing of her phone and answered without thinking.
“Hey! It’s Stephen.”
Madeline stopped walking. “Hi, Stephen.” She banged her fist against her thigh for being so incautious. She didn’t need any more detours in her day.
“So how do you like Colorado? Pretty state, isn’t it?” he asked.
“It is,” she said. “Beautiful. Lots of pines and… trees.”
“Whereabouts in Colorado are you?”
“A little town called Pine River.”
“I know that town. Near Silverton, right? I used to ski in Silverton. So listen, I talked to my friend in Denver. The news is good. Without any written agreements or liens that haven’t yet turned up, the property is yours, free and clear. Better yet, he said he has a buddy who is a broker who specializes in ranch lands. He said not only could he help you out with that, he’s probably got some buyers who’d be interested in talking. I’ve got his number. I can text it to you.”
“That would be great,” Madeline said. “Thank you.”
“So when are you going to be back?” he asked.
“Umm—I’m not sure yet. Indefinite right now.”
“Indefinite,” he repeated.
“There’s a lot more to be done than I realized.”
“So what are we talking, a week? A month?”
“A few days, anyway,” Madeline said.
“Okay,” Stephen said. “So listen, Madeline,” he said. “There’s something I’d like to say—”