How did she feel? Scared and a little crazy at the moment. What she needed was some space. Some time to think, to put everything back in place.
By the time they reached Pine River about an hour later, Madeline had worked herself up into a silent lather about it. She was droning on about chairs and cots—hell, she didn’t know what all she said. Luke barreled down the main drag, pulling up outside Tomlinson’s Feed.
“What are we doing?” Madeline asked, sitting up, staring at the specials shoe-polished onto the windows of the store.
“Dog food,” he said curtly, and hopped out of the Bronco. He didn’t look back to see if she was coming, just strode in.
And then he took his own sweet time.
Madeline got out to stretch her legs. She called Jackson with a question about cots. “Hey!” Jackson said. “Libby is here. We’re just going over a few things. You want to join us?”
Madeline looked at the feedstore. “Let me see. I’ll call you back,” she said, and asked him to give her a few minutes before she clicked off.
“Madeline, right?”
Madeline whirled around and came face to face with Julie Daugherty. She was more beautiful than what Madeline remembered, with silky blond hair, a perfect figure. She was wearing a short skirt and heels, making her an inch or two taller than Madeline. “Hi,” Madeline said.
Julie looked at the Bronco.
“He’s inside,” Madeline blurted.
“What?” Julie asked, startled, and looked at Madeline again.
“Luke. He’s inside,” she said, gesturing to the store. “Dog food.”
“Oh, I… I wondered,” Julie said.
Just then, the door of the store opened and Luke walked out, a bag of dog food on his shoulder. His step slowed a little when he saw Julie and Madeline standing there together.
“Hey!” Madeline said brightly the moment she saw him. She felt like she was shaking with nervous energy. “Look who’s here!”
“I see,” he said. “Hey, Julie.” He walked around to the back of his Bronco, swung open the back gate, and dumped the bag of dog food into the bed. When he shut the gate, he said, “What’s up?”
Madeline looked at Julie, who was blushing. “I was at the bank applying for a job, and I saw you guys pull up,” Julie said.
“A job?” Luke asked curiously.
Julie smiled and shrugged a little. “Desperate times and all that. I was going to grab some lunch. Do you guys want to join me?” she asked, but she wasn’t looking at Madeline. She was looking at Luke. “I thought I’d pop into the Grizzly.”
“Oh, not for me, thanks,” Madeline said quickly. “I have so much to do.”
“And I need to take her up to the ranch,” Luke added, just as quickly, his gaze on Madeline now. She could see the look of warning in his eyes. But it was her escape, and she was taking it.
“You know what, Luke?” Madeline said. “I was just talking to Jackson a minute ago and it turns out Libby came into town to get some stuff, and she’s in his office! I can get a ride with her.”
“You don’t need to do that—” Luke started, but Madeline was already backing away. “It’s no trouble! You two go ahead.” She darted to the passenger side of the Bronco and grabbed her bag. “This works out for everyone.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Luke said.
“Luke, thank you. For the ride, I mean, to Pine River. It was nice to see you again, Julie,” she said, already walking, already making her escape. “I’ll see you guys later?” She didn’t wait for anyone to answer, but put her head down and hurried off, her stomach in knots, the image of Luke with angry eyes and clenched jaw dancing in her mind’s eye.
Those images couldn’t stop her. They only made her anxiety worse. If anything, her escape had backfired—she felt more anxious and uncertain than ever.
TWENTY-THREE
Libby was all smiles when she and Madeline arrived back at the ranch. She pointed to the tent pads as they drove up to the house, the bulletin board on the fence. “It’s all coming together!”
“It is,” Madeline agreed. She would not have thought it possible, but here they were, actually putting the reunion together.
“How was Denver, anyway?” Libby asked.
The question startled Madeline at first, as if she were giving off a vibe of having slept with Luke. But Libby was looking at her without judgment. “It was good,” she said. “Productive.” It was amazing, confusing, and so many things were on her mind that Madeline hadn’t heard half of what Libby had said on the way up to the ranch. She wanted to tell Libby about the valuation, about the realtor. But she knew from experience that it was better to come to the table with a fully prepared offer. That seemed especially important with Libby, and Madeline thought it might be the only way to dissuade her from the idea that they all band together and do the reunion business.