“Either you come home so we can get this wedding over with, or I’m coming out there. Don’t worry … I’m sure I can convince the guy to give you a divorce once we’re face-to-face.”
“Bradley, no. I’m not kidding. This is non-negotiable. We’re through. I’m sorry to have to say it over the phone, because I know how much that sucks, but I’m serious. We are not getting married and you cannot come out here.”
“You’re not yourself, Andie. You’ve been under a lot of stress, and that’s my fault. I take full responsibility, putting all the planning in your lap and bullshitting around with … stuff. But I’m not going to let my investment in you and in us go down the drain. I’m booking a ticket. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“NO!”
My shouting was in vain. He was already off the line.
“Shit fuck shit fuck,” I moaned, desperately pushing buttons on my phone. “Come on, Ruby, pick up, pick up, pick up…”
“Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail for Ruby, assistant to attorney Andrea Marks…”
I hung up the phone, dialing Candice next.
“Hi, this is Candice, you know what to do! —BEEP—.”
I threw the phone down on the bed. “Dammit!”
“Anything I can help with?” Maeve was standing in the doorway, and I had no idea how long she’d been there.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
QUICKLY BRUSHING THE TEARS OFF my cheeks, I looked up at Maeve standing in the doorway of Ian’s room. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there.” I cleared my throat to get the frog out of it.
“I just got in from collecting eggs. I have to head into town to get some things for the picnic. Would you like to join me?” Her expression told me nothing about whether she’d heard any of my conversation.
I looked around the room and at my phone, Bradley’s threat weighing heavily on my mind. What if he really comes out here? How would he find me? I’m out in the middle of nowhere.
Underestimating his determination would be a mistake, I knew that. I had to be on my way back to the East Coast before he got here. It would be the only way to avoid a huge, ugly scene.
“I think I’d better stick around here,” I said. “I need to talk to Mack.”
“Well, Mack’s in town, so if you want to talk to him, best come with me.” She left the room before I had time to argue. The conversation Mack and I needed to have wasn’t one to engage in with his mother standing nearby, but the idea of waiting around the ranch for him to show up who-knows-when was even less appealing. If I found him in town, maybe I could make him take me somewhere private where we could finally end this thing as painlessly as possible.
I grabbed my satchel, slipped on the moccasins Maeve had loaned me last night, and followed the sound of her footsteps going down the stairs.
“I’m just going to throw some other clothes on,” I said.
“I’ll be outside,” she responded from the porch.
I grabbed my overnight bag from the floor and pulled out a t-shirt and shorts, slipping them on in the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and did what I could with my hair before joining Maeve outside.
“You have a car?” I asked as I walked to the driveway, making my way over to a pickup truck that Maeve was already getting into.
“We have a couple cars here, but I guess you could call this one mine. It’s the one I drive most often.”
I stopped at the passenger door, my fingers resting on the handle. “I probably could have asked you for a ride last night instead of Boog, huh?” It was the closest I could come to scolding her for not offering without being a complete jerk.
“You could have asked, but I would have said no, unfortunately.” She slammed her door shut and reached for her seatbelt. “I can’t drive from dusk on. I have night vision problems.” She smiled ruefully at me as I climbed in next to her.
“Oh. Well that’s … inconvenient.” I put my seatbelt on and scanned the dashboard. There was dust all over it. I clasped my hands in my lap to keep from wiping it off. Instead, I busied myself with getting the small brush out of my satchel and working the knots out of my hair.
“No, not really.” She started the engine and it roared to life. “When I go out at night, I’m always with Angus or one of the boys, anyway. I prefer it when they drive. Then I can just ride and look at the scenery.” She backed out into the yard and turned onto the dirt road leading to the property’s entrance gate.
I lifted an eyebrow but kept my mouth shut about the so-called scenery, refusing to let my bad day ruin hers too. As far as I could tell, the entire landscape consisted of scrub brush and dirt. There wasn’t much to miss, except maybe the mountains off in the distance.
“Hey!” came a voice from the side of the house, just as we were reaching the gate.
Maeve stopped the truck and rolled down my window. Boog was just coming around to the front where all the trucks were parked.
“Where you headed?” he asked.
“Into town. Grocery store. Need anything?”
“You could grab me some chew and I wouldn’t complain.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Maeve promised.