him. “Everything all right?” Mac asked, a frown of worry across his forehead.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Why?”
“I came to help you in the barn, but you weren’t there. Then when I saw your truck was missing I just got a little concerned that something might have happened to you.”
“Sorry to worry you,” Flint replied. “I had some personal errands to run. I should have told somebody I was leaving.” Of course, there had been no way to tell anyone what was happening because he’d promised Maddy he wouldn’t. And Flint wouldn’t break that promise.
“As long as everything is okay, that’s all I care about.” Mac clapped him on the back. “Ready to knock out the rest of the barn?”
“Ready,” Flint replied.
Together the two of them went back inside where they stacked hay and talked about the hot weather, the work at the ranch and the health of the cattle and horses.
The topic then turned to Mac’s music. “I don’t understand why you never wanted more than just entertaining a bunch of cowboys after a long day at work,” Flint said. “Hell, you sound better than most of the singers I hear on the radio.”
“Oh, there was definitely a time I thought I’d sing in front of huge audiences and tour the country in a big RV. I’d be wealthy, and adoring female fans would throw their underwear on the stage.”
Flint laughed. “All of that sounds pretty good except the underwear part.” He sobered. “So what happened?”
“I grew up and I found my home here. The only audience I really want now is a special woman and eventually a couple of kids.”
“Speaking of women, have you ever heard any gossip about Maddy Taylor dating anyone?”
Mac looked at him in surprise. “Maddy from the grocery store?”
Flint nodded, wondering why the heck he had even asked.
“I’ve never heard any gossip of any kind about her. And, I’ve definitely never heard anything about who she might be dating. Why?” Mac looked at him in amused speculation.
“I was just curious. I haven’t seen her at the grocery store for a while and I wondered what might have happened to her.”
“Now that you mentioned it I haven’t seen her around lately, either,” Mac replied. “So what’s your interest?” His amusement was back sparkling in his eyes. “She’s a mighty pretty young woman.”
Flint forced a laugh. “I’ve got no interest in her like that. I was just in the grocery store earlier and she popped into my mind and I realized I hadn’t seen her there for a while.” He really wished he hadn’t brought it up at all.
Thankfully, the conversation turned to other topics. By four-thirty the barn was all cleaned up and the two men headed to their rooms to shower before dinner.
As Flint showered, he couldn’t help that his thoughts remained on the woman in his cabin. Something had happened to her, something bad. She’d always been a bright ray of sunshine in the grocery store, but the sunshine was nowhere inside the Maddy who had jumped off his sofa and wielded a knife. What had happened to her?
None of your business, cowboy, a little voice whispered over and over again in his head. She’d told him not to ask questions and he would abide by her wishes. Besides, her car had been towed and as soon as it was fixed she’d be out of his cabin and off to wherever she intended to go.
He ate dinner with the other men and then left to head back to the cabin. He knew his time on the Holiday Ranch was drawing to the end. His aching body was like a ticking time bomb and he wanted the cabin to be completely finished when the bomb eventually went off.
He was eager to get started on the porch. The concrete had already been poured and the posts were set. All the wood he needed had been delivered a week ago. So now all he had to do was lay the floor and build a roof.
There were deer and all kinds of other wildlife in these woods and he could easily envision himself in the future sitting on the porch in the early mornings when the deer came out to wander and birds sang their musical songs.
Even though he had only spent a couple of nights there, when he pulled up in front of the cabin there was a sense of homecoming for him.
To his surprise Maddy opened the front door, apparently having heard his truck pull up. “Hey,” she said as he got out of the truck.
She looked considerably better than she had earlier in the day. Her eyes were as clear as the blue Oklahoma sky and the smile she offered him appeared slightly tentative, but genuine.
“I’m just going to work out here for a while,” he said as he pulled a toolbox out of the pickup bed and set it on the ground.
“No problem,” she replied. “I noticed you have one of those fancy pod coffeemakers inside and lots of pods, but I don’t drink coffee. Would you like me to make you a cup and bring it out here to you?”
Once again he looked at her in surprise. He wasn’t accustomed to any woman doing anything for him. “Sure, that sounds great.”
“How do you drink it?”
“Just black is fine.”
She went back inside and he grabbed several planks of the pine deck wood from the pile on the side of the house and moved it closer to where it would be used.
He tried not to think about how odd it was that Maddy Taylor was inside his cabin and making him a cup of coffee. Everything felt so surreal since the moment he’d found her hiding in the hay in the barn.
She came out carrying the cup of coffee. “Thanks,” he said as he took the cup from her. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes, thank you. I made myself some scrambled eggs and toast a little bit earlier,” she replied. She looked at the wood. “So you’re going to make a front porch?”
“A covered porch.” Flint took a sip of the brew. “Eventually, I plan to sit on the porch and see the deer that frequent this area while I drink my morning coffee.”
“Oh, that sounds like that would be wonderful. Do you mind if I sit out here and watch you work for a little while? It’s so pleasant out here with the tree shade.”
“Uh...sure. I’ve got a lawn chair you can use.” He went to the side of the house where a fold-up lawn chair leaned against the cabin. He grabbed it, carried it around and opened it so she could sit just out of the way of his work.
He wasn’t sure why she wanted to sit out here. He’d never had an audience when he worked before and he found the whole thing rather awkward.
Since everything was ready for him to lay the deck, he began by placing the long pine planks down. By this time of night his back and hip joints were usually screaming in pain and tonight was no different.
He swallowed the groans that threatened to escape from him each time he bent over. He was acutely aware of her and there was no way in hell he’d want her or anyone else to see or hear his pain.
“It’s
