Yep. Me. Would she be there while I was working? Why did I hope she was? “You guys mind covering for me with the ranch?”
“Already talked to Mama,” Tenor said. “Cruz and Lane are back for the month, so they can fill in. How long will it take?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I could set up card tables, and it’d be just as nice as before.” I didn’t know Madison well, or at all really, but she deserved better than getting left with that.
Tenor shook his head. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Wynter smirked. “Because you finally proclaimed your love for Ruby there. You have a soft spot for it.”
The lovesick look on Tenor’s face made me look away. I was the last single sibling. Tenor’s wedding was next month, then I’d be the only Bailey bachelor. Even Cruz and Lane, honorary Baileys since they were Wynter’s in-laws, would soon be leaving Bourbon Canyon for good.
“Good. Everything’s covered,” I said. “I wish I knew more about the timeline and budget. I don’t know how Mads is going to be about it.”
“She might be a dick if you keep calling her Mads.” Autumn tied her long red hair back and secured it with a band from around her wrist.
“It’s Mad Maddy she hates,” I pointed out.
“Yet you call her that too,” Tenor said.
She fit the name. Madison had a permanent scowl and was hard as a nail. When she broke bad news, she just fucking dropped it on a guy. Hit him right in the face withYour girlfriend is fucking my brother.
As much as I had resented Madison for opening my eyes and crushing my dreams, I respected her for it. She hadn’t reveled in it. “I don’t say it to be mean.” I said it to watch her blast out of that hard shell she’d formed around her.
“Everyone else does,” Autumn said quietly. “It’s not as bad as it was when she was in school, but she’s still Karl and Cheryl Townsend’s daughter. Scooter’s sister. She’ll never outrun her family in Bourbon Canyon.”
Regret tugged at my chest. Was that why I’d nearly had to toss the candy into the bar and run in order for her to take it? She just assumed the worst of me?
Why wouldn’t she?
Are you enjoying this, Mad Maddy? Did you look forward to it?The first time I had really talked to her, and that was what I had said. That and more. Yet I couldn’t quit digging under her creamy, smooth skin since then.
“I’ll know more tonight. I’m stopping there after work to get an outline of what she expects.” I spread my hands. “Sorry, guys. I had no idea this auction would take me out of commission.”
“Oh no,” Junie said with false sincerity. “You’ll have to do something else besides work here or at the ranch. What will you do?”
Tate snorted and the rest tried—and failed—to smother their chuckles.
“Haha, fuckers.” I liked my jobs. My work kept me out of trouble and stopped me from noticing how empty my house was. “Let’s get this meeting started.”
We made it through the whole meeting without delving back into the subject of Madison. I’d face her soon enough. When we were done, I all but ran out of Copper Summit, propelled by curiosity. How much backbreaking work did I have in front of me? How much fire would I get to see in her?
I strode to the parking lot and hopped into my truck. The trip to town took minutes and then I was parked in front of Flatlanders. I tried the front door, damn near excited to start backbreaking work. It was locked. Was she in there?
I knocked.
She couldn’t be avoiding me when she paid that much to boss me around. I peered through the window. Shock had me pressing closer. This wasn’t the same view from last week. She’d cleaned up all the debris. Sure, it’d been two weeks since Wilna had given her a flyer, but she could’ve left it all if she was hiring someone.
Why hadn’t she actually hired someone? She could’ve gotten a contractor for cheaper than she’d bought me for. Scooter couldn’t have caused that much damage. She couldn’t be getting back at me for being a dick, could she?
She was a Townsend. They held grudges.
No movement inside and no lights were on. I took my phone out of my pocket. Damn. I stuffed it back in. I didn’t have Madison’s number.
Her truck wasn’t parked out front. She must go through the back.
Jogging around the corner, I hoped the back door was unlocked. Her pickup was parked in a nook made by the two bordering buildings. I bypassed the dumpster and tried the heavy metal door. Locked. I knocked.
A minute passed. What the hell, Madison? I had other things to do.
