“Oh, is that’s why you couldn’t come with me to Adelaide? You were putting up the satellite dish?” It was starting to make a bit more sense now. She’d thought Max wanted to commit to her and their baby, but the doubt had grown with him not coming with her to Adelaide whether she wanted to admit that or not.
“And something else.”
Zoe looked at him curious to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t think what it might be that he’d been working on.
“And here I thought you were just working hard out on the farm.”
“I am.” He grinned. “I sold a herd of cattle. I received the call today, and I got a great price considering it’s right before Christmas and the market has been low.”
“That is great news.” She knew they needed the money with the baby on the way, and now extra trips to Adelaide to see her obstetrician things were going to get expensive very quickly.
“The money is for you.”
“Thanks, but I don’t mind making do, your house is more than functional as it is. And I only need some paint for the baby’s room. Mom’s getting new curtains made, and your mom is buying new carpet.” Honestly, they needed to spend money on other things—renovating the house was a luxury they couldn’t afford right now.
“I don’t want you to make do.”
“How much is a herd of cattle worth?”
“It was only a small herd.” He moved restlessly in the ute seat as if getting irritated with the discussion they were having.
“Paint doesn’t cost that much,” Zoe said softly. “I’m very good with money, I can make it go further with some careful planning.”
“It will be over twenty grand.”
Shit. Her eyes widened as her breath caught in her throat. That was a lot of money.
“For what?” she managed to ask when she found her voice. They didn’t need a nursery that was going to cost that amount of money.
“To help make the house yours. You know, to do what you women do.”
“Which is…?” She had to settle herself. He was a bachelor, older than her, and had some odd views about what women should do. Luckily, she was good at setting him straight.
“Decorate,” he said hesitantly.
He’s trying. Doing only what he knows, she reminded herself.
“That’s very generous of you.” Her mind whirled.What the hell was she going to do with that money?No one had given her that amount of money in her life. Not even her parents.
“You think it’s a good idea then? You don’t seem to be as happy with getting that amount of money as I thought you would be.”
“I’m blown away.”
“In a good way?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I don’t need that much money. We need to spend it on the farm, don’t we?”
“Yes. But you’ve given up so much to move here, for us, for the baby, for our family-to-be. I don’t want you to be lonely, or uncomfortable here.”
She wanted to say she wasn’t. But what he said was true. Being here alone was difficult, more so than she ever thought possible.
She knew one thing, though. “Money won’t fix those feelings I have.”
“It might help ease them, though,” he shot back.
She could tell he’d put a lot of thought into this. And here she was almost rejecting his gift. That was the last thing she wanted to be doing.
“Okay, so you know what? I think I can make a list of what could be replaced in the house, and we can discuss what can be changed now, and what can wait. I’d like to spend the money together.”
