“Well, that’s the way some people used to do business back then. Over a game of cards.”
“Exactly. And he said he never felt right about it. That he had to make it right. He said he went to the man he won the land from a couple of years later and tried to pay him for it.”
Gideon blinked. “He did?”
“Yeah. Said he got so he couldn’t sleep at night, and every time he tried to pray, he felt like the Lord was impressing it on him to do the right thing.”
“So he did.”
“He did. Although, he didn’t say it was easy. It was a lot of money, and it was more than he had in the bank.”
“But he did it anyway,” Gideon murmured with a strange look on his face. A look that disappeared so fast she almost wondered if she’d dreamed it. “What happened as a result?”
“Well, he said the man had come to know the Lord by that point as well and told him he’d been foolish and deserved what he’d gotten. But he’d take half the money if my grandfather felt so inclined. Gramps wound up giving it to him over a period of five years so he didn’t go broke.”
“No way.”
“I’m not kidding. Gramps said after the deal was worked out and shook on, that night was the best night’s sleep he’d had since the game.”
“Because he did the right thing.”
“Because he obeyed what the Lord was telling him to do. Which was the right thing, so yes.”
Gideon nodded, but he had a faraway look in his eye.
“Gideon?”
He blinked. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
He shot her a small smile. “About what doing the right thing looks like sometimes.”
“What do you mean?”
He rubbed his hands together and shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not important.”
“Okay, well, what about this, then? You’re in construction, right?”
“I ... uh ... yes. Why?”
“Could you take care of building everything that needs to be built at the ranch?”
He gaped at her a moment and then snapped his lips shut. “Me?”
“Yes. You. I’d sign a contract and so on.”
“I ... I mean ... why me?”
“Why not you? I need a builder and you’re a builder. There’s no one I would trust more.”
His eyes darkened and he turned away from her. “Excuse me a minute. I’ll be right back.” He slid out of his chair and headed for the restroom.
Maya watched him go, then snapped her swinging jaw shut. What in the world had just happened?
Gideon rinsed his face, shut off the sink, and took advantage of being the only person in the bathroom to rest his forehead against the mirror. Once again, he was an idiot. Most of the time he was fine and could leave his shameful past where it belonged, but with Maya...
She stirred everything up.
