“Okay, that sounds good. Max and I are hungry.”
I go back downstairs, and it’s another fifteen minutes before she reappears at the top of the landing.
She’s wearing jeans and a blouse. She has her hair up in a bun, and her cheeks look flushed from the hot bath. She’s carrying her shoes in one hand as she grips the railing with the other. She starts taking slow steps down. My initial instinct is that I want to run up there and offer to carry her down the stairs, but I also don’t want to push my luck.
“That was heavenly. I may even come back and soak in it some more.”
“You should,” I tell her. “Put some Epsom salt in there and it will help your sore muscles.”
“Do I have to climb on a horse again tomorrow?” she asks. The look on her face is pitiful as she pauses halfway down the staircase.
Max walks into the living room at that exact moment, and he grins up at her. “Don’t worry. We only have a small ride tomorrow. Just about four or five hours. No big deal. You’ll do just fine.”
I punch his arm, and he cackles as Magnolia glares at him.
“Do you need help down those stairs?” Max asks hopefully, taking a step toward the staircase.
I fling an arm out in front of him to stop him, and I smack his chest loud enough that it echoes through the vaulted ceilings.
“I’ll help her.” And that solves that issue.
But when I reach Magnolia, she’s pointing her shoes at me.
“I am not an infant.”
“You’re right about that,” I tell her. “Infants move a lot faster than you are right now.”
She tries to hold a glare at me, but I can see the corners of her mouth quirk up.
“Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way?”
She shakes her head. “I think I’d better move my legs a little more. This is helping stretch them. Besides, it’s gonna look weird if we get into town and you have to carry me everywhere.”
“I don’t know. Pine Ridge has seen stranger things,” I tell her. “But it would be all the gossip.”
“Oh no. Is this one of those small towns where everybody knows everybody’s business?” she asks with wide eyes.
I try to think of a way to deny that without an outright lie, but I can’t come up with anything because everything is everybody’s business in Pine Ridge.
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
A big smile breaks across her face, not exactly the emotion I was expecting.
“I love the idea of a small town where everyone looks out for each other. I think it’s so cute.”
“Yeah, it’s real cute until everyone steps into your dating business,” Max replies wryly. “My friend Zane got left at the altar, and it was the talk of the town for about…oh, I don’t know…the last four years.”
“Well, make it five, because I want to hear the story too,” Magnolia says as she tries to hurry down the last few stairs.
“Oh, he was dating some girl he was head over heels for, and she got cold feet and left him the day of their wedding.”
“That can’t be it. Please tell me she didn’t just abandon him there. He had to have done something stupid.”
“The rumors are all over the place about why. But Zanehas never confirmed any of them. Whatever happened, he’s held it close to his chest. Got to say, I actually felt bad for the guy. He looked so happy standing at the front of the church.” Max shakes his head. “I’ve never brought it up to him.”
“Oh wow. She actually left himatthe altar,” Magnolia gasps.
Max shakes his head. “All I know is, it did a number on Zane. He’s only casually dated since.”
