“Much. Thank you.”
Maggie took a step closer and looked up at Jordan.
Jordan felt as though all the air had been forced from her lungs. She stared at the beautiful face before her. I could easily drown in her eyes. “I need to kiss you,” she whispered, lowering her mouth to Maggie’s.
As Maggie’s lips parted, Jordan’s tongue explored the moist cavern within. A wave of liquid desire coursed through Jordan as the kiss deepened. It was a full minute later that Jordan finally broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against Maggie’s so they could both catch their breath.
“Oh, my God!” Maggie whispered hoarsely.
Jordan took a step back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“You didn’t do that. We did,” Maggie said, “and I’m the one who should apologize.”
“No, I take full responsibility. You have a partner, and I should know better than to interfere with your relationship. Jan doesn’t deserve that,” Jordan insisted.
Maggie placed her index finger on Jordan’s lips. “You’re right. She doesn’t, but I’m sure you can see that things aren’t perfect with her. In fact, things have been a little shaky for some time. Maybe you were right earlier... she is assuming.” Maggie wrapped her arms around her middle and walked a few feet away. “I don’t know, Jordan. I need time to think about Jan. I need to process what I’m feeling for you. I’m sorry if I’m sending confusing signals. Please, forgive me.”
Jordan inhaled deeply and nodded, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Maggie smiled and stood on tiptoe to place a gentle, chaste kiss on Jordan’s lips. “You need to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night,” she said.
Jordan’s heart flipped in her chest as she watched Maggie walk across the barnyard and into the house.
Chapter 30
Early the next morning, Jordan directed pallets of hay bales into the loft as John lifted them with the hoist and pulley. She had a perfect view of Maggie sauntering into the barn wearing Jordan’s jacket.
Maggie greeted John brightly. “Good morning.”
John tipped his hat with one hand while maintaining a firm grip on the pulley rope with the other. “’Morning, Maggie.”
“Nice jacket,” Jordan called down from the loft.
Maggie looked up. Her face lit up happily as she grabbed the sides of the jacket, spreading them out while turning around in a circle as though modeling a coat. “Thank you. Do you like it?”
“It’s great. You have good taste,” Jordan responded.
Maggie smiled. “Are you almost finished? I was hoping you’d be free to ride with me to the north end of the property. I’m meeting my carpenter up there to go over plans for a new barn.”
Jordan looked down at John. “How many more do we have, John?”
“Looks like two more. Why don’t you go ahead with Maggie, and I’ll finish up here.”
“No, a promise is a promise. We’re going to finish this before I leave,” Jordan said. She looked again at Maggie. “Give me about twenty minutes, and I’ll be with you. Okay?”
“Sounds good. I’ll go straighten up the tack room while I wait.” Jordan stepped into the hook of the winch and rode it down to barn level to help John secure the next pallet.
John watched Maggie nearly skip away before he looked at Jordan with raised eyebrows.
“What’s that look for?” Jordan asked.
“I’m surprised she didn’t blow a cork,” John replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Maggie sometimes isn’t very patient when she wants something.”
“Really?” she asked. “Has she ever lost patience with you?”
“Nope, not me, but Jan’s been on the receiving end a few times. Let me tell you—what they say about redheads and tempers is true in her case.”
“Hmm... interesting.” Jordan wondered to herself what Jan had done to provoke Maggie’s ire. “I know what you mean. She seems to lose her temper quite easily. I can’t imagine it would have taken much for her to blow up at Jan.”
John eyed her conspiratorially over the pallet of feed. “To tell you the truth, if it was me, I’d have been mad too.”
Jordan grabbed the hook and stepped onto the edge of the pallet. “Take her up, John.”
John winched Jordan and the load of feed to the level of the loft. Jordan stepped onto the platform and pulled the pallet over far enough to settle lightly on the deck as John slowly released the tension on the rope.
“Okay. That’s enough.” Jordan unhooked the straps from the pallet and once more slipped her foot into the hook. When John had lowered her to the floor, she handed the straps back to him. Curiosity got the best of her as she waited for him to thread the straps through the final pallet. “What did she do to make Maggie so angry?”
“Maggie was away for a couple of days about a month ago, showing some of the mustangs at a horse show in the next town. One of Maggie’s favorite mares took sick while she was gone. Jan was supposed to be keeping an eye on the place, but instead of taking care of chores, she pretty much lorded it over the farm like she owned it. When Maggie came home and saw the shape her mare was in, all hell broke loose.”
Jordan tried to imagine how she would feel if Kale had neglected her horses when she was in the hospital. “Wow. Maggie must have really been upset.”
“I was in the barn here, cleaning stalls when she returned. I could hear her yelling at Jan from here, not that I blame her none. Jan really should’ve been taking care of things while she was gone instead of playing king of the castle.”
Jordan pulled the straps through the bottom of the pallet and looped them over the hook. “That must have put a strain on their relationship.”
“Climb on. She’s going up.” John pulled the slack out of the winch rope.
Jordan stood on top of the pallet while John winched it into the loft. Once the pallet was safely settled in the loft, she unthreaded the straps from the pallet and hung them back on the hook. “Winch it up, John.”
By the time John had taken care of the winch, Jordan had descended the stairs of the loft and met him at the bottom.
“Why does Maggie keep her around?” she asked John.
John looked at her. “I reckon she loves her,” he replied.
Jordan’s brow furrowed into a deep frown.
John shook his head “I thought as much,” he said, almost sadly.
“What?” Jordan prompted.
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you,” he stated rather than asked. “I’ve seen how you light up when she walks into the barn.”
Jordan looked everywhere but at John. “Ah... I don’t even know her yet.”
“Doesn’t matter how long you’ve known her,” John replied. A few moments of silence fell between them before John spoke again. “You know Jan won’t be happy about this.”
Jordan’s attention was suddenly drawn away from her conversation with John. She turned to see Maggie standing nearby with her arms crossed impatiently in front of her. She wondered how long Maggie had been standing there.
“How long are you going to keep me waiting?” she asked.
Jordan grinned. “Patience woman,” she said teasingly. “Some of us have work to do around here.”
Maggie swatted Jordan’s behind with the leather gloves she was holding. “Mind who you’re talking to, Missy. You’re liable to get yourself fired again.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jordan replied dryly. “Whatever.”
Jordan looked at John and winked. “John, did you say you needed some help with the feed bags next?”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Maggie locked her arm with Jordan’s. “You’re coming with me to the north pasture, remember?”
Jordan slapped her palm on her thigh. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. You know, Maggie, I think I’ll be needing that raise now, considering how valuable I am around here.”
“I’ll give you a raise you little shit—right at t
he end of my foot if you don’t shape up.” Maggie laughed.
Jordan looked at John and shook her head. “Women,” she said, which earned her a quick kick in the pants from Maggie.
* * *
Jordan rode beside Maggie on the way out to the north pasture. “I’ve always though this is a beautiful farm,” Jordan said.
Maggie looked at Jordan and frowned. “Have you seen the farm before?”
“Huh?” Jordan asked. “What do you mean?”
“You just said you’ve always thought the farm was beautiful. That sounds like you’ve seen it before.”
Shit!
“I meant I always thought Vermont was a beautiful state. It goes without saying the farmland is the best part of it.” Lame, Lewis. Real lame.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Maggie replied.
Jordan released an almost audible sigh of relief. They rode in silence for the next minute or two before Maggie posed another question.
“Have you lived in Vermont long?”
“Yes I have, all my life in fact. I’ve traveled a lot, but my heart is right here. This is where I want to spend the rest of my life.” Jordan fell silent as she realized the double meaning of her words.
“What did you do before you came to me looking for work?”
Think fast, Jordan.
“I was affiliated with the University of Vermont. I worked in the lab there.”
Maggie looked at the field ahead of her as she spoke. “Doing what?”
How am I going to get out of this one?
“I did some work with injured animals.” Not a total lie, at least.
“It sounds interesting. You’ll have to tell me about it some time. But right now, I’m going to kick your butt in a race to that outbuilding over there.”
Maggie dug her heels into the side of her horse and galloped across the field.
“Hey, no fair,” Jordan called. She kicked her own horse into gear. Jordan pushed her horse as fast as she dared and slowly closed the distance between them, but was unable to catch up before Maggie reined her horse to a stop at the hitching post in front of the barn. She was out of breath by the time she, too, reached the barn.
Maggie grinned broadly. “Not bad for a femme, huh?”
Jordan pulled her horse alongside Maggie’s and leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart. “A sneaky femme, maybe. That was no fair!”
“I never claimed to be fair,” Maggie replied. She climbed out of the saddle and tied her horse to the hitch.
Maggie glanced at Jordan. “Are you coming?”
Jordan shook herself out of her reverie. She dismounted and tied her horse next to Maggie’s.
Maggie waited for Jordan to join her before entering the barn. “We’ve set up an office of sorts in this barn for the contractors. They are also storing the raw materials in here.” Jordan allowed her eyes to adjust to the darker interior then looked around at the rough lumber that was organized by board width and length. There were piles of boards stacked neatly in each of the horse stalls as well as in the loft.
“I take it you don’t use this barn for livestock?” she asked.
“Not right now. It’s kind of small for what I’m planning,” Maggie replied.
“What exactly are you planning?”
“A breeding center for Mustangs. The new barn will be large enough to board several studs and mares, and will include a special birthing wing.”
“Where will it be erected?”
“Right next to this one. I’ll reuse this space as a supply shed. It’s not really big enough for anything else,” Maggie said.
“I see,” Jordan remarked as she walked around. When she reached the opposite side of the room, she turned and faced Maggie. “I have a question for you. The Vermont state horse is the Morgan. Why the passion for mustangs?”
Maggie’s smile brought a twinkle to her green eyes. “I like their spirit. They remind me of me, actually—fiery disposition and hard to tame.”
Jordan cocked an eyebrow and walked toward Maggie. “Hard to tame, huh? I’ve broken a few spirited fillies in my time.”
Maggie took two steps forward and stopped directly in front of Jordan. She looked up into Jordan’s face. “You have, have you?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Maggie, are you in there?” came a decidedly male voice from outside the barn.
“Shit. It’s Dave,” Maggie said.
“Dave?”
“The contractor. I said I was meeting him here, remember? Why else did you think I asked you to come out here with me?” Maggie looked toward the barn door. “I’m in here, Dave.”
Jordan shifted under Maggie’s scrutiny. “Well...”
Just then, the door to the barn swung open and admitted a large, lumberjack-looking, barrel-chested man. “There you are,” he said. “Sorry I’m late.”
“I’m not,” Jordan said under her breath, just loud enough for Maggie to hear.
Maggie gently kicked Jordan’s shin.
“Ow.” Jordan’s complaint drew Dave’s attention.
Maggie immediately stepped in. “Dave, this is Jordan Lewis. She started working for me a few days ago. She’s the one who checked out the rafter that broke in the main barn.”
Jordan extended her hand to meet Dave’s. “Nice to meet you,” she said as her hand disappeared into the much larger one presented to her.
“Likewise,” Dave said as he released Jordan’s hand. He then turned to Maggie. “I have the new plans if you’d like to go over them.”
“Yes, please,” Maggie replied as Dave unfolded the blueprints on a nearby desk.
For the next hour, the three of them poured over the plans, and made minor changes to the location of a few walls and windows. Jordan made her recommendations based on how that actual barn looked in her day. It was nearly noon by the time they completed their review.
“Okay, I’d say that just about wraps it up,” Dave said.
“Good. When do we break ground?” Maggie asked.
“I can have a crew here on Monday. Is that soon enough?”
Maggie clapped her hands. “Wonderful.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s already noon. Where does the time go? You’re welcome to come back to the house for lunch if you’d like, Dave.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I have another appointment at one.” Dave extended his hand to Jordan once again. “Jordan, it was nice meeting you. Oh, and by the way, I agree with your assessment on the rafter. That board was cut mechanically. Natural weak points in wood don’t break that cleanly. I’m not sure if the cut was made before or after the rafter was up, but it was definitely created manually.”
Jordan nodded. “That’s exactly what I thought. Thanks for verifying it.”
“No problem. I’ve got to run. I’ll be here with the crew first thing Monday morning.”
“Thank you, Dave,” Maggie said. “Have a great weekend.”
Jordan and Maggie watched Dave leave. As soon as the barn door closed behind him, Jordan looked at Maggie pensively. “Why did you ask me out here?”
“Maggie? Maggie, where are you?”
Maggie threw her hands into the air at the sound of Jan’s voice. “Is this freaking Grand Central Station?” she said angrily. “In here, Jan,” she called.
Jan pulled the barn door open and stepped inside. When she saw Jordan, she crossed her arms in front of her and addressed Maggie. “Humph. When I saw two horses tethered outside, I kind of figured she was with you.”
“Jordan and I just went over the blueprints for the new barn with Dave. She made several good suggestions. What brings you here?”
“I was in the house pouring a glass of lemonade when the phone rang. I let the answering machine pick it up and couldn’t help but overhear the message being left. Your father’s lawyer called. He left a message for you to call him back. It has something to do with the deed to the farm.”
Maggie frowned. “Hmm. I wonder what that’s all about.”
&nb
sp; “I don’t know, but I thought you might want to call him back right way. Maybe Dad needs some information from us or something.”
“Maybe,” Maggie said.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the trio as Maggie waited for Jan to leave. When it became obvious that no one was moving, she addressed Jan directly. “Is there anything else you need, Jan?”
Jan shifted from foot to foot. “I was wondering if you’re coming home for lunch.”
“I have a few more items to go over with Jordan. We’ll be along soon. Why don’t you get a head start?” Maggie suggested.
Jan approached the table with the blueprints spread out on it. “Actually, I’d like to see the changes you’ve made in the layout. After all, the design needs my input as well.”
Jordan shifted nervously at the uncomfortable tension in the room. “I’m going to head back to the house,” she said. “John could use some help with the feed delivery.”
Maggie tried to stop Jordan from leaving. “Why don’t we ride back together and get some lunch?”
“No, I think I’m going to skip lunch today. I’ll see you back at the house.”
Maggie watched Jordan leave while Jan remained bent over the blueprints with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
* * *
“Mr. Pritchard, I don’t see why my father needs to name a second beneficiary on the deed. Yes, I know none of us will live forever, but I still don’t see why he... look, just send me the paperwork, okay? I want to see exactly how it’s worded. All right. Thank you.”
Maggie hung up the phone. A deep frown creased her forehead.
“What did he want?” Jan asked anxiously.
“He said Daddy added a second beneficiary to the deed. Apparently, someone put it into his head that he needed backup in the event I died before he did. Where on earth did he get that harebrained idea?”
Jan shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me, but I guess it makes sense.”
“Well, it makes no sense to me. If he deeds the farm to me, it’s up to me to name my own beneficiary, not him. I’ll review the paperwork, and if I don’t like what it says, I’ll get Daddy to change it.” Maggie yawned loudly. “Damn, I’m beat. I’m going to bed.”
Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More Page 28
