Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (38 page)

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.”

“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.”

Jan looked at her watch. “It’s a little early for me to turn in. I think I’ll read for a while. I’ll be in soon.”

“Suit yourself,” Maggie replied.

Maggie paced back and forth across the bedroom trying to decide how to break the news to Jan. In her heart, she knew their relationship had been on a downhill spiral for some time, but she hadn’t been able to summon the courage to end it. She was still pacing when Jan finally came to bed.

“You’re still up? I expected to find you asleep,” Jan said as she entered the room. “What’s wrong?” Maggie wrapped her hands around her middle. “Jan, we need to talk.”

Jan’s face grew ashen. “I’ve been expecting this. You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?”

“This isn’t about Jordan. It’s about our relationship no longer working. It’s about you being presumptuous... it’s about you taking me for granted... it’s about you taking liberties you shouldn’t be taking.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I feel like you’re trying to control me. It seems that you’re making plans and decisions that clearly I should be making—or at the very least, we should be making together.”

“You’re talking in riddles. What decisions are you talking about?”

“Let me give you a few examples. You told Jordan we were getting married and planned to have a baby. You’re being oddly persistent about the deed to the farm. What are you up to? Something doesn’t feel right.”

Jan paced back and forth, clearly agitated. “This isn’t about us getting married, and this isn’t about the deed to the farm. This is about Jordan, and you know it! You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?”

Maggie sighed. “I don’t know what to say. Yes, I’m attracted to her. I can’t help it.”

“Goddamn it! I knew it.”

“I tried to resist what I was feeling, but I couldn’t. There’s something about her that draws me in. I feel like we’ve known each other forever.”

“Have you slept with her?”

“How can you even ask me that question? No, I haven’t slept with her.”

“What does this mean for me?” Jan asked. “I love this farm. I’ve put my heart and soul into training the horses for the past few years. In some ways, I feel like this place is my own. Please don’t ask me to leave all of this behind.”

Maggie rubbed her hands across her face in a gesture of frustration. “Jan, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I have nothing but good things to say about what you’ve done for the farm, but I don’t know if it’s fair to ask you to stay, especially considering...”

“Especially considering how you feel about Jordan?” Jan finished Maggie’s sentence.

“Like I said, this isn’t about Jordan. I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I’m not asking you to leave if you don’t want to. You’re right—you have worked hard to make this farm a success.”

Jan walked to the closet to retrieve a suitcase that she carried to the bed. “Okay. I’ll respect your wishes. Like I said, I don’t want to walk away from everything I’ve worked for over the past four years, so if it’s all right with you, I’ll move into the bunkhouse with Jordan for now.”

Maggie’s eyes grew wide. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Jan paused on one of her several trips back and forth between the chest of drawers and suitcase. “If this truly isn’t about Jordan, then that shouldn’t be a problem. And besides, if I want to stay, I don’t see that I have any other choice.”

“Okay,” Maggie said softly before leaving the room.

* * *

Jordan felt a chill in the air as she made her way across the barnyard. She pushed the bunkhouse door open and stepped into the warmth and immediately turned her back to the room to take her jacket off and hang it on a hook beside the door. When she turned around, she met Jan face to face. Her eyes widened with surprise.

“Hey, roomie,” Jan said.

Jordan frowned. “Roomie?”

“That’s right. Thanks to you, Maggie has no use for me in her bed anymore.”

Jordan walked to the refrigerator and took out a beer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, taking a swig from the bottle.

Jan rose to her feet. “No matter. Just know I have my eye on you. Don’t make the mistake of getting in my way, understand? I don’t take kindly to anyone who gets in my way.”

Jordan walked directly up to Jan and leaned over the shorter woman. “I don’t know what’s up with you and Maggie, but don’t make the mistake of threatening me. I don’t take kindly to anyone who threatens me.” Jordan walked away and went to her room. Once inside, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes.