A Small-Town Bride by Hope Ramsay

Author:Hope Ramsay
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2017-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Willow strolled into Dusty’s office and settled into the chair beside his desk. “I don’t mean to pry, but what’s going on? You never miss a day of work.”

Dusty scrubbed his hands over his jaw and filled her in on his father’s return, the fight down at the roadhouse, Daddy’s injuries and maladies, and the fact that the old man seemed to think he was entitled to more money.

He blew out a long sigh. “And I’m stuck. I can’t kick him out because he’s hurt. I’ve got him sleeping on the Murphy bed for now, but I have an appointment with a social worker this evening. To be honest with you, I just want to dump him somewhere, sell the land, and run away.”

Willow had the good sense not to say a single word. They sat together in silence for a long while, like they used to do when they were kids. Willow had always been there to listen, never to pass judgment, and always ready to come to his defense or beg him a bed at the run-down farm where she’d grown up.

“Where would you go?” she finally asked in a soft, heartbreaking voice.

“I’ve been thinking about Montana or Wyoming. Fishing’s good, and there aren’t a whole lot of people up there.”

“No, I guess not, just a lot of snow in the winter. What about your plans?”

“You mean for the resort?”

She smiled. “I know you hate that word. I was merely suggesting that you market your fishing camp as a resort because it sounds better. It’s all in the marketing, Dusty. And to that end, I sent you a whole bunch of information on how to write a business plan. Did you get my e-mails?”

He nodded.

“Are you going to do something about them?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head.

“I’d hate it if you moved to Montana. I’d miss you.”

“I’d miss you, too, but I have no clue what to do about Daddy.”

“I do.”

“What?”

“Kick him out the way he kicked you out.”

“But—”

“I know. It’s cruel. It’s unkind. And you’re one of the kindest people I know. But you can’t back away from your fight with the Historical Society. I won’t let you. And I won’t let you give all your money to that man. It’s not right. It’s not fair.”

“I can’t kick him out.”

“Okay. I guess I understand. But promise me you won’t go running off to Montana. I need you. Which is another reason I darkened your door.”

“If you’re here to ask me if I’ll re-landscape the grounds so that reality-show girl can get a long camera shot, we’re likely to come to blows.”

“That’s not why I’m here. I’m here about Amy. Pam is really putting the screws to David about her, and David thinks I’m being mean making her work on the grounds crew when she’s so obviously not suited for it. And then Brianna quit yesterday when Courtney had one of her profanity explosions. It wasn’t directed at Brianna, but I gather Brianna is a born-again Christian, which probably disqualifies her from working with Courtney, the f-bomb queen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.