Page 19 of Steadfast

When the long conversation ended, Maeve felt her heart flutter when Abel pulled her hand into his. They prayed together as a unified family, placing the future of the ranch in the Lord’s hands.

Maeve made a pot of coffee on the stove and poured herself a cup. She made her way outside, finding a comfortable spot on the tailgate of the blue Dodge truck. In the quiet solitude, she stared up at the stars and breathed the fresh Montana air into her lungs while she contemplated the events of the day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crunching gravel under sturdy cowboy boots. Abel Callaway, with a mugin hand, appeared beside the truck in the dim glow of the porchlight.

“You do make one good cup of coffee. Mom was sure right about that,” Abel mused as he sat next to her on the tailgate.

She felt her body temperature rise as his shoulder pressed into hers.

“Man, I missed this truck,” he said, giving the tailgate a clangy pat with his palm.

“This old, filthy thing?” Maeve teased, sweeping her hand to the dirt and hay caked truck bed.

Abel gasped in mock horror, “Don’t call her that. She can hear, you know?”

Maeve’s smile accompanied her slight eye roll.

“It looks like I’ll be home for good now, taking care of things,” he said, making small talk. “Weird where life takes you.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered, taking a long drink of her coffee as she gazed out over the dark fields.

“Seems you’ve had things handled, though. You sure gave Sam a run for his money today,” Abel chuckled while giving her a playful wink. “Remind me to never step on your toes.”

His deep laughter drew her in and seemed to envelop her like a warm blanket straight out of the dryer.

“Well, I shouldn’t have done it.” Maeve was still kicking herself for her lack of self control that day. “I’ve never seen Ruthso furious.”

“Me neither,” he admitted, swirling the coffee in his mug before taking another sip. “But I’m happy you said what you did. He was askin’ for it, and worse.”

“I thought I was going to have to pack my bags.” Maeve’s voice quivered at the genuine concern that came pouring out.

Abel smiled, dimples marking his cheeks as his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Maeve, I don’t know what kind of family you come from, but you’re at Callaway Ranch now,” he replied, taking another long drink of his coffee. He leaned back, placing his arm behind her in a way that stole her breath. “No one gets discarded around here.”

His reassuring words seemed to fill some of the fractures in her mending heart.

“Man, it’s getting late,” Abel tilted his head to the side as he gave a little exhale. “It’s funny. I feel like I could sit here ’til the sun rises just talking to you.”

“So, if your plan works,” she said, her vulnerability driving her words out quickly, desperate not to let him go just yet. “I suppose Callaway Ranch won’t be the largest in the county anymore.”

“It’s going to work,” Abel said with unbridled confidence. “And we don’t have to own the most land to be the largest ranch. Just you wait and see.”

Chapter 7

Tempest

Oakleigh slept in later than she should have, waking with her head on the open pages of the binder like a soft pillow. The last thing she remembered before her eyes closed that night was paging through the numerous choices of stunning light fixtures. She yawned and stretched before swinging her legs off the edge of the bed and setting her feet down on the cold hardwood floors. It was times like those that she reminisced over the luxuries she had once taken for granted, like the heated floors in the Davenport Estate.

Glancing at the time, she knew she missed out on coffee with Maeve that morning.

She showered, applied her makeup, and then had the strenuous task of choosing her outfit for the day. Standing before her closet, she pulled each hanger across as she studied her options. With Mia there, Oakleigh felt more pressure than she had in a while to pick something fashionable. She had only realized then how much her style had changed. Her closet wasevolving into attire that was sturdy and practical rather than trendy and cute.

Her eyes went wide. She threw her hand over her mouth as she was hit with the realization.

Is this what happened to Maeve?

With a heavy sigh, Oakleigh resigned herself to her frumpy fate. She pulled a button-up shirt off the hanger, causing the plastic to clatter back into place. Next, she chose a pair of bootcut jeans and pulled her cowboy boots from her shoe rack. If she was going to go country that day then she planned to do it right.

Tucking the white binder under her arm, she went to find the travel mug of coffee waiting for her on the kitchen counter. Next to it was a second one for Mia, with options of sugar and cream. Clearly, Maeve wasn’t sure how Mia took her coffee yet.

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