Page 90 of Nate

“Hi.” A soft voice interrupted Nate’s thought, and he turned to find Markie leaning against the door jamb, her eyes fixed on him.

“Hey there. Are you drunk?” He teased with a smile.

“Not yet, but not from lack of trying,” she replied playfully. “I left those two alone for a little while.”

“They seem close,” Nate commented, wiping his hands off on a rag.

“Oh yeah, they’d drop everything for each other,” Markie affirmed with a fond smile.

“I can tell,” Nate agreed.

“Was that Beau on the phone? Is everything okay at the ranch?”

“No, it was actually a good friend of mine, Rafe Marshall.”

“I like his name. Rafe.” Markie grinned.

Nate rolled his eyes. “Of course, you do.”

“Does he work at a ranch too?” Markie inquired curiously.

“Yeah, he’s the manager at the Hancock Ranch. He’s been there forever. We’ve been friends since we were kids in school.”

“Wow, that’s a long time,” Markie remarked.

Nate cocked an eyebrow at her. “Was that a dig at my age?”

“Would I do that?” She countered playfully.

“You shouldn’t. Especially since you’re not far behind me.”

Markie laughed and sauntered closer to him. “How’s the lock changing going?”

“It’s fine. Who needs this many damn doors in a house? I have three; back door, front door, and the one in the laundry room. This house has... way too many to count.”

“It’s a big house,” Markie admitted. “I told you how that all came about. Aunt Lola said she’d move in with her, but even then, it would be too big for just two people. I mean, who needs seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a den, library, dining room, and kitchen all to themselves? Carlotta quit but never told Mom why. I bet I know.”

“Who’s Carlotta?”

“Oh, I never told you. I will sometime, but she was the housekeeper and beautiful.”

“I see. I bet I know why she left, too.”

“She also saved me one night. Another story for another time.” She glanced around. “I did love living here when I was growing up, even though I thought it was too big.” She smiled. “But I could hide, and my parents couldn’t find me.” She laughed when Nate chuckled.

“You’re not going to move back here, are you?” Nate asked with a curious furrow in his brow.

“No. I never even gave it a thought. I like living in Clifton, and I love working at the hospital.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers interlocking at the back of his neck. “And I like you.”

Nate’s grin widened. “Thank God for that.” He leaned in and kissed her lips tenderly.

“Enough of that, you two,” Lola said as she entered the room with a gentle smile. “How about we all go out to dinner in about an hour? My treat.”

“I’d like that, Aunt Lola, but we didn’t bring any fancy clothes,” Markie said with a hint of sadness.

“We’ll just head down to the pub. You know they have wonderful food and no need to dress up.”

Markie looked at Nate, seeking his opinion. He placed a hand on her waist. “Anything you want to do is fine with me, darlin’.”

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