I kiss her quickly and pull away. “I’m not giving up on you, Millie. Now get in your truck and be safe on your way home. If I don’t let you leave now, I’m going to try to talk you into all kinds of things that I don’t think you’re ready for.”
She’s about to ask me what things, and I swear if I put a voice to the things I’ve thought about doing to her, there’s no way she’s going home alone tonight. Instead of asking, though, she climbs up into her truck. “Bye, Austin. Thank you.”
She puts the truck into gear and pulls out of the parking lot. I stand and watch until the lights are gone in the distance. It isn’t until I get into my own truck that I realize I didn’t get her number. I’ll have to call the co-op tomorrow because even though I just met her, I don’t want to miss even one day of talking to her.
Chapter7
Millie
Two days. It’s been two days since my dinner with Austin, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him. I keep waiting for him to show up or to at least call, but he doesn’t.
Alan, one of the delivery drivers for the co-op, interrupts my thoughts with a knock on my open door. “Hey, boss lady! The shipment for the Yates ranch came in. You want me to deliver it before I do the others?”
At the same time, the phone on my desk starts to ring. Making a quick decision, I tell Alan, “No. This first one I’m going to take. Load it in my truck.”
I wait for a questioning look or some kind of curiosity, but Alan never gives it. He just nods. “You got it.” I guess it helps that I’ve been working at the co-op since I was young. I’ve done every job here and am always pitching in to help out.
The phone rings again, and I notice it’s on my line instead of the store’s line. “This is Millie. How can I help you?”
A shrill voice comes over the line. “Millie? Is this Millie Ogle?” the woman asks.
“Yes, this is Millie Ogle.”
“Do you know an Austin Yates?”
I sit up in my chair. “Yes, I know Austin.”
The woman lets out a deep sigh. “Well, thank you sweet baby Jesus, I found you. My name is Carrie.”
“Uh...” I start, confused and a little unsure with where this conversation is going.
“So, yesterday morning Austin got thrown from his horse.”
“Oh my God, what? Is he okay?” I’m already standing up and gathering things together before I stop myself. “Is. He. Okay?” I ask again.
“Yes, yes... he’s fine. He’s stubborn as a mule. Has a concussion, banged up his knee and broke a rib or two, but he’ll live. That is if I don’t kill him first.”
I fall back in my seat. “Okay... so does he need anything?” There’s a gazillion questions I want to be asking her. Like who is she? Austin made it seem like there wasn’t a woman in the picture, but who is this that’s calling me? Better yet, why is she calling me?
“Does he need anything?” she spits out. “Yeah, he’s going to need a new housekeeper if he keeps running his mouth like he is. Look, he was in the hospital, and it seems he didn’t have a phone, and apparently I’m going to lose my job if I don’t call you. You work for a family for twenty years and you’d think you’d get a little respect. He just wanted you to know why he hasn’t called you. But I’m calling you for help. His foreman—heck, all the cowboys are going to walk out of here unless someone can calm him down. He’s been a bear.”
“Okay. And you think I can calm him? You do know I just met him a couple days ago.”
“Honey, it’s worth a shot. I’ve never seen him so upset, wanting to make sure you weren’t mad at him. I swear he would’ve called himself, but I’m pretty sure his vision’s still blurry even if he won’t admit it. He’s going to do permanent damage to that hard head of his if he doesn’t listen to what the doctors are telling him.”
“Okay, I’m coming. I mean, I’ll give it a shot. I have his order too, so I’ll bring that with me.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Thanks, Millie. I’m gonna owe you one.”
And before I can say anything else, she’s already hung up.
I grab my purse from the desk drawer and walk out the back of the store to my truck. Everything’s already loaded, and I holler thanks to Alan before getting in and pulling out. I go by my house first. It’s a little two-bedroom house that sits on the edge of my dad’s ranch. I pack just a few things and then jump into the truck and head toward Jasper and the Yates Ranch. I’m crazy. This is probably the craziest thing I’ve ever done. It’s almost a thirty-minute drive, and I try to take that time to plan what I’m going to do, but instead all I can think about is that kiss we shared the other night.
When I pull in to the long driveway, I slow down to take it all in. My father’s ranch is nice. It’s small and well maintained. But this place is something else. There are multiple huge buildings, including a huge two-story house with a big wraparound porch. The view from here is magnificent. It’s almost like you can reach out and touch the Jasper Mountains.
Seeing the way he lives just makes me realize exactly how different we are. I make a decision, right then and there, that I’m going to drop off the order, make sure Austin’s okay, and get the heck back to my side of town.
A few cowboys spot me pulling in, and I recognize Austin immediately. I barely get stopped next to the huge metal barn before he breaks away from the group. He’s limping, holding his side. His hat is down low on his face, and he’s squinting. No doubt the afternoon sun is hurting his head.