“I guess we could call off the wedding.” Maddie tried to smile.
The housekeeper shook her head. “Abel Trask was a wily old man. He thought of that. None of his grandkids can have a permanent relationship, with or without marriage if they want that money to keep coming in.”
“How much money?” she whispered, her spirits sinking. If it wasn’t that much and she got the library job here ...
“A lot.” Carol gestured toward the rest of the house. “How do you think Mr. Garrett paid for the ranch? It was on the market a long time, because it was so expensive. Nobody around here could afford to buy it. But Mr. Garrett, he took one look at it and made an offer on the spot.”
Maddie’s fingernails dug into her palm. “Did his grandfather have a ranch?”
The older woman nodded. “Yep. And as soon as he could, his son sold it. Said he didn’t want to have anything to do with his father, and the mean old coot didn’t leave his son anything anyway. He left it all to Mr. Garrett and his brothers.”#p#分页标题#e#
“And now ...” Maddie’s voice trailed off. Now Garrett faced financial ruin. She glanced at her engagement finger once more. Maybe that was why he hadn’t given her a ring yet. He couldn’t afford to. She thought guiltily of the new car he’d bought that she didn’t need, and her clothes from the store.
“What about the cabins?” she asked in desperation.
“I’ve been telling him to fix them up and rent them out to tourists for years,” Carol replied. “And now he finally has, it’s too late. Whatever he can rent them out for in summer won’t nearly be enough to keep the ranch going. Even if he doesn’t have a mortgage.” The expression on the housekeeper’s face made it plain she was certain the ranch was mortgaged to the hilt.
The housekeeper shook her head. “It will break his heart if he has to leave the ranch. He was meant to live on the land.”
Maddie blinked back tears. She’d known as soon as she’d arrived how much Garrett loved the place. And she’d grown to adore it too, although she’d only been here just over a month.
She recalled the overheard conversation when Garrett had been in his study, saying he had to consolidate. Perhaps things were already tight financially before Farley had become ill. And now ...
“I have to talk to him,” she whispered, forgetting the housekeeper’s presence. But what could she say? She remembered the look of pride on Garrett’s face yesterday when he said he could support her. Had he banked on the financial potential of his new stud farm?
Because now, with Farley’s death, he couldn’t support her if they married - or were even in a relationship. She couldn’t ask Garrett to give up the ranch for her - it was his whole life. He’d once told her he didn’t think he could ever live in the city again. He loved the wide open spaces of the ranch too much. And although she’d happily live with Garrett in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Portland and continue working at the library there, she didn’t want him to be miserable. She couldn’t ruin his life.
Maddie took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do ...
CHAPTER 8
Maddie surveyed the master bedroom, checking the drawers and closet to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. She’d found a suitcase and had blindly shoved her clothes in, not caring if anything ended up wrinkled. Once she arrived back in Portland and found a place to live, she’d organize for her belongings to be sent there.
She smiled mirthlessly. She’d given up her cute one-bedroom apartment when she thought she was marrying Howard. Now, she had nowhere to go when she returned to Portland except Lyndsey’s or her parents.
Well, she’d figure it out when she reached the city. Until then, she had to keep it together. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to drive to the airport through her tears.
Maddie's hand trembled as she placed the note on the bed. Her heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces. But what else could she do? She loved Garrett too much to stand in the way of his happiness.
But she’d never regret anything that had happened in the last five weeks. Not jilting Howard, nor meeting Garrett and falling in love with him. At least now she knew what real love was. And incredible sex.
Maddie opened her wallet, took out the fifteen-hundred dollars Garrett had paid her that first week and placed it on the bed besides the note. She had a small amount of cash in her wallet. It would be enough to tide her over until her next paycheck from the library. Thank goodness she hadn’t gotten around to emailing her resignation letter. At least she had a job to go back to, if nothing else.#p#分页标题#e#