Page 180 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

“That’s two more weeks, right?” They’d all been super worried about Delaney. She and Corbin had been through the wringer. They deserved some happiness in their lives.Please let Delaney and the baby be okay,Addie prayed silently.

“Yes.”

No way could Addie take off work right now. As much as she wanted to be there, it was smarter to wait until the baby was born and then go and visit for a few days. After this week’s conference, there was a lull of about two weeks before the next rush was scheduled to begin. Addie planned to go to San Diego then. The baby and Delaney would be okay. They had to be!

She pulled the phone away from her ear when she saw her assistant Sadie rushing towards her. The look of panic on Sadie’s face caused Addie’s chest to tighten. What was it now? It had been one of those mornings where everything had gone wrong. Half the staff had called in sick. The drain in the sink of the main kitchen was clogged, and it took forever to get a plumber to come out. There was a mix-up with the shuttle service picking the water filter executives up from the airport. Addie called to confirm the appointment, but the office manager had no record of it. The woman went on to add in a snippy, condescending tone that all of her shuttles were booked. It had taken Addie two, long hours of frantic calling to find replacements. When she finallygot all the fires put out and had a minute to take a breather, Pops called, hounding her about going to San Diego.

“The caterers are here. They’re setting up in the Alpine room,” Sadie said breathlessly.

Addie groaned. “No, that’s not right. They’re supposed to be in the Skyline room. We’ve already set up the computer equipment for the presentations in the Alpine room.” It had taken several hours and a carload of computer geeks to get everything working correctly. No way were they going to tempt fate by switching rooms.

“Who’s supposed to be where?” Pops questioned.

“That wasn’t meant for you. I was talking to Sadie,” Addie explained. She felt like a ping-pong ball zigzagging between two different conversations.

“How’s Sadie doing?” Pops asked. “I saw her mother at the grocery store the other day. She said Sadie had just gotten engaged to Buddy Franklin.”

Seriously? Pops wanted to talk about that right now? Addie huffed a breath. “Yeah, Sadie’s doing great.”

“No, I’m not,” Sadie countered, wide-eyed. “We have to get the caterers squared away.”

“Did you tell them to set up in the Skyline room instead?”

“Yes, but the woman in charge of the catering insists on being in the Alpine room because it’s closer to the kitchen.” Sadie rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

Addie fought the urge to scream. Sometimes running a resort was like refereeing a bunch of children with sulky attitudes. She gritted her teeth. “The caterers will set up where we want them to. End of story.”

Sadie grimaced. “All right. I’ll let you tell her that. She’s kind of intimidating.”

“Intimidating my foot,” Addie muttered, her blood running hotter.

“What’s going on with your foot? Speak up. It’s hard to hear you.” Pops’ voice was laced with irritation.

Addie rubbed her forehead, thinking how she should’ve just stayed in bed this morning. “Sorry, Pops. Things are nonstop here right now. I’m gonna have to call you back later.” She looked at Sadie. “I’ll be right there.”

Sadie threw her hands in the air.

Addie held up a finger, her voice ringing with authority. “Tell them to wait for me,” she ordered.

Sadie nodded and hurried away.

“I love you, Pops. Bye.”

“Wait a minute!”

“Yeah?”

“I thought you’d like to know that Maddox stopped by yesterday to check on Corbin and Delaney.”

The air left Addie’s lungs as her pulse ratcheted up several notches. It was crazy how the very mention of Maddox’s name sent her heart racing.

“He asked about you.”

Her mind whirled. “Really?” she sputtered and was instantly frustrated with herself for getting into such a tizzy. She swallowed, sucking in a breath.He asked about me! What does that mean? That he still cares? No, he was probably just being polite. If Maddox truly cared, he would’ve contacted me by now.“How’s he doing?” The question left her mouth before she could call it back. She clenched her hand, awaiting the answer.

Pops let out a throaty chuckle. “Pretty good for a dead guy.”

Addie’s forehead furrowed. “That’s not funny, Pops.” Her world had come crashing down when she got the news that Maddox and his fellow SEAL members had gone missing while on a mission in Syria. A few weeks later, they were presumed dead. It was her greatest fear coming to pass. She attended his funeral, mourned his death, beat herself up for breaking up withhim. Then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the news came that Maddox was still alive. Oh, how she’d wanted to run to him then. To tell him that breaking up with him was the biggest mistake of her life. She assumed he’d reach out to her, but she’d heard nothing from him. He’d been back in the states six long weeks and nothing.

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