Page 71 of Ransom

Maggie's gaze is a little sad and a lot determined. "I'm going to stay and catch up with Ransom. He'll walk me home, right?"

I still can't take my eyes off Blair. "Absolutely. I'll take good care of her."

Blair hesitates, looking between us. Finally, she nods and heads across the square toward the garage.

She doesn't look back. She didn't last night either.

"Sit down, Ransom," Maggie says firmly. "And tell me why you're really here."

24

RANSOM

Iwatch Blair disappear into her garage before turning back to Maggie. "You look tired."

"Nice deflection. But we're talking about you first."

"I'm serious, Mags. What's going on?"

She waves her hand. "Life. Death. The usual drama. Now spill."

I lean back in my chair, studying her face. The shadows under her eyes, the pallor of her skin. The way her clothes hang loose. "Trade you. Truth for truth."

"Always trying to make a deal." There's no bite to her words. Only a tired resignation. "Fine. But you go first, and it better be the real story."

I take a deep breath. Maggie always could see right through my bullshit. "I came to buy the garage. To keep a promise I made to Robert."

"And now?"

"Now?" I watch a squirrel run across the square. "Now I don't know. I thought I could just sweep in, throw money at the situation, and leave. But being back here..."

Being back here has made me realize how much I've lost. And how much I still care. I'm sure as fuck not sharing that with Maggie. Not yet anyway. I don't know what I want to do, and until I figure that out, I'm playing my cards close to my chest.

"She's made it clear she's not selling. So if that's the only reason you're here, you need to go. She doesn't need you complicating her life."

"She did make it clear. I ripped up the paperwork, Mags. I'm done. Believe it or not, what Blair wants matters to me."

Maggie's jaw clenches, her dark eyes searching my face for any hint of deception. She folds her arms across her chest, shoulders tense, like she's physically bracing herself against whatever bullshit she thinks I might try to pull.

"Do you love her?"

Such a simple question. And such a loaded one. "Never stopped. The reasons I left aren't a barrier any longer, but there's a lot of years between us. And a lot of hurt."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

She's not fucking around today. But I give her the truth, just like I promised. "I haven't figured that out yet. She's never leaving this town. And I have a family and a life in the city. I have responsibilities there. People I need to take care of."

Her lips curve in a sneer. It would be more effective if she didn't look so fucking exhausted. "Responsibilities, huh? Well, I guess it's good to know where Blair sits on your list of priorities. Not that you didn't make things clear long before now."

She's trying to bait me, but I'm not falling for it. I need answers. "Your turn." I meet her eyes, keeping my gaze and my voice level. My stomach muscles are clenched, anticipating her answer. "What's wrong?"

She looks down at her hands. "Stage four. It's back again, and this time I'm done fighting. No more chemo, no more radiation. I'm just... I'm tired, Ransom."

It's so much worse than I thought. "Did you try?"

Her eyes blaze with fury. "Of course I fucking tried. This is the third fucking time, Ransom. I have a son. He's my whole world. The last thing I want to do is leave him. But it wasn't fucking working. All I could do was puke and sleep. It wasn't a life. Max was watching me waste away." Her hand curls into a fist, and she takes a shuddering breath. I reach out and cup her hand, and her fingers grip mine tightly.

Her eyes are glassy when she looks up again. "At least this way, I can be present for him. He can tell me about his day. I can nag him about brushing his teeth. Before…Blair was doing almost everything."

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