Page 24 of Duke
She sips her coffee and hums. “Patsy makes the best everything I’ve ever had. I might actually cry over how good this coffee is.”
“In your feelings, huh?” I can’t help but grin at the inside joke. Really, at the fact that Wheeler and I have an inside joke despite how little we see each other these days.
“Good food makes life worth living.”
“Hard agree.”
“Y’all seem close.” Wheeler eyes me. “Your family and the Powells. Well, your family and really everyone else who works on the ranch.”
I nod, sipping my coffee. “Yep. Patsy and John B kind of took us under their wing after our parents died. Garrett Luck too. Not sure what we would’ve done without all those helping hands.”
“That’s so nice.” Wheeler turns her head to look out the window. “I know you said you couldn’t wait to get out of Hartsville, which I understand. But it’s not like that in most places.”
“What do you mean?”
“That people are willing to help out like that. Also, that you love your familyandlike them too.” She lets out a long, low breath. “Mollie adores that about y’all. She feels so lucky to be a part of your family.”
“We love her. Dearly. She’s been so good for Cash and for the ranch.”
“Cash has been so good for her. You all have. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
I glance at Wheeler, who is still turned away from me. There’s a wistfulness in her words. She’s definitely going through some shit, and that shit’s definitely making her unhappy.
Something to do with her family, maybe?
I shift my grip on the wheel, glancing in the side mirror. A thin, pink line has appeared on the horizon. It burns to red just as I look away.Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.
“Hey, Wheeler?” I drop my thermos into a cupholder. “Check the weather for me if you don’t mind.”
She straightens, grabbing her phone from the purse at her feet. “I did last night before I went to bed.”
“I did too.”
“Said the worst of the storm is supposed to miss Aspen. The snow won’t start until early tomorrow morning, so we’ll be fine.”
“Check again, please.”
Wheeler rolls her eyes, but her thumbs still move over her screen. “Such a Boy Scout.”
“You wanna sell these boots? We gotta make sure we can get to the store. Weather up in those mountains is a lot more unpredictable than we’re used to.”
“Whatever you say.” She scrolls for a beat. Then her thumbs go still. “Hm.”
“What?”
“It appears the forecast has changed just the tiniest bit.”
I groan. “Lemme guess. They’re calling for a direct hit?”
“I mean, there’s a blizzard warning in effect in Aspen from eight o’clock tonight until—”
“Shit.” I hit the gas. The truck shudders, its engine roaring in protest. “I’m glad we got on the road early. I hope you don’t need bathroom breaks, because we ain’t got time for ’em.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Think you can pee in a soda bottle?”
She reaches across the dash to give me one of her playful shoves. “I can, but you don’t want me to because I’d be very,verytempted to dump it over your head.”
