I nearly trip in my haste to get down the stairs, floorboards creaking beneath my feet. Before I can clear the landing, I hear their voices from the kitchen, and I stumble to a halt, feeling a little like I’m intruding.
“I know it’s scary to tell them, especially if you already know what their reaction will be,” Ma says in the same gentle tone she always uses to talk me or Benji through something hard. “My parents were furious when I brought Joseph home. Threatened to kick me out of the house, told me they’d take my inheritance away if I wanted to slum it with some nobody. They were… well, back then, money and status were the most important things to them. I told them they could choose between their money and me, but I was staying with Joseph.”
A soft smile crosses my face as I linger at the base of the stairs. I’ve heard this story before, back when Benji and I were both young. Ma and Pa have always been disgustingly in love with each other, so affectionate that it hurts to look at sometimes. They made sure we both knew that they expect us to follow our hearts over everything.
I tried to do that with Chelsea—ignored my friends who told me she was bad news, turned a blind eye to the red flags—because Ididlove her. The problem was that I only listened to my heart back then, and didn’t take my brain into account.
This time, I did the opposite.
“Jesus,” Maggie says with a laugh. “Sorry, don’t take this the wrong way, but you didn’t strike me as the kind of person to just tell your parents to stuff it.”
Ma chuckles, and I know exactly what grin she shoots at Maggie even without seeing them.
“I was a little more tactful, but I don’t let anyone push me around. I love Joseph, and I’ll always be willing to take anything that comes along with that. That’s just what you do for love.”
Maggie’s breath hitches, and I desperately wish to see the look on her face. My hand squeezes down on the railing so hard that it creaks a little.
She asked me this morning for a real chance, but that doesn’t mean shelovesme. She can’t. We hardly know anything about each other. There’s a warm feeling in my gut, though, that insists that’s where this is heading. That it’salwaysbeen where this was heading, the only possible outcome.
“Why didn’t they like him?” Maggie asks quietly.
“Because I did,” Ma says with a dry chuckle. “My pops was always overprotective, only wanted the best for me. When Joseph and I met, he was just another roughneck working on his dad’s oil field, barely making a living. Pops wanted me to be with someone who could provide for me, absolutely refused to consider my feelings. When I told him we were engaged, he almost lost his mind. It took a long time for him to accept that we loved each other, and I wish I could say that he eventually came around to the idea, but it wasn’t until Joseph hit oil on some land that Pops finally came around to him. He became a billionaire overnight, and Pops was suddenly all for it.”
Maggie snorts in amusement, and I imagine she’s rolling her eyes right about now. “I had no idea you guys had that kind of money. Why are y’all living in a little ranch house if you’re billionaires? I mean, don’t you want a mansion? Why would you ever choose to run a ranch?”
She doesn’t sound judgemental, just genuinely baffled, and it takes some of the sting out of her words. I loved growing up on the ranch, but I can imagine Maggie having some reservations. David seems like the type to try and force her to spend time inthe barn, and considering Maggie’s mile-wide stubborn streak, I can guess that didn’t go well.
“It’s always been Joseph’s dream,” Ma says fondly. “He’s got a few businesses—the oil refinery, a slaughterhouse, the ranch—but the ranch will always have his heart. The others are just investments. He’s been careful to make sure the boys have something to survive on when we’re gone. And, well, if I can be with Joseph, I wouldn’t care if we lived in a shack. I’ve got everything I need right here.”
“I didn’t mean—I’m not after Bennett for his money,” Maggie says staunchly, sounding like she’s wincing.
Ma just laughs, bright and carefree.
“If you were, I wouldn’t let you take my house, sweetheart,” she says, just a hint of steel in her words.
Yeah, OK and I’ll take it upstairs tonight“Good.” Maggie sounds relieved, like Ma’s belief in her is a weight off her shoulders. “I don’t care if Bennett’s a billionaire or a ranch hand, and Dad won’t care about the money, that’s not… I’m worried he’ll be mad because of his history with Bennett’s dad. He’s a stubborn old man. And besides that, he always thinks he knows what’s best for me, tries to plan my whole life out. Overprotective is an understatement. I know he loves me, but he never listens to me. I’m scared he won’t listen now, when it actually matters.”
I can’t deny that’s been on my mind, but I never thought Maggie would even consider fighting to stay with me.
“Just keep showing him how much you care about Bennett. Don’t let him have a say in your feelings, Maggie. He’ll come around eventually,” Ma says reassuringly.
Maggie laughs, but it sounds weaker, a little lost. “I didn’t even mean to care about him in the first place. That sounds horrible, I know, but I was just trying to piss Dad off. I didn’t expect it to go anywhere. I didn’t expect to fall for him. I—I’venever been with anyone else, not really. And now I don’t want to.”
My heart twists in agony at the sound of her so close to tears again. I’ve had enough of seeing Maggie cry, I can’t stand the thought of being the reason behind it anymore.
Ma doesn’t seem at all surprised when I round the corner and burst into the kitchen. She probably knew I was listening the whole time.
Maggie jumps, wiping furiously at her eyes as she forces a wobbly smile to her face.
“Bennett—”
I cut her off by yanking her into a crushing hug before she can say anything, wrapping her small frame into my arms. Her heart hammers hard enough for me to feel it against my chest, and her arms shake when she wraps them around me, holding me just as tight.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobs, trembling against my chest. “I shouldn’t have done any of it from the start, but I couldn’t—I wantedyou. This isn’t just about the baby. When you left thinking that I’d just used you, it—fuck, I’ve never felt more guilty in my life. I was scared you’d reject me, I was scared you’d say no because of Dad, I was just… I care about you, Bennett, I did the whole time. Please believe me, even if you won’t forgive me, I need you to know that.”
“Hush, take a breath, Magnolia. I’ve got a lot to apologize for,” I whisper into her hair, the familiar smell of vanilla like a punch to the gut. “Will you let me?”
Maggie laughs, weak and wet, and nods her head against my chest. She’s still halfway to hysteric, but she’s not shaking as badly now. Ma slips out to the back porch, giving us a little room to breathe.
