Page 30 of Christmas at the Ranch
Samantha’s voice sounded odd even to herself. As if she were Alice in Wonderland asking the rabbit which way she should go.
“Drew likes you,” Beatrix continued. “He talks about you all the time. He might listen to you.”
Samantha flashed over her private moments with Drew. When he told her a story on the plane so she wouldn’t be nervous duringtakeoff. Drew offering to share his table at the Bunnery. Drinking hot chocolate together at the General Store. She pushed these thoughts away. This wasn’t the closing montage of a romantic movie, and the diamond engagement ring was still securely on Beatrix’s finger.
“What do you want me to talk to him about?” Samantha brought her mind back to Beatrix.
“Drew wants to keep traveling and building schools for the next few years. His father wouldn’t support him, but it’s not only about the money. My parents can be quite generous, they think Drew is the perfect son-in-law.” She fiddled with the comforter. “I’m going to be thirty-one in March. I’ll be thirty-five by the time we’re living back in New York and can try for a baby. It might not happen.”
“Thirty-five is young for getting pregnant these days,” Samantha cut in.
“There are fertility issues in my family. Even if I got pregnant easily, how many children could we have before I’m forty?” Beatrix persisted, inspecting her nails anxiously. “I’m an only child and I’ve always dreamed of a big family. Pinkie Pie was my favorite My Little Pony because she had four siblings. And my mother bought me the whole range of American Girl dolls because I didn’t want my first one, American Girl Courtney, to sit on the shelf alone.”
Samantha’s parents could never even afford one American Girl doll. Samantha had loved American Girl movies, but that was the closest she’d come to ever owning one.
Samantha had watchedGrace Stirs Up Successafter Roger left and she was feeling nostalgic, and almost moved to Paris herself to start a bakery. Recently she and Socks curled up and watchedLea to the Rescue.
Lea travels to the Brazilian rain forest to rescue her older brother and save exotic animals at the same time. Lea’s character was a wonderful role model for young girls. And the movie plot gave her an idea for a Sloane Parker book.
“You and Drew need to decide on things together,” Samantha suggested. “That’s what a relationship is about.”
Beatrix rolled her eyes. For a moment she was the old Beatrix, brash and full of confidence.
“You know what men are like. Deep down, they’re all stubborn little boys.” She twisted her diamond ring. “Drew needs to be pointed in the right direction. If I do it, I’m the nagging girlfriend. If you bring it up to him, you’re a concerned friend.”
“We’re hardly friends,” Samantha protested. “We met three days ago.”
Beatrix’s forehead creased. She really had wonderful skin for being thirty, and it must be natural. If she used Botox, she wouldn’t be able to frown.
“Please, Samantha. I felt so close to you this afternoon, you practically saved my life. And I can’t wait and I don’t have anyone else to ask,” Beatrix pleaded. “If Drew says anything to his father, well, there might not be any turning back.”
Samantha took in Beatrix’s pained expression. Everyone needed a friend. Without Charlie dragging her out of her endless rotation of James Bond movies mixed with the saddest romantic movies on Netflix—the ones where the hero or heroine has some terminal disease that isn’t revealed until the final scene—Samantha may never have recovered after Roger left.
“All right,” Samantha offered. “I’ll do my best.”
Beatrix reached for a glass of water.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she gushed.
Beatrix flipped her hair over her shoulders and picked up the nail file on the bedside table.
“There’s something special about you,” she said knowingly. “From the moment I saw you, I knew we’d become friends.”
Samantha sat at the dressing table in her room. It had been two hours since she and Beatrix talked. Dinner was in an hour, and she had to get dressed and do her makeup.
She still couldn’t believe that Beatrix had confided in her and asked for her help with Drew. Yet, in a way she understood. Samantha had seen Beatrix at her most vulnerable; situations like that often created an instant bond. Samantha used a similar plot device in an upcoming Sloane Parker book.
Sloane gets bitten by a deadly snake at an ashram in India. While she’s waiting for the medic to arrive with the antivenom medicine, she asks the female yogi she met only days earlier to tell Raj, the sexy computer programmer she’s falling for, that they can’t be together. Raj doesn’t want children and Sloane’s brush with death made her realize that one day, when she retires from British Intelligence, she’ll want a family of her own. The female yogi suggests that Sloane wait until she’s recovered and tell Raj herself, but Sloane insists he needs to know now. Raj is so handsome and charismatic, she’s afraid she won’t go through with it.
And Samantha understood how Beatrix felt. Having children was the most important thing in the world. Samantha couldn’t imagine missing out on eventually getting married and starting a family.
But she had no idea what she was going to say to Drew, or when she would find a moment to talk to him. Would he listen to her?What about her own growing feelings for him? She had been suppressing them because of the situation, but she couldn’t deny the bolt of electricity when their arms touched, or how seeing him across the room made her happy.
Drew considered her merely a friend. And Marigold said Christmas was the perfect time to help others.
For the third night since she arrived, she wished she was home in Brooklyn with Socks. This time it was for a completely different reason.
Chapter Eight
