Cowgirl Up and Ride (Rough Riders #3)(79)

You won’t bullshit me.”


Macie said, “West Construction. My husband’s cousins Remy and Chet own it. Not to be biased, but they do outstanding work. We’d planned on using them for the diner remodel and ah…a house remodel.”


AJ ignored the house remodel portion of the comment and added, “They built a couple of beautiful homes for the McKays. I’m not related to them, so I can honestly say they’re the best around.”


“Cool. Do you have their number?”


While Macie and India chatted, AJ wandered over to another door. “Hey, India, mind if I look in here?”


“Go ahead.”


“Will this be part of India’s Ink and Sky Blue?”


“No. That’s a connecting hallway to the other store and the access to the upstairs.”


AJ brushed aside cobwebs and stopped in front of another door. She pushed it open and ventured inside. Dusty, dirty and the windows were covered with soapy grime that filtered out most light. The space was identical in size to India’s place, a long narrow single room with high ceilings, accented with crown molding at the top and parquet floor beneath her feet. With a little elbow grease and a couple of well-placed walls, this would make a perfect massage studio. And it was close to home.


Her excitement lasted about ten seconds. She realized when she finished school she wouldn’t have a home around here. Not an insurmountable problem if Keely had planned to come back. They could rent a trailer, split the rent and the workload.


But AJ was realistic. Massages would be a hard sell in Crook County. It’d take a few months to build up a clientele and a couple years to make enough money to earn a living.


Whereas in a bigger city she’d start making money immediately. After one last regretful look, she returned to Macie and India.


“This is karma or something,” Macie said. “Did you know my middle name is Blue?


And my mother considered naming me India?”


“Seriously?”


Macie nodded. “India the Indian. My mom was slightly nuts.”


India whirled on AJ. “If you tell me you have a monarch butterfly tattooed above your butt crack, I’ll freak out.”


“Nope. Sorry. No tattoos.”


India smiled slyly. “We’ll see about changing that tattoo virgin status sometime soon.”


Macie’s grin rivaled India’s. “Losing one’s virginity is always a good thing. Nice meeting you, India. Keep in touch. If all goes according to plan, we’ll start the remodel in about four weeks.”


On the way back, AJ managed to keep Macie talking about Carter’s upcoming art show, the horses Cash expressed an interest in, and not the situation between her and Cord McKay.


“Do you mind if we stop at Carolyn and Carson’s house first before I take you home? I’m feeling a little woozy all of a sudden.”


“No problem.” It drove home the point how intertwined her life was with the McKays’ when she noticed Cord’s truck parked out front at his folks’ house.


Her stomach pitched. Be hard to act normal around him after last night.


Carolyn McKay was in her usual spot in the kitchen. She beamed at Macie. “Hey, sweetie, how’d it go?”


“Great. But I actually feel nauseous from the excitement. Do you mind if I lay down before supper?”


“No, go ahead. Can I get you anything?”