Ned hefted the coffeepot. “You want

Ned hefted the coffeepot. “You want some more, Travis?”
“No.”
“I might as well finish it,” he said, refilling his mug. “It ain’t like I’m gonna get a decent night’s sleep anyhow.”
Travis wouldn’t, either. He didn’t know how he’d go upstairs to his bed, its rumpled sheets still carrying the scent of Margot. He didn’t know where to go. Logic told him he should pick up the phone and call Hugh, then go upstairs and start packing—again. But he just couldn’t seem to be able to think of anything but Margot.
Ned carried the mug over and eased himself into the chair next to Travis’s. “I saw Miss Jordan’s van up at the house. What do you suppose she’s doing here?”
Travis rubbed his bristled cheek tiredly. He needed to sleep but if he did he would dream of Margot. “No idea. Margot said she’d be here for the Hunt Cup.” Damn, he’d been looking forward to riding with her in the hunter pace event, watching that competitive spark in her catch fire.
“Travis, I got to tell you, son, I just don’t understand what Margot’s—” His sentence stalled.
Travis, too, heard the sound of footsteps running toward the office, and was out of his seat like a shot, his heart pounding in expectation, her name on his lips.
“Thank God,” Jade exclaimed, gasping for breath. “I ran to Ned’s cottage first ’cause it’s so late. I shoulda—”
“What’s wrong?” Travis demanded, cutting her off. “Is it Margot?”
“Yeah, it’s Margot, and you’re a total frigging doofus not to have figured out what’s going on,” Jade said accusingly.
“Maybe you should tell us what’s going on, Miss Jade, ’cause I’ll tell you, Travis ain’t the only one who can’t figure out what’s happening around here.”
“For starters, there’s no money.”
Jade’s bald pronouncement was met with stunned silence. Travis glanced at Ned. He was looking poleaxed. That was a relief; at least he wasn’t the only one who had no fucking idea what Jade was talking about.
She must have drawn the same conclusion. With an impatient roll of her eyes, she repeated, “There’s no money. Nothing in the coffer—zip, zilch. Crandall broke the bad news after Dad’s and Mom’s funerals. Dad apparently made some bad investments but kept on spending anyway. We Radcliffes have always lived large.” Despite her exaggerated shrug, it was easy to see how much the admission hurt the sixteen-year-old.
“So you’re saying …” Ned’s words came out slowly as he sorted it all out. “But at Crestview, Miss Margot bought Raider. How could she—”
“She used her own money, didn’t she?” Travis said. He bet she’d been paying for every last thing at Rosewood, down to the hoof pick Andy had lost last week. Recalling the asinine comments he’d made about her modeling, he felt sick.
“Duh.” Jade clearly thought he had shit for brains. He was inclined to agree with her. “It wasn’t like she had any choice. It was either that or let Crandall push us into selling Rosewood.”
“That son of a bitch,” spat Ned. “I beg your pardon, Miss Jade.”
“Crandall’s way worse than that. I doubt he lost a wink of sleep before he told Margot that after settling the estate, we still have a pile of debts.”
“You girls are in debt?” Ned’s expression mirrored his horrified tone.
“Yeah, so you can see why Margot couldn’t possibly agree to buy a new stud when there are debts to pay off and Jordan may need money for a divorce—” The word hung in the air as she turned fiery red all the way to the roots of her hair. “Oh, shit.”
“What’s that about Jordan?” Travis asked.
“Jade was about to not tell you that Richard and I may be getting a divorce,” Jordan said, entering the office.
Both Ned and he jumped to their feet.
“Please sit down,” she said. “And it’s okay, Jade. I’d rather Ned and Travis know everything. I’m not surprised to hear Margot was worrying about my being able to pay for a lawyer if—if things don’t work out.” She paused, struggling for composure, then continued. “What Margot’s tried to do for Jade and me since Dad’s and Nicole’s deaths is pretty amazing. She’s one of the bravest and strongest people I’ve ever met, and right now she’s in her room crying her heart out over you, Travis.” She pinned him with a hard stare. "So now that you've broken her heart, what are you going to do to fix it?