Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) (17 page)

“You’re coming here? To Bozeman?”

“Are you able to pick us up from the airport?”

Sarah dropped her head into her hands. “December isn’t far away, mom. I know how busy you are. You don’t have to come all this way for a couple of days. I’m fine, I really am.”

“We haven’t seen you all year, Sarah. Don’t you want us to visit you?”

Sarah didn’t know what to say. She loved her mom and dad, she really did. But they’d try and convince her to come home. They didn’t understand what she was trying to do. She didn’t want to start over, she wanted to start again.

“Sarah?”

“I’m here, mom.”

“You don’t need to worry about finding accommodation for us. We’ve booked into the Hilton. I’ll text you with our flight details.”

“Sounds good, mom.”

“If you’d like to stay with us I can book another suite?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It doesn’t take long to get into town from the ranch.”

“That’s all settled then. Take care and we’ll see you next week. Love you, honey.”

“Love you too, mom.” Sarah ended the call and stared at her phone. Her parents were coming to visit. She should have been happy. She should have been thinking about where she’d take them and what they’d do, but she couldn’t. The only thing on her mind was Jordan and what she was going to tell them about him.

***

“Where did you go last night?” Emily looked up from the bridesmaid’s dress she was hand stitching. They’d arranged to meet at Emily’s boutique on Sunday afternoon to help with the dresses for her wedding. “Alex said you left after the DJ lost power.”

“I went home with Jordan.”

Tess choked on her latte. “I didn’t think it was that serious.”

“Blame Kermit the Frog,” Sarah muttered. “He’s got a lot to answer for.”

Tess frowned. “Is that some kind of cocktail I haven’t heard about?”

“No. The real frog. As in the Muppets. Jordan checked out the CD from the library and we used it to practice waltzing for the wedding. But he knew how to dance and it got complicated.”

“Sounds like it.” Tess pushed Sarah’s hot chocolate closer to her. “Drink up. We’re all living on less sleep than should be humanly possible. But we need details. Especially those of us who don’t have any life worth discussing.”

Emily snipped a piece of loose thread and glanced at Tess. “You could date. You just choose not to.”

“It’s not a matter of choice. I’m up at four thirty most mornings and turn the lights out at nine. I don’t have time for a social life.”

“Phooey,” Emily said. “You could hire someone to come in early and start baking.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Sure it is. Jordan put a poster in our store windows and he got Sarah. And look what’s happened to them.”

Tess laughed. “I can see my poster now. ‘Wanted. One gorgeous male, must be at least six-five, have a body to die for and know how to cook muffins and cake. Experience essential.’ Do you think I’ll get any takers?”

“Depends on the type of experience you’re looking for.” Sarah sighed. “Just be careful what you wish for.” She walked across to the small bathroom on the first floor and washed her hands. Cookie crumbs and hot chocolate wouldn’t look good against the bright red dress she was stitching.

“Why is what’s happening with Jordan complicated?” Tess asked when she arrived back at the table. “He would have to be one of the most uncomplicated men I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not Jordan, it’s me. I won the court case against my ex-fiancé.”

“Congratulations,” Emily said. “I hope the judge awarded you lots of money and sent what’s-his-name to prison.”

“Yes to the money, but James is still a free man.”

Tess looked at her hands then down at the dress in front of her. “Before I wash my hands, tell me why the court case makes a difference?”

“Because I can do what I wanted to do eighteen months ago. I can sell the software, expand my business, keep working on new ideas.”

Emily frowned. “And that makes life complicated because…”

Sarah looked at Emily and Tess. “I don’t know if it’s what I want anymore. What am I going to do?”

“Don’t know,” Tess said. “Give me a few minutes to think about it while I wash my hands.”

Sarah started stitching the hem of the dress in front of her. “I felt embarrassed.”

Emily glanced up. “About the money?”

“No. When I woke up this morning, Jordan took me back to your ranch before breakfast. Mac was up. Anyone would think he was my big brother, the way he acted around Jordan.”

“So was it waking up in Jordan’s bed that embarrassed you the most, or Mac’s Neanderthal tendencies?”

“Waking up in Jordan’s bed,” Sarah said softly. “He was really nice, but I’ve been down the really nice track before. It didn’t end up nice.”

“Not everyone’s a sleaze ball like your ex.”

“Maybe.” Sarah sighed and went back to stitching.

“I know what you should do,” Tess said as she sat down. “Sort out whatever needs to happen after the court case, then don’t plan anything. Stay in Montana for another six months, then decide what you want to do.”

“I think that’s called procrastinating,” Sarah said.

“It’s called enjoying life,” Tess replied. “And from what you’ve said you could do with some happy times.”

Someone knocked on the door downstairs. “That’ll be, Nicky,” Emily said. “I’ve still got to do her final fitting.”

Sarah looked at the last two bridesmaid’s dresses hanging on the rack. With less than a week before the wedding, Emily had been worried that she wouldn’t have time to get everything finished. But Tess and Sarah volunteered to help and it made everything achievable.

Sarah thought about the letter from her lawyer. The phone call from her mom. If she’d been able to make Emily’s life less complicated by sewing a few dresses, she could do the same with hers. Only it wouldn’t take a needle and thread this time. It would take courage and determination.

It was time to make her life less complicated.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jordan stared at the students from Bozeman Elementary School standing in Gracie and Trent’s kitchen. Mrs. Davies had made them cold lemonade and cookies and they were devouring both at a speed that even he was impressed with.

They’d spent the last hour and a half traveling around the ranch, looking at the Triple L and figuring out what would be important to add to the website they were building. Sarah had gone with them, pointing out the things he’d overlooked.

They’d been working in teams of three, each person responsible for a different part of their project. One girl was busy snapping pictures of Mrs. Davies making another batch of chocolate chip cookies. He could see that Mrs. Davies appreciated the attention. He figured the girl had a career ahead of her in P.R., especially when she saw the extra cookies Mrs. Davies was making for her.

In a few years, the ten-year-old could join the fancy company that Sarah kept talking about. The one that was going to take her back to Portland. For the last couple of days, she’d mentioned it each time they’d talked. Like she was getting him ready before she made the big exit from his life.

“Who wants to go and see the barn?” he asked. He’d spent enough time thinking about Sarah. It was time to give the students what they needed and give Sarah what she seemed to desperately want. Less time around him.

“Hey, Mr. McKenzie?”

Jordan looked across the room at a short redheaded boy. He had his hand in the air, waving it around like a flag on the Fourth of July.

“Can we see where the fire started?” the boy asked.

“Sure. Once everyone’s finished their morning snack.”

Most of the boys stuffed the last of their cookies in their mouths. The girls took a little longer, but not much. He glanced across at Sarah. She was talking to another boy, looking through some notes he’d made on a fancy tablet.

Sally Gray, their teacher, and two other parents were waiting at the dining table.

He gave them another couple of minutes before rounding them up. “Okay everyone. Find your teams and then we’ll be off.”

When everyone was ready, Jordan took them outside and walked across to the converted barn. He’d been busy all week with insurance assessors and builders. They’d figured out the best way forward and had started with a commercial cleaning company.

A super-sized vacuum had sucked all of the white fire extinguisher powder out of the bedroom. Then they’d sprayed something inside the rooms to get rid of the smell of smoke. Anyone walking into the barn today wouldn’t have known there’d been a fire a few days ago. Unless they stumbled into the bedroom, then they’d know for sure something had happened.

He opened the barn doors and let everyone into the living room. Before he’d made it to the dining table the photographers in each team were taking photos, the note takers writing down what they saw. “This is our guests’ living room, dining room, and kitchen,” Jordan explained in a loud voice.

A little girl with blonde pigtails stuck her hand in the air. “Is that a granite counter?”

Jeez. He didn’t think children noticed things like that. “Solid Granite with walnut cabinets and chrome fittings.” The girl wrote something down in her notebook and nudged her teammate with the camera.

Within minutes, the rest of the photographers were taking photos of the kitchen, the stove, and anything else that looked as though it opened and closed.

“Is everyone ready to go upstairs to the bedrooms?” he asked.

“Is that where the fire was?” asked the same boy as before.

Jordan nodded, hoping they didn’t have a pyromaniac on the loose. They all walked upstairs. He showed them each bedroom, the ensuites, and anything else they were interested in.

Jordan made a big deal out of the room where the fire had been, although he hoped it didn’t feature on their website. The boy who’d asked about this room pushed to the front of the crowd.

“And this,” Jordan said with a flourish, “is the room that was fire damaged last weekend.”

A hushed sense of excitement fell over the students.

“Did the fire department and the police come out here?” asked one little girl.

Jordan nodded.

“And what about flashing lights and sirens?” Pyromaniac boy asked. “Did you have those too?”

“We sure did. And you want to know who saved the building and looked after the people inside?” Fifteen children nodded their heads like bobbleheads. “Pete. And here he is…”

Jordan almost laughed at the panicked expression on Pete’s face. He stopped mid-stride on the stairs, looking as though he’d just as soon turn around and disappear.

All of the children were looking at Pete with their mouths open.

“You’re a real live hero, Mr. Pete,” the boy with red hair said.

More cameras focused on Pete, snapping his image for the stories that were bound to go around school.

Pete took his hat off and muttered something about it being a team effort.

Jordan waved Pete up the stairs. “I thought you might want to explain what happened and how everyone can be safe at home.”

Pete didn’t look impressed, but with the students staring at him like he was a superhero, he couldn’t refuse. Or so Jordan hoped.

Pete looked at the children. “When we go into the room you need to watch where you put your feet. We had to pull the carpet up and the new stuff hasn’t arrived.”

A hand waved from the front. “Was that because it was burned beyond recognition?”

Pyromania boy had been watching too many criminal investigation programs.

Pete, however, looked incredibly impressed with the boy’s vocabulary. He puffed his chest out and smiled like an actor off CSI. “You could say that. The fire department carried out their scene investigation at approximately three forty-five last Sunday morning.” The note takers of the teams were scribbling furiously on their paper.

“Excuse me, Mr. Pete. What’s three forty-five?”

“Quarter to four,” Pete said. Then he added, “Real early,” for those children that still looked confused.

“The guests who were staying in the barn were relocated to the main house. They stayed there until they were ready to go home. No lives or major property were lost. Just a few feet of carpet, a hairdryer, and the side of the dresser.”

Pete opened the door to the bedroom. “Single file, no touching anything. I’ll stand where the fire originated.”

Two little girls standing at the back of the group giggled. Pete’s dramatic flourish hadn’t been lost on them.

Sarah stood at the back of the audience smiling at Pete.

Jordan wished she’d do the same to him. All he’d gotten were hurried ‘hellos’ and hints about her not being in Montana for much longer. He needed to find out what was going through her head, and he needed to do it fast.

He had a date lined up with her for Alex and Emily’s wedding. If he wasn’t careful, she’d be gone before the happy couple said, “I do.”