Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides Book 5) (8 page)

“You mean the red barrel painted like a bull?”

“Gracie’s idea of a joke. The first time she came out here she missed the turnoff and ended up miles from anywhere.”

Emily didn’t say much as they bumped their way along the dirt driveway. Acres of green grass, split by wire fences, swayed in the afternoon light. Alex’s ranch spread out around them, cocooned against the base of the Bridger Mountains.

The home they were driving toward didn’t look like the type of house a World Bull Riding Champion would buy. It looked too normal. Too much like a family home built for a man who wanted to put down roots and make a future.

“What do you think?”
 

Emily could hear the smile in Alex’s voice. He knew he’d surprised her. “It’s lovely.”

The two story home sat tall and proud in the middle of one of the prettiest views Emily had ever seen. Wildflowers grew everywhere. She could almost smell the sweet scent that would fill Alex’s home each evening.

“Keep following the driveway. I want to show you the barn.”

“Are you trying to be funny?” Emily nudged the truck forward, forgetting about Alex’s odd request when she saw what was in front of them. The old timber barn had mellowed to a soft golden brown. Siding, warped and twisted with age, had been tacked tightly against a frame that would have withstood more winter storms than Emily could imagine.

“It was built in 1843. The original homestead was destroyed in the fires that swept through Montana in 1910. For some reason the barn survived.”

Emily stopped the truck and opened her door. The middle of the barn rose three stories from the ground. Connected on each side were long, rectangular rooms that anchored the building to the land. She gazed at a large window at the top of the barn, wondering if it belonged to a room or simply let in light. The view of the Gallatin Valley from that height would be amazing.
 

Alex closed his door and stood beside her. “The left side used to be the tack room. When I remodeled the barn, it became my garage. The corrals are long gone, but we tried to keep some of the original character. Welcome to my home.”
 

Emily looked over her shoulder. “Who lives in the house behind us?”

“My foreman and ranch hands. It sweetened the deal for Mac and the guys he employed.”

Emily watched Alex limp toward two huge doors in the center of the building. Halfway across the yard he turned and smiled. “Are you going to stand there all day with your mouth open or come inside?”

Emily snapped her jaw shut and stomped toward him. “Since when does living in a drafty old barn fit with the image you’ve been cultivating?”

Alex raised his eyebrows. “You mean the one that involves lots of fast cars and fast women?”

Heat scorched Emily’s cheeks. “I guess I deserved that.”

“I guess you did.” Alex pulled open the monster front door and turned left.
 

Emily quickly glanced around before following Alex. The entranceway opened into a large living room. Rich timber floors and white painted walls gave the inside of his home a bright, contemporary feel. Not quite the drafty old barn she’d been expecting.

He opened a door at the end of a corridor. “I gave up fast women a long time ago. But the cars…they stayed with me.”

Emily’s eyes opened wide. Everything inside the garage sparkled under the fluorescent lights. From the paintwork on the three sports cars, to the white floors, it was a sight to behold. “I don’t know much about cars, but I’d say this isn’t your average garage?”

“Maybe not,” Alex said with a good dose of pride thrown into his voice. “Jacob looked after my Mustang, Camaro and Shelby until we’d finished the garage. It didn’t feel like home until I knew they were here. But I didn’t bring you inside to see my cars. Come with me.”

Emily followed Alex back down the corridor and into the living room. His limp had gotten worse. “You need your pills.”

“I’m getting there.”
 

A rock-face fireplace sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by big comfy sofas and cushions in a rainbow of colors. Large windows brought the spectacular view of the Bridger Range inside. He’d converted the old barn into a beautiful home. Emily couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of admiration for what he’d achieved.
 

“I can’t stay too long,” she said.
 

Alex disappeared through a wide doorway to the right of the fireplace. She heard cupboard doors opening and the faucet running. She walked into the kitchen and stared at Alex.

He was standing in front of a big white sink set into a dark granite bench and cherry wood cabinets. The kitchen, dining and family room were bigger than her entire home. Bigger than anything she’d ever owned. No expense had been spared in creating an area that could easily become the center of his life. And maybe hers if she’d listened to what he’d had to say two years earlier.

He finished the glass of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I wanted to show you what you can do with an old building. The library doesn’t need as much work as my home did, and that’s a good thing.”
 

Emily looked around and started seeing some of the clever things he’d done with the barn. A wrought iron wagon wheel had been suspended from the ceiling above the dining table. Half-melted candles, wide and squat, sat on each spoke, ready to light the area below in a soft glow.

On another wall, he’d mounted three gold buckles in separate frames. They were surrounded by photos of the rodeo; bull riders, bulls and rodeo clowns.
 

He pointed toward the wall beside the back door. “I found the coat hooks in the tack room and brought them in here. I didn’t want a mud room, so we made storage cupboards out of some original timber and put them along the wall.”

Everywhere Emily looked she saw something that made her smile. Something that made her wonder if she could do the same thing with the library building. “It must have taken a long time to finish.” And cost a fortune, she thought. Barn conversions like this one didn’t happen all the time and they definitely came with a big price tag.

“About six months. We built a separate shell inside the barn walls and had to get it closed in and waterproof before winter hit. I couldn’t do much while I was riding, but between rodeos I helped the construction crew. You could create something like this for your boutique.”

He was dangling a carrot the size of Easter Bunny in front of her nose. She thought about the old library building. The staircase, the stained glass windows and the pressed tin ceiling were screaming out for someone to restore them. She knew she could bring them back to life and make her boutique into something special.

“If I wanted to share the building and remodeling costs with you and Sam, what would I need to do?”

“We’d ask a lawyer, probably Adam at Osborne and Sons, to draw up a partnership agreement. Then we’d make an offer on the property. After it was accepted we’d start on the remodeling plans.”

“What do you mean,
we’d
start work on the remodeling plans? You were only helping to finance everything, not help with the design.” Emily didn’t trust the blush that put color in Alex’s cheeks. Even if he did know a thing or two about remodeling, he wouldn’t be working beside her.

“It makes sense. You need someone who knows their way around a construction site and I need something to keep me busy. Gracie thought it was a great idea.”

“Oh, really? And does Gracie know how much that leg of yours still hurts? Or how sneaky you are at hiding the pain?”

“I’m not sneaky.”
 

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “If I hadn’t come looking for you, you’d still be sitting in the middle of an empty field watching the cows chew grass.”

Alex leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I come with my money. Take it or leave it.”
 

She felt a low growl hum in the back of her throat. Alex Green was so annoying that she didn’t think she could work in the same room as him. Not without giving herself ulcers and premature wrinkles from scowling all day.
 

But this was business and she needed help. There was no way she could finance the project on her own so she did the only thing she could do.

She walked toward him and held out her hand. At least one of them could be civilized and mature and everything else that he wasn’t. “I don’t like what I’m about to do, but I’m not walking away from opening my own boutique. You’ve got yourself a business partner.”
 

He shook her hand and grinned. “You won’t regret it.”

As soon as their hands touched she felt a simple truth squeeze her heart. She already did.

CHAPTER FIVE

“If you wiggle any further down the seat you’re going to fall on the ground.”

Emily glared at Gracie, her soon to be ex-best friend that had pushed her into Joe’s Bar and Grill. “I’m not wiggling,” she hissed. “I’m hiding. You didn’t tell me Alex was coming.”

“Must have been my forgetful pregnant brain.” Gracie patted her round tummy, smiling across the table as if she didn’t have a care in the world. And maybe she didn’t. But Emily did, and most of her concerns revolved around Gracie’s half brother.

She looked at the pink umbrella leaning against the edge of her glass, hoping the crowd of cowboys and school teachers would shield her from the man she’d seen far too much of over the last couple of weeks.

“Who has their baby shower in a bar, anyway?” she muttered.
 

“Move over, grumpy.” Nicky slid along the vinyl seat, pushing a plate of hot fries into the middle of the table. “Tell me why you’re sitting in a booth when there are at least a dozen sexy men within ten feet of you.”

“You’ve only been married for eighteen months. Isn’t there a rule that says you’re not supposed to notice any sexy men except your husband?”

“Not that I’ve heard of.” Nicky took a sip of Emily’s drink and winced. “Apart from having strange taste buds you’re the perfect woman. You’re single, over-the-top gorgeous and my sister. What more could a man want?”
 

Emily pulled her drink closer. “I’m not interested in dating anyone. And leave my drink alone. I’m wallowing in self-pity.”

“Who said anything about dating,” Gracie said, picking up one of the fries and blowing on it. “Talking’s a good place to start.”

“Forget about the dating thing,” Nicky said. “Why are you feeling sorry for yourself?”

Gracie looked over the top of Emily’s head. “Don’t look now, but Alex is heading over here. He doesn’t look happy about something.”

Emily pushed against Nicky’s arm. “Move it, sis. I’ve got to use the bathroom.”

“No you don’t.” Nicky grinned. “You’re just trying to get away from Alex. I’m not moving.”

“If you value being my sister you’ll move your size six body now or I’ll jump over the top of you.”

“Why can’t you admit that you still like him?”

“Because I don’t like him. He annoys me and makes me want to…”

Alex stood beside their table. All five-foot-eight inches of pure ornery bull staring straight at her. His gaze flicked across to Gracie. “Trent’s been trying to call you. He’s still at the ranch. One of the heifers went into labor a couple of hours ago and they’re having problems.”

“Poor man’s got more pregnant females around than he can cope with.” Gracie sighed. “Did he say how long he’d be?”

“No idea. Doc Johnson’s gone out to see if he needs a hand.”

Emily looked between Gracie and Alex. “But Doc Johnson’s a human doctor. Why is he helping Trent?” Alex turned his head toward her. She felt her face flaming redder than the cherry bobbing in her drink.
 

“The vet wasn’t available.”

Emily stared at him. He wasn’t making much sense, but then she’d always had a hard time understanding how his brain worked.
 

Alex nodded at Gracie. “Trent said to check the batteries on your cell phone.”

“I swear that man is going to worry me into an early grave.” Gracie unzipped her bag and glanced at her cell phone before waving it in the air. “One fully recharged cell phone and no husband in sight.”

“At least someone listens to what a man has to say.” Alex sent a pointed look in Emily’s direction.

“Only when a man makes sense,” Emily replied. “And painting the ground floor orange is not what I’d call sensible.”

“It’s called Goldfish and it’s a hundred times better than Bordello Red.”

Nicky looked between Emily and Alex. “You two sound like an old married couple.”

“Drink this.” Emily pushed her drink across to her sister. “It might unfuddle your brain. There’s a really good reason why I stopped dating Alex two years ago. He’s totally color blind and thinks he knows everything there is to know about interior design.”

“I give up,” Alex said with a snarl. “The painters arrive at seven o’clock sharp on Monday morning. If we haven’t agreed on a color before then I’m telling them to paint the walls white.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Alex took a step forward, leaning his arms on the table. “Lady, the way I feel right now I’d just as soon paint the whole building white.”

Emily pinched her lips tight and didn’t say a word.
 

“With black stripes and yellow dots,” he added with a smile that bordered on downright dangerous.

“Shoo.” Gracie waved her arms in front of Alex’s face. “Cody just walked in and he needs male company. He broke up with Jacinta a few days ago and he’s feeling sorry for himself.”

Alex pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to Gracie. “Happy baby shower.”

Emily didn’t care if Gracie thought her brother was the second most amazing man on the planet. For three weeks he’d been driving her insane with all of his talk about drywall and circuit boards. As soon as they got to the really exciting parts of the remodel, like choosing paint colors and light fittings, he’d decided to keep making most of the decisions.

After looking at every paint chart known to mankind, there was no way the walls of her boutique would end up orange or white, and that’s all there was to it.