Thunder Snow (Thunder On The Mountain Series) (18 page)

“It occurred to me you would have thought I was grieving for her, and nothing could have been further from the truth. There was no way you could have known, and I knew I had to tell you. I knew you wouldn’t take my call, but I had to try.

“That Marcie’s name was still on title on all of the houses was an oversight, one I took care of immediately. I called your dad and asked him not to tell you who I was because I was so afraid you wouldn’t see me, that you would be done with me.”

I was crying in earnest now.

“I looked and looked, and I couldn’t find anything to fill the void that was part of my life without you in it. You aren’t Marcie. There is nothing in you that would ever even understand a woman like Marcie. I will never be able to make up for the hurt I caused. I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am. But I want to spend the rest of my life trying.”

Tears streamed down my face. I didn’t care if I was getting his shirt wet. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to absorb what I was hearing; tried to let go of the pain. 

“There were days when I thought I wouldn’t be able to survive for the loss of you,” I said. "There was not a minute that passed when you weren’t with me. When you left, most of me went with you. Then I’d remember the baby and know I would find the strength.

“I have never known the heart could be torn out of the chest and keep beating. There is not a part of you I don’t love – the good and the bad –– the gentle and the hard.”

He stood up and cupped my face with his hands. “I love you to the point of obsession. You are every fantasy I never even knew I had. There is nothing in my life I want if you’re not in it. Marry me, little one? You have my solemn promise I will never leave you, not ever again.”

“Yes, please,” I said almost shyly. He tilted my head and kissed me in the magical way that only he could.

“There will not be a day in your life that you will regret your decision, I promise.”

He pressed the button on the intercom, all the while keeping me close. “Ms. Hays, I’m leaving now. I’ll be in touch in the next few days."

“Yes, Mr. Montgomery.”

He pushed a panel on the bookshelf. It opened to what was obviously a private entrance. He turned and offered me his hand.

“Ready?”

Taking his hand, I said, “Beyond a shadow of a doubt . . .”

~ The End ~

Book Two
In The
THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN
Series

T H U N D E R   S T R U C K

Available November 2013

By
Mimi Foster

~~~
C H A P T E R   O N E

S
o I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow?” Andrew said, taking my face in his hands and kissing me on the forehead, nose, lips.

“That should work for me. I have a dress fitting and a few errands in the morning, but I should be able to meet you at The James about noon.”

“Sure you won’t stay tonight?” he cajoled. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Don’t tempt me. Three more weeks, then we have the rest of our lives. Didn’t think I’d make it, but I’m loving our new playfulness. How are YOU holding up?”

“Come home with me and I’ll show you,” he teased.

“You’re incorrigible,” I laughed.

He took my face one more time and gave me his special kiss. I was glad we had made the decision to not be together the last month before the wedding. It was fun to be back on an ‘I can’t wait to be with you’ footing.

What a crazy few weeks it had been. With all of the planning, the sale of my Brooklyn brownstone, and plans for the honeymoon, I had taken an extended leave of absence from the law firm. I turned over my case files to Andrew so it was easy to fill him in when he had questions. And, if I was going to be totally honest with myself, I was enjoying the time off. The past few years had been at least twelve-hour days with very little down time. It sometimes surprised me that Andrew and I had been able to build a relationship, but our working proximity made it convenient, and he had been persistent.

I had sublet an apartment for a month from a friend who was out of town, and it was all working out. Several friends were helping with wedding details, and I was getting excited enough to want to enjoy the last few weeks of planning, relaxing, and spending time with people who meant something to me. I knew I wouldn’t have this opportunity again.

“Hello, Father,” I said as he answered his phone.

“Good evening, Jordanna. Ready to come back to work yet?” My dad was the only one who called me by my full name.

“Not a chance, but thanks for the offer,” I was quick to reply. “Actually I was calling to let you know I have completely cleared my schedule and handed everything over to Andrew. I’ve brought him up to date on my entire caseload, so if you have any questions, you can check with him.”

“Are you sure he’s up to the task?”

“You’re not?” I was a little surprised at his question.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. He seems competent enough, but he doesn’t hold a candle to Jordanna Olivia. I have faith in your judgment, though, so I’ll begin showing him the inner workings of Whitman and Burke.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your vote of confidence. I’m sure you’ll find he’s quite clever at handling the clients in a savvy and skilled manner.”

“I’ll start spending more time with your young man. But don’t you be a stranger. Stop in when you’re in the City. Maybe we can do lunch next week? Call Carol and set something up.”

“Sure will. Thank you, Father.”

~~~

September in New York is beautiful. Getting up early, I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I met Andrew for lunch. I was going to enjoy my new-found freedom. Finishing two errands, I entered the third store carefree and happy at my morning finds. This boutique was certainly as cute as I had heard. I was looking for lingerie for our wedding night, and the garden-level provided just the right amount of light and privacy for intimate-apparel shopping.

Coming out of the fitting room, I could see Andrew through the tinted window leaving the building across the street. Surprised and pleased to see him, I started to call out when I remembered my scanty attire. Hurrying to the dressing room, I grabbed my phone and headed back to the window to text him and let him know where I was. Just then he turned toward the blond woman who had walked out behind him. They got very close, and I thought I must have been mistaken that it was Andrew, so I set my phone down.

Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her forehead, nose, lips. The breath left my body. He turned in my direction, holding on to her. Her head resting on his chest, he stroked her hair in the all-too-familiar way he had done to me so many times before. I was in shock. What does one do now?

Think, Jordan, think.
Several seconds passed before the adrenaline started surging and I became more coherent and focused. I grabbed an available robe from a nearby hook and quietly opened the door. Magnifying my phone camera for a close up, I was able to capture several shots of Andrew holding her face and kissing her before they slowly broke apart. Knowing there was no way I would be able to face him, I let the door close and texted to tell him something had come up and I wouldn’t be able to meet. I saw him receive the text and immediately ran to catch up with blondie. His arm was around her as they walked away.

What had just happened? Had I lost my mind? Was it possible I was mistaken? I looked at the pictures again. This was no mistake. I had been kissed like that too many times to not understand that life as I knew it had just changed, and my world was being rocked to its very foundation. The clerk was very sweet when I told her something had come up and I would have to leave without purchasing her diaphanous creations. In a stupor, alternating between shock and anger, I wasn’t sure where to go, who to call, what to do. So I wandered . . . wandered and thought, wandered and absorbed, and wandered some more.

I wasn’t aware of taking the subway into the City, but there I stood in front of the office of my best friend. Could I tell her about this? Was I jumping to conclusions? When would the shaking stop? One look at me and Jeni knew something was wrong. “What is it, Jordan? What happened?” she said, coming around the desk to put her arms around me.

Unable to get the words out, I pulled my phone from my purse and showed her the pictures. I saw awareness dawn as she realized what she was seeing, and then the anger washed over her. “I wanted to make excuses that maybe you were wrong, maybe it was his cousin, maybe it wasn’t really him, but it’s Andrew, isn’t it?” she asked with fire in her eyes.

Nodding, I was furious but numb. I didn’t want to cry, but I certainly felt like throwing things. And I couldn’t help but wonder how I could have been so wrong about someone. What rocked me to my boots was marveling at how I couldn’t have seen it coming. A thousand questions, and they all came back to, “How could I have been so stupid? Was this somehow my fault?”

“Don’t you DARE go there, Jordanna Olivia Whitman, don’t you DARE! This is not your fault, it’s his! You will not take an ounce of guilt over this.”

“Oh, Jeni, it’s not really guilt, it’s self doubt. It’s anger and disbelief and stupidity in not seeing. How could I have been so blind? What if I had MARRIED him? And the questions keep coming. How long has it been going on? Who is she? What did he want from me? But the recurring question is,
How could I have been so stupid
?”

“You had absolutely no way of knowing. What are you going to do?”

“I have no idea, but I’m open to suggestions?”

“Are you going to tell him? Surely you’re going to call off the wedding?”

“There’s no way I can talk to him right now without him knowing something’s wrong. And OF COURSE I’m going to call off the wedding. I’m just not sure where I’ll go now that I sold my brownstone.”

“Oh, Jordan! Remember that letter you got a few weeks ago saying that you had inherited land and a Bed and Breakfast in some crazy little town? Where was that, Colorado? Did you ever respond? Maybe you could go there for a while.”

“I’ve got lots of time off. Would people think I was running away?”

“Who gives a rip what anyone else thinks? It’s your life. You get to do what you want right now.”

“Getting drunk sounds like a good alternative,” I suggested hopefully.

“We can get a drink or two, but you need your brains, and you need a clear head. I’m done here for the day. Let’s go talk this through.”

We walked to a corner store, bought a bottle of wine, and headed up to my temporary condo. Jeni was such a good friend.

“Any idea what you want to do, sweetheart?”

“Right now, not a clue. But I have to admit the idea of going to Nederland is looking more and more appealing.”

Just then the familiar ding of Andrew’s text came through.
Sorry you couldn’t make it for lunch. I was so lonely today without you. Can you do dinner?

Can’t make it. Out with Jeni. Will be in touch tomorrow. Maybe you can find something else fun to do?

Nothing’s fun without you.

I couldn’t even respond. Good Grief. My stomach clinched. How long had this been going on? I couldn’t decide if I felt more angry or stupid.

After spending hours with Jeni, I was warming to the idea of leaving town. “Not sure where the letter ended up in all of the confusion of my move, but I remember the name of the Realtor that the lawyer mentioned. He said I could contact her if I wanted to sell the place. I’ll call her and get whatever details I need. In the meantime, what do I do about all of the guests, the gifts, the caterers, the travel arrangements, the PLANS??”

“We don’t pursue anything until you’ve had a good night’s sleep,” Jeni wisely said as we were parting ways. “It’s been a long day. Your world has tilted on its axis. You need at least a night to sleep on it and see if this is really what you want to do. Let’s regroup in the morning and see how you feel.”

“Jeni?”

“Yes, sweetheart?

“There’s an extra room. Wanna spend the night with me? My clothes will fit you. In the morning we’re either going to be on the same page, or you’ll be able to talk me down from the cliff. What do you say?”

“Of course! No one plots better than you and I together. It’ll be like old times. You bet I will!”

The morning dawned clear, and so did my brain. There was no question what I wanted to do. I had never considered myself vindictive, but I was ready to carry out our plans.

Jeni and I spent the day together contacting caterers and venues and making all of the necessary arrangements to cancel a wedding that had been in the planning stages for many months. Then we went to a print shop and waited while we had the UNINVITATIONS printed, as Jeni was calling them, that we had designed the night before.

It was Saturday evening. I had a plane ticket to Denver for Monday noon, and had made contact so I knew how to meet Callie Montgomery when I got there. I hadn’t had much contact with Andrew since the events of yesterday morning, and that was a good thing. What surprised me was that at no time did I feel sadness over something lost.

I was hoping my trip would give me some time to examine things, but for now, there wasn’t any part of me that wanted to cry . . . or to answer Andrew’s calls. I

returned his texts to tell him I was spending the weekend with Jeni doing wedding stuff and I would contact him on Monday, all of which was true. I didn’t figure he was pining for me.

“I think it’s poetic justice,” Jeni said, “but I don’t have as much at stake as you do. Sure you wanna go through with this?”

“Telling my dad will be the worst of it, but I’m sure he’ll find a way to put a favorable spin on it. We both know how adept he is at that sort of thing.”

“No question he’s the master. Okay, sweetheart, let’s get these things addressed.”

~~~

Everything was in place by early Monday. Arrangements had been canceled, all of the uninvites were ready for Jeni to drop in the mail. She had been such a trooper, staying with me the whole time, talking me through my ups and downs, helping me get the details done. Most important had been her encouragement that life was going to look so different in a little while. She was excited to visit me in the wilds of Colorado after I got settled. I had one last stop to make before leaving town.

Knowing he was at work, I used my key to let myself into Andrew’s apartment on my way to the airport. My purpose was twofold: to check and make sure I had all of my belongings from his place, and to leave him a copy of the uninvite so he’d have some clue of what was about to hit him.

Jeni and I had discussed the pros and cons of giving him a warning, but it was all the more delicious to me to think that he would know for a while beforehand and there wasn’t one thing he could do to stop it. I had a momentary twinge of doubt about whether or not I wanted to go through with it until I saw two wine glasses in the sink, one with a telltale hint of lipstick. I had made the right decision. Much harder would be the phone call to my father during the cab ride.

~~~

As Jordan was landing at Denver International Airport, Andrew was arriving home after a long day. He hadn’t talked with her in a few days, but recognized Jordan’s handwriting on the distinctive envelope on the counter. He immediately looked around hoping nothing was out of place.

It was strange that her key was on the counter. “Jordan?” he called out. “You here?” He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that everything appeared to be in order. Opening the envelope, he made a mental note to remember to be more careful in the future.