Montana Promises (The Wildes of Birch Bay Book 5)

by Kim Law

  “Wait.” She paused in the act of opening her door. “More men are coming?” She was going to have to bring Brooke in on this. “Are they all as hot as Dre?” Dre was six three, skin the toasty color of Dwayne Johnson’s, cut with muscle, and he had a shaved head and close-cropped beard that reminded her of Taye Diggs. And as she’d said before . . . yummm.

  Nate eyed her as he reached behind his seat and retrieved a handful of rolled-up papers. “You certainly have the hots for Dre.”

  “Well, duh. Have you looked at him? He’s hot.”

  He laughed as he followed her out, the sound coming across more as shock and astonishment than all-around humor, and as they met back up in front of his truck, he peered down at her. His eyes weren’t laughing, but as usual, she couldn’t tell what thoughts ran behind them. “Should I put in a good word with him for you?”

  She thought of how odd it was to have one man whom her subconscious wanted to think about at the top and bottom of every hour telling her about other men and offering to put in a good word for her. Life was strange sometimes.

  “Absolutely.” She pointed toward the nearest table. “Now let’s eat while the food is still warm, and then you can get busy propositioning me.”

  Chapter Nine

  The idea of propositioning Megan had floated through his mind several times over the last few days, and only one of those ways had involved business. And that was the only one he could entertain. If he hadn’t already assured himself of that fact, her infatuation with one of his best friends would have sealed that fate for him today. Or, at least, it should have.

  What it had done, however, was make him want to drive back to the house and tell Dre that his time here was over. Which was just ridiculous. He knew Megan was dating. Hell, he wanted her to date. He wanted her to find a good man, and Dre definitely was that. And if she did find a good man, then hopefully the ridiculously lustful thoughts that had made a hobby of taking root in his head would stop.

  But did he want her dating his friends?

  Honestly, he wasn’t so sure about that. Nor did he know why the thought bothered him.

  “This table okay with you?” she asked, and Nate agreed without even paying attention to where they’d ended up. It didn’t matter, anyway, as long as there weren’t clumps of people standing nearby. And at a quick glance, that didn’t appear to be the case.

  “Sit.” He nodded toward the table, letting her choose a side before he circled around and lowered himself so that he faced her.

  What he wanted to talk about was business-related, and given he’d decided to keep the changes to the farm quiet for as long as possible, he’d rather this conversation remain private. And he wanted to keep things quiet because with their tight timeline, he could afford no delay with distractions. No time for everyone in town to decide they needed to stop by just to see how things were going. The number of people who’d likely visit once his dad got home would already be bad enough, so he had to get as much work done as possible before that happened.

  He sliced a meatball in half and forked up it, as well as a mouthful of potato. “Do you come over here to eat often?” He hadn’t intended to grab lunch at the café today. He’d planned to hit a drive-thru and down a couple of burgers while on the road. But given he’d been heading to The Cherry Basket for the specific purpose of speaking with Megan, when he’d seen her entering the café down the street, he’d quickly readjusted his plans.

  “I hope to now that the store is downtown and the weather is warming up.” She dipped a corner of her sandwich into her soup. “I love the lake.”

  “Yeah?” To many people he knew, the mid-sixties wouldn’t yet be considered “warming up.” But then, to others he’d been around over the years, it would practically be summertime. “What do you love about it? The sound of the lapping water, the quiet?” He studied her, wondering if Jaden had ever taken her out on the lake. If not here, then in Seattle. “Or are you more of a get-out-there-in-the-middle-of-it, water-activities person?”

  A light flashed in her eyes, and she swallowed her bite of food. “I’m a get-out-in-the-middle-of-it, read-a-book, and take-a-nap kind of person.”

  “Ah.” He should have guessed. “The introvert.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Not totally. But enough of one to enjoy the quiet of sitting alone with a good book.”

  “And what about if someone were sitting in the boat with you while you read your book?” He didn’t know why he’d asked that. It sounded like an invitation.

  It wasn’t, though.

  At least, he didn’t think so.

  But the idea of buying a boat suddenly held appeal.

  “As long as that someone was worth being on a boat with, I suppose.” She concentrated on her food, her eyes seeming to be intentionally downcast, and Nate couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking of a specific person. Or if he’d like her answer if she told him who it was.

  “Like Dre?” he asked. And then he put his fork down. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

  “Like”—her gaze lifted back to his—“whoever I might date, I suppose. Or maybe friends.”

  He’d like to take her out on a boat. “How about fishing? Do you enjoy that?”

  “I enjoy watching people fish.” Her gaze seemed to go hazy then, and she peered off toward the lake. He held his breath as he waited, giving her a moment with whatever memory the idea of fishing had dragged out, but his brow furrowed when she bit down on her lower lip.

  She hadn’t yet turned back, so he whispered her name.

  “What?” she whispered back. But she still didn’t look his way. He could tell that her breaths had grown shallow. Her chest rose and fell with her quickened breaths.

  “What’s wrong, Meg?” He almost reached over to cover her hand like he had at the house, but he stopped himself at the last minute. They might be friends, but touching her should be kept to a minimum. “You look sad,” he added.

  “I am sad.”

  She didn’t say anything else, and he couldn’t find any other words to fill the void. So, he just waited. Like him, she’d quit eating. But unlike him, she remained far off and in some other place and time.

  Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, and when those brown orbs once again turned to him, his fingers slid to the middle of the table.

  “You’re still sad,” he pointed out. But he did manage to keep himself from closing the distance.

  “I was remembering my aunt. She used to love going out on her boat.”

  He picked up on the past tense of the word and assumed that was telling. “Did she take you out with her?”

  Megan nodded. “Any time I asked.”

  “Do you want to tell me about her?” The request surprised him, but at the same time, it also felt right. And he wasn’t merely offering a venue for her to express memories that obviously still caused a lot of pain. He was hoping she’d share that pain. With him.

  But once again she shook her head, this time in a distinct negative motion, then she pointed to the blueprints he’d pulled from the back seat of the truck. “What are those?”

  Oh, yeah. He’d almost forgotten why they were here.

  Reaching over, he slid the rolls of paper in front of him and moved the remains of his lunch to the side. But before he spread out the ideas that until today he’d only seen in his head or roughly drawn onto a piece of paper, he pressed his forearms against the edge of the wood table and leaned in. “These have to do with the proposition that I wanted to talk to you about.”

  She nodded, her eyes flickering between him and the papers. “What’s the proposition?”

  He began unrolling the first blueprint. “I don’t have a basement for you to work in, but I’ll gladly add to the savings account that’ll someday hopefully buy you one. I’m hoping you’ll put your skills to use for us and create the website for our new venture.”

  “The website?” She nodded. “Of course. I’ve actually already started thinking about it.” />
  He chuckled. He should have known she would have.

  “And you don’t have to pay me to do it.”

  “We’ll pay you, Megan. It’s what you get out of the proposition.”

  As he finished unfurling the document between them, he watched as her excitement built, and when he had it fully spread out, her mouth dropped open. “These are blueprints for the cabins!” Pure thrill registered on her face. “So soon?”

  “It has to be soon.” He weighted the edges of the paper down with the remnants of their lunches. “I only have a matter of weeks to get these done.” He tapped the others still tucked against him. “I have three different designs, one smaller and with only one bedroom, and the other with a larger gathering space for people who want to rent more than one at a time but then all congregate together in one space. I talked an old friend into putting a rush on these. I just picked them up today.”

  “Oh my God, Nate.” She lifted up off the bench and bent one leg under her so she could rest back down at a higher position. “This is terrific.” Her fingers traced over the outline of the walls.

  “I didn’t know if you’d find this part of the process as exciting as me, but I wanted to show them to somebody.” And he’d wanted to show them to her.

  “Of course I find this part exciting. It’s the beginning.”

  And it wasn’t the end. He didn’t say the words, but it felt as if they’d run through both of their minds. She’d seemed as invested as he in revamping the orchard and keeping the place in the family, so that was probably why he’d thought of showing it to her first. But then, it’s possible he’d just wanted to see this kind of reaction firsthand. Because no matter what he’d said, he’d had a feeling she’d be as excited as him.

  “So, what do you think?” He waited for her to look up at him. “We have ten weeks to get the cabins finished and signed off for occupancy. Any chance we could have a functioning website done before then, too?”

  “I can have a prototype done by next week. I’ll check with Dani on marketing ideas that I can work into the site as well.” She hadn’t looked up, as he’d hoped, but the joy that remained on her face when she reached over and unrolled another blueprint thrilled him. “But I have an addendum to the proposition,” she said.

  “Name it.” For some reason, he suspected he’d give her anything. Just to have her involved.

  This time, she did look up. And he was lost in the pull of her enthusiasm. “I want to help design the interiors.” She tapped on the master bedroom in the second blueprint. “Each cabin needs its own design, though similarities should run throughout all to tie them together. I’ve already been thinking about that, too. How each one can be different but unique.”

  Surprise had him sitting like a stone on the bench. “You’ve been thinking about the design of the cabins?”

  “I told you, I have too much free time on my hands.” She reached for the third blueprint and spread it out, and he could see the wheels in her head turning. “And I know I’m not an actual designer, but—”

  “You did a good job designing the new store.”

  She looked up at him. And then her smile lit up her face. “So, it’s a deal, then? You’ll let me help?”

  “A website and a woman’s touch on the interiors?” He’d be a fool to say no. Reaching across the span of the picnic table, he finally did what he’d been itching to do since the moment they’d sat down. He wrapped his fingers around hers, and he silently savored the feel of her softer skin against his. “It’s a deal.”

  “And then there was that time with Meleah. Remember her?”

  “We all remember her.”

  “Well, I remembered her first.”

  Laughter rang out around Nate as the eleven guys he’d brought in for this job joked about women of years past. Listening, he slumped farther into his seat and angled his head back. Exhaustion bore down on him—on all of them, no doubt—but the day wouldn’t be complete without a toast around a fire.

  They’d spent the weekend before getting the foundations poured, then after successful inspections had given them approval to move forward, they’d worked from dawn until dusk the last few days. And as of six o’clock that evening, frames on all ten of the cabins were officially up. The sheathing still had to be applied tomorrow and then the plumbing and electrical could be roughed in, but as far as projects went, this one had started off strong.

  They’d called it a day a couple of hours ago, then after showers, all of them had met back up at the house. Burgers had been grilled. Someone had plopped a fire pit in the middle of the deck, and flames were rolling. And they were all now busy getting shit-faced.

  At least, several of them were. Nate had drunk only one beer—he rarely had more since his stint in rehab a year after he’d left home—and another of the guys who was originally from Salt Lake City also always made it a point never to drink more than one. Dre remained mostly sober, as well, as did Conner, who didn’t partake at all.

  The rest of them, though? They were heading down the path of a bad morning headache. But they deserved it. They’d worked hard.

  Chris stood, beer held out, and offered a salute to all the houses—and all the women—any of them had ever driven nails into. Raucous laughter followed. And then so did the sight of a little red car.

  Before everyone quieted from Chris’s “joke,” Nate had his gaze trained on the Prius that he found himself constantly keeping a watch for anytime he drove through town. He hadn’t seen Megan in almost a week and wondered what she was doing there now. Then he wondered how in the world he’d manage to keep this bunch from turning their conversation to her.

  Dre noticed her next, and Nate watched as he sat up in his seat. He rubbed a hand down over his jaw, put his beer on the ground, and was on his feet even before Nate could do the same.

  “What is it?” Conner asked as both Nate and Dre stood, then he swung his gaze around in time to catch Megan climbing out of her car.

  “Who is it?” someone else said.

  Nate heard another voice reply, “Someone who’s now next on my list of women to get to know,” as Megan came around the front of her car, and then all sounds from the other men ceased. Megan wore some sort of garment tossed over her shoulders that looked like a small blanket, its ends hanging in angles past her hips, along with what looked similar to a pair of military-style black boots. Dark-washed jeans showcased her trim figure, and a form-fitting long-sleeved black T-shirt had been tucked in at her waist. She might be small in stature, but the woman definitely packed a punch.

  “Meg,” Nate called out before anyone else spoke and headed toward the stairs.

  “Hey.” She turned her one-hundred-watt smile on him, giving him the satisfaction of knowing that with eleven other men there, all hoping for her attention, he’d snagged it first. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  “Of course not. We’re just having a beer.” He paused before tossing out the obligatory “come on up,” then clenched his jaw to keep from taking it back. He didn’t want her up there in the middle of the guys.

  “Thanks,” she said. And then she turned the same smile she’d offered to him to every other man waiting behind him.

  His stomach sank at the sight, but he ignored the implication. It shouldn’t matter that she hadn’t come out there just to see him. And clearly, she hadn’t. She’d dressed up. She smelled like heaven as she passed him on the stairs. And the assessing way her eyes took in each of the other men told him that, though he might be the one whose house she’d come to, he wasn’t where her interest lay.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Dre eyed her from where he’d stood. “What brings you out tonight?”

  “The better question is, who will she be taking home with her tonight.” That came from Cade, and one of the other guys elbowed the idiot in the gut.

  “Oof,” Cade said, bending forward from the hit, but Nate noticed that he never lost his smile—nor took his eyes off Megan.

  “Give it up, Tuttle,�
�� Nate said. He shot the other man a look that couldn’t be misinterpreted. “You’re nowhere near good enough for her.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Cade winked at Megan and finished with, “Nice boots.”

  “Thanks.” She literally preened in front of them. One leg bent at the knee, heel coming off the ground, showing off the side of one boot that, given the snubbed chunky heel, should come across as more work-ready than sex-kitten. It didn’t, though. Then she rewarded Cade with another grin. “They belong to my friend Brooke.”

  “Brooke, huh?” Cade’s interest piqued even more. “The one who was with you last week?”

  “That’s her.”

  He shook his head back and forth and tsked. “You should have brought her with you tonight.”

  She laughed, the sound strong and clear, and it shot straight to Nate’s dick. “Maybe I’ll do that next time.”

  Irritation—and a bit of astonishment—had kept Nate silent longer than it should have. Whatever the hell this was going on right in front of him, he was ready for it to end. “Meg,” he said again, and once again headed her way. Only this time he didn’t stop until he reached her. He put a hand to the small of her back. “Let me introduce you.”

  Going around the group, Nate introduced the men one by one, all the while watching Megan’s reaction, attempting to figure out what she thought of them. Knowing her, she’d text him later to get his thoughts on the lot of them, but at this point he couldn’t say that he’d recommend even one. Nor had he put in a good word for her with Dre.

  He didn’t know why he’d offered in the first place. The bunch of them were hoodlums and not good enough.

  Of course, that hadn’t stopped Dre from asking about her. He’d brought her up in conversation one day, and once he’d discovered that she’d once dated Jaden, he’d not only grilled Nate for more information, but the couple of times Jaden had been around, he’d laid into him, as well.