Rebuttal would have felt good if she could have come up with a reasonable excuse for her prior behavior. Unfortunately, she knew he was right. If she’d truly accepted him, she would have trusted and defended him, just as she had in her teens. She had doubted instead. And now she would pay the consequences.
“All right. Make yourself at home with the pups while I take Stormy for a walk,” she said, following her statement with a sigh.
Tony paused by the puppies while Annette bent to clip the leash to the collar before leading her canine companion out into the sunshine. Away from Tony. And away from a problem she had no idea how to remedy.
A ridiculous thought had her envisioning herself, prostrate with grief at Tony’s feet, grabbing his ankles, wailing like a child having a tantrum, sobbing out her repentance and vowing everlasting love.
She rolled her eyes. That was so not going to happen.
Chapter Nine
Disgusted with himself for letting his temper get the better of him, Tony left the pups and went to wash up. The slam of a door echoed a few moments later.
Tony was drying his hands as he emerged from the bathroom. “Oh, hi, Rusty. Annette’ll be right back. She’s walking the dog.”
“And what’re you up to?”
“Me? I came to check the pups. How about you?”
“Never you mind,” the old man said gruffly. “What I want to know is why you’re hangin’ around so much and makin’ yourself to home here.” His bushy eyebrows knit. “It ain’t good for Miss Annette to have a man goin’ in and out the way you’ve been.”
“It doesn’t seem to bother you to do it.”
“When you get to be as old as I am, folks cut you some slack. Besides, I’m old enough to know better,” Rusty countered. “You, on the other hand...”
“Will not be in Jasper Gulch one minute longer than necessary,” Tony assured him.
“That so?”
“Yes. That’s so.”
Rusty shrugged his bony shoulders beneath a worn denim jacket. “You sure about that?”
Tony could feel his stare cutting to the bone. Was he sure? Of course he was. Yet...
“Uh-huh. That’s what I thought,” Rusty said when Tony failed to continue. “Just don’t you go breakin’ the lady’s heart again, you hear? Or you’ll have to answer to me.”
“I’d never do anything like that on purpose,” Tony insisted. “I didn’t the first time, either.”
“Then how come she says you did?”
Tony decided it wouldn’t hurt to speak his mind. “She doesn’t. Not anymore. I wrote to her after my family moved. She didn’t get my letters.”
“Her mama.” It wasn’t a question. “Figures.” Rusty removed his beat-up Stetson and ran his gnarled fingers through his hair. “Miz Lakey always was one to climb up on her high horse a lot, if you get my drift. How’d Annette find out?”
Shrugging, Tony hoped he looked a lot more nonchalant than he was feeling. “She asked her.”
“Good. Then why the long face, son?”
“It’s complicated.”
Rusty gave him a lopsided smile and arched one eyebrow. “You sure about that? Seems to me she wouldn’t have asked in the first place if she didn’t sort of believe your story.”
“Sort of doesn’t cut it.”
“Suit yourself. Looks like it would do you both a load of good if you set aside the past and just got on with enjoyin’ the future.” He chortled. “You was the one askin’ for a fresh start. Suppose you give her one, too?”
The old man’s country wisdom left him speechless.
It also created the question of how Tony could possibly make amends and whether or not Annette would be able to forgive him for doing the same thing he had accused her of.
There was an additional element to that puzzle, too. How to heal the breach between them without giving the impression that he was only trying to take up where they’d left off ten years before.
One thing was clear. It was time for a heart-to-heart, no-holds-barred conversation, and since he’d refused to participate when she had suggested the very same solution, it was going to be up to him to make it happen.
* * *
Annette had almost hoped Tony would be gone by the time she returned from walking Stormy. Instead, it looked as if he’d been waiting for her. Not only that, there was a seriousness to his demeanor that took her by surprise.
Her first reaction was worry. “Are the puppies all right?”
“They’re fine. Fat and sassy.”
“Then why...?”
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why?”
When he answered “Because I’ve been wrong,” she stared.
“About what?”
“About judging you. It wasn’t fair of me to want you to blindly trust me when I was assuming the worst about you, too.”
She arched an eyebrow. “The worst? How?”
“I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt concerning your mother’s past actions. I know you couldn’t help doubting me when you naturally trusted your parents to be straight with you.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s normal for kids to look up to their folks and believe them, even if they’re twisting the truth.”
Annette heaved a noisy sigh and began to shake her head. “Exactly. I’m still having trouble grasping the entire story. She said she and Dad were just trying to protect me.”
“From me, obviously.”
“Yes. And you really can’t blame them when you look at the situation as an adult. You and I had little in common and were far too young to know what lasting love was.”
The slight smile that twitched at the corners of Tony’s mouth made him so attractive she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and give him a conciliatory kiss. Instead, she let herself smile back at him while adding, “We were just caught up in the moment, the confusion of teenage angst and the idea of a fairy-tale romance. At least I know I was.”
“Right,” Tony agreed. “We were dumb kids.”
“Not dumb, simply naive. Who knows how far wrong we might have gone if circumstances hadn’t split us up. It was just hard to let go of the fantasy that we were a couple. At least it was for me.”
“What about now? Have you thought about that?”
Another sigh punctuated her reply as she nodded. “Yes, actually I have. Logically, we’re even less likely to belong together than we did years ago.” She spread her arms wide. “Look at us. What do we have in common now?”
He eyed the puppies and waggled his eyebrows. “Fur babies?”
“Right.” She grinned. “And their mama. What am I going to do with them? I finally did post flyers and have had zero response. Not even a query.”
“If you have trouble finding new homes I suppose I could take one of them with me once they’re weaned in a few more weeks. Stormy is the logical one to stay with you since she’s house-broken.”
Annette opened her mouth to protest about keeping a pet the way she usually did, then snapped it closed. He was right. She already loved the dogs’ companionship and knew her life would feel even more empty if she gave them all away. Added to that, of course, was the constant attention the litter had brought from her favorite veterinarian. That was what she was going to miss the most.
The notion of expressing such a telling truth came and went in a flash. It was clear from Tony’s standoffish attitude and the way he’d changed the subject that he had no intention of staying in Jasper Gulch, not even fo
r her sake. The only way to preserve what little pride she had left was to keep her most tender sentiments to herself.
But oh, my, she was going to miss him.
* * *
The next Sunday morning dawned bright and fair. It was Tony’s third in Jasper Gulch, if he counted the day of his arrival, and he’d made up his mind to go to church.
Biblically, he was “putting out the fleece,” meaning he was asking God for confirmation about his change of heart the same way Gideon had in the Old Testament book of Judges. He’d already had an in-depth conversation with J.T. about the possibility of joining his practice and knew where he stood in that regard. The opportunity was real. All that was left was to decide what to do about it.
There was no assurance that sticking around would make Annette care for him again, but he wanted to give their relationship a fair chance. If these citizens of Jasper Gulch acted as if they accepted him into their congregation, he’d take that as a favorable sign and proceed with his new plans. If they did not, he’d have to rethink everything. The last thing he wanted to do was cause damage, however innocently, to Annette’s business and reputation.
Elderly Reverend Peters greeted him as if they were old friends, making Tony wonder if the old man was more confused than friendly. However, when stranger after stranger smiled and shook his hand, Tony began to grin. So far so good.
When he spotted Annette at a distance, his heart began to race and he suddenly realized he had his answer. Overall tolerance was not necessary as long as one particular woman accepted him. The choice was made.
* * *
Nearby conversation lessened and her friends changed their focus, causing Annette to look behind her.
“Tony!”
He reached for her hand, thrilled when she didn’t pull away. “I was hoping I’d find you here.”
“I wasn’t lost. You know where I live and work.”
“I know. That didn’t come out right. Nothing does when I’m trying to talk to you.”
Annette smiled at him. “I know what you mean.”
“We should start over,” he said.
She shook her head. “Uh-uh. No way. You’re about to leave again and I’m still struggling with the last time you dropped out of my life.”
“Suppose I told you I’ve given it some serious thought and changed my mind? Would that please you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been talking to J.T. He’s always preferred doctoring large animals and I like dogs and cats, so we came up with a solution. He’s offered me a partnership if I want it.”
“Here? In Jasper Gulch? But you hate it here.”
“It’s actually not that bad. I think I got so used to putting the place down, I didn’t even consider the fact that my feelings about living here had changed.”
Her jaw dropped. Tony lifted it with one finger under her chin and began to grin. “Does this mean you’re glad?”
All she could do was nod rapidly as a few happy tears slipped down her cheeks and his thumb whisked them away.
She sniffled. “You’re—you’re staying? In spite of all the wild-and-woolly farm animals coming to town for the rodeo soon?”
“Yes. J.T. should be back by July, but even if he isn’t, I’ll manage.” He grinned. “We’ll manage. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to see if you and I can make something good out of our troubled past.”
“I like the way your mind works, mister.” She gave a soft chuckle and saw his puzzled expression, so she hurried to explain. “I guess this means I can stop trying to decide how much to ask for the Cutting Edge.”
“What?”
“I was seriously thinking of selling out and following you wherever you ended up.”
“You were going to leave Jasper Gulch? For me?”
Annette nodded. “If that was my only option. I let you go away once, when I was too young to do anything about it. I decided I shouldn’t give up on you—on us—this time.”
She leaned into his shoulder as he slipped an arm around her and pulled her closer.
“We have a lot of lost time to make up for,” Tony said, whispering just for her.
“And the kids to think of. Stormy and the gang would miss you too much if you left us.”
“Right. I thought I’d make her my mascot,” Tony said. “You know that empty storefront next to your shop? J.T.’s looking into renting it as a satellite office for the small-animal part of the practice. You and I will be neighbors. We can share custody of Stormy until we’ve had more chance to get reacquainted and plan for the future.”
“I don’t think that’s going to take very long.”
“Whenever you’re ready, honey. There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere. I promise you won’t have to worry about losing me again. Not ever.”
Gazing up at him, Annette had no doubt. God had answered her prayers and brought her first love back to her. She was never going to stop giving thanks for such a special blessing, such an extraordinary man.
“Good!” She broke into a face-splitting grin. “And if my mother or anybody else gives me grief about spending the rest of my life with you, I’ll tell her we have to stay together for the sake of our furry friends.”
Tony laughed and pulled her closer for a brief hug. “Works for me.”
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this prequel novella to the
BIG SKY CENTENNIAL miniseries, be sure to pick up
HER MONTANA COWBOY by Valerie Hansen, the first
book in the series. Join the ranching town of Jasper
Gulch, Montana, as they kick off their celebration of
100 years with a Fourth of July parade, a rodeo and
a time capsule mystery! Here’s a sneak peek at
HER MONTANA COWBOY,
available now from Love Inspired.
For the first time in longer than Ryan Travers could recall, he was having trouble keeping his mind on his work. He couldn’t have cared less about Jasper Gulch’s missing time capsule; it was pretty Julie Shaw who occupied his thoughts.
“That’s not good,” he muttered as he stood on a metal rung of the narrow bucking chute. This rangy pinto mare wasn’t called Widow-maker for nothing. He could not only picture Julie Shaw as if she were standing right there next to the chute gates, he could imagine her light, uplifting laughter.
Actually, he realized with a start, that was what he was hearing. He started to glance over his shoulder, intending to scan the nearby crowd and, hopefully, locate her.
“Clock’s ticking, Travers,” the chute boss grumbled. You gonna ride that horse or just look at her?”
Rather than answer with words, Ryan stepped across the top of the chute, raised his free hand over his head and leaned way back. Then he nodded to the gateman.
The latch clicked.
The mare leaped.
Ryan didn’t attempt to do anything but ride until he heard the horn blast announcing his success. Then he straightened as best he could and worked his fingers loose with his free hand while pickup men maneuvered close enough to help him dismount.
To his delight, Julie Shaw and a few others he recognized from before were watching. They had parked a flatbed farm truck near the fence beside the grandstand and were watching from secure perches in its bed.
Julie had both arms raised and was still cheering so wildly she almost knocked her hat off. “Woo-hoo! Good ride, cowboy!”
Ryan’s “Thanks” was
swallowed up in the overall din from the rodeo fans. Clearly, Julie wasn’t the only spectator who had been favorably impressed.
He knew he should immediately report to the area behind the strip chutes and pick up his rigging. And he would. In a few minutes. As soon as he’d spoken to his newest fan.
Don’t miss the romance between Julie Shaw
and rodeo hero Ryan Travers
in HER MONTANA COWBOY by Valerie Hansen,
available now from Love Inspired.
And be sure to read all the stories in the
BIG SKY CENTENNIAL miniseries:
Book #1: HER MONTANA COWBOY
by Valerie Hansen
Book #2: HIS MONTANA SWEETHEART
by Ruth Logan Herne
Book #3: HER MONTANA TWINS
by Carolyne Aarsen
Book #4: HIS MONTANA BRIDE
by Brenda Minton
Book #5: HIS MONTANA HOMECOMING
by Jenna Mindel
Book #6: HER MONTANA CHRISTMAS
by Arlene James
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN-13: 9781459256309
MONTANA REUNION
Copyright © Valerie Whisenand
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Montana Reunion Page 6
