Rocky Mountain Nights (Roberts of Silver Springs #6)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “My boss turned to me and said, ‘Hunter, the FBI wants to talk to you.’ ”

  Bekah laughed, the sound filling the air and echoing. “They didn’t mind that you did that kind of search on company time?”

  “Everyone knew I wrote during my lunch hours. It didn’t surprise anyone at all.” Hunter kissed the top of her head, a smile on his face. “I quit a couple of weeks later, because my contracts wouldn’t let me work two full-time jobs. I never looked back.”

  “Do you like what you do? Ever wish you’d done something else?”

  “I love what I do. I write because there are stories inside me. It wouldn’t matter to me if I never made a dime writing, because I can’t not write, if that makes sense.” He shook his head. “Of course, it’s nice that what I love to do pays the bills.”

  “I’m sure it is! I feel the same way about the B&B. We’re already making a bit of a profit. Enough to pay all our debts, and we have a bit of money left over to live on. I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do, so it makes me happy.”

  “Really?” He was surprised. He’d never known anyone who aspired to be a B&B owner. Did people even do that?

  She nodded. “When Bri and I were little, we’d ignore the dolls that were there for us to play with, and instead we’d play B&B. Bri would help Grandma in the kitchen, and I’d go outside and work on the yard. We made our siblings crazy.”

  “I’m sure you did! I think it’s neat you have a cousin who is so close in age to you, who you get along with so well.”

  “I don’t think it would have mattered if we hadn’t gotten along. We would have been pushed at each other all the time anyway. Getting along was just a plus. The school was small enough that we were in the same classes all through elementary school. It was always nice to have a built-in best friend.” She shrugged. “I honestly think that’s why Jennifer focused so hard on Bri. She could tell that the two of us had a bond that the other kids didn’t have. So she tried to make us hate each other, and when that didn’t work, she tried to make Bri miserable.”

  “She was in your classes in school too?”

  Bekah nodded. “From the first day of kindergarten. She was even in a lot of our classes in college. It was miserable.”

  “I haven’t really seen her since that day you guys had lunch and I asked her about Hall and Oates. I wonder what she thought of that!”

  “I never told you about that,” she said with a laugh. “She came to me Monday and said she’d listened to Hall and Oates all weekend, trying to figure out which song you meant was about her. She decided it was ‘You Make my Dreams Come True.’ She thinks you’re in love with her.”

  He groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I never kid about Jennifer. There’s no need. She’s entertaining just by being her.”

  “Did Jordan ever ask her out?”

  Bekah shrugged. “I rarely see Jordan. He’s kind of a pain in my backside. He’s always trying to get me to go out with him, but I know what he wants is really just sex…and he’s not getting that from me.”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  She frowned at him. “Because I don’t sleep around. I’ve never…well, I always thought I’d wait until after I got married to have sex.”

  “Really?” He looked at her curiously. “I always figured if a girl dated a lot she was…well, putting out sounds childish.”

  “But accurate? You assumed that about me?” She wrinkled her nose. “I told you I’d never had a serious relationship. What did you think that meant?”

  “That you’d never been in love. I didn’t think it meant you’d never slept with anyone.”

  “Wow.” She frowned, staring out over the water. “I had no idea you thought so little of me.”

  “How is that thinking little of you? I didn’t mean that I thought you were loose or anything.”

  “Loose? For a writer you sure aren’t very good with words.” She stood up. “I think maybe it’s time for us to get back.”

  He caught her arm. “Bekah, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”

  She stood looking at him for a moment, shaking her head. “I just didn’t realize you thought my morals were lacking. That hurts.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, realizing he’d said the absolute worst thing he could have. “Please stay. I’m not ready to go back yet.” And maybe if she stayed he’d figure out how to unsay the words that had hurt her.

  She sighed, sitting back down beside him, but making sure they didn’t touch at all. “Is it because I kissed you first? I’ve never done that before, but I thought you were shy, and I couldn’t wait anymore. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I keep telling you that, but you won’t listen to me.”

  “I barely know you…”

  “You know me well enough to have come to some very erroneous conclusions.” She stood up, walking over to the four-wheeler she’d ridden. “I need chocolate.” She pulled the box of Frank’s Fudge from the storage box. She also grabbed a couple bottles of water, taking one to him. She offered him a piece of chocolate from the box.

  He took a piece, and bit into it, surprised by the creamy taste of the chocolate and caramel. “This is really good chocolate.”

  “Best I’ve ever had.” She took a piece for herself. “I think we need to start over.”

  “Start over? Like as if we’re just meeting?”

  “As if you’re just forming opinions of me. I’m Bekah Roberts. I own a B&B with my favorite cousin Bri. I come from a big noisy family who loves each other very much, and I have a secret thing for mystery writers. So secret even I didn’t know I had it until last week.”

  His lips curved up. If she was “introducing” herself that way, she’d forgiven him. “I’m Hunter Sloane. I’m a reclusive mystery writer who has no idea how to talk to women without sticking his foot in his mouth, and I have this thing for small-town girls who own B&Bs.”

  “Oh? Is that so?” She scooched a little closer to him. “Tell me what you think of these small-town girls.”

  “Well, how about I start out with how much I think about them? Which is all the time. In fact…I named a character in my book after this pretty girl I met last week.”

  “You killed me in a book?” Her eyes widened. “I know I interrupted your work that first night, but—.”

  Her words were cut off by his mouth crushing down on hers. His arms came around her and he held her close to him. “I didn’t kill you. I made my hero fall in love with you.”

  She pulled back, her eyes skeptical. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Really. I’ll show you when we get back to the B&B if you want.”

  “I’d like that a lot.” She needed to know if he was telling her the truth.

  “I even have a kissing scene. I’ve never written a kissing scene in my life!”

  She laughed. “What did you write for your kissing scene?”

  “I have Bekah, this beautiful girl my hero falls for, offer to go for a walk with the hero to give him some details about his case. He meets her because she’s a witness, you see. And while they’re walking, she grabs the front of his shirt with both hands and pulls him down for a kiss.”

  Bekah grinned. “You really wrote that?”

  “I sure did. I’ve never met a girl who kissed me that way before, and I liked it. A lot. I couldn’t not write about it.”

  She laughed. “My family is going to read that and know that’s what I did.” She shook her head. “What will they think of me?”

  “The same thing I did at the time. They’ll think you’re a brutally honest, beautiful woman, who knows how to get what she wants in life. If you hadn’t kissed me, we’d be sitting here right now, still wondering what it would be like to kiss.”

  “Oh, you’d have kissed me by now, wouldn’t you?”

  He shook his head. “Probably not until we got back today. I wouldn’t have had the guts to go for it until after the first date.” He brushed her lips with his
. “See? You made things so much easier for me by being bold and honest.”

  “I’m glad.” She rested her head on his shoulder once again, knowing her anger had already dissipated. She’d never been good at holding a grudge, even against someone like Jennifer. “I’d be going crazy if you hadn’t kissed me yet. I’d spend all my time wondering if I’d make it through until you did it.”

  “And? What do you think of kissing me now?”

  She laughed. “I think you have the kisses that cause the most electricity in the world. You send electric shocks right through me every time.”

  “And Jordan?”

  “He never got more than a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Trust me, Hunter. You have no equal in my eyes.”

  Surprisingly, he did trust her. How on earth had he found such a sweet woman who was just right for him? He hadn’t even been looking.

  Chapter Nine

  After that first date together, Hunter made time for Bekah every evening. They grew more and more comfortable with one another, and became closer. She was careful not to mention how she felt to him again, because she knew he needed time to come to grips with her. She was a little too outspoken, a little too focused on what she wanted and needed for most men.

  On the Wednesday when he had first intended to leave—before he’d been invited to the wedding and decided to stay for it—she was on her knees beside the gazebo, carefully planting daisies around the structure. Erin’s favorite flowers were daisies, so they were getting everything ready for the wedding on Saturday. Jack and Erin had decided to marry at the B&B, and had offered to pay for the venue, but Bri and Bekah had refused. They were paying for ingredients, but the location was free.

  She saw a pair of tennis shoes appear, attached to some jean-clad legs. “Hey!” Looking up she saw Hunter there, smiling down at her.

  “Hi. You need some help?” he asked.

  “What about your edits? I thought you had to get those finished before Friday so you could be my date to the wedding on Saturday?” She’d never had a date for a big family event before. She knew her extended family would be all over him, insisting they needed to know him better.

  “Just sent them off to my editor. So happy to be done with that book. We’ll see what they think about the addition of Bekah.”

  She grinned at him, standing up and brushing the dirt from her hands. “I had to plant these, and I finished. Now I have to go play general kitchen lackey for Bri. She’s doing the catering for the wedding, and there’s still a lot to be done.”

  “Being a kitchen lackey doesn’t sound like as much fun as digging in the dirt, but I can offer my services there too.”

  Bekah sighed. “It doesn’t sound like much fun to me either, but I’m good at being bossed around by Bri.”

  He laughed, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her to him, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll make it fun.”

  When they got into the house, Erin was there ready to help, as well as Jennifer. The transformation Jennifer had made since she’d first been assigned to work with Bekah was amazing. She now knew the meaning of hard work, and she was there to help with whatever she could. Jennifer looked up when she saw Bekah come in with Hunter, a frown on her face.

  “Why did you say you thought of a Hall and Oates song when you saw me, when it’s clear you have feelings for Bekah?” Jennifer asked Hunter.

  He sighed. “It was kind of a joke between Bekah and me. I’m sorry about that.” Hunter did his best to keep a straight face. He never should have said that to her, and he knew it.

  Jennifer frowned. “Okay, well I’m here for work. Tell me to do something, Bossy Bri.”

  Bekah grinned. “That’s nicer than what I call her. I usually go for Bossy Butt.”

  Bri made a face. “If you two can’t be nice, I’ll kick you both out of my kitchen!”

  Erin laughed. “How do I get kicked out?”

  “We’re doing this for you, Erin soon-to-be Roberts!”

  “I know. I know. I’m here to work and I’ll enjoy said work.” Erin went to the sink and washed her hands carefully, scrubbing up to her elbows. She was a nurse, and some habits never died.

  Once everyone was scrubbed up, Bri gave them all tasks. “I’m going to make the lasagna. Bekah, you’re in charge of sausage rolls—Hunter can help with that. Jennifer, you’re going to be chopping veggies, and I want you to keep the dishes going as we finish each thing we’re working on. Erin? You get to tie little ribbons around the bottles of bubbles you’re handing out.” She had set up various work stations around the kitchen, and as everyone moved where they’d been told, she put on some show tunes for them to listen to.

  Bekah had made sausage rolls many times, because they were one of the family’s favorite things for get-togethers. They were almost no work, and they were something she could easily do. She sat down at the table and showed Hunter what to do. As soon as he was ready, she asked Erin, “How are plans going? Everyone have dresses?”

  “Yeah. Bri and Emma have pretty mint green dresses. Not the color I was looking for, but they work, and they don’t need to be altered.”

  “Where’s Emma today anyway?” Bekah asked. Her cousin was usually one of the first to volunteer for a task like this.

  “She’s running some errands for me,” Erin responded. “I am so erranded-out I could scream. Weddings are hard work!”

  Bri turned from her sauce. “They really are. I thought it would be so easy to just throw something together at the last minute and call it a wedding. There was so much more involved than I’d imagined there would be. Not that I’m complaining, because I’m married to Anthony, and he’s the man of my dreams, but it was definitely work!”

  Bekah shrugged. “When I marry, I’m going to find a cousin who’s in the process of planning a wedding and tell them it’s a double wedding. That way I won’t have to do as much work.”

  Bri laughed. “You’re the only person I know who could actually get away with making that happen.”

  “We have enough cousins. I think we could make anything happen.”

  Jennifer turned from the sink she was washing vegetables. “You know, I’ve always envied you guys. You have this huge family of people that have to love you. Only my parents ever had to love me, and that strained them a great deal at times.”

  Bri frowned at Jennifer. “Erin has always been one of us too, even before she decided to marry into the family. We’ve always extended our love to people who love one of our own. If you’d befriended Bekah or me, you’d have been let in, no questions asked.”

  “Now you tell me! I’ve only been trying to figure out the secret for what? Eighteen years?”

  Bekah laughed. “You could have asked instead of being mean.”

  “I probably should have.” Jennifer shrugged. “At least you’re all accepting me now.”

  Erin looked at Jennifer skeptically, as if she was trying to figure out why she was being so nice for a change. “You’ve changed, Jennifer. We like seeing you be nice instead of nasty.” Erin looked over at Bekah. “I sure wish you’d tell me that you’re sharing my wedding with me. As much as I love Jack, I’m nervous about being the center of attention on Saturday.”

  Hunter felt uncomfortable with the conversation. Didn’t they even realize he was there? Who were they thinking of for Bekah to marry? “Bekah’s not marrying anyone but me, so you can just get that idea out of your head.”

  Bekah looked at Hunter, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you should ask me, instead of announcing to the whole world that you’re marrying me?”

  He shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, but the ring’s up in my room. I’ll do it later.”

  Bekah blinked at him. “Ring? You carry an engagement ring with you when you travel?”

  “No, I went and bought one last week, after our day out together. I knew I’d be asking you eventually…probably before I leave to go home to Denver. I’ve been talking to your dad about property here too.”

/>   “You have?”

  He nodded. “I mean, you don’t want to live above the B&B after we have kids, do you?”

  “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Nope. You told me you wanted to get married and have kids. I’m just putting your plan in motion.”

  Bekah looked over at Erin, who was doing her best not to laugh aloud. “Have you ever in your life heard such a ridiculous marriage proposal?”

  Erin shook her head. “I wouldn’t call that a proposal at all.”

  “You know, I wouldn’t either, but knowing Hunter, it’s all I’m going to get. He’ll see me later and toss the ring at me, box and all.”

  Hunter tilted his head to one side, considering. “Sounds like a good idea to me! I could go get it now and toss it to you, if you want me to.”

  Bekah sighed. “I had dreams of a man going down on one knee in a park, and I get someone who announces he’s looking for houses for us. Where did I go wrong?”

  Hunter shook his head, going to the sink and washing his hands before leaving the room. Bekah watched him go, an odd look on her face. “Now where do you think he’s going?”

  Bri laughed. “There’s no telling with that man. You really have met your match, Bekah.”

  Jennifer watched them all, a lost expression on her face. “I wish I had brothers and sisters…and cousins.”

  Bekah smiled at her. “You need to marry into a big family then. Not ours of course, but a big family.”

  “Why not yours?”

  “Which one of my cousins do you think I’d use as a sacrificial lamb?” Bekah asked, grinning at Jennifer to let her know she was kidding.

  “I guess that needs to be one of the first things I ask when I date someone new, huh? Whether or not they have a big family. Jordan from the hotel asked me out. He bought me some pretty tulips and a box of Frank’s Fudge. I don’t know who Frank is, but I’d marry him just for that fudge of his!”

  Bri laughed. “The guy behind Frank’s Fudge stayed here with his wife a couple of weeks ago. He’s super sweet, but his name is Al, not Frank.”

  “Then why is it Frank’s Fudge?” Jennifer asked, a confused look on her face.