Forever in Love (Montana Brides)

by Leeanna Morgan

  The moment she’d seen Nathan walk toward Sally’s truck, she knew coming home would be harder than she’d imagined. She’d made a promise that she’d never back herself into a corner. Life was all about choices and Amy Sullivan would always choose wisely. But this time her choices had all but disappeared.

  She headed down the hallway. The kitchen sat at the back of the house, renovated over the years to make cooking for large families and hungry cowboys much easier than Nathan’s great-grandmother had ever known. Nathan’s mom had spent a small fortune ripping out cabinets that had been around before man landed on the moon. Big box cabinetry in a soft shade of buttermilk now hugged the walls and a white stone counter sparkled under pendant lights. Cherry red blinds hung at the windows and a big bowl of fresh fruit sat on the kitchen table.

  Amy smiled as she remembered her poky little kitchen back in Chicago. Finding somewhere to plug the microwave in had been enough of a challenge, let alone managing to have a bowl of fruit on the counter. She opened the fridge door, staring at the food packed neatly on each shelf.

  “I thought I’d find you in here.” Sally grabbed a carton of milk out of her hands. “I’ll make the bottle. How much milk?”

  “Thanks. Just fill it up and put it in the microwave for twenty seconds.”

  Sally set the timer, then flicked the kettle on. “Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?”

  Amy sat at the table, jiggling Catherine on her knee. “Hot chocolate. With an extra spoon of sugar.”

  “Living a bit dangerously, aren’t we? What happened to the health conscious doctor who didn’t use sugar on anything?”

  “She disappeared when this little munchkin came along. I’ve got bigger problems than blocked arteries.” The timer on the microwave pinged and Catherine’s head swiveled toward the sound. “You know you’ve hit rock bottom when a ten-month-old thinks all food comes out of a microwave.”

  “You don’t know that.” Sally laughed. “She might just like the sound of the beeps.”

  “Does this reaction look like music therapy to you?”

  Catherine’s arms waved in the air and her eyes were as bright as new buttons. She followed Sally’s movements as she put the lid on the bottle and closed the microwave door.

  Amy grinned. “Watch what happens next.”

  Sally walked across the room, shaking the bottle and squeezing a dribble of milk on the inside of her wrist. Catherine’s lips smacked together and her hands stretched into the air. As soon as she had the bottle safely in her hands, her little body melted against Amy. She slurped the warm liquid quickly down her throat, almost purring in pleasure.

  “What a sweetie.” Sally rubbed the side of Catherine’s leg, earning a milky smile from the happy baby. “Now that one little girl’s happy, I’m going to make the grownup girls a drink.” She walked back to the counter and spooned chocolate powder into two mugs. “I’m glad you’ve come home.”

  “Me too,” Amy sighed.

  “Have you heard from your mom?”

  Looking down at her sister, Amy brushed a silky curl off her face. “Not since she left Catherine with me.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Sally didn’t need to know about the screaming argument they’d had after she’d called Child Protective Services.

  “Does she know you’ve moved back here?”

  Taking a deep breath, Amy held Catherine a little tighter. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “What?” The carton of milk in Sally’s hands clattered against the counter. “You took her without telling your mom? She could have you arrested for kidnapping.”

  “What’s that about kidnapping?” Nathan stood at the kitchen door, a baggy white shirt hanging loose over his blue jeans. He gazed down at Catherine, nestled in Amy’s arms.

  “It’s nothing. Sally got confused.” Amy stared at her best friend, daring her to let rip with the questions she could see buzzing inside her head.

  Sally opened her mouth, but Nathan jumped in before her. “You brought your sister here without telling your mom? What about Catherine’s father?”

  His voice sounded like jagged rock, sharp enough to cut through any lies or half truths Amy had lined up ready to explain her sister’s sudden appearance. “I don’t know who her father is.”

  “What?”

  Catherine’s mouth dropped open and warm milk spilled down her chin. She stared at Nathan’s frowning face. Amy looked up as Sally moved around the table, dabbing Catherine’s face with a paper towel before her sister jammed the bottle back between her teeth. Baby brown eyes flicked between Amy and Nathan, waiting to see what happened next.

  “I don’t know who her father is, and I doubt my mom knows either.” Amy’s hands held Catherine firmly.

  Nathan crossed his arms in front of his chest, then quickly dropped them to his side.

  Amy hadn’t missed the tightening of his face. The fleeting grimace that told her he’d been hiding as much from her as she was from him. “How’s your back?”

  Nathan’s gaze landed on Sally.

  “I didn’t say much,” she muttered as she made a hasty exit into the hallway.

  “Running away won’t solve your problems.” His words might have been meant for his sister, but his gaze stayed locked on Amy.

  “Yeah, but it’ll keep me out of yours,” Sally threw over her shoulder. “I’ll start taking a few bags upstairs.”

  Amy barely heard Sally leave the room. Nathan’s gaze trapped her to her seat. Unspoken words crashed between them, battering her tired body with too much emotion. Too much awareness of a man who’d never known when to leave good enough alone. He’d always expected more from her than she’d been willing to give, and given her more than she deserved.

  “Are you going to tell me about Catherine, or do I need to do some digging of my own?”

  She held her breath. “What do you mean?”

  The look he shot her should have left her with fatal injuries. Maybe it would, given the amount of time she’d be spending on the ranch. She had two weeks to create a new life for her and her sister. Two weeks of keeping her heart firmly locked out of harm’s way.

  “Dan Carter’s the Deputy Chief of Police.”

  “You wouldn’t do anything so low,” she growled. Dan and Nathan had grown up together, inseparable buddies who created havoc wherever they went. She’d seen Dan briefly a couple of years ago when Sally had twisted her arm into coming home, just after he’d retired from the military.

  Nathan sat at the table, settling back into his seat like a man who didn’t plan on going anywhere in a hurry. “I’ve done a lot worse than snoop into someone’s life.”

  Catherine pulled the bottle out of her mouth, a sleepy smile on her face. She stared at Nathan, looking at him like he could do no wrong.

  Amy knew better. If he wanted to know something he’d dig through whatever dirt he could find to get an answer. If she didn’t tell him about Catherine he’d be heading to Dan’s office first thing in the morning. That was the last thing she needed.

  “Mom turned up on my doorstep seven months ago.” Bile rose in her throat as she remembered the shorter than short miniskirt, five inch heels and hot pink t-shirt her mother had been wearing. “I didn’t even know I had a half sister. The latest man in her life didn’t want someone else’s baby cramping his style, so she left Catherine with me.” Amy quickly glanced at Nathan. He sat rock still. “I couldn’t work fulltime and look after Catherine, so I left my job at the hospital and moved here. I don’t know where our mom is, and I don’t care.” Heat warmed her face. The lie hung between them like the final twist in a bad movie.

  “Did she sign anything to give you custody?”

  Amy shook her head. It hadn’t been that easy. Even though she’d done everything she could to keep her sister safe, it might still be for nothing. “Child Protective Services have listed me as Catherine’s caretaker. Mom has another five months to show she’s able to raise Catherine on her own. If she can’t, I get full custody.” Amy held her ba
by sister tight against her chest, rubbing her back to get the last windy burp from her tummy. “She’s not getting her back.”

  “The decision won’t be yours to make.”

  Her gaze streaked to Nathan’s face. She’d forgotten how blunt he could be. She took a deep breath, too scared about Catherine’s future to disagree with him. “I’ve got Catherine now and that’s all that matters.”

  Nathan walked over to the kitchen counter. “Adam might be able to give you some legal advice. I’ll call him and make an appointment if you like.”

  “No, I don’t like,” Amy muttered.

  Nathan’s hand froze on the kettle. A heartbeat later he poured boiling water into a mug, adding enough coffee to keep him awake half the night. “I’m only trying to help.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  He walked back to the table, glaring at her with violet eyes. “I disagree, but then you’ve always done what you wanted without thinking about anyone else.”

  Heat rose in her face. “That’s not fair.” Catherine wiggled in her arms, dousing the anger that spiked inside her so fast that she felt breathless. “I’ve never had anyone else to think about. Everything I’ve ever done has been for a reason.”

  “Yeah, and that reason involved getting as far as hell away from here,” he said, his voice low and angry. “You know better than most that life isn’t fair. Bad things happened to good people and no amount of wishing can turn back the clock.”

  Amy stared at the steaming mug in Nathan’s hands. She remembered a time when she’d thought his hands could hold a future for both of them. That maybe she could be happy with who she was, that she didn’t need to be more than where she’d come from. Then reality had struck and she hadn’t looked back. Until now.

  “I visited you in the hospital. After the barn fire.”

  Nathan’s hand lifted to his neck. Her gaze zeroed in on the scars wrapped around his jaw and he frowned, yanking his arm back to the table.

  “I didn’t know.”

  She wasn’t surprised he couldn’t remember. For the first few weeks after the fire he’d been drip-fed a constant diet of morphine, reducing the pain of second and third degree burns to a dull ache. If that wasn’t bad enough, falling timber beams had smashed his bones like matchsticks, adding more worries for the team of surgeons looking after him.

  “I couldn’t stay any longer than a couple of days.” Amy cleared her throat. She wanted to keep her voice strong and not let Nathan know how guilty she felt about leaving him and his family. “When I got back to Chicago, mom arrived with Catherine. How are you?”

  He kept quiet, ignoring her question.

  “You’re going to have to tell me sometime.”

  “Why?”

  She raised her eyebrows. If she hadn’t been so tired, she would have smiled. Almost. “You’re busy picking my life to shreds, but not willing to tell me about yours.”

  “There’s nothing much to tell. Doc Johnson’s happy with how everything’s healing.”

  “That’s not what I asked. How are you?” Catherine cuddled into her neck, snuggling closer as sleep sent her to dreamland. “Well?”

  “I’m fine.” He paused, scowling like a caged tiger. “There’s no point rolling your eyeballs at me, Amy Sullivan. I’m not into all that mumbo-jumbo Doc Johnson’s been babbling about. I got hurt and I’m dealing with it.”

  “I can tell.” The sweet smile she plastered over her lips turned his scowl into a lethal weapon.

  He leaned forward, grabbing hold of his mug. “I’m tired and I’ve got an early start in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood up and headed toward the kitchen.

  “Someday you’re going to have to deal with what’s eating you up.”

  He stopped and turned to face her, anger etched in the hard planes of his face. “And of course you know all about sorting your life out. I’m not your patient. I don’t need you interfering in something you don’t understand.”

  Amy felt her jaw drop. She sucked in a lungful of air, not sure whether she wanted to cry or scream. This wasn’t the Nathan she remembered. The man who’d move mountains to help anyone. She blinked back the tears clouding her vision. It had been a long day and an even longer seven months. If she’d known Nathan was staying at his parent’s ranch she wouldn’t have come, wouldn’t have torn open a part of her life she wanted to leave behind.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She looked up, not sure whether it was her imagination or an apology drifting across the room, almost gone before it started.

  “I don’t see any point talking about something that can’t be changed.” Nathan poured his coffee down the drain, leaving the mug in the sink. “The boys are heading into town tomorrow. If there’s anything you need, make a list and I’ll get them to pick them up for you. Good night.”

  He ignored the hurt pouring off her in waves, walking out of the room before she could tell him what a complete jerk he was. And then tell herself what an idiot she was for caring.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Amy stretched in bed, listening to the sound of the ranch waking up. A truck lumbered past the homestead, drowning out the high-pitched screech of a rooster. Wooden floors creaked as the Gray family moved from room to room, getting ready for whatever nature threw at them. Catherine stirred in her sleep. The glow from the night-light bathed her thumb sucking little sister in a soft yellow haze.

  Counting to three, Amy shoved the blankets off her body and dived toward the clothes she’d carefully hung over a chair the night before. Goosebumps prickled her skin as she pulled on her jeans and t-shirt. Even with central heating, cold air still managed to sneak inside the house, weaving through old timber floors and walls too thin for Montana winters.

  Grabbing her thick sweatshirt, she peeked through a gap in the curtains. It had rained for most of the night, hitting the window with a force that almost buckled the glass in its frame. The rain had definitely stopped, and from the looks of it, the sky would soon be turning crystal clear blue. Either more snow was on its way or they were in for one of those rare days when you could almost imagine winter had been forgotten and spring was just around the corner.

  She ran her hands along the end of her bed, hunting under layers of blankets for the socks that had kept her feet warm during the night. Pulling them on, she glanced at Catherine. The little human dynamo had a high-powered sensor attached to her body, telling her the moment Amy moved. But this morning her sister’s eyes were still glued shut. Tiptoeing out of the room, she headed downstairs toward the kitchen. She had a lot to do today and the sooner she got started, the sooner she’d get settled in Bozeman and out of Nathan’s life.

  “How did you sleep?”

  Her foot slipped on the top stair. Something pulled her backward, straight into hard muscles and warm arms.

  “You gotta watch those steps.”

  Nathan’s voice rumbled through his chest and into her body. An arm wrapped itself around her waist, hugging her close. Her heart pounded. She gazed down the stairs, imagining her body lying battered and bruised on the bottom step. Taking a deep breath, she wiggled away from her rescuer. She’d been determined to put as much distance between the two of them as she could and here she was, practically falling into his arms before she’d had breakfast.

  Nathan frowned.

  Her gaze shot to his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  His mouth set in a stubborn line.

  “What’s the big deal about telling someone you’re in pain?”

  “A thank you would go down really well about now,” he growled.

  “Ignoring my question won’t make it go away, but thanks for catching me.” Stubborn. That’s what he was. A stubborn, crazy, cowboy that had wormed his way into her dreams and left her tired and cranky. “You’re not going to tell me if I hurt you, are you?”

  “I’m not hurt. Satisfied?”

  “No, and I don’t have time to pester you until you tell me. I’m going to have something to eat
before Catherine wakes up.”

  “Do you need a hand getting to the kitchen in one piece?”

  “Oh, for goodness sakes,” Amy huffed. “I slipped, that’s all.” She purposely walked down the centre of the staircase, ignoring the banister. “Look, no hands.”

  “Famous last words.” He moved down the stairs. “You’ve never been much of a dare-devil, and I wouldn’t push your luck with those fluffy orange death-traps attached to your feet.”

  She looked down, frowning at her feet. “They’re socks and they keep my feet warm.”

  “They’ll get you killed on mom’s polished floors.”

  “If you hadn’t snuck up on me, I wouldn’t have slipped.”

  “I didn’t sneak, I walked. You must have had your head in the clouds and not been paying attention.”

  “Move out of the way you two. Argue somewhere else, I’m hungry.” Matthew appeared behind Nathan, a smile taking the edge off his words. “It’s just like old times. Welcome home, Doc.”

  Amy grinned at Matthew. Nathan’s brother still had the same dark brooding good looks and green eyes that made more than one heart flutter in the streets of Bozeman. “Did you have a good time last night?”

  A blush skimmed along his cheeks. “You could say that.”

  Nathan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Should I be worried?”

  “Nope.” Matthew moved around them and headed downstairs.

  Shaking his head, Nathan watched his younger brother make a fast exit. More noise erupted from the kitchen. “You’d better hurry if you want something hot. Sally cooked pancakes and bacon. If you don’t make it into the kitchen in the next few minutes, Sean and Matthew will eat everything.”

  Breakfast in the Gray household had always been pure madness and from the clatter of dishes and loud voices drifting up the stairs, nothing had changed. Amy grabbed hold of the banister, frowning at the smile on Nathan’s face as he passed her. “I’m being careful.”

  His smile got a whole lot wider.