But she still had her pride, and it demanded that she at least attempt to match his nonchalant attitude.
“You’ve been gone a long time,” she said lightly. “I imagine you’re anxious to get back.”
“I am a little anxious, but only because my lawyer warned me there are no guarantees.”
She frowned. “Lawyer?”
“The custody hearing is tomorrow.”
“Custody?”
Now it was his turn to frown. “Didn’t I tell you about this?”
She shook her head.
“I went to see a lawyer before I left Rust Creek Falls in order to file a petition for full legal custody of Bennett. Delia received notice of the hearing and sent a letter saying that she had no intention of contesting, but my lawyer insisted that I should be there, with Bennett, in case she changes her mind or the judge has any questions.”
“Of course,” Antonia agreed, still not entirely sure what he was telling her. He was going to Rust Creek Falls for a custody hearing, but she had no idea what his plans were after that. Would he stay there and return to his work on the family ranch? Or would he come back to Thunder Canyon?
“I’m not sure how long the hearing will go or how late I’ll be getting back here—”
Back here.
She exhaled slowly, the echo of the words in her mind finally allowing her heart to settle back in her chest.
“—so I’m not sure it’s a good idea to make plans for tomorrow night, but I thought maybe we could go out for dinner on Saturday.”
Surprise followed quickly on the heels of relief. “Clayton Traub, are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes, Antonia Wright, I am.”
He sounded so earnest, and she was eager to accept, but she was also wary. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Are you ashamed to be seen in public with me?”
“I wouldn’t have put it quite so bluntly, but okay, we’ll go with that.”
He only grinned, not fooled for a second by her flippant reply. “Or are you afraid of the rumor mill?”
“Well, it has chewed me up and spit me out before,” she admitted.
Most recently, it had been the news of her pregnancy—and speculation about the baby’s father—that had set tongues wagging. But the majority of the local gossipmongers had accepted the Bozeman clinic story and turned their attention to juicier matters. Unfortunately, she doubted they would think anything was juicier than pregnant and unwed Antonia Wright out on a date (“Can you imagine? In her condition?”) with the sexy cowboy who was staying out at her ranch (“What could he possibly see in her? And is he really sleeping in the boarding house—or in her bed?”).
Of course, the story would get even juicier when Clay finally went back to Rust Creek Falls (“Poor Antonia, pregnant and alone and dumped by that rancher. Well, what did she expect? Did she really think he was interested in her? The man was probably only using her for babysitting—and whatever other services she was willing to provide—while he was in town.”).
“You don’t strike me as the type of woman who would let one punch take her down.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then traced the outer shell with his fingertip.
The gentle caress made her blood pulse and her tummy quiver. “I’m also not the type of woman who would let a man goad—or seduce—me into going out with him,” she informed him.
“Are you saying no to my invitation?”
“No, I’m saying yes—but because I want to go, not because I was coerced or challenged.”
“I only care about the yes,” he said, and brushed his lips against hers.
Then he kissed her again, a little longer, a little deeper. And when he kissed her like that, Antonia couldn’t imagine saying no to anything...
* * *
The clerk stood at the front of the elegant wood-paneled courtroom and faced the gallery. “All rise,” he commanded in an authoritative voice.
There were a total of six spectators, including Ellie and Bob Traub, and they got to their feet as instructed.
“The Family Court of Rust Creek Falls County, State of Montana, is now in session, the Honorable William T. Vaughn presiding.”
After the judge settled into his chair behind the bench, everyone else resumed their seats, too.
Ellie wiped damp palms down the front of her skirt. Bob, sensing her distress, reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, reassuringly.
Clay’s lawyer was talking to the judge, but Ellie could barely focus on his words. She kept casting furtive glances toward the doors at the back of the courtroom, half expecting Delia to barge in and interrupt the proceedings. For Bennett’s sake, she almost wished she would.
But Delia had made it clear, through a combination of both her actions and inactions, that she had less than zero interest in being a mother. Aside from giving birth, she’d exhibited no maternal instincts with respect to her child. And while Ellie was confident that Bennett would receive all the attention and affection from his father that any child could need, she also firmly believed that a child—particularly one as young as her youngest grandson—needed a mother.
Not his mother, obviously, but someone who would love and nurture him the way a mother was supposed to love and nurture her child. More than once, Ellie had tried to make this point to Clay, because she knew that he wanted what was best for his son. And Ellie was adamant that the best thing was two parents.
Clay had countered with the argument that a grandmother could fulfill the same role just as well—or maybe even better—than a mother. Ellie had admittedly been distracted by his flattery, at least for a moment. But the moment was enough for Clay to pack up his son and head to Thunder Canyon, where she couldn’t know who he was seeing or what he was doing.
For the first few weeks, she’d wanted nothing more than for Clay to come home—and to bring Bennett with him, of course. Then she’d met Antonia Wright and she’d begun to think that Clay’s decision to move to Thunder Canyon might end up being the best thing for both him and his son.
Antonia’s pregnancy had given her some moments of uncertainty. She didn’t have any concerns about the young woman’s maternal instincts—or if she did, they’d been alleviated as soon as she’d seen Antonia interact with Bennett. Because it had been immediately obvious to Ellie that Antonia was as enamored with the little boy as he was with her.
But Ellie had worried that Clay might not be willing to be a father to another man’s child—because she knew that not every man was. She’d wanted to believe that she’d raised her son to be smarter than that, but she hadn’t been certain—not until she’d seen him with Antonia.
“On the basis of the material presented as evidence in this hearing—”
The judge’s voice penetrated Ellie’s thoughts and drew her attention back to the present.
“—I hereby grant the request of the petitioner/father for full legal custody of the minor child, Bennett Alexander Traub.”
Even as Ellie’s eyes filled, Bob was pressing a clean handkerchief into her hand. She managed to smile at him through her tears, trusting that he understood how much she appreciated having a partner who knew her so well, who had stood by her through thick and thin, for better and for worse, through forty years of marriage.
It was all she’d ever wanted for her own children, that each of her sons would find the right partner and know at least a fraction of the joy that she’d experienced in her marriage. She didn’t think that any of them was quite there yet, but she was confident that, after today, Clay was at least one step closer.
* * *
Clay and Bennett didn’t return to Thunder Canyon until late Friday night.
Antonia knew they’d returned because she saw Clay’s truck parked outside the boarding house when she got up in the night to u
se the bathroom. Not that she’d been checking—she’d just peeked out the window to see if the rain that had been forecast seemed imminent, or so she convinced herself.
But when they didn’t come to the main house for breakfast Saturday morning, she began to worry that the hearing had not gone as well as Clay had hoped. Or maybe returning to Rust Creek Falls, even for a short while, had caused Clay to rethink his reasons for coming to Thunder Canyon—and being with her.
It wasn’t until two o’clock that her phone signaled an incoming text message from him. Dinner reservations for 7 ok?
She replied, Ok.
Not wanting a repeat of the scene she’d had with Jonah when she told him about her plans to go to The Hitching Post with Clay and Forrest, Antonia slipped out of the house early, while her brothers were still having their dinner. Clay met her halfway between the main house and the boarding house, and the evident pleasure in his eyes when he saw her helped alleviate some of her concerns—at least for the moment.
“Are we celebrating?” she asked cautiously.
“We are definitely celebrating,” he told her. “But that’s all I’m going to say about it right now, because tonight isn’t about Bennett—it’s about you and me.”
The words caused a flutter in her belly. She hadn’t been certain there was a “you and me”—not until he’d invited her on an actual date.
“Just one more question,” she said. “Where is Bennett going to be tonight?”
“With my brother.” He touched his lips briefly to hers. “I even moved his crib into Forrest’s room for the night.”
Tingles of anticipation danced over her skin, but she tried to keep her focus on their conversation and out of the bedroom.
“He’s really good with Bennett, isn’t he?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“Because, in so many ways, he’s a stereotypical military man. He’s got the broad shoulders and the steely gaze, and he doesn’t say a lot if he doesn’t have to. But when he’s with his nephew, it’s like he undergoes a complete transformation.”
“Bennett does bring out the best in him,” Clay said.
“He’s a great kid.”
“Forrest isn’t really a bad guy, either.”
“I know,” she said. “In fact, he can be quite charming when he wants to be.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that,” he warned.
She smiled. “He was very charming the night we went to The Hitching Post.”
“I was tempted to hit him for hitting on you.”
“He wasn’t hitting on me.”
“He was headed in that direction, until I warned him off,” Clay assured her. “But seriously, I think coming to Thunder Canyon has been good for him. In fact, I’d say that it’s been good for both of us.”
It was the perfect opening to ask how long he was planning to stay. She remembered the day he’d shown up, when he’d said that they would be in town a few weeks. Almost two months had passed since then, and neither of the brothers showed any indication that he was getting ready to move on.
She knew that Forrest’s therapy was ongoing, so it made sense that he would stay, but she still didn’t know much at all about Clay’s reasons for coming to Thunder Canyon or his plans for the future. She didn’t even know about their plans for tonight.
“One more question,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“The Gallatin Room.”
His response made her wish that she’d asked the question earlier. A lot earlier. Because her wardrobe options hadn’t expanded at the same rate as her waistline, and the only recent addition to her closet was the burgundy chiffon dress she’d bought at Second Chances the day of the grand reopening.
Since Clay had given every indication that he’d liked how she looked that night—and since he’d had absolutely no trouble getting her out of that dress—she’d opted to go with it again. This time, she’d put her hair up and added a pair of chandelier style earrings she’d picked up at Real Vintage Cowboy when Catherine’s store first opened, but the overall effect still wasn’t worthy of The Gallatin Room.
Clay, to his credit, immediately sensed her distress. “What’s wrong?”
Antonia could only shake her head.
“You hate the food there? You dated the chef? You lost your virginity in the kitchen?”
She wished it was something so simple. But the truth was that The Gallatin Room was the fanciest restaurant in Thunder Canyon, and even if she had time to go back inside and change, there was nothing in her closet that was remotely appropriate for such a venue. “I can’t go there looking like this.”
His eyes skimmed over her, from the loose pile of curls on the top of her head to the simple black pumps on her feet, so slowly and deliberately that the heat from his gaze honestly made her skin burn.
“You look gorgeous,” he finally said.
He sounded so sincere that she couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe if we were going to New Town Cinema or The Hitching Post—” the two places they’d been out together before “—But The Gallatin Room is in a whole other dimension.”
“Actually it’s not that far,” he said teasingly. “In fact, it’s part of the Thunder Canyon Resort.”
She huffed out a breath. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t think I do.”
“It’s the type of place where people—usually couples—go to celebrate relationships and special occasions.”
“I don’t think even you know what you mean,” he decided, apparently baffled by her explanation. “Because we are here to celebrate a special occasion.”
“Bennett’s custody hearing?”
“Our first date.”
Of course, “first” implied a second or even more subsequent dates, and Antonia wasn’t going to count on anything beyond this night.
* * *
The interior of The Gallatin Room was a breathtaking display of white linen, gleaming silver and sparkling crystal with fresh flowers on every table. In combination with the twinkling lights and soft music, the overall atmosphere was pure romance.
“Wow.” She didn’t gawk, not exactly, but Antonia couldn’t prevent herself from making a full turn around. “It’s...breathtaking.”
“You’ve never been here before?” Clay asked her.
“No.”
“Then why were you so convinced that you weren’t properly attired?”
“Because I’ve never been here before,” she explained.
Gene had certainly never taken her anywhere like this. In fact, he’d never taken her anywhere at all—and how pathetic was that? She hadn’t thought too much about it at the time because she’d had her own reasons for not wanting to go public with their relationship. It had never occurred to her that he wanted to keep things on the QT because he didn’t want a girlfriend, just a warm and willing body.
And as angry as she was that he’d used her, she was even angrier with herself that she’d let him. He hadn’t even made much of an effort to seduce her; he’d simply given her some attention, a few kisses, and led her off to his bed.
She realized that Clay had no reason to make such an effort, either. If all he wanted was sex, she’d already been more than cooperative in that regard. But he’d made dinner reservations at the fanciest restaurant in town anyway, because that’s the kind of man he was.
And she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that her baby could have a father like Clay. But that was a futile wish, for so many reasons, and she wasn’t going to ruin tonight by wanting things that could never be.
The hostess seated them at a table for two by the window and immediately disappeared again. Glancing around, Antonia saw that some diners were already enjoying their meals, others were munching on appetizers, and a few were still p
erusing menus. Which prompted her to ask, “Why didn’t the hostess give us menus?”
“Because I preordered our dinner.”
Antonia lifted a crystal goblet that probably cost more than the entire collection of dishes in her kitchen cupboards and tried not to let her hand shake. She was self-conscious and nervous and completely out of her element, but if there was one thing Antonia knew how to do, it was fake it. She’d been doing it since she was a kid, pretending to be as strong and brave as her brothers. So she sipped her water, and casually asked, “Don’t you think that was a little presumptuous?”
“More than a little,” he admitted, smiling at her across the table. “But I think you’ll be pleased with my choices.”
“What did you order?”
“Everything on the menu.”
“Which doesn’t tell me anything at all since I haven’t seen the menu,” she reminded him.
When their waiter—Marcos, according to the elegant brass nameplate pinned to his white shirt—brought a basket of warm artisan breads to the table, Clay said, “Miss Wright was wondering what’s on the menu tonight.”
Marcos turned to her and gave a slight bow. “Tonight’s dinner features are pork tenderloin medallions in a port wine sauce with red-skinned mashed potatoes, prime rib of roast with root vegetables and Yorkshire pudding, Tuscan roasted chicken with sautéed spinach and buttered baby carrots, maple-glazed Pacific salmon with wild rice and pan-seared scallops on linguine with a tomato-cream sauce.”
“Everything sounds...wonderful,” she said.
Marcos bowed again and retreated.
Antonia looked at Clay. “You didn’t really order everything.”
“There were too many delicious options to narrow it down.”
“I hope you’re joking.”
“I’ve seen the way you eat,” he reminded her.
“Then you should have ordered ice cream.”
He grinned. “That’s for dessert.”
* * *
As it turned out, he wasn’t joking. And when Marcos, with the assistance of two other waiters, delivered the selections to their table, Antonia was amazed by the amount of food.
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