Montana Born and Bred

by Hildie McQueen

  Yes Sully was the perfect specimen of manhood, however his never being seen with one woman for long gave pause. Elle figured he took full advantage of his social status and had no plans to settle down.

  They rode for several minutes, taking a path next to a winding creek. The horses trotted at a steady pace allowing her to take in the surroundings.

  No matter how many places she traveled, nothing compared to the open spaces of Montana in her opinion. The land opened up for miles, the mountains a picture perfect backdrop.

  “Has it been a long time?” Sully studied her.

  “Uh...not that long.” Elle scrambled to figure out how long it had been since she’d been kissed. Forever since a kiss affected her like his. That was for sure.

  “You?”

  He frowned. “I was just out here last week. I like to ride my horses often.”

  “Hmmm, that’s nice that you do.”

  He asked regarding horseback riding. To hide her flushed face at thinking he spoke of the kiss, she urged her horse forward.

  Unfortunately he came up alongside. “I’d like to get to know you better Elle.”

  Did he mean for a day or a week? “Why?”

  Sully gave an easy shrug. “Because you intrigue me. I find you very attractive and I want to kiss you again.”

  “I--Umm, well.” Her brain vacated at that moment. His comment left no room to misunderstand. “I don’t know. Mixing business and pleasure are never a good idea.”

  He chuckled and they continued on for another hour keeping the conversation light.

  Back at the stables, she helped unsaddle her horse and brush him down. Once the task was completed, Elle was hungry and anxious to get away from Sully. It was hard to think straight when those beautiful blue eyes locked with hers. Not only the butterflies, but also the urge to jump into his arms and wrap her legs around his waist were hard to resist. Just picturing making a fool out of herself made her hurry from the stables.

  “Thanks for today. It was amazing. I better scoot.”

  “Elle?”

  Damn it, he’d closed the distance and was next to her. “Can I call you for dinner?”

  “Yes.” Her breathless response much like a lovesick damsel made her cringe. “I mean of course. It would be nice.”

  “Good.”

  He leaned forward and pressed his lips on her jaw, just below her ear and damn it her knees practically buckled.

  How could the man have figured out her weak spot? Her breathing hitched and she blew out air. “So yeah, I’ll be seeing you.” Elle hoped not to be weaving toward her car. But it was hard to tell.

  The entire drive back, Elle couldn’t stop going over what happened at the stables. He’d asked her out and she’d said yes.

  What was she? Some kind of masochist? It was a huge mistake. If she didn’t shield her heart, it could end up with her eating gallons of ice cream and watching sad movie marathons at her Aunt Janet’s.

  “No.” The word rang out against the silence in her vehicle. “I’m not going to join the endless string of women he dates and dumps. It will be one date, bam slam, thank you Sully.”

  At the intersection near her house, she turned left instead of right and headed to her mother’s.

  “I think he is interested in you. He couldn’t keep from looking at you at dinner the other night.” Her mother sipped her Diet Coke and placed items into a gift basket she was making for a local charity auction to raise money for an activity center for autistic children.

  Every year the center where Billy went for tutoring counted on her mother’s baskets to make enough money to sustain their programs.

  “I’m not going to dinner with him,” Elle announced while pulling price tags from items her mother handed her. “It’s not a good idea.”

  “What harm can come of it?” Her mother took a picture frame from her and nestled it into the basket. “I think you like him. He certainly likes you.”

  “Who wouldn’t? The man is a hunk, but...he’s also way out of my league.”

  “Nonsense. If anything, you’re both in the same league. You do very well and are independent. It’s probably very refreshing to him that you are not one of those money diggers.”

  Margie let out a sigh. “I’m so proud of you and your cousins. Every single one of you taking care of business, not depending on any man to make it.”

  She met her mother’s warm smile and instantly felt better. “You are my world. Always set me straight. You’re right. That man is not out of my league.”

  “Then you’re going to dinner with him?”

  “No. It’s a very bad idea. He’s too...I don’t know....”

  “You like him too much.”

  Her mother’s quiet response seemed to echo in the room.

  “Yeah, maybe I do. Therefore, I don’t need to tempt myself by going out with him. That man is no closer to settling down than I am flying to the moon.”

  “In a few years, they’ll be offering shuttle rides past the moon to Mars,” her mother quipped.

  “Touché Mom.”

  On Saturday night, Elle drank ginger ale the entire time while dressing and feeling ridiculous at how nervous the upcoming date with Sully made her feel.

  At seven o’clock sharp her doorbell dinged and she let out a long breath before opening the door. In a black dress shirt unbuttoned at the throat and grey slacks, he was mouth watering. His hair was combed back accentuating his square jawline.

  “You look great.” His gaze skimmed over her and Elle was glad she’d splurged earlier that month at Neiman Marcus for the formfitting emerald green dress.

  With a simple low round neckline, the top of the dress skimmed her body until reaching her waist where it flared into a soft A-line. The bottom of the dress skimmed just above the knees allowing her to showcase her calves. Elle opted for black three-inch pumps since Sully was quite a bit taller than her.

  He took her elbow and guided her to his car, this time he drove a grey Lexus sedan.

  Once he settled into the driver’s seat, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her lips startling her. “I’m glad you agreed to go out with me.” His lips curved and she wanted to smile at the slight tinge of her red lipstick staining them.

  Sully covered her left hand with his right. “I figured you’d cancel out on me.”

  “I did consider it,” Elle admitted. “But I’m here.”

  “Not sure if I find your honesty reassuring or cruel.”

  Both chuckled as he pulled away from her place.

  The candlelight on the table made the booth where they sat seem even more intimate. While Sully ordered wine for them, Elle wondered for the millionth time why she’d said yes to dinner. Everything was too perfect and already she found herself wondering about a second date. Dumb.

  The server, a smartly dressed young man, smiled just a bit too warmly at Sully and Elle realized the guy was flirting. It was refreshing when Sully returned the smile and slid a look toward her effectively sending the signal he was not interested. The guy gave a light shrug. “I’ll be right back with your wine.”

  The server moved closer to her. “More water ma’am?” He poured and left.

  “He likes you,” she said, smiling in spite of the nerves tumbling in her stomach. She reached for the water, hoping he didn’t notice the slight shaking. “Your charm disarms both men and women.”

  “It's a curse.” He laughed and took a healthy draw of his water. “As beautiful as you are, he should have figured there wasn’t any chance unless I was completely blind. I’m pleasantly surprised you are here with me tonight.”

  You and me both, she wanted to say. Instead, she looked around the restaurant. Just west of Helena, the Italian bistro’s interior décor was a thing of magazines. With marble statues at the entrance and murals depicting archways with different Italian city themes, it was the perfect place for a date.

  “I’ve never been here before. It’s beautiful.”

  “I like it. Come
here at least once a month.” He leaned back and looked to the wall across from where they sat. “That one is my favorite. I love Florence. Have you been?”

  “No. I went to Rome with my mother and father. We visited Venice, too, but didn't make it to Florence.”

  “You should go.”

  “Perhaps I will one day.”

  “Never say that.” His words were clipped and she jerked back to meet his gaze.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Make plans if you wish to see something. Assure it with ‘I will’. Don’t say ‘one day’, that usually means the statement will not come true. The “one day” will never happen.”

  So the man had interesting quirks. She smiled at him. “I will go to Florence. I will look at The David’s junk up close and personal.”

  Sully relaxed and smiled. “I believe you will.”

  While they ate dinner, conversation became more focused on work and the resort project. Although Sully seemed interested in talking business, Elle couldn’t help but notice he kept guiding the conversation away to more personal matters. No matter if she did find the man attractive, the last thing she needed was to turn their relationship to more than just a casual friendship.

  As for the kisses, she preferred to act as if they never happened. Surely it was a ploy to get her off balance and turn her into his latest conquest. Maybe he kissed everyone. She had a male friend who kissed every woman friend in the mouth. Although now that she thought about it, said friend rarely dated, so maybe it was his way of getting kissed.

  “So tell me, Sully,” Elle began, “what do you plan to do with your land? Your cousin Regina lives there, but she said you only come there every so often.”

  There was slight movement at the corners of his mouth. He knew she was avoiding any personal discussion. “Do I make you nervous?”

  Yes, of course he did. The man was too attractive for his own good and to make things worse, Elle couldn’t keep from staring at him.

  “Dessert?” The waiter offered to which both shook their heads. He placed the bill on the table and Sully slipped money into the folder barely taking his eyes from her.

  When he reached for her hand, she didn’t pull away. His blue gaze met hers as Sully lifted it and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I was being honest when I said I want to get to know you better, Elle.”

  Despite the warning bells of knowing he was a serial dater, she replied honestly. “I feel the same way.”

  His mouth teased her knuckles sending waves of heat straight through her entire body. Oh boy.

  Elle’s heartbeat picked up and afraid to make a fool out of herself, she pulled her hand away and excused herself to go to the restroom.

  It would help settled her nerves and also she left mostly to avoid pulling Sully across the table and kissing him until they were breathless.

  Walking on clouds, she waltzed into the bathroom.

  Six

  This could be it. The woman he’d been waiting for. Sully let out a breath and contemplated where to go from there.

  Needing a plan, he decided to drive her home and kiss her soundly goodnight before escorting her to the door. He’d leave not allowing for the awkward pause of expecting to be invited in.

  Before leaving he’d ask her out for a casual follow up date, perhaps a picnic. Hell, when was the last time he’d been on a picnic. Okay, so he’d never done that.

  Something about the woman intrigued him to the point of wanting to try new things, have different experiences with her.

  A buzzing got his attention and he realized that she’d left her cellphone on the table.

  Sully didn’t mean to, but his eyes locked to the screen at seeing her partner’s name pop up. He leaned forward and the text message became clear.

  “Nice to hear you’re not giving up on the land deal with Cole. Doing what you have to do to get the job done. Let me know...”

  Sully’s blood ran cold. A lump lodged in his throat almost gagging him. The land deal was the only reason she’d accepted his invitation. Had he become so arrogant he’d read her signals all wrong? No wonder she kept steering the conversation to the property.

  Before Elle had gone to the restroom, there was definitely a connection between them. Or so he’d thought.

  Anger simmered to the point that when she returned he could not look her straight in the eye.

  She didn’t look at the phone. Instead, she seemed nervous about having left it on the table and dropped it into her purse. “So tell me what do you like to do in your spare time?” Her genuine, warm smile almost made him falter. He wouldn’t be surprised to see her win an Oscar for the performance.

  “I enjoy night activities.”

  “Such as?” Her gaze didn’t lower from his.

  It was time to find out how far she’d go for the land deal. Sully reached for her hand again, the softness of it made him wonder about the rest of her body.

  This time he nibbled at her knuckles. “Come back to my place and find out. We can talk about my property between the sheets.”

  For a second she didn’t respond. Her eyes slowly rounded and her mouth fell open.

  Elle let out a soft breath and as if repelled, she snatched her hand away. When she bent to retrieve her purse Sully sat back.

  Acting insulted had to be part of the act.

  He wouldn’t go through with it, of course. Once she agreed to come with him, he’d call the deal off.

  Producing her wallet, she pulled out five twenties and threw them on the table in front of him. “That should cover dinner.” Her voice was shaky and the gaze that met his was so full of pain, he could not respond. “Don’t contact me ever again.”

  Elle stalked off while Sully could only watch as she weaved around tables, her head down.

  Thankfully, there were taxis in front the restaurant. Elle rushed to one and got into the back seat shaking from head to toe. The few seconds it took to tell the cab driver her address seemed to stretch on forever. Finally they pulled away and she was able to relax back into the seat.

  When tears threatened, Elle squeezed her eyes shut. How could she have allowed the thought he was not a playboy? The man expected her to repay dinner by sleeping with him. Pompous ass.

  When she’d returned from the restroom, she’d noticed a change in his expression. It was as if she’d returned to a totally different man than when she’d gone. Had he actually thought she’d sleep with him to get a contract?

  Of course he did. Even knowing full well he’d not change his mind.

  The early butterflies in her stomach were replaced with vile and heaviness.

  As soon as she arrived home, Elle rushed to the bathroom and threw up. What had been a delicious meal had turned into a revolting ball of grease in her stomach.

  In the mirror, her reflection mocked. So different than when she’d gotten made up for an evening full of promise. Now her eyes were hollow, hurt radiating from them.

  She moved back and studied her outfit. The dress was date conservative. Around her neck, two thin gold chains and simple hoops at her ears. Did she somehow give the vibe of being a woman who slept around?

  What a fool. She’d actually felt as if they had something going. How could she have read him so wrong? It was probably how he seduced so many women and dated so often. It was easy to fall for him, but what she didn’t understand was how blunt he’d been. Was it that women were so blinded by the fact he was rich and attractive they’d allow for disrespect?

  More than anything, it was what bothered her the most. He’d insulted her without batting an eye. Expected she’d go to bed with him over a contract. It was clear he’d not sell his family lands. He’d taken her for not only being greedy enough to try, but for a bimbo in believing there was a possibility to change his mind.

  Elle trudged to her kitchen and poured a glass of the leftover ginger ale. Hopefully, after a good night’s rest, she would move forward to forgetting the evening ever happened. She would do everything in her power to avo
id the man from that day on.

  “What an idiot!” her aunt Janet, exclaimed between sips of coffee. “If I ever see him, I’ll cut him.”

  Elle couldn’t help but chuckle. “You will, huh?”

  “Heck yeah, he insulted my favorite niece. I should call him and tell him what to do with his land.”

  Needing company, Elle had walked next door to her aunt’s house the next day. There was always something going on there and she’d made a habit of stopping by on weekend mornings. “I should check with Gary and make sure he doesn’t call the man again.”

  She’d left her cell phone at her house, so she let out a sigh and drank from her cup. “I need retail therapy. A day of shopping always makes me feel a hundred percent better.”

  “Good idea,” her aunt said. “I’d go with you, but your mother’s coming over. We’re planning our road trip to six romance reader conventions.”

  “No matter, I’ll call the cousins. One of them will want to get away and go with me.”

  Later that day Elle sat in her living room with a wide grin, surrounded by shopping bags.

  Her cell phone dinged and she ignored it.

  Other than a quick chat with her mother, she’d ignored her calls and texts. If there was one from Sullivan Cole, it would ruin her day and she refused to let him ruin another one.

  On Monday, she would deal with the situation and contact Redstone about the land in Missoula. She and Gary would go and look at the property and then move forward.

  Sullivan Cole was not going to be a factor in her life ever again and that was final.

  Seven

  Horses fed on the lush plant life while their tails swished from side to side. In the distance, goats wandered, the younger ones jumping and prancing happy for the warmth of the sun. Sully leaned on a fence while his cousin, Regina, and his brother continued arguing over which of them would get the portion of land closer to the creek. Sully spoke to them about the failed land deal and offered to either buy them out or split it three ways with the agreement they’d not sell the land.