Molly grinned. “I thought you needed a distraction?”
“I do, but not what you have in mind.” He picked the ice pack off the floor and put it back in the freezer. “I’m going crazy cooped up in here. Dad and Alex keep dropping in to help around the house. Mom’s made enough food to last two winters. Anyone would think I can’t look after myself.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you drove your racing car into a ditch. And just out of interest, have I been annoying you as much as your family?”
Jacob knew when he was on the losing side of an argument. He closed his mouth and concentrated on the kettle. “Of course not. I enjoy being poked in the ribs and given frostbite. Do you want a cup of tea?”
“Tea would be lovely. And if you’re not too proud to take what I’d be offering, I’ll have a slice of the honey cake I brought with me.” Molly followed Jacob and slid a stool out from under the kitchen counter. “Tell me about your land? Have you sold any of your properties?”
Jacob put an inch-wide slice of cake in front of her. “Yes and no. I’ve sold two parcels of land and another buyer is looking at the third. There’s been interest in this property, but no contracts have been signed.”
“You’re running close to the date you need everything sold by. Do you think you’ll make it?”
“The website has been getting a steady stream of hits. All it takes is one person to show an interest and I’ll get there.”
Molly sipped the tea Jacob gave her. “It sounds promising.”
Jacob shrugged. “We’ll see.”
An easy atmosphere settled on the kitchen. Jacob went back for another slice of cake and Molly listened as he told her about the happenings in the Green household. He showed her the latest photos of Cooper.
She smiled, enjoying the pride she heard in his voice. “Would you be wanting a family of your own one day?”
Jacob’s gaze shot to hers.
“It’s a simple enough question,” she said quietly.
“Not as simple as you might think.”
“It doesn’t have to be complicated,” Molly explained. “You’d make a fine father.”
Jacob pushed his coffee cup away. “How are we going to make this work?”
Molly leaned her elbows on the counter. “It’s not far by air between New York and Bozeman. We could see each other on the weekends when we’re not working.”
Jacob sighed. “How many weekends have you not worked since you’ve been living in Bozeman?”
Molly knew as well as Jacob that most of her work was done on the weekends. “A few. It’s not going to be easy fitting a relationship around our work, but other people do it.”
“Other people’s long-distance relationships don’t last forever.”
“If it’s commitment you’d be worried about, then I don’t see that as an issue. I care for you, Jacob Green, and no amount of distance will change that.”
“I can’t move back here, Molly. If the New York purchase doesn’t work, there’ll be others. I don’t know where I’ll end up living.”
She took a deep breath. “Are you saying that this is the end of the road for us?”
“No, I’m not saying that. I just don’t know how we’re going to make a long-distance relationship work.”
“I don’t have an answer for you, Jacob. I’m going back to Los Angeles after Christmas for another exhibition. I’ve booked three commissions, and another gallery in San Francisco wants to show my photographs. It’s a busy time, to be sure, but we can make it work.”
Jacob walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You’re right. We can take each week as it comes and sort the rest out later.”
Molly held him close. She would make the most of these moments. Soon, he’d be in New York, working with his property developer friends and making a new life for himself.
It made her heart feel heavy to think of those times. She’d miss him terribly, but she didn’t know how to change what would be. Jacob had his own dreams to build and so did she.
Maybe he was right - their lives would sort themselves out as they were meant to be. She just hoped they were meant to be together, not separated by more miles than either of them could take.
***
Molly unfolded a bridesmaid’s dress from the box in front of her. The deep blue silk reminded her of the color of Emerald Lake when she’d first seen it all those weeks ago.
“Are you all right?” Tess asked.
Molly pulled her mind from the past and focused on the present. Tess had arrived back from her honeymoon last night. She had a glow about her that had nothing to do with the deep tan on her skin. She was in love, and it showed. “I’m fine. Would this belong in the Grace Kelly Collection?”
Tess nodded. “I’ll put it over here with the other dresses. Annie told me you’ve seen a lot of Jacob while I’ve been away?”
Molly glanced quickly at Tess to get the measure of what she knew. “He’s a fine man. He was happy with the photographs I took of his property. Two of the parcels of land have sold.”
“It sounds as though your photos have worked.”
Molly knew they were beautiful photographs. Jacob’s land was touching something deep inside prospective buyers and that was a satisfying thing to see. “Jacob had an accident last weekend. For a man with a talent for making money, he doesn’t have much common sense between his ears.”
Tess laughed. “He’s not the only man with that problem.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
It was so like Tess to cut to the heart of the matter. Molly sat down beside her friend. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about loving the man who’d become the center of her world. “We have busy lives that are going to take us away from each other. It’s a hopeless situation and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“You might not need to do anything.”
Molly glanced at Tess. “What do you mean?”
Tess pulled an envelope out of her pocket.
“Is this from a new bride or bridesmaid?”
Tess shook her head. “Do you remember Trish and Tony’s wedding?”
Molly thought back over all of the people they’d helped. “Do they live in Three Forks?”
Tess nodded. “They got married at Trish’s parents’ ranch.”
Molly remembered the fun they’d had in the old barn on the ranch. The photos she’d taken had been a wonderful mix of love and laughter. “Is the letter from them?”
“Before I tell you about the letter, you’ve got to promise not to be angry with me.”
“What have you done?”
“Do you promise?”
Molly frowned. “I promise not to be angry.”
Tess took a deep breath. “Before Logan and I got married, I spoke with a friend who lives in New York. She works for a publishing company. One of their bestselling authors is writing a book about weddings.”
Molly’s mouth dropped open. “She’s not going to put something about The Bridesmaids Club in her book, is she? We’ll be buried under thousands of dresses.”
“She’s not going to mention us by name. She’ll use our idea for other people to copy. But that’s not what the letter’s about.”
“It’s not?”
Tess shook her head. “She was looking for a photographer to work with the author of the wedding book. I sent her some of the photos from Trish and Tony’s wedding - the ones that never made our website. When I told her you were living in Bozeman, she got really excited. She’s followed your career and went to your exhibition while she was on vacation in Los Angeles. Lucy wants to know if you’ll provide the photos for their book. The letter explains her offer.”
Tess handed her the letter.
Molly put it on the table. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“I know you wanted to get away from being seen as a fashion photographer, but this is different. Lucy knows a lot of people in the pu
blishing industry. This could be another way to get your photos seen by a wider audience.”
“Who is the author?”
“I don’t know. Lucy never told me.”
Molly stared at the envelope. “And their publishing house is in New York?”
“It is. But I don’t know where the author lives.”
Molly picked the envelope up and opened it. She read the first paragraph three times before looking at Tess. “It’s Martha Stewart. Becky follows her advice like a stream of gold from heaven. Her bouquets and flower arrangements are so pretty that you can’t do anything but adore them.”
Tess smiled. “It sounds as though you’re interested?”
Molly was more than interested. She was excited to be working for a woman who inspired so many people. “She’s writing the book from Maine. She wants some of the photography done there, the rest will come from different weddings around the country. It’s perfect.”
“And Maine is a lot closer to New York than Bozeman. Will you take the job?”
Molly put the letter on the table and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll give Lucy a call to let her know I’m thinking about her offer. As soon as I’ve spoken to Jacob, we can work through all of the details. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“All I did was talk to Lucy. She already knew who you were.”
As soon as Molly was off the phone with Lucy, Rachel ran through the front door. She was waving an envelope in the air and looked as though she was about to explode with excitement. “You’re not going to believe this…”
She looked at Molly and Tess. “Do you remember Bella, our mystery girl?” she said breathlessly.
Tess slid off her stool and got Rachel a glass of water. “The little girl who was looking for a bride for her dad?”
“That’s the one. Well…I think I’ve found her.”
“Where?” Molly asked. “Annie’s been searching for her for months.”
Rachel took a sip of the water Tess handed her. “She visited our school and spent time with the students I’m working with. Her dad travels a lot, so she’s got a private tutor who helps with her school work.”
Molly put the kettle on for a cup of tea. “It must have been scary, walking into a classroom full of students. What’s her father like?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t meet him. Do you know where Annie is? I want to let her know that I’ve found Bella.”
Molly took a mug out of the pantry. “She’s with Emily. They’re doing a final fitting for her wedding dress.”
“What does it look like?” Rachel asked.
“We don’t know.” Tess took the lid off a cookie jar and passed it to Rachel. “Annie won’t let us see her until the morning of her wedding.”
“That’s so romantic.” Rachel took a chocolate chip cookie out of the jar. “I wish some of their romance would rub off on me.”
Molly turned to look at her friend. “I thought you were happy being single?”
“I was happy being single when everyone else was. Out of all of us, I’m the only person still looking for love.”
Molly couldn’t disagree with Rachel. She poured hot water into a teapot and thought about Jacob. Falling in love with him wasn’t the hard part. Staying close enough to grow their love was going to be a challenge. But maybe, if she could work on the wedding book, the rest would fall into place.
***
Jacob turned his computer off and looked out of his living room window. His dad was pulling into his front yard, hauling a trailer of wood behind him.
Jacob grabbed his jacket and headed outside. “Have you been talking to Molly?”
His dad grinned. “Not me. But someone else in the family might have been.”
“I don’t need more wood.”
His dad slammed his truck door shut and headed toward him. “You don’t have any choice. You know how your mother is. She thinks you can’t look after yourself. How are you feeling?”
“Almost back to normal. I got a few hours sleep last night.”
“Glad to hear it. You don’t need to worry about unloading the wood. Alex is bringing Mac over later today. They’ll have it stacked by nightfall.”
“They don’t need to do that,” Jacob muttered. “Alex has got enough happening in his life without having to look after me.”
His dad snorted. “If I were you, I’d make the most of it. By next week, he’ll be over feeling guilty and you’ll be on your own.”
Jacob stuck his hands in his pockets. There was no point arguing with his dad, just like there was no point arguing with the rest of his family. “It’s cold out here. You want a cup of coffee?”
“Don’t mind if I do. Just don’t tell your mom. She’s trying to get me to cut back on the caffeine.”
“Did your doctor tell you to be careful?”
“Nope. She watched some TV doctor last week. Too much caffeine’s supposed to be bad for the heart. Your mom’s not taking any chances. I told her the withdrawal symptoms will kill me before the caffeine does, but she doesn’t believe me.”
Jacob scraped his boots on the porch mat and opened his front door. “You’d better come in quick, then. Mom’s got a radar attached to her head and she’ll know if you’re doing something you shouldn’t be.”
“She can’t be as bad as Doris Stanley. That woman would drive a saint to distraction with the amount of gossip hitting the local Facebook page.”
Jacob took a couple of mugs out of his pantry and poured hot coffee into them. “Who’s she targeted this week?”
“Molly.”
The edge of the coffeepot clattered against Jacob’s mug. “What did she say?”
“Seems that she thinks Molly’s got a big contract lined up in New York. She’s wondering if her move might be associated with someone else leaving Bozeman.”
“You mean me?”
“Can’t think of anyone else crazy enough to leave their hometown for a concrete jungle.”
Jacob opened a jar and put a dozen cookies on a plate. “Molly’s working all over the place. I wouldn’t listen to Doris. She probably heard someone else talking and got it wrong.”
“Are you sure it’s got nothing to do with you?”
“Molly would have said something if she was going to work in New York.” He kept busy in the kitchen, stalling for time.
His dad watched him put the sugar away, wipe the counter, and close the pantry doors. “What’s wrong?”
Jacob stopped moving. He glanced at his dad, then back at the counter. “You’d better sit on the sofa, dad. I’ve got something to ask you.” He passed his dad a mug of coffee and followed him into the living room.
“Is it about the Mustang you destroyed? If you want a good lawyer, I know someone who’ll be able to help.”
“It’s not about the Mustang. We sorted the insurance out before I drove it in the race. The insurance company covered all of the damage. It’s about Molly.”
“Has something happened?”
Jacob sat beside his dad. “I’ve fallen in love with her.”
“You don’t seem too happy?”
“I don’t know what to do about it.”
His dad sipped his coffee. “What part of loving someone aren’t you sure about?”
Jacob glanced at his dad to make sure he wasn’t laughing at him. “The part that says you have to live in the same city to make it work.”
“Must help.”
This time, there was definitely a gleam in his dad’s eyes. “It’s not funny.”
“Didn’t say it was. Loving someone is about compromise. Do you remember what that is?”
Jacob drank his coffee. It was better than saying the words that were about to topple out of his mouth.
“I’m going to give you the same advice that I gave Alex. Don’t take what’s in front of you for granted. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”
“What are you talking about? You and mom have a great marriage.”
Jacob’s dad sighed. “It w
asn’t always like that. Your mom held everything together, gave you a stable life while I was gallivanting around the world with the rodeo. I toured too much. I was gone from home for so long that I forgot what I was missing.”
“You had a reason to be gone. The money you earned paid for your ranch and your rodeo school.”
“It nearly cost me my marriage. I could have lost everything, including you and Alex. And then there was Gracie…”
Up until three years ago, no one knew that Jacob’s half-sister, Gracie, existed. She’d arrived in Bozeman looking for her birth father. She’d grown up believing that her dad had died before she was born. But Jim Green had been alive and well the whole time, living with his wife and two sons on the other side of the world.
His dad watched him closely. “What you do in life means more than what you own. I made some mistakes and I’ve regretted them every day. I took your mom for granted. If Molly’s the woman for you, then you need to do everything you can to make it work. You don’t get many second chances when it comes to loving someone.”
Jacob put his empty coffee mug on the table in front of him. “The New York deal is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It will make everything else I’ve done look insignificant.”
Jacob’s dad nodded. “I guess it depends on whether Molly is a once in a lifetime opportunity as well. I can guarantee that other property deals will come and go. But, Molly…well…that’s up to you to figure out.”
Jacob had a lot of things to think about. But thinking would only get him so far. He passed his dad the plate of cookies. “We might as well eat these. If mom’s going to blame me for ruining your diet, we might as well make it worthwhile.”
Jacob’s dad leaned forward. “Are you sure your mom hasn’t planted hidden cameras and microphones in strategic places?”
“I did a sweep of the house this morning,” Jacob whispered. “Threw the last two cameras out in the trash.”
“In that case…” Jacob’s dad reached for the plate and smiled. “…I’ll have two cookies. Just make sure you get rid of the evidence. When your mom finds out I’ve come visiting, she’ll be over faster than the nor’wester howling outside.”
Sweet on You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 4) Page 21
