Love is a Battlefield (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers Book 1)

by Whitney Dineen

  Ruby: Either that or she’s not speaking to you.

  Libby: Aren’t you just full of happy thoughts?

  Addison

  My mind starts to clear while soaking in a hot bath. I realize the absurdity of thinking Brogan was the one to throw those toy snakes on me. Not after the afternoon we had together. Unless, of course, he decided I was the one behind the bucket of goo over his door …

  I was just so surprised and angry when he started laughing that I sort of lost my mind. It must have been nervous laughter, like the kind that erupts when you’re sitting in the principal’s office or at a funeral of someone you barely know.

  I consider going over to his cabin and clearing the air, but I remember he was going into town to meet James for dinner. While I hate letting any more time go by with this misunderstanding between us, I also realize that we both probably need our space to think things over. Things like, could this be my movie after all?

  If it is, what am I doing starting something up with a man who lives on the other side of the country? A family friend is not the person to engage in a fling. The parental ramifications alone are the cringiest.

  Soaked, clean, and dressed, I find myself staring in the fridge, looking for something to make for dinner. Billy walks in. “Hey,” he greets.

  “What should we have for supper?” I ask, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. The truth is Billy isn’t a stranger anymore. He’s an odd friend for me to have, but I feel like I really know him even though I don’t know much about him.

  “I’ll fry up the burgers if you want to make a salad,” he suggests.

  “Sounds like a plan.” We amiably weave around the tiny kitchen getting our meal ready. Billy seems particularly quiet, even for him, so I ask, “You doing okay?”

  He’s silent for several moments before answering, “I’ve got some things on my mind.”

  I don’t want to seem pushy, so I merely respond, “Let me know if I can help.”

  Once dinner is ready, we serve up and decide to eat out on the porch. The burgers are big and juicy, and full of flavor. Right after I take a huge bite, Billy says, “I’m thinking about sharing some news with some folks, but I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do.”

  I hurry to chew and swallow before asking, “Why wouldn’t it be the right thing to do?”

  “Sometimes things are best left unsaid.”

  “Do you want to bounce it off of me first?”

  Billy looks me dead in the eye as though he’s considering it before saying, “I do, but I think maybe I should tell everyone at once.”

  “Who do you want to share this news with?” I ask.

  “The Cavanaugh family.”

  “I’m having supper with them tomorrow night. How about if you join us and you can tell them then?”

  “I don’t want to intrude,” he says.

  “Intrude nothing. They already think of you as family. I’m sure they’d love to have you come.” I add, “We’re eating at the River’s Edge at six. You can walk down with me if you want.”

  “I think maybe I’ll meet you there,” he eventually replies.

  He’s clearly preoccupied by his own thoughts and I don’t want to pry, but there is something I want to say. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to help me settle in here.”

  “You’ve been a breath of fresh air, Miss Addison,” he says like a courtly gentleman. “I was pretty set in my ways until you showed up. You’ve changed that.”

  “I hope that’s a good thing.”

  He nods his head slowly. “I think it is. I’d gotten myself into such a groove up here over the years, I didn’t realize I’d fallen into a rut. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. I just think that maybe there’s more to living than I’ve let in.”

  “I totally get that. I’ve basically avoided the wilderness since I was a kid, but this trip has shown me what I’ve been missing. I don’t think I could ever be the person I was before.”

  “We’re all growing,” he says while wearing a smirk. “Good for us, huh?”

  “Yeah, good for us.” I ask, “Do you ever want to go back to New York City? Not to live there, but to visit?”

  He doesn’t hesitate when he answers, “I’m not that person anymore. Looking back at my younger self is like I’m having someone else’s memories. I don’t mind it, but there’s no point in revisiting it.”

  “What about your family?” I ask.

  “My mom died shortly after I got here. She’s all I had left.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say.

  “Don’t you be sorry for me. I’ve had a good life.”

  “So, you’re not thinking of leaving here?” I ask. I have no idea what Billy wants to say to the Cavanaughs, but I’d briefly considered he might be telling them that he’s going to leave.

  He shakes his head. “This is my home. God willing, it’s where I’ll take my last breath.”

  We eat the rest of our meal in silence. I assume Billy is thinking about whatever it is he’s going to tell Brogan’s family. Meanwhile, I’m realizing how much I’m enjoying being here.

  Because of my unfortunate camping trips as a kid, Oregon has never appealed to me. But now that I’ve gotten to know the area as an adult, I have to say that I love it here. We all need to literally and figuratively unplug occasionally. This cabin has been the perfect place for me to do that.

  It’s nice to not always be checking my phone for messages. While I do miss some of the comforts that electricity provides, I also have a new appreciation for candlelight. I know I’ve only been up here for less than a week, but I’ve got three more ahead of me before this decorating job and wager are over.

  How in the world will I be able to go back to the hustle and bustle of New York City after a month of decompressing in nature? I suddenly understand why Billy never went home.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  The Mothers

  Ruby: Tonight, is dinner with the kids.

  Libby: Are you going to tell them it was you behind the pranks?

  Ruby: I may have to. And FYI, it was US behind the pranks.

  Libby: I’m in Amsterdam. This is all on you.

  Ruby: Traitor.

  Brogan

  I wake up early and run down to the lodge to grab some fresh pastries. I’m going to take them over to Addie’s as a peace offering while we clear the air over our misunderstanding yesterday. With apple fritters and bear claws in tow, I start to feel a renewed excitement about the possibility of us.

  Billy is sitting on the porch drinking his coffee when I get to Addie’s. “Good morning, my friend,” I call out to him.

  “Looks like you brought me breakfast.” He eyes the bakery bags in my hands.

  “I sure did.” I hand them off so he can choose whatever he wants.

  “Addie invited me to dinner tonight with your family,” Billy announces.

  “I hope you’re coming,” I tell him even though he rarely accepts such invitations.

  “I am. I was told to meet you at six.”

  I’m more surprised than I can say. “I’ll make sure there’s a place set for you. And might I add, it’s about time we had a meal together.”

  “We eat together all the time up here.”

  “I meant all of us.” Billy is such a part of our lives I can’t imagine this property without him.

  “I’m gonna take my bear claw and go. I’ll see you tonight.”

  I try to shore up my courage for whatever confrontation is about to occur as I watch Billy walk away.

  But before I can knock on Addie’s door, it opens. She’s standing in front of me looking like a woodland nymph in her robe with her hair all wavy and mussed from sleep. “Hello!” She’s clearly surprised to see me.

  “Hello, yourself,” I say as a feeling of contentment flows through me. “I brought pastries.” I start to say, “I’m sorry about …”

  She interrupts, “I’m so sorry about yesterday. I don’t think you had anything to do wit
h the snakes.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  She shakes her gorgeous head. “I just know you would have never done that after the afternoon we shared.” Her eyes plead with mine to agree.

  “I think my mom and Chris were the responsible parties,” I tell her.

  “What? Why?”

  “That’s the twenty-million-dollar question. But don’t worry, we’ll get our answers at dinner tonight.”

  She looks thoroughly confused. “Why would your mom want me to come out here only to prank me? And why would she do the same to you? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Why would your mom come out here only to leave you?” I ask.

  “I don’t think that’s what she’d planned to do. I think our wager is what made her decide to leave. She probably didn’t want to hang around and watch us be nasty to each other. Although believe me, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind when I see her again.”

  “I’ll have you know that I’ve been nothing but gentlemanly to you ever since you got here. If anyone was being mean, it was you.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Fine, she didn’t want to hang around and hear me complain about you.”

  I lean in to give her a light kiss on the cheek before asking, “Any complaints now?”

  “None.” She takes the bags out of my hands and asks, “Are you trying to bribe me with pastries?”

  “Most definitely.”

  She pulls out a fresh apple fritter and declares, “It’s working. These look amazing. Let’s grab some coffee and we can have our breakfast in the hammock.”

  “Aren’t you afraid we’ll be too close together sitting there?” I ask with a wink. She couldn’t get far enough away from me the last time we sat there together.

  Addie winks back saucily. “That was my plan.”

  “Well, then, count me in.” As strange as it is to say, Addie looks like she belongs here. Not even a week ago, she tottered into the lodge looking as out of place as a juggler in church, but now she seems perfectly at home here. While that realization takes me off guard, it also feels incredibly right.

  “What were you planning on doing today?” Addie asks.

  “I was hoping to spend the day with you. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect! Helena is coming up later this afternoon with one of my projects for the place. I could really use your help.”

  “You want me to help you win the bet? I don’t know,” I tease.

  “I’ve already won the bet and you know it. But I could really use your height.”

  “As long as you don’t try to leave before the month is out, I’ll happily concede that you’re the winner, and I’ll happily lend a hand fixing this place up.”

  “What about Cheater’s Ridge?” she asks.

  “What about it?”

  “Will your mom still let you build your house there if you lose the bet?”

  I release a snort. “I have no doubt. She’s been after me for years to move home. She’ll do anything she can to help facilitate that.”

  After we settle in the hammock, with Addie more than half on my lap, she announces, “I can’t see you living anywhere but here.” She doesn’t sound happy by that thought.

  “This is my home. It’s where I belong.”

  “Brogan,” she says. “I’m thirty-two. I don’t want to date casually anymore.”

  “Okay.”

  She looks confused and tries again, “What I’m saying is that if I date anyone I want it to be with the hopes that it will turn into something long-term.”

  I nod my head. “I get it.”

  “What do you get?” she asks nervously.

  “I get that you want more. If you and I are to work, you’re going to want to make an honest man out of me so our children will grow up knowing their parents are devoted to one another.”

  “Brogan! I didn’t say anything about marriage and kids.” While she’s trying to sound shocked, she also looks delighted.

  “Of course, you didn’t. I’m saying it.” I lean in and give her the sweetest of kisses. “And if things work out, I promise to live half of our time in New York, if you promise to live the rest of the year here.”

  Addie instigates the next kiss. “Deal. Luckily, we have three more weeks together here to see how well we do with being nice to each other. We don’t have a lot of practice with that.”

  “I predict we’re going to do so well that we’ll have some big decisions to make by the time you’re ready to leave.” I’m not sure how Addison Cooper snuck in under my radar, but she did, and I have no intention of letting her go.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  The Mothers

  Libby: I just told Bob what we’ve been up to.

  Ruby: And?

  Libby: He wonders what took us so long.

  Ruby: What?

  Libby: He says he knew years ago that there was chemistry between Addie and Brogan.

  Ruby: Why didn’t he ever say anything?

  Libby: Because Addie was only seventeen. He didn’t think anything could come of it then and he didn’t want any awkwardness between us. But just so you know, he’s 100 percent on board with the idea. Now we just have to hope the kids are.

  Addison

  Brogan and I spend a perfectly wonderful day together. We hike and swim in Copper Creek. He even shows me where the cougar dens are so I can make sure to avoid them when I’m alone.

  When Helena brings the canvas down after lunch, Brogan helps us hang it. “You’re insane,” he says once we’re all done.

  “It’s brilliant though, right?” I ask.

  Pulling me into his arms, he assures me, “It’s genius. These cabins are going to be a huge hit.”

  I briefly pull back and say, “I’ve been thinking about Billy a lot. He’s not getting any younger.”

  “None of us are.”

  “What I mean is, he needs the security of a roof over his head. Do you think your mom might agree to either let him have my cabin or let me make over your cabin for him?”

  “Absolutely. Mom’s been trying to get Billy indoors for years. Why don’t we head up to dinner early and talk it over with her before he arrives?”

  I pull Brogan closer and inhale the spicy scent of him. I feel more content than I remember ever being. “You’re the best.”

  “I’m glad you finally know that,” he teases.

  “I need to change for dinner. Meet you at your place?” I ask him.

  He drops a kiss on my cheek, that moves to my lips, that lasts longer than expected. “See you soon,” I finally pull away long enough to say.

  I take extra pains to look nice before walking over to Brogan’s cabin. We exchange a ridiculous number of flirtatious compliments before we go down to the lodge a half hour earlier than we’re expected. Aunt Ruby is nowhere to be found, so we head to the restaurant to meet her there.

  Brogan orders a bottle of champagne, and once it’s served, he raises his glass. “To us. May we never play a practical joke on each other for as long as we both shall live.”

  “Forever is a long time,” I tease. “Maybe we should just agree not to prank each other anytime in the next year.”

  “It’s a deal.” His smile is so radiant I feel like I’m staring at the sun. Brogan Cavanaugh is totally sweeping me off my feet and I’m loving every minute of it.

  Aunt Ruby comes over wearing an odd expression. “You’re early.”

  “We wanted to talk to you about something,” I tell her.

  She looks decidedly nervous while asking, “What?”

  “Sit down,” Brogan tells her. She looks like she’d rather run, but she doesn’t.

  After he pours her a glass of champagne she starts to say, “I’m sorry about …” at the same time I announce, “I’m worried about Billy. I think he needs a real home.”

  “I agree.” She quickly follows my lead.

  Having none of that conversation, Brogan asks her, “What are you sorry about?”

  “Nothi
ng.” His mom turns to me and asks, “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’d like to either offer him the cabin I’m in or fix up Brogan’s cabin for him. What do you think about that?”

  “I think he should stay in your cabin. It’s already done, so he won’t have to wait. I already decided I want to make him my go-to man up there for the other cabin renovations. I plan on hiring him as the onsite glamping manager once we’re up and running.”

  “Really?” I’m so excited I can barely stand it. Now all we have to do is convince him. “I asked Billy to join us for supper. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Is he coming?” Aunt Ruby gasps in surprise.

  “He said he’d be here at six.”

  “That’s great!”

  James shows up at six, looking freshly scrubbed and hungry. By six fifteen, Billy still hasn’t arrived, so we go ahead and order.

  James tells us, “That awful woman came back and bought two bushels of peaches today. I wish she’d forget my farm existed.”

  “What woman?” Aunt Ruby asks.

  Brogan answers for his brother, “This gorgeous woman keeps showing up at James’s farm to pick fights with him about not being certified organic.”

  “Interesting,” Aunt Ruby says.

  “How gorgeous?” I ask Brogan.

  “About a tenth as beautiful as you are,” he assures me. Then he asks James, “Why does she need so many peaches? You’d think she’d just buy them wholesale through her work.”

  “She said she was making jam for Christmas gifts.” He rolls his eyes. “At least she didn’t argue with me this time.”

  Aunt Ruby chastises, “James, when a gorgeous woman shows up at your farm, you should try to do everything you can to be pleasant. God knows you’re not doing anything to find a girlfriend.”

  “How do you know?” he asks somewhat defensively.

  “Because I have the whole town reporting back to me every time you do anything. How else would I know?” I think she’s joking, but I can’t tell for sure.

  “Why, exactly, are they reporting back to you?” James asks her.

  “Because, James, Spartan is a small town and as such, anything that happens to one of its citizens is considered news. For instance, I know that Cheryl’s husband Damian came home this morning to see his kids.”