Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series)

by Michelle Maness

  “I know but I have to leave today and won’t be back any sooner than Christmas, maybe next summer, Manny. It’s going to be hard enough to leave you as it is,” Cade reminded her.

  “I’m dreading it,” she admitted.

  “So we’ll look forward to seeing each other all the more, Manny,” he kissed her lightly. “What do you say we go get warm?” he suggested.

  “Okay,” she smiled and let him stand first to extend a hand to her. They moved to stand with a growing group, Amanda wrapped in Cade’s arms and the sleeping bag wrapped around Cade. Coffee, milk, muffins, and granola bars served as breakfast as the group started slowly dispersing and gathering their things to leave; a half hour later only a hand full of people remained.

  “Thanks, Jason; it was so great to see everyone again,” Amanda informed him.

  “Glad to; maybe we can do it again next summer,” he suggested.

  “That would be fun,” she smiled.

  “I’m glad you could make it, Mandy; good luck to you and Cade.”

  “Thanks,” Amanda offered him a hug and then moved to her blanket and reached for her bag and her clothes. She had planned to redress much as she had undressed the night before but she wasn’t so certain of that, now. Cade looked amused as she hesitated in indecision. She finally pulled her clothes out.

  “You changing here again?” Jenny queried.

  “I guess so,” she admitted.

  “How are you going to manage the halter top?”

  “Carefully,” she grinned at her friend. She stepped into the top and slid it up until the bottom was in place, and then tugged the ties up and around her neck to tie them before making sure everything was covered.

  “Here, I’ll get the hem of your halter,” Jenny offered and held it in place while Amanda pulled off her outer shirt.

  Amanda thanked Jenny, reached for her skirt and slid it on over her pants. She had to tug her pants down just slightly to fasten her skirt and then slipped her pants off and dropped them in her bag.

  “Guess I should redress too,” Jenny grabbed her bag.

  “Yeah, you might want to change in the bathroom,” Amanda recommended.

  “Why?”

  “Just trust me,” Amanda nodded. Jenny frowned between her and a grinning Cade and nodded slowly.

  “Okay, I don’t think I want to know; I’m going,” Jenny hurried across the field.

  “Did you know you have amazing legs?” Cade asked her as she grabbed her boots and sat down on a hay bale to pull them on.

  “Thank you,” she smiled at him. Her boots now on, she reached for her jacket and dug a brush out to brush the tangles from her hair.

  “You are so beautiful,” Cade told her with a smile, “and sexy as hell in boots and a skirt.”

  “I’ll wear the combo more often,” she promised as she stood and started gathering her things. Cade helped her and walked her to her Jeep. Amanda turned and spotted her brother, Christy, and Shauna a few feet away where they were talking to Jenny. Her brother was scrutinizing her as she approached, Amanda moved to join them.

  “Hey, I need to talk to you a minute,” Trent grabbed her hand and dragged her off a few feet from the others. “Are you sleeping with Cade?” Trent demanded.

  “Last night with a whole crowd present,” Amanda intentionally egged him on.

  “Are you having sex with him?” Trent bit off impatiently.

  “No!” Amanda answered honestly, though she was tempted to avoid the question and leave him wondering. She watched relief flood her brother’s face.

  “Amanda, you have no idea how worried I am.”

  “Trent, I love you so much, I truly do but I’m not a child anymore,” she reminded him.

  “He spent part of night before last with Shauna, Mandy. Now last night he’s flirting with you,” Trent informed her.

  Amanda grimaced, “He didn’t spend part of night before last with Shauna.”

  “Mandy, he…” Trent stopped short as he comprehended what she was saying.

  “I just told you I’m not sleeping with him, now quit staring at me like that.”

  “You told him no?”

  “He told me no,” she admitted and watched her brother rub his face with both hands.

  “Amanda,” the one word was weighted with fatigue.

  “Funny that the man you claim is after one thing and one thing only is taking his time getting it,” Amanda mused aloud. “He keeps telling me I’m better than a brief fling, Trent. Does that sound like a man who is intending to use me?”

  “He said that to you?” her brother looked confused.

  “That and several similar statements; yes,” Amanda returned. She rose onto her toes and kissed her brother’s cheek. “I’m a big girl now, Trent. If he breaks my heart you can take a swing at him; okay?” Amanda teased.

  “Yeah,” her brother sighed.

  “Is he womanizing around school or something that I should be concerned about?” Amanda asked and watched her brother frown.

  “No, he’s usually at work, home, or class,” Trent admitted. “He only dates when I bully him into getting out,” the words were uttered begrudgingly.

  “I know,” Amanda smiled up at her brother.

  “Right, he writes you all the time,” Trent nodded.

  “Would it be easier if it were someone else?” Amanda asked her brother.

  “Maybe, but probably not,” Trent admitted.

  “Love you, Big Brother,” Amanda hugged him.

  “Love you too, Mandy,” he hugged her back.

  Amanda returned to where the others stood; Cade slipped an arm around her and pulled her close.

  “You okay; you two looked to be having a pretty intense conversation over there,” Cade noted.

  “We were coming to an understanding, I hope,” Amanda offered him a smile.

  “Good,” Cade smiled down at her. They chatted a few more minutes before Trent suggested they should all be going. Amanda sighed at his announcement.

  “I’ll walk you to your Jeep,” Cade offered.

  “Okay,” Amanda nodded. She turned to him and slid her arms around him when they reached her vehicle. “I’m going to miss you,” Amanda informed him.

  “I’ll miss you too,” he assured her. Amanda couldn’t stop her tears when Cade kissed her; she knew this year was going to be a miserable one.

  “Don’t cry, Manny; it’ll be over before we know it.”

  “I hope so,” she responded. Cade cupped her face and kissed her again as he pulled her closer.

  “If we had skipped the party last night we would have had some warm memories to dwell on,” Amanda teased.

  Cade smiled, “We have something to look forward to,” he countered.

  Amanda smiled and nodded, “I’ll count the days.”

  “So will I,” he promised and kissed her one last time before he released her. Amanda glanced up to see her brother watching them. He was frowning but he looked more puzzled than angry. Amanda waved in his direction and climbed into her Jeep.

  “Bye, Manny,” Cade stepped back so she could shut the door.

  “Bye, Cade,” she returned.

  “I’ll call you tonight,” he told her.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Amanda put her Jeep in gear and started back up the drive.

  “I’m surprised you two stayed all night,” Jenny finally spoke after they were on the highway.

  “It wasn’t my idea to,” Amanda admitted.

  “How many times is he going to turn you down?” Jenny demanded; she sounded both amused and baffled.

  “I don’t know; he wants us to wait until we’re through with school,” Amanda sighed.

  “I can kind of see what he means, Mandy,” Jenny admitted.

  “I know; it just feels like I’ve waited forever just for it to be okay to be with him.”

  “So what’s a few more months?”

  “Torture,” Amanda grinned; Jenny laughed.

  ________________
____________________

  Amanda felt blue after Cade and her brother returned to school, she made a point of focusing on her own schooling and ignored her male admirers altogether. When her father announced he was moving the cabin, Amanda made frequent trips out to watch his progress. The old place was slowly taking shape, the rooms being refinished and prepared for occupants. She helped him select furnishing and colors and spent her free nights helping rather than going out on the weekends. It was pointless; there was only one man she was interested in and he was several hours away. Besides, they had made a promise to each other. They wrote often and spoke on the phone almost every night but she hadn’t seen him since the morning after the party at Jason’s.

  “I appreciate all your help, Mandy-Lynn,” her father told her as they painted side by side. Amanda smiled; her father hadn’t called her Mandy- Lynn since she was a child.

  “Glad to,” she assured him.

  “I was thinking that when Trent returned from college he should move out here. It will give him some privacy and let him learn some independence,” her father announced.

  Amanda felt her heart fall; she had always loved this place.

  “If he and Christy continue on as serious as they seem to be, then he’ll be needing the privacy,” her father pointed out.

  “That’s true,” Amanda nodded.

  “Naomi says she’s glad to see the old place make a comeback,” Sterling shared with his daughter.

  “How long did she live here?” Amanda asked as she poured more paint into her rolling pan.

  “Just a few years but they were a few years she needed to deal with some stuff she was going through. She wasn’t always the prim old lady she is now,” Sterling offered his daughter a smile.

  “I cannot imagine Naomi as anything but prim and proper,” Amanda admitted as she started rolling paint onto a blank wall.

  “She wasn’t so different from you once, Mandy. Perhaps not quite as sassy and outspoken as you’ve always been, but not so very different.”

  “That’s hard to imagine. What happened?”

  “It’s her story to tell; you should ask her sometime. I will tell you this, she learned the hard way about decisions, their consequences and their reaching effects. She seems to have decided after what happened to err on the side of caution. I know that’s always caused you two some distance,” Sterling shared with her.

  It was true, Amanda loved her aunt and knew that she loved her in return but it seemed that Amanda had always been nonverbally reminding Naomi that she was not her mother. Amanda wasn’t entirely certain why that was.

  “I love Naomi, I guess she is kind of like a mother to me but we haven’t ever been terribly close,” Amanda admitted. “I guess because I was a tomboy for so long.”

  “That your aunt has never been. She’s always been a girly girl as you call them,” Sterling smiled at his youngest. Amanda smiled back, she was enjoying this moment with her father. They worked quietly for a while, each in their own thoughts before her father cleared his throat.

  “You dating anybody?” her father asked casually.

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly? What does that mean?” her father glanced at her.

  “It means that I’ve dated some and yeah, there is someone special but we agreed to focus on school right now.”

  “That’s not a bad plan,” her father told her. He was quiet, though Mandy knew there was something he wanted to say.

  “I worry about you, Mandy,” be blurted.

  “Why’s that, Daddy?” Amanda stopped and turned to him.

  “These boys today…Mandy, I know I’m an old man and I admit to my own failings in my youth but you women strike me as so vulnerable in relationships,” her father was actually red. He had sat her down, explained sex to her when she was twelve and then left Naomi to talk further with her; that was the last time her father had discussed sexual matters with her.

  Amanda was actually amused that he was attempting to do so now.

  “Every man who has ever attempted to convince me to sleep with him has been shown the door, Daddy. I’m not going to sleep around for kicks,” she assured her father. “I think it should mean something.”

  “That’s good, Mandy,” Sterling cleared his throat. “I’m glad we talked.”

  “I love you, Daddy,” Amanda moved to kiss his cheek.

  “I love you too, Mandy-Lynn.”

  Smiling in amusement at her father’s discomfort, Amanda resumed her painting.

  Amanda was relieved to see the New Year; she knew that it meant that she would soon be graduating. She and Cade had continued to write on a nearly daily base and seldom went a single night without a phone call. Amanda figured her father was probably going to be less than thrilled when Cade returned from college and the two of them began dating in earnest, no more school and distance between them. Cade had come home only briefly over the holidays and Amanda had only gotten to see him, minus an audience for a few short hours when he stopped by and visited with Amanda and Jenny.

  Her brother had moped over much of Christmas, though he had brightened considerably when Christy had come for New Years. Something had struck Amanda as off between the pair, though she couldn’t actually pin point what that something was. It was early April when Jenny came home to find Amanda in a fury.

  “What happened?” Jenny demanded a she watched Amanda, her face a mask of anger, pace the living room.

  “My brother and Christy broke up,” Amanda shared and then turned, her eyes snapping. “I’m going to kick her ass!”

  “She hurt him bad?” Jenny flinched.

  “Yes! She hurt my brother and I’m going to black her right eye for that; then I’m going to black her left eye.”

  “For?”

  “Throwing herself at Cade.”

  “What?!” Jenny’s eyes went huge.

  “Cade was off for the first night in several weeks when she showed up. He told her Trent was at work, you know, thinking that she was there to see him,” Amanda shared and then turned to pace again.

  “And?” Jenny prompted impatiently.

  “She told him she knew that. She told him that she loves Trent deeply but she can’t stop thinking about Cade, not romantically, sexually and she has decided that the only solution is to get it out of her system!”

  “What did he do?”

  “He told her he wasn’t interested and rushed her out the door. He also told my brother. Said he had a right to know,” Amanda paced the length of the room twice. “She hurt my brother and she went after my man; I would love to get my hands on her!”

  “So let’s; it’ll be fun,” Jenny suggested. “I hate her now. Not only did she hurt your brother but she knew that you and Cade are…whatever you are,” Jenny waved her hand in the air.

  “Cade and I are writing each other nearly daily and talking on the phone too,” Amanda admitted.

  “So that’s who you run off to your room to call and take calls from,” Jenny grinned.

  Amanda, a smile tilting her lips, nodded. “I can’t wait to see him, Jenny; I miss him so bad.”

  “I know you do. When are you two just going to be done with it and let your father know you’re an item?”

  “I don’t know,” Amanda admitted as she sank into an arm chair.

  “You realize that we’ll be through with college in a few short weeks?” Jenny queried. She had decided to follow Amanda’s lead on the fast track program the college offered. Now both of them were facing decisions about where to work and live in a few weeks.

  “I know. I’m not sure what to do next,” Amanda admitted.

  “I do know I’m moving home. I may get an apartment after I’ve been on the job for a few weeks but I want to go home,” Jenny shared.

  “Me too,” Amanda grinned. “That’s where Cade will be.”

  “Convenient. Will you stay at the ranch?”

  “For a while at least. You looking for a roommate?”

  “I wouldn’t be o
pposed,” Jenny smiled in return.

  “I might take you up on that,” Amanda told her.

  Jenny’s smile faded. “How’s Trent taking this with Christy?”

  “Cade says he isn’t taking it too well,” Amanda admitted.

  “Poor Trent.”

  “I know. I really am tempted to go beat Christy up. I may not be the strongest woman ever but I am sure I could pack a punch,” Amanda mused.

  “I’m sure I could too,” Jenny added with a smile of her own. Amanda smiled at her friend and both settled back against the couch; they both knew they wouldn’t act on their desire to hurt the woman.

  “On a happier note; my brother is available again,” Amanda’s eyes lit.

  Twenty-Two

  Amanda taped another box closed as she surveyed the apartment. She and Jenny had been packing all week. Next week was graduation and then both girls were headed home, at least temporarily before they made their next plans and moves. Jenny was out on a date; Amanda preferred to stay home and pack, her date was several hours away. Her brother was acting all whacked out again. After Christy had thrown herself at Cade, Trent seemed to some how shift the blame to Cade. Trent had called Amanda and lectured her about getting involved with Cade. Amanda had told him to mind his own business.

  She had just started packing another box when a knock sounded on her door. Amanda opened it, one minute blinking in disbelief and the next throwing herself into Cade’s arms. He greeted her with a kiss before smiling down at her.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  “I’m great now. I thought you guys weren’t going to be home until mid week next week,” Amanda said in confusion.

  “I’m done; I saw no point in waiting around. I’ll go back for the graduation ceremony but,” Cade shrugged.

  “I’m so glad you’re here; come in,” Amanda invited as she stepped aside so he could enter.

  “You busy?” Cade inquired of her.

  “No, just packing.”

  “I want to take you out, you and me on a proper date tonight,” he informed her.

  “You know I established a no dating rule while I’m finishing school,” she teased as she stepped forward to lean against him.

  “Did you?”