“I think that’s called procrastinating,” Sarah said.
“It’s called enjoying life,” Tess replied. “And from what you’ve said you could do with some happy times.”
Someone knocked on the door downstairs. “That’ll be, Nicky,” Emily said. “I’ve still got to do her final fitting.”
Sarah looked at the last two bridesmaid’s dresses hanging on the rack. With less than a week before the wedding, Emily had been worried that she wouldn’t have time to get everything finished. But Tess and Sarah volunteered to help and it made everything achievable.
Sarah thought about the letter from her lawyer. The phone call from her mom. If she’d been able to make Emily’s life less complicated by sewing a few dresses, she could do the same with hers. Only it wouldn’t take a needle and thread this time. It would take courage and determination.
It was time to make her life less complicated.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jordan stared at the students from Bozeman Elementary School standing in Gracie and Trent’s kitchen. Mrs. Davies had made them cold lemonade and cookies and they were devouring both at a speed that even he was impressed with.
They’d spent the last hour and a half traveling around the ranch, looking at the Triple L and figuring out what would be important to add to the website they were building. Sarah had gone with them, pointing out the things he’d overlooked.
They’d been working in teams of three, each person responsible for a different part of their project. One girl was busy snapping pictures of Mrs. Davies making another batch of chocolate chip cookies. He could see that Mrs. Davies appreciated the attention. He figured the girl had a career ahead of her in P.R., especially when she saw the extra cookies Mrs. Davies was making for her.
In a few years, the ten-year-old could join the fancy company that Sarah kept talking about. The one that was going to take her back to Portland. For the last couple of days, she’d mentioned it each time they’d talked. Like she was getting him ready before she made the big exit from his life.
“Who wants to go and see the barn?” he asked. He’d spent enough time thinking about Sarah. It was time to give the students what they needed and give Sarah what she seemed to desperately want. Less time around him.
“Hey, Mr. McKenzie?”
Jordan looked across the room at a short redheaded boy. He had his hand in the air, waving it around like a flag on the Fourth of July.
“Can we see where the fire started?” the boy asked.
“Sure. Once everyone’s finished their morning snack.”
Most of the boys stuffed the last of their cookies in their mouths. The girls took a little longer, but not much. He glanced across at Sarah. She was talking to another boy, looking through some notes he’d made on a fancy tablet.
Sally Gray, their teacher, and two other parents were waiting at the dining table.
He gave them another couple of minutes before rounding them up. “Okay everyone. Find your teams and then we’ll be off.”
When everyone was ready, Jordan took them outside and walked across to the converted barn. He’d been busy all week with insurance assessors and builders. They’d figured out the best way forward and had started with a commercial cleaning company.
A super-sized vacuum had sucked all of the white fire extinguisher powder out of the bedroom. Then they’d sprayed something inside the rooms to get rid of the smell of smoke. Anyone walking into the barn today wouldn’t have known there’d been a fire a few days ago. Unless they stumbled into the bedroom, then they’d know for sure something had happened.
He opened the barn doors and let everyone into the living room. Before he’d made it to the dining table the photographers in each team were taking photos, the note takers writing down what they saw. “This is our guests’ living room, dining room, and kitchen,” Jordan explained in a loud voice.
A little girl with blonde pigtails stuck her hand in the air. “Is that a granite counter?”
Jeez. He didn’t think children noticed things like that. “Solid Granite with walnut cabinets and chrome fittings.” The girl wrote something down in her notebook and nudged her teammate with the camera.
Within minutes, the rest of the photographers were taking photos of the kitchen, the stove, and anything else that looked as though it opened and closed.
“Is everyone ready to go upstairs to the bedrooms?” he asked.
“Is that where the fire was?” asked the same boy as before.
Jordan nodded, hoping they didn’t have a pyromaniac on the loose. They all walked upstairs. He showed them each bedroom, the ensuites, and anything else they were interested in.
Jordan made a big deal out of the room where the fire had been, although he hoped it didn’t feature on their website. The boy who’d asked about this room pushed to the front of the crowd.
“And this,” Jordan said with a flourish, “is the room that was fire damaged last weekend.”
A hushed sense of excitement fell over the students.
“Did the fire department and the police come out here?” asked one little girl.
Jordan nodded.
“And what about flashing lights and sirens?” Pyromaniac boy asked. “Did you have those too?”
“We sure did. And you want to know who saved the building and looked after the people inside?” Fifteen children nodded their heads like bobbleheads. “Pete. And here he is…”
Jordan almost laughed at the panicked expression on Pete’s face. He stopped mid-stride on the stairs, looking as though he’d just as soon turn around and disappear.
All of the children were looking at Pete with their mouths open.
“You’re a real live hero, Mr. Pete,” the boy with red hair said.
More cameras focused on Pete, snapping his image for the stories that were bound to go around school.
Pete took his hat off and muttered something about it being a team effort.
Jordan waved Pete up the stairs. “I thought you might want to explain what happened and how everyone can be safe at home.”
Pete didn’t look impressed, but with the students staring at him like he was a superhero, he couldn’t refuse. Or so Jordan hoped.
Pete looked at the children. “When we go into the room you need to watch where you put your feet. We had to pull the carpet up and the new stuff hasn’t arrived.”
A hand waved from the front. “Was that because it was burned beyond recognition?”
Pyromania boy had been watching too many criminal investigation programs.
Pete, however, looked incredibly impressed with the boy’s vocabulary. He puffed his chest out and smiled like an actor off CSI. “You could say that. The fire department carried out their scene investigation at approximately three forty-five last Sunday morning.” The note takers of the teams were scribbling furiously on their paper.
“Excuse me, Mr. Pete. What’s three forty-five?”
“Quarter to four,” Pete said. Then he added, “Real early,” for those children that still looked confused.
“The guests who were staying in the barn were relocated to the main house. They stayed there until they were ready to go home. No lives or major property were lost. Just a few feet of carpet, a hairdryer, and the side of the dresser.”
Pete opened the door to the bedroom. “Single file, no touching anything. I’ll stand where the fire originated.”
Two little girls standing at the back of the group giggled. Pete’s dramatic flourish hadn’t been lost on them.
Sarah stood at the back of the audience smiling at Pete.
Jordan wished she’d do the same to him. All he’d gotten were hurried ‘hellos’ and hints about her not being in Montana for much longer. He needed to find out what was going through her head, and he needed to do it fast.
He had a date lined up with her for Alex and Emily’s wedding. If he wasn’t careful, she’d be gone before the happy couple said, “I do.”
***
Trent, Gracie,
and Jessica arrived home as the sun was setting. Most of the ranch hands came to the main house to see them and to help eat the cheesecakes Mrs. Davies had made.
Jessica slept through the hugs and noise like a seasoned cowgirl, barely stirring as Gracie got her ready for bed.
Jordan looked at Jessica’s legs, kicking in the air. “She’s grown an extra couple of inches since you’ve been away.”
“Babies tend to do that.” Gracie smiled as she replaced Jessica’s bulging diaper with a clean one. “She’s got a whole lot more growing ahead of her. Do you want to put her in her crib?”
Apart from when they’d been away on vacation, Jordan had tucked his niece in her crib most nights. He didn’t know why he enjoyed putting Jessica to bed, but she didn’t seem to mind, and Gracie was appreciative of the help. When Gracie wasn’t with him, he’d sit in Jessica’s rocking chair and sing to her, taking in every detail of her tiny face.
She was the cutest baby he’d ever seen. With her little rosebud mouth and big blue eyes, she’d captured his heart from the moment he’d first seen her.
“You go on up. I’ll be there soon.” Gracie started tidying the baby things that were all around them.
Jordan looked down at his niece and smiled. She had everything a girl could need. With a full tummy, a clean bottom, and a Montana Grizzlies nightshirt hanging to her knees, she looked cute. So he pulled his cell phone out and snapped a photo of her grinning sleepily up at him.
He was sure Jessica reached out to him, sure she’d missed their nightly ritual. And when her little fingers held onto his hand he felt a surge of love.
“Are you going to take our little girl upstairs or do you want me to do it?” Mrs. Davies knelt beside him ready to swoop down on Jessica if he didn’t move quickly enough.
“You get to spend time with her during the day,” Jordan said with a smile on his face. “But you can have a quick hold before I put her to bed.”
Mrs. Davies didn’t hesitate. She picked Jessica up and cuddled her close. “We’ve all missed you, little one.” She kissed Jessica’s head and passed her to Jordan. “Go do your thing before I get too clucky.”
He held Jessica in his arms and carefully walked upstairs. Someone had already been in her room, folding down the sheets and closing the curtains. He settled his big frame in the rocking chair and started singing their favorite songs. Jessica smiled when he sung Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, then started to really drift off when he got to Rock a Bye Baby. He’d never liked the way that particular song ended. Who the hell let a baby fall out of a tree? So he changed the words and felt better.
By the time he’d finished all of the lullabies he knew, Jessica was fast asleep in his arms. He spent a few extra minutes staring at her before putting her in the crib. He’d like to have children of his own one day. But he needed a wife first, someone who would stick around and see that they could have a future together. At the rate he was going, he’d be old and wrinkly before he had children.
Gracie was eating a slice of cheesecake when he got back to the living room. “Did you put the baby monitor on?”
“Yep. When do the batteries need changing?” Jordan wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Not where his niece was concerned.
“It’s supposed to beep when they’re nearly empty.”
Trent passed him a mug of coffee. “You’re worse than I am.”
“I haven’t seen Jessica for nearly three weeks. I’ve had withdrawal symptoms.”
“Don’t think you’re coming on vacation with us next time. I need someone to look after the ranch. Tell me about the fire.”
Jordan swallowed his coffee. He’d been wondering if Trent knew about the accident. “One of the guests left a hairdryer plugged into the wall. It caught fire and set the smoke alarms off.”
“Was everyone okay?” Gracie asked.
“A bit of smoke inhalation for the couple that had been in the room, but the other two couples were fine. Pete was staying in my apartment when it happened, so he took care of everyone.”
“Where were you?” Trent stared at him curiously.
Jordan put his brother’s curiosity down to the fact that he didn’t think he had a social life. If his brother knew what he’d been up to, there might have been more behind his question than curiosity.
Jordan quickly glanced around the room. Mrs. Davies had disappeared and most of the ranch hands had left. “Alex had his bachelor party on Saturday night. Except it wasn’t your traditional bachelor party.”
“Didn’t think it would be with Ben and Adam organizing it. What happened?”
“They invited everyone. Bride, bridesmaids, family, friends. We had about eighty people there.”
“Must have been a long night.”
“You could say that,” he muttered. He knew Gracie was watching him. She might be tiny, but she missed nothing.
“Is Tracey back in town?” she asked.
Tracey was his ex-girlfriend. The woman that had dumped him for a guy from Wyoming. “Not that I know of. There wasn’t much damage from the fire in the barn. The insurance assessor has already been out and the commercial cleaners have done what they can.”
“Let’s go and have a look.” Trent took his dishes through to the kitchen and came back for Jordan. “Are you on track to have the room finished before the next guests arrive?”
“We’ll make it.” Jordan walked out of the living room with his brother. He could tell that Gracie still had questions about Saturday night, but Trent seemed oblivious. And Jordan knew who he’d sooner be talking to.
Trent grabbed his jacket as they headed outside.
“It’s not that cold.” Jordan grinned at Trent’s scowl. “You’ve gone soft while you’ve been in California.”
“It was eighty degrees most days. Almost a sauna compared to Montana. So what else happened while we were gone?” Trent asked.
“You mean after Mrs. Davies decided to extend her vacation by two weeks?”
Trent stopped in the middle of the yard. “Who fed the guests? Tell me it wasn’t Frank?”
“I advertised. Sarah Thornton came and gave us a hand. She works on Alex’s ranch.”
Trent frowned and started walking. “Tall blonde with blue eyes?”
“That’s her. Have you met her?”
“A couple of times when I went to Alex’s place. Seems nice enough. Did she do a good job?” Trent opened the front door of the barn and took a deep breath. “At least you can’t smell the smoke.”
“It was the spray the cleaners used. Took the smell right away. Sarah cooked great meals. Everyone was happy. She knows about computers too. When she saw my registration process she offered to streamline it, make it easier to use.”
Trent walked upstairs. “Will it help?”
“I’m using her spreadsheet now. It beats having to find bits of paper everywhere.”
Trent stopped in the doorway of the third bedroom. “I thought you said there wasn’t much damage?”
Jordan looked around the room. He could see how someone might get concerned over what they saw, but it was all cosmetic. In another few days they’d have everything looking as good as new. “The firefighters had to rip a few sheets of drywall off to make sure the fire hadn’t gone into the walls. The carpets were trashed. The cleaners washed down the walls and ceiling with some kind of solution, but they’ll need to be repainted.”
“What about the mattress and the curtains?”
“The cleaners said they’ll be able to get them back as good as new. They’ve got them at their warehouse.”
Trent bent down and touched the burned floor. “So Sarah’s streamlining your registration process. Is there anything else she’s doing?”
Jordan looked quickly at Trent. He didn’t know if his brother was asking a genuine question or fishing for information. “She’s developed a lot of websites and thought we could improve ours. She’s working with some students at Bozeman Elementary. They’re using our ranch vacation business as a case
study. In the next few weeks, they’ll redesign our website and link in the other ranching activities we offer.”
“Sounds like you’ve been busy?”
“No busier than usual. Sarah’s going to show me how to update the website and use social media to advertise the business.”
“So where did Sarah sleep on Saturday night?”
Shit. He knew. “How did you find out?”
“We saw Colin O’Grady at the airport. He told us about the fire and a pretty blonde wearing one of your sweatshirts. You want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I wish I knew.”
Trent glanced at him, then walked across the room to the ensuite. “It’s just as well the smoke didn’t do too much damage in here. It would have taken more time than we’ve got to re-tile the walls and floor.”
“The door was closed when the fire started.” Jordan stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the scorch marks along the side of the dresser. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. I can’t guarantee I’ve got an answer, though.”
“What if, you know, theoretically, you liked someone who planned on leaving soon? What would you do?”
Trent raised his eyebrows. “I take it this theoretical someone is female?”
Jordan nodded.
“You’ve got to give me more than that. What level of ‘like’ are we talking about?”
“I don’t know.” He hadn’t meant to sound pissed off, but he didn’t have much time. He took a deep breath and tried to put into words what he’d been feeling. “I like the way she smells…”
Trent laughed at that one.
“It wasn’t meant to be funny.”
“Mrs. Davies smells nice. Do you like Mrs. Davies in the same way you like your theoretical female?”
His brother was driving him insane. “Why can’t you give me a straight answer?”
“Because you’re not giving me a straight question. Now tell me what’s really going on before Gracie tells me. She’ll hear everything through secondhand gossip and it won’t be pretty.”
“I like Sarah Thornton. She likes me, except she’s still getting over an idiot ex-fiancé. He stole a computer program she’d been working on. She won the court case against him, but she’s planning on going back to Portland to work.”
Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) Page 13
