Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7)

by Leeanna Morgan

  With the elegance of an elk trying to jump a six-foot fence, she clambered out of the car. In a few days’ time, she’d probably look back on this as a big adventure. Right now it sucked.

  With no homes in sight, no vehicles on the road, and an urgent need to use a bathroom, this wasn’t one of her favorite days.

  ***

  Jordan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered his brother’s call. “I’m ten minutes away.”

  “That’s not why I’m calling,” Trent said. “Is Sarah with you?”

  “No. Why would she be here?”

  “Alex called. Sarah was supposed to be home half an hour ago and she hasn’t shown up.”

  “Is she answering her cell phone?”

  “No. She left for the O’Ryan’s place ninety minutes ago. Can you go out there and see if she made it?”

  Jordan was already heading across to his truck. “What did she go there for?”

  “The realtor gave her a key. She’s been boxing up some of her stuff and taking it out to the ranch.”

  Jordan frowned. “On her own?”

  “Don’t get annoyed with me. Give me a call when you get there.”

  Jordan jumped in his truck and headed toward the highway. It was still light. She couldn’t have gone far. She was probably having coffee in town and didn’t realize the time. Or maybe she’d started working on another project. She could have become so involved in what she was doing that she’d forgotten when she’d said she’d be home.

  By the time he’d driven to the turnoff by the ranch he’d convinced himself that everyone was over-reacting.

  When he pulled up outside the O’Ryan’s home, he got out of his truck and had a look around. The front door was locked shut and it didn’t look as though anyone had been out there.

  He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his brother. “She’s not here. Get Alex to give me a call.” He hung up and while he was waiting he walked around the yard. He’d been out here so many times that it felt like home.

  Jack O’Grady and his dad had been good friends. The friendship between their families had continued after both men had died. Mabel O’Grady, Jack’s wife, had enjoyed seeing them. She’d often baked a batch of cookies or had a cold drink ready when she knew they’d be over.

  Selling the ranch hadn’t been an easy decision for her to make. But both of her daughters weren’t interested in ranching and she needed the money to buy a retirement home. So she’d put the ranch on the market and waited.

  Jordan’s phone rang.

  “Sarah’s arrived home,” Alex said. “She had a car accident, but she’s…” Jordan didn’t bother listening to the rest of Alex’s call. He hung up and ran back to his truck.

  He was going to see Sarah.

  ***

  Jordan pulled up outside Sarah’s home and banged on the door before going in. Ethan looked up from in front of the TV. “Is Sarah here?”

  “She’s over at Emily and Alex’s place. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He left Ethan and drove across to Alex’s home. This time the door opened before he got there.

  Emily was waiting for him. “She’s okay.”

  “What happened?’

  “She skidded on some ice and flipped her car onto its side. She’s in the living room.”

  Jordan pushed his boots off in the entranceway and walked through the house with Emily. Sarah was sitting on one of the sofas, sipping a hot drink. His chest felt as though it was clenched tight. His breathing was rough and shallow.

  As soon as Sarah’s blue eyes met his everything else in the room disappeared. She stood up and met him halfway across the room. He lifted her against his chest and hugged her tight. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but my car isn’t.”

  “It can be fixed.” He hugged her again before lowering her to the ground.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Now that you know Sarah’s okay, do you want to take your coat and hat off?”

  “If I do that, I’ll have to let go of Sarah and I’m not ready to do that.”

  Sarah smiled at him and lifted his hat off his head. “I can help.”

  That was definitely not the thing to say in front of Emily and Alex. Jordan’s body tightened. He remembered what it felt like to sleep with her, to have her wrapped in his arms and never want to let her go.

  Her fingers were working the buttons on his jacket open, making his body burn. He held her hand and sat beside her on the sofa. “You need to sit down. You had an accident.”

  “A silly accident. I stuck my foot on the brake as soon as I started sliding on the ice.”

  “At least you weren’t hurt. Did you hit anyone else?”

  “No.”

  Jordan finished undoing his jacket and wrapped his arm around her. “You were lucky.” He kissed the top of her head and held her close.

  “Do you want a cup of coffee, Jordan?” Emily held a mug toward him.

  He took the cup and smiled. “Thanks.”

  Alex looked at Sarah. “What did the insurance company say?”

  “I’ve got to leave the car in the garage. Someone will look at the damage tomorrow and let the insurance company know what it’s going to cost to fix. Until then there’s not a lot I can do.”

  “What about the boxes that were in the car?” Emily asked.

  “I’ve left them there. The only thing I brought home with me was my laptop.”

  Emily looked at Jordan, then at her husband. “Now that Sarah’s here, I’ve got something I want you to do for me, Alex.”

  Alex looked confused.

  “The shelves. Upstairs. I need a hand to finish putting them together.”

  “I thought we’d…” He looked at Emily. “Oh, the shelves. Right.”

  Emily smiled at Sarah. “If you need anything, just let us know.”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  Jordan watched Emily and Alex leave the room. “What happened after the accident?”

  “I waited beside the car for about ten minutes. A lady stopped to help me, but she didn’t have a cell phone. She drove me back into town to a garage and I called the insurance company from there. They organized one of the tow truck companies to pick my car up. I went with them and didn’t think to call Emily. The driver dropped me off here before taking my car into Bozeman.” She leaned against Jordan’s chest. “I’ve got the lady’s name and address that stopped to help me. I’ll buy her a gift next time I’m in town.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Sarah sighed. “So am I. It gave me a fright when the car tipped on its side.”

  Jordan held her in his arms and thought about the last few days. “What are we going to do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “About us,” he said. “I acted like an idiot when you told me about the money.”

  “And the ranch.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”

  “Just saying.”

  He could hear the smile in her voice, felt her arms tightened against his chest. “Are we okay?” he asked.

  Sarah sat up and held her hand against the side of his face. “Depends on what you mean by okay?” Her fingers rubbed the stubble on his face and she smiled. “You look like a grizzly bear. A sexy grizzly bear.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his lips, a soft and gentle kiss that went straight to his heart. He deepened the kiss, felt a tremor pass through her body. And then it was all touch and taste. Giving and taking.

  Sarah molded herself against him, sighed as his hands roamed over her body, giggled when he tickled her ribs.

  “Not fair.” She smiled, pulling at his shirt. “You’ve forgotten that I know your tickly spots, too.”

  “Except my tickly spots aren’t…” He groaned as her hands found one spot that had never been on his tickly list. He hoped like crazy Alex’s shelves took a long time to put together. When Sarah’s lips left his mouth and started wanderi
ng, he knew they had to leave.

  “Come back to my place.” He nipped her earlobe and smiled when she groaned. “I’ll make you dinner.” The smile fell off his face when she straddled his hips, pushed on all the right places, and started moving her body.

  “I don’t want dinner. I want you.”

  Her voice whispered across his skin, sent goose bumps along his body. He held her waist, tried to slow the heat racing between them, then gave up when her tongue found his ear.

  “Sarah.” He pulled her off his lap and grabbed her hand. “We’re going back to my place. We’ll be home in fifteen minutes. Ten if I hurry.”

  “You need to hurry,” Sarah said as she grabbed her jacket. She glanced at the stairs as they ran into the entranceway. “Start your truck. I’ll be there soon.” She disappeared up the staircase.

  Jordan went outside. His phone started ringing when he was halfway across to his truck.

  “How’s Sarah?” Trent asked.

  “She’s okay. We’re coming back to my place, so don’t come visiting.”

  “Are you sure? Last I heard you couldn’t get your head around dating a millionaire.”

  “I’m over it,” he said. Sarah ran out of Alex and Emily’s house. The smile on her face made him catch his breath. “Gotta go.” He ran toward the passenger door and opened it for her.

  She threw a small bag on the back seat and kissed him until he couldn’t think straight. “Drive.” She gave him a gentle shove when he didn’t move. “I told Emily I wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Is that okay?”

  “It’s more than okay.” He kissed her once more before making his way around the truck. He closed his door and started the ignition. Sarah could stay for the rest of her life if she wanted to, but one night would have to do. For now.

  ***

  A week later Sarah was sitting upstairs in Emily’s boutique, looking through the digital photos on Emily’s computer. “These are amazing. Who took them?”

  “Molly.”

  “Have you found out why she decided to stay in Bozeman?”

  Emily smiled. “I’ve got no idea. Probably for the same reason most people end up here. They fall in love with the land and can’t leave.”

  “Or a cowboy.”

  “That too.”

  Sarah ignored the goofy expression on her friend’s face. Ever since Emily had arrived back from her honeymoon she’d looked the same. With her head in the clouds and a husband who adored her, she’d never been happier.

  Sarah kept scrolling through the images. “It’s going to be hard choosing which ones to put on your website.”

  “All of the clothes you’re looking at are in my latest collection. Whatever photos aren’t included on the website will be in my catalog.”

  “Have you thought about what we discussed the other day?”

  Emily nodded. “I’ve narrowed down the look I want. And the interactive elements are so much better than what I’ve got now.” She pulled out a pile of paper and passed everything to Sarah. “This is what I thought would look good. What do you think?”

  Sarah flicked through the sheets. “The website will look great. I’ll work with what you’ve given me and get back to you in a week.”

  “Are you sure about this? Tess said you’re starting your new job soon.”

  “It’s fine. I’ve still got two weeks before I need to be in San Francisco.”

  Emily pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear. “Are you excited?”

  Sarah didn’t know how she felt about her new job. Once she met the team she’d be working with she’d feel better. The last week had been a whirlwind of signing contracts, organizing furniture to be shipped out from Portland, and spending time with Jordan.

  “I’m not excited exactly, but I’m looking forward to being part of a team. Datajet is working on some innovative projects.”

  “Why did you want to work for another company? You did so well on your own.”

  Emily knew why and it had absolutely nothing to do with whether she’d been successful or not. “I miss working with other people. I like the idea of using our collective brain power to fix a problem and not having to do it all myself. Two years of my life disappeared when I developed my last software program.”

  “I feel the same about designing clothes,” Emily said. “I make an effort to keep in contact with my suppliers from around the world. And the design classes we’re running in the boutique are wonderful. Working on your own can be a lonely way of life if you’re not careful.”

  Sarah frowned at the website plan in front of her. “Do you want to add a page for your classes? People could register online?”

  Emily clapped her hands together. “That would be great. Could we take photos of their projects and post them on the website?”

  “Better than that,” Sarah said. “We’ll link your blog to the website and people can comment on what they see.”

  “It’s going to look so good. I love what you did with Jordan’s website.”

  Sarah liked it too. The students in Sally’s class had been amazed at how good it looked after she’d put the website together. And it was doing what they’d set out to do. Twenty percent more people were finding Jordan’s website and vacation bookings were filling up fast.

  The doorbell downstairs jingled and Emily jumped off her chair. “I’ll be back soon.”

  While she was waiting for Emily, Sarah opened her laptop and started making changes to their plan.

  “Sarah?”

  She looked up and the smile on her face got wider. Jordan was standing on the staircase.

  He walked up the last few steps and waited at the top. “Emily said you were here.”

  She stared at him. Jordan never looked nervous, but today he looked terrified. “What’s happened?”

  “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

  It didn’t look fine to Sarah. But one thing she’d learned was that he’d tell her what was going on when he was ready. And he wasn’t ready now. She closed her laptop and put all of the papers Emily had given her in a folder. “Emily and I have just finished. I’ll leave so you can talk to her.”

  “I didn’t come here to see Emily. I came to see you.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  A blush worked its way across his face. “Gracie mentioned something about you helping Emily today. With her website.”

  “If you’re not here to see Emily, do you want to go to Tess’ café? She’s made lemon and ginger muffins. Emily said they’re delicious.”

  “Would you mind if I sat down?” He nodded at the chair Emily had been sitting in.

  “Umm…no, help yourself.”

  He took his jacket off and folded his long frame into the chair. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “You have?”

  Jordan nodded. “About us.”

  It was Sarah’s turn to get nervous. Maybe the time they’d spent together over the last week had been a huge mistake. Maybe the more time Jordan spent with her, the less he liked her. But he’d seemed so happy. So normal.

  “I’m sorry if this comes out of nowhere, but I need to say it. I can’t keep pretending.”

  Jordan looked down at his hands and tears filled Sarah’s eyes. He was breaking up with her, saying goodbye.

  “I’m sorry, Sarah. I’ve been acting like a fool. I love you.”

  Her mouth dropped open.

  “I didn’t mean to say…oh, hell. I was supposed to leave the ‘I love you’ part until the end. But I’ve gotten everything mixed up and I don’t know what to say.”

  Sarah felt like she’d been zapped by a stun gun. “You love me?”

  He took a deep breath. “I love you so much that I can’t imagine my life without you.” Tears filled his eyes. “I feel like I’ve been treading water my entire life. Waiting for you.”

  “You do?” She’d imagined Jordan telling her he loved her in so many different ways. But none of them had been in Emily’s boutique, squashed between a m
annequin and a sewing table. But she didn’t care. Her heart felt like it was going to explode with happiness. “I love you, too.”

  She leaned across to hug him, but he leaped out of the chair so fast that she nearly landed on the floor. “What’s wrong?”

  Jordan wiped his hands on the side of his jeans. “I need to get this right and I can’t concentrate when I’m close to you.” He took two steps back, breathed deeply, then stepped forward. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he knelt on the floor on one knee.

  White spots danced in front of her eyes. She dropped her head between her legs and focused on breathing.

  Jordan reached across and rubbed her back. “Don’t tell me you’re going to faint?”

  Sarah shook her head. “Just need a minute.” She took another breath, then slowly straightened.

  Jordan disappeared for a few seconds then came back with a glass of water. “Drink this.”

  She was trembling so much that she couldn’t hold the glass without spilling it.

  Jordan cradled her hands in his and lifted the glass to her lips. “Better?”

  Sarah nodded. She put the glass on the table and dropped her hands to her lap.

  “Tell me if you feel light-headed again, okay?” He got down on one knee and tears slid down Sarah’s face.

  He took a deep breath and held her hands. “I’m not the richest guy in the world and I don’t know much about computers, but I love you. I love you more than I can fit inside my heart. If I had to choose how to spend the last minute of my life, it would be in your arms.” He wiped his eyes and gripped her hands. “I want to grow old with you, have children with you. I want so badly to be part of your life. Sarah Thornton, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. She cried against him, leaned on his strength and his kindness. He was everything she’d been looking for and she loved him so much.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked hopefully.

  “It’s a huge yes,” Sarah whispered. She sat back, found a tissue and blew her nose.

  “I didn’t show you the ring.” Jordan sounded devastated.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She laughed. “I won’t change my mind.”