TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES)

by Jackson, Brenda

Don’t miss Duan Jeffries’ story,

  SPONTANEOUS,

  coming in May 2010 from Harlequin Blaze.

  COREY’S MOUNTAIN

  To all my readers who read Stone Cold Surrender

  and wanted Uncle Corey and Abby Winters’ story.This one is for you.

  Though your beginning was small,

  yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

  Job 8:7 KJV

  One

  “Happy New Year, Uncle Corey.”

  “Happy New Year to you, too, Thorn.”

  Corey Westmoreland couldn’t help the smile that touched each corner of his lips. At fifty-four he’d never married and didn’t have any offspring. But thanks to his older brothers James and John and their wives, Sarah and Elizabeth, he was blessed with eleven nephews and one niece. Those twelve were the joy of his life. He had enjoyed them as kids and appreciated the adults they’d become. They were thoughtful and considerate, and made a point to call and check up on him often.

  He would be the first to admit it could get kind of lonely up here on his mountain. When he’d first decided to purchase the huge peak of land that nearly touched the Montana sky, a number of people questioned his wisdom in doing so and thought he’d gone loco. Especially since the only way to reach his mountain from the lowlands was either by horseback, which could take a couple of days, or by air.

  There was a postal plane he could count on where for a fee, they would deliver his supplies as well as his mail. And on occasion he would catch an air ride down the mountain. While a park ranger, he’d leased a small cabin in the lowlands and only made the trip up to the mountains on his days off. Now that he retired earlier this year, he liked the solitude and only went down off the mountain when he needed supplies or for his weekly poker game.

  With Thorn’s call, that was all of his nephews accounted for. His one lone niece, Delaney, had called earlier all the way from the Middle East where she was living with her husband Jamal, a wealthy sheikh.

  Corey shook his head remembering when Delaney had broken the news to the family that she was in love with a man from another country and would be moving there to spend the rest of her life with him. That hadn’t gone over well with the family; Delaney’s brothers in particular and Thorn specifically. Corey had had to remind them that it was Delaney’s life to do what she wanted and that two people who loved each other should be together.

  He felt strongly about that because he had lost the one and only woman he’d loved. They had met thirty-two years ago and Abby Madison had touched his heart in a way no woman could or ever would. It had been love at first sight.

  That was the main reason that he was alone on his mountain. This place was his haven, the one place he could find peace. Even after thirty-two years he couldn’t imagine another woman filling his heart the way Abby still did, and because of it, he didn’t want to share his home with any other woman but her.

  That’s why he’d only indulged in meaningless affairs over the years and why he never allowed any woman, except for those in his family, or Morning Star, the wife of his best friend Martin Quinn, to set foot on his mountain.

  Sighing deeply, he moved around the spacious cabin he’d built. The winters in Montana could be harsh and up here on his mountain, triply so. He’d gotten used to getting snowed in on occasion, but as long as he had food, water and a warm place to rest his head he was fine. His nephew Durango, who’d also chosen a career as a park ranger, had been his house guest for about three days and had left earlier that day to return to his own home at the bottom of the mountain.

  Corey would have to admit he missed Durango’s presence already, but knew three days was the longest his nephew could endure being away from civilization. Women in particular. The boy took his bachelor status to a whole new level. But not only Durango, several of his nephews were the same way. With his nephew Dare’s recent marriage, some of those single Westmorelands were running for cover.

  Corey made it to the kitchen and glanced at the clock. People were already celebrating the New Year on the East Coast where the majority of his family lived in Atlanta, which was the reason for all the phone calls he’d gotten. However, here in Montana they had another two hours to go.

  He figured he might as well get an early start at celebrating, although he wasn’t sure just how much celebrating he would do. All he saw looming ahead of him for the incoming year was twelve more months of loneliness.

  He would even discount the words of that gypsy woman a couple of months back at the county fair in Helena, who’d had the damn nerve to boldly predict that the New Year would bring him total fulfillment. That was nothing but pure hogwash. Total fulfillment had stopped coming his way the day he’d seen Abby Madison for the last time.

  He had known the day Abby had married Larry Winters. He’d also known, with the help of a private investigator, that her parents had passed away some years back. And he knew that she’d given birth to a little girl she had named Madison. And according to what the investigator found out, the Winters were a happy family.

  It was only after receiving that report had he decided since Abby had gotten on with her life that he needed to get on with his. He had tried doing so several times but had failed miserably.

  Maybe it was time he tried again.

  Moving with determination he left the kitchen and went into his bedroom. Kneeling he pulled out a box he kept underneath his bed that contained all his important papers. He opened the box and pulled out a thick envelope. It was the file he’d had on Abby that contained the investigator report as well as pictures he and Abby had taken together years ago when they’d first met at Yellowstone National Park.

  Over the years, he would sit and go through the file, look at the pictures and his heart would break all over again. Maybe it was time to put an end to thirty-two years of misery. It was time he realized once and for all that his mountain, Corey’s Mountain, would never be Corey and Abby’s mountain. It was time for him to accept that Abby had adjusted to her marriage and probably even had grandchildren by now.

  He pulled in a deep breath and his fingers tightened on the folder while he glanced across the room at the fire that was blazing in the fireplace. It would be so easy, and most logical, to toss the entire file in the fire and watch it burn. So why was he holding on to a past that would always be a past? Why did he continue to torture himself this way?

  He moved toward the fireplace and lifted his hand, but couldn’t find the strength or willpower to toss anything in. Instead he dropped down in the recliner in front of the fireplace and as the clock moved slowly toward the midnight hour and the New Year, he opened the file to reminisce. And to remember a time he just couldn’t forget and let go.

  His mind took him back to that summer day at Yellowstone National Park when he’d known that he had fallen in love with Abby Madison…

  “Excuse me, Miss, but you aren’t allowed to pet the gray wolf cubs.”

  The young woman, who was crouched down petting the animal that was locked in a cage, turned toward Corey Westmoreland and gave him an apologetic smile. He felt a knot in the middle of his stomach when she turned those beautiful chocolate eyes on him, and he was immediately smitten.

  He had first seen her a few days ago but this was the closest he’d been to her. All the other park rangers had been talking about the beautiful, proper-talking girl from Boston who had come to spend two weeks vacationing at Yellowstone National Park with her parents. When he’d seen her he’d known the guys had been right. She was definitely a beauty. He had wanted to get close but her parent’s presence had all but made it impossible. They were definitely an overprotective pair.

  “Sorry,” she said standing. “I truly am, but the cub looked so lonely and scared. What will be done to him?”

  “We’re going to try and find his parents. Somehow they got separated and I’m sure his mother is pretty frantic by now.”

  She smiled at hearing that. It was as if knowing the cub would be returned to its m
other had taken a load off her mind. “How long have you been a park ranger?” she asked him.

  He glanced at his watch and then back at her. Luckily he had time to spare since it was the beginning of his lunch hour. “This is my first year. I’m a senior at Montana State University and I work here part-time as part of my internship. I’m set to graduate in December.”

  She made a face that he thought was beautiful, and then she said. “I wish that was me finishing college. I’m just heading off there in September. This trip was a graduation gift before starting college in the fall.”

  “Where will you be going?”

  “Harvard.”

  He wasn’t surprised since she looked as smart as she was beautiful. And she also looked young, probably only seventeen or eighteen. He wondered if she’d ever dated a guy his age of twenty-two. “Nice school,” he heard himself say.

  There was an innocence about her as well as a refinement he found breathtaking. And according to some of the other rangers, her parents had money. Her father had written a check of quite a large sum to the Wildlife Preservation Society on yesterday.

  “Yes, I guess it’s nice. That’s where my parents want me to go. They went there, too.”

  She didn’t sound too happy about going. “You wanted to go someplace else?”

  Her face brightened. “Yes, I wanted to go to Spellman in Atlanta, but they were concerned with its close proximity to Morehouse.”

  He could believe that since it was obvious her parents kept a close eye on her. And speaking of her parents he was surprised she was out of their sight now.“You’re alone without your parents.”

  She chuckled. “My parents didn’t have me until they were in their late forties, so they’re much older than most parents with someone my age. I figured they would get worn out trying to keep up with me sooner or later. They’re taking a nap.” She paused and then said, “I saw you the second day I was here. You kept staring at me.”

  He remembered. He had been standing at the tourist station giving someone directions when their gazes had connected and held for a while. If truth be told, he’d immediately been smitten that day. He had felt something, a pull and it was the same pull he was feeling now. For some reason he’d believed she’d felt it too. And he believed she was feeling it again now.

  “Yes,” he said smiling. “I kept staring at you and you stared back.”

  She laughed softly. “Yes, I thought you were beautiful.”

  He chuckled at that.“Men aren’t beautiful. You’re the one who is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  Corey checked his watch again and then asked. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “A walk to where?”

  He could appreciate her cautiousness. “Just around here. I can show you places you usually would have to sign up with a tour guide to see.”

  Her face lit into a bright smile. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  She glanced over her shoulders as if she was afraid her parents would materialize any moment, and then she said, “Yes, I’d love to take a walk, but I don’t even know your name.”

  He smiled thinking he needed to make sure she knew his name since he intended to marry her one day. He was certain of that. It was a known fact that a Westmoreland knew his soul mate when he saw her and he knew this young woman was his. “I’m Corey Westmoreland,” he said, offering her his hand.

  “And I’m Abby Madison.”

  The moment their hands touched he felt it and knew she did, too; although he believed she hadn’t a clue what was going on between them and why. That day they walked around and she told him all about herself and he shared information about himself as well. The more he talked to her, the more he was certain that he’d fallen in love with her.

  The next day they again met and walked around parts of the park while her parents napped. While they walked she glanced over at him and said. “That day when I saw you for the first time, I felt a funny feeling in my stomach when you looked at me, Corey.”

  Her honesty and innocent candidness touched him. “I felt that same funny feeling. It was a pull so strong I could have crossed the distance and kissed you right then.”

  She looked scandalized in a cute sort of way. “My parents would not have allowed it. They are very strict. But I’ve never felt those feelings before when boys looked at me. I figured it was because you were older and nice looking.”

  They stopped walking and he said. “I think it’s a lot more than that, Abby.” He paused wondering how he could break it down to her when it was obvious she was quite clueless.

  “When two people are attracted to each other, it’s only natural that chemistry flow between them. It’s that way with all animals when they’ve found their mate,” he said.

  She nodded and they began walking again, and then she asked, “So are you my mate and am I yours?”

  Her innocent question touched him. “Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but no matter where you go or what you do, or how old we get, we will always be mates. And one day, we will get married after we get to know each other better.”

  She shook her head. He figured she was not agreeing because already she saw a problem with her living on the east coast and him on the west. But he would not let anything keep them apart, even if it meant he would have to seek employment after college near Boston.

  “We will make it work, Abby. Like I said, you are my mate. My soul mate and it was meant for us to be together one day.”

  She stopped walking. “My parents won’t allow it, Corey, and I can’t defy them. They selected Larry for me to marry from the time we were children.”

  He felt a tightness in his stomach. “Larry?”

  “Yes, Larry Winters. He’ll be attending Harvard in the fall as well, and when we graduate we are to marry. It is understood that it’s the way things will be. Larry’s and my parents told us this many years ago.”

  Corey stared at her after hearing something so ridiculous. He could tell from the regret in her eyes that she didn’t want to be shackled with this guy her parents had picked out for her, but neither was she strong enough to defy them. His heart quivered inside at the thought of her spending her life with anyone other than him.

  He refused to think about it now, but was determined to think of a way for them to be together forever.

  Corey breathed in deeply as he came back to the present while staring at several photos he and Abby had taken together without her parents knowing about it. Each day while her parents took their nap, he and Abby would sneak off for their walks and talks.

  He had thought of several options for them to be together after her vacation was over, but Abby loved her parents and were fearful of letting them down by not fulfilling what she saw as their dream future for her.

  Those two weeks he and Abby spent together had been the happiest of his life. They were in love and with him Abby had experienced her first kiss and she’d given him her virginity in a night he would remember for the rest of his life. During their last night together, he had held her in his arms after they’d made love while she cried. They’d known as beautiful as things had been between them, that they had taken part in forbidden love.

  Her parents had her future all mapped out and she would not defy them, not even for love. And he’d known he would have to let her go because he had nothing to offer her.

  The last day they’d spent together had been the hardest because he’d known chances were he would never see her again and she was taking not just a part of his heart with her, but all of his heart. He’d also known on that day that he would never marry because the only woman he loved was lost to him forever.

  He never saw her again after that, but there wasn’t a day that went by that he hadn’t thought about her, and on occasions like tonight he could still feel the love.

  After looking through the photos several more times he finally got up to place them back in the box under his bed.

  Loneliness was something he cou
ld tolerate, but being lonely and without the woman you loved was the worst heartbreak, misery, and pain that a man could ever endure.

  Two

  Six months later

  Abby Winters stood on the terrace of the huge two-story vacation cabin while sipping a cup of coffee. It had been thirty-two years since she had been at Yellowstone National Park, and even now the pain of leaving behind the one and only man she’d ever truly loved tore at her heart. It was here at the age of eighteen one summer in June that she had found love and lost it two weeks later. His name was Corey Westmoreland and he had effectively carved a permanent place in her heart.

  At twenty-two he had been, tall, dark and handsome and she knew she’d fallen in love with him the moment their gazes had met, before they’d even spoken a single word. And he had loved her back, she was sure of it. During those two weeks he had taught her a lot and shared a lot. Their stolen moments had been precious, memorable and they had kept her sane during her years of marriage to a man she had not loved.

  Larry had been a victim of his parents’ manipulations as much as she had hers, and they’d tried to make the best of their marriage, eventually becoming friends. The only good thing that had come from their union had been Madison.

  Madison.

  She couldn’t help but smile when she thought of her twenty-five year old daughter. She had been close to her father, adored him immensely and had taken his death ten years ago rather hard. Larry’s unexpected death of a heart-attack had been a shock, and it had taken Madison a full year of grief counseling to get through it. She had finished high school, left for college and was now teaching music at the acclaimed Hoffman Music Institute in Boston.

  Madison had been engaged to get married two years ago and had called it off after finding out her fiancé had been unfaithful. She had gotten over that rather quickly and moved on; at least Abby assumed she’d gotten over it. Madison rarely dated these days so she couldn’t be certain.