One and Only

by Leeanna Morgan

  Blake’s eyebrows rose. “I won’t be babysitting you. I’ll be helping with the renovations.”

  “All week?”

  “Why not? If I can survive a weekend, I can manage a whole week.”

  Elizabeth stood and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Apart from this visit, I’ve never seen you holding a hammer or screwdriver. Why on earth would you want to help me?”

  “I’m learning new life skills.”

  “You’re thirty-seven years old.”

  “Are you implying I’m too old to learn how to renovate a building?”

  Elizabeth clamped her mouth shut. She was on a steep learning curve, too, and she was only a few months younger than Blake.

  “If you two could stop bickering for a minute, I’d like to make a suggestion.”

  Elizabeth’s head swiveled toward her brother.

  “What if Blake works in the mornings and I do the afternoon shifts? That way you get a break from each other and Blake can get some work done.”

  “And it’s only for one week?” Elizabeth frowned at the look that passed between Daniel and Blake.

  Her brother nodded. “One week.”

  She handed Blake the crowbar she’d hooked over her tool belt. “In that case, you might as well start now. The room at the end of the hallway still needs its carpet removed.”

  The gleam in Blake’s eyes didn’t bode well for a stress-free working week. “You won’t regret having me here.”

  Elizabeth sighed. She already did.

  Chapter 4

  Two days later, Blake opened the door to his new office space. Splitting the shifts at the clinic had worked out better than he thought. In the mornings he ripped out plasterboard, removed an endless amount of trash, and helped Elizabeth. In the afternoons, he worked from Daniel’s office. But today, he was meeting a builder and electrician to go over what needed to happen before his team arrived.

  Situated in the historic district of Bozeman, the 1940’s red-brick building was an iconic reminder of Bozeman’s past. The Montana Motor Supply Company had operated out of the building for many years. Although it needed modernizing, the building was in better shape than Elizabeth’s disaster zone.

  Toby Smithson and Ben Matthews followed him inside. Both contractors were here yesterday, looking at ways he could achieve the layout he wanted.

  Toby opened a set of plans. “This is what Ben and I came up with after talking to you. From a building perspective, it isn’t difficult.”

  “I wish I could say the same about the cabling,” Ben added, “but I can’t. We’ll need to replace the Ethernet cables and most of the other cables. Price-wise, for the electrical work, you’re looking at about eight thousand dollars.” Ben handed Blake their quote.

  “You’re looking at about twenty-two thousand from us,” Toby said. “I have a team who can start next Monday. Ben has electricians who can work alongside us.”

  Blake looked at the plans. “How long will it take?”

  “Three weeks from when we start,” Toby replied. “After this meeting I’ll make any adjustments to the plans, then send you a copy along with a final contract price. Ben will include the technical specs of the cabling options he recommends. Once everything is approved, you can choose the paint colors and wait for completion.”

  Blake opened the plans and walked toward the large, floor-to-ceiling front window. The time frame and price were okay. Regardless of how long he stayed in Bozeman, the building would make a good investment.

  Toby pulled out his measuring tape and pointed to a spot on the floor. “This is where the first temporary wall will be built. Windows along the top of the wall will let in extra light and give a sense of connection to the rest of the building.”

  Blake nodded. “Sounds good.”

  As they discussed the plans, Blake imagined his staff working here. Compared to their poky office in Manhattan, this was a palace. He knew his team better than his extended family. Within a few months, most of them would want to join him in Bozeman.

  Less traffic, great food, and accommodation that didn’t make you bankrupt were all good reasons to move to Montana. His team could work from anywhere, but without the pressure of living in a big city, their imagination would fly.

  Ben asked him a question about the network system they used.

  He pulled his mind away from the future and answered Ben. Luck was on his side when this building had come on the market. Once they’d updated everything, it would be a match made in heaven.

  Elizabeth had already left the clinic by the time Blake finished in town. He stopped at the Downtown Co-op for some food, before heading to Emerald Lake.

  The only downside of living beside the lake was the time it took to get there. But as far as Blake was concerned, it was an inconvenience he could get used to. Within minutes of turning off the highway he saw his first glimpse of the water and sighed. There was something about the crystal blue water and towering mountain ranges that put your life into perspective. He’d never found the same sense of peace in New York City. Back home, life moved at a frantic pace. Everyone wanted everything yesterday.

  For more years than he wanted to remember, he’d enjoyed working to impossible deadlines. He’d bought into a way of life that was as unhealthy as it was unnatural. Now, he wanted more. More time to spend with his friends. More time to develop apps that made a difference in the world. More time to find happiness.

  He didn’t think it was a lot to ask—but he’d underestimated how much finding ‘more’ could cost him.

  He parked Daniel’s spare truck in the garage and walked inside. In the next few days he’d look for a vehicle of his own but, first, he needed to find somewhere to live. As much as staying at Emerald Lake appealed to him, he couldn’t live here forever.

  “Is anyone home?” His raised voice echoed against the wooden floor.

  “I’m in the kitchen,” Elizabeth yelled.

  He took off his boots and walked into the open-plan living area. “I didn’t know whether you were here or in your loft.”

  “I only arrived home a few minutes ago. Daniel’s meeting is taking longer than he thought. He’ll be back later.”

  Blake started emptying the grocery sacks. “Do you have anything planned for dinner?”

  “I only got as far as thinking about a salad and an omelet or quiche.”

  “How about roast chicken?” He pulled out the hot chicken and left it on the counter. “I also bought some pumpkin, sun-dried tomato and pasta salad, a leafy green salad, garlic bread, and fresh fruit for dessert.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “You’re a lifesaver. What did I do before you arrived?”

  “Ate omelets each night?”

  “Just about.”

  Her tired smile worried him. “You’re not working too hard, are you?”

  Instead of telling him she was okay, Elizabeth’s smile disappeared. “It’s been a long day, that’s all.”

  He pulled out a stool and pointed to it. “Sit. I’ll make you a drink and you can tell me what happened.”

  “I was just about to have a glass of water. Would you like one?”

  “Sure.” He watched her take two glasses out of the cupboard and fill them with water. The dark circles under her eyes were almost as bad as when she was having chemotherapy. He knew she would have gone to the doctor if she was concerned about her health. But sometimes you don’t realize there’s a problem until it’s too late.

  Elizabeth handed him a glass and sank onto the stool. “You’re staring at me as if I’m a glitch in one of your computer programs.”

  He pulled his mind away from the past. Thinking about the long days and nights when she’d been going through her cancer treatment wouldn’t help anyone.

  “I was thinking about your clinic.”

  Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  She could see through his lies faster than a shark hunting for its next meal. “Okay. It wasn’t your clinic I was specifically thinking about. It was you
. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Blake unwrapped the chicken. It was better than looking into Elizabeth’s bruised eyes. An overwhelming need to protect her made his heart race. He wanted to hold her, keep her safe from the idiot who had followed her to Bozeman. Keep her safe from the cancer that changed her life.

  He took a plate out of the cupboard. “Why do you look as though you haven’t slept all week?”

  Elizabeth leaned her elbows on the counter. “You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

  Blake frowned. “I didn’t mean it as an insult.”

  “I know.” She looked at her glass of water. “The last few nights have been rough. I’ve had nightmares about the clinic.”

  “What are you worried about?”

  “Cost overruns, people not using the clinic, funding grants not being approved.”

  “Why are the funding grants important?”

  “I’m hoping that most of our services will be free. Without the funding, I can’t have a financially sustainable business.”

  Blake peeled a couple of mandarins and handed them to her.

  “Where did you find these?”

  “The Co-op had a delivery today. Tania called me as soon as they unpacked the fruit.” The Co-op was Elizabeth’s favorite grocery store. As well as having a self-serve deli, they sold the best organic, locally grown food in Bozeman.

  Elizabeth bit into the sweet, juicy fruit and smiled. “Delicious. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He handed her a paper napkin. “How was your meeting with the architect?”

  “Not good.” The frown on Elizabeth’s face returned. “The builder’s report wasn’t as positive as I thought it would be.”

  “Paul said the roof needs repairing.”

  “The whole roof over the main administration block needs to be replaced. If that wasn’t bad enough, the second story alterations were never signed off by city planning. Someone took out a lot of structural support beams and didn’t reinforce the floor.”

  Blake chose his words carefully. “What options did the architect give you?”

  “The cheapest way is to replace the roof and beams and not use the second story. But that would mean I’d need to convert another part of the building into an apartment or buy something in town. I can’t afford to buy another building.”

  “Do you know how much it will cost to fix the second story?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “The roof will be ten thousand dollars and the structural repairs another twelve. On the positive side, the existing cabling is okay and the water pipes haven’t burst.” She rubbed her temples. “I need a Tylenol.”

  While she was hunting inside the cupboard for some pain relief, Blake found two glass bowls for the salads. “What are you going to do?”

  “I can’t borrow more money from the bank and my savings won’t stretch that far. I really don’t want to stay with Daniel, but I might not have an option.”

  “You could rent an apartment in town.”

  “It’s too risky, especially when the clinic first opens. I want to pay the mortgage off as quickly as possible. I can’t do that if I have to pay rent to someone else.” She opened the bottle of Tylenol and swallowed two tablets.

  He slid the salads onto the kitchen table. “What about finding a business partner? They could help finance the renovation.”

  “You’d have to be mad to invest in a legal aid clinic. The return on their investment would be so low that no one would be interested.”

  “You could find an investor who has a social conscience. They might not care if their investment doesn’t return a healthy profit. The number of people being helped could be more important to them.”

  “I’d like to know where I can find someone like that. Apart from you and Daniel, I don’t know anyone with enough money to help me. And before you say anything, I won’t take money from either of you.”

  “Why not?’

  “Because it’s not right.”

  Blake opened the microwave and placed the garlic bread inside. “If you want to open your clinic, it might be your only option.”

  Elizabeth sat silently at the counter. With her shoulders slumped forward and a frown on her face, she looked as though she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  “Have the police found the man who left the message on your door?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do they know anything more about him?”

  Elizabeth sighed. “Only that Anton’s family haven’t heard from him in more than three months.”

  “Is that unusual?”

  “He normally calls his sister at least twice a week.”

  When Blake was driving around Bozeman, he kept looking for Anton. The photo the police gave them showed a tall man with thick, dark hair, a bushy beard, and light gray eyes. He had a history of picking fights with the wrong people and frequently ended up in jail.

  Elizabeth rubbed her hands along her jeans. “I contacted a detective I know in Cedar Rapids. He wasn’t surprised that Anton came here.”

  “Why was that?”

  “He has a history of never letting anything go. He’s more violent than I thought.”

  Blake kept busy. Taking the plates out of the cupboard and finding a tablecloth was better than analyzing what was going through his mind. He was even more worried about Elizabeth and the danger she was in.

  He took the bread out of the microwave. “So where does that leave you?”

  “With a man who blames me for what happened to his sister and a building that will cost more than I have to renovate. My life is a mess.”

  Blake almost smiled. “Only parts of it.”

  Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “It will be all right.”

  She waited a few moments before looking at him. When she did, there was a determination in her face that wasn’t there before. “I won’t let this get me down. I’ll talk to the builder tomorrow. We might be able to split the project into two to keep the costs down. Once I’ve paid back some of my loan, I’ll start the second phase. And as for Anton, I can’t let him worry me. I’ve got too much work to do.”

  She was right about the amount of work that needed to be done. At three o’clock that morning, Blake had thought about asking a few of his friends if they wanted to invest in the clinic. But knowing Elizabeth, she wouldn’t take a dime from anyone associated with him or her brother.

  “I called John Fletcher this morning.” Blake broke the chicken into pieces. If he looked at Elizabeth, she’d know he was up to something.

  John was Daniel and Elizabeth’s neighbor. As well as being a great guy, he owned one of the most successful security companies in America. The people he employed were top-notch security experts. They were the type of people Elizabeth needed, whether she realized it or not.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why did you do that?”

  “You need help and not the carpentry kind. John is sending one of his team to the clinic tomorrow. They’ll make sure Anton doesn’t get anywhere near you.”

  “That’s what you and Daniel are supposed to do.”

  “We’ll be there as well.”

  “I don’t need another person looking after me.”

  Blake ignored the stubborn tilt of her chin. “They’ll be there at seven-thirty. You’ll need to give them a list of the people who are working with you. Your brother agrees with me.”

  “You always agree with each other.”

  That wasn’t entirely true, but Blake wasn’t mentioning something that happened years ago. “The security guard will be there whether you like it or not. Do you want ranch or French dressing on your salad?”

  “Neither, but thanks for asking.”

  “There’s no need to be sarcastic.”

  The glare Elizabeth sent him softened when she saw the plate of chicken. “It’s just as well I’m hungry or I would have left by now.”

  Blake di
dn’t say anything. Eventually, Elizabeth would work out that they’d done her a favor. But it wouldn’t happen tonight.

  An hour later, Blake handed Elizabeth a folder. “These are the results from the Crazy Love app.”

  The spoon in Elizabeth’s hand stopped halfway to her mouth. “Really?”

  Blake nodded. “They were emailed to me this afternoon.”

  She pushed away her dessert and read the first page. “It didn’t take long to analyze my questionnaire.”

  Blake dipped his spoon into his fruit salad. “We use computer-generated algorithms to define your personality traits and match you with another person. It takes longer to review the information than to analyze it.”

  She turned to the second page and frowned. “Only one of the men I’m matched with lives in Bozeman.”

  Blake tried to act surprised, but Elizabeth wasn’t buying it.

  “Did you look at the people I was matched with before you gave me the folder?”

  He’d done more than that. The results from the first questionnaire hadn’t gone missing. Over the last three weeks he’d gone through each of the candidates, making sure the men had qualities that would make them perfect for Elizabeth. Unfortunately, perfect didn’t always come with a Bozeman zip code.

  “I looked at your results to make sure they included all the information I sent through.” He hoped that was vague enough to pass for the truth.

  She pursed her lips. “How am I supposed to spend time with someone who lives in…” she read one of the profiles in the folder. “…Missoula? It’s at least three hours away.”

  “It must have been difficult matching you with someone from Bozeman. Our client list is getting bigger, but we’re a little light on the smaller towns and cities.”

  Elizabeth turned to the only local candidate in her folder.

  Blake knew his background information as well as he knew his own. Adam Jefferies was single, obviously, and thirty-eight years old. No children, no outstanding debts, and no criminal history. Like Elizabeth, he was a lawyer. He’d worked at Osbourne and Sons for long enough to have developed a solid reputation. As far as Blake was concerned, Adam was a good match. Whether Elizabeth thought the same thing was an entirely different story.