From This Moment

by Lexi Buchanan

  “If you’re looking for Beth, she’s feeding Edith in the bedroom,” says Mack, coming over to shake hands with me while passing Nathan, their two-year-old son, to Jake.

  I don’t know what the hell he does, but all kids, not just family members, always seem to flock to Jake. They must sense he loves children and won’t do them wrong. It’s been like this for as long as I can remember.

  “Make yourselves comfortable.” Justin, Gabe’s father, brings me out of my nostalgic thoughts. “Dinner won’t be long, unless they don’t stop talking in there, then it might be midnight!” He hands me a beer.

  Not long after, Beth appears and walks straight over to me, my youngest grandchild Edith in her arms. As I reach for the baby, I marvel at how Beth managed to have such an angel for a daughter, since she was more like a Devil when she was born.

  Rona

  My nerves have disappeared since arriving and I find myself enjoying the time spent in this house, including helping Cade’s two daughters in the kitchen. I glance up from the vegetables I’m chopping and watch the two women. They’re both slender with light brown hair and it’s like being in the middle of a whirlwind. Well, a well-organized whirlwind. They seem completely in control of the million different things they are dashing around doing.

  Glancing into the front room to try and catch a glimpse of Cade, I spot him on the sofa with Edith. He looks gorgeous and I really wish we were home, just the two of us, with our own sleeping baby so I’d have the right to go and cuddle up to them. Because seeing him like that causes my heart to pound with the need to be over there with him.

  Catching me looking over, Beth clearly mistakes the direction of my gaze, and thinks I’m looking at her daughter.

  “C’mon, you haven’t met the newest addition to the family.” Beth leads me by the arm into the front room.

  Looking up, Cade takes my breath away. I don’t think there’s anything sexier than seeing the guy you’re in love with holding a baby.

  Conscious that Jake is watching from across the room, I sit down next to Cade on Beth’s urging, and take hold of Edith when Cade passes her to me.

  I cuddle her close. “She’s a gorgeous little thing.” I look at Beth, who is hovering over me, while I make silly cooing noises to Edith.

  “She is that. You stay put and relax while I go and help Anna with the food.”

  Edith is wide-awake in my arms and making small gurgling noises while holding my little finger. The entire time, I’m conscious of Cade sitting so close. We’re touching thigh to thigh with Cade’s arm resting along the back of the chair behind me. I’m so tempted to snuggle into his arms.

  Jake keeps glancing at us from across the room while having the fight of his life with his nephews, Gabe and Nathan. I think he’s supposed to be Darth Vader while Gabe and Nathan are Luke Skywalker and Han Solo!

  “Dinner’s ready.” After Anna’s announcement, Beth comes over to take Edith from me, leaving my arms feeling strangely empty.

  Cade offers me a hand to help me up from the sofa, but seems reluctant to let me go, stroking my fingers as we part.

  At the table, Cade is sitting on my right with Gaby announcing she’s sitting next to me on the left. I hide a smile as I take a sip of the water Cade passes to me.

  The dining table is a huge mahogany affair, which can easily sit up to fifteen people around comfortably—the perfect table and space for a large family.

  Once our plates are full of food, I’m about to start eating when I catch Gaby watching me.

  “Did Uncle Jake take you riding on Honey Bee?” she asks around a mouthful of food.

  I hold back a laugh. “No, your grandpa did. It was my first time on a horse and Honey Bee was amazing, she made me feel like her friend.” After a few seconds of sensing Gaby has something else on her mind, I ask, “It was okay for me to ride her, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, she needs lots of exercise. Where did Grandpa take you?”

  “We went to a river and spotted some deer. That was totally cool. I’ve never seen deer out in the open before.”

  Realizing everyone has gone quiet, I look up and find their eyes on me. Meeting Jake’s eyes across the table, he smiles, shrugs his shoulders and says, “Did I tell you about my trip with Rona on Big Red?”

  I sigh in relief when all eyes move to Jake, although both Anna and Beth regard me for a moment longer. But once they’re engrossed in Jake’s tale, I grab a quick glance at Cade wondering what was so significant about what I said. Was it the fact that I was with Cade, and not Jake? I need to ask him later because it will play on my mind until I know.

  “Don’t look so worried. We’ll talk later,” Cade whispers, squeezing my hand beneath the table.

  Cade

  When we arrive back home, Jake excuses himself and disappears down the hallway to his room, looking exhausted.

  “Don’t worry, Rona.” When her eyes flick up to mine, I add, “He’s tired with all the questions Anna and Beth threw at him. He’s never been one to talk a lot about himself and he’s finding it even harder now.”

  “He looks as though he has a lot on his mind.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe . . .” I glance at the stairs my son took to his room and wonder when he’ll be willing to share his problems with me. Shaking my head, I turn toward the kitchen. “For now, how about a hot chocolate?”

  “That would be great. Do you mind if I go and change first?”

  “No, that’s fine. I think I’ll do the same.”

  I indicate to Rona to go first up the stairs and really try to keep my eyes from straying to her bottom, but they seem to have a mind of their own. Rona is a wonderful combination of slim and curvy—delicate—and built perfectly for my hands to caress her body. I groan under my breath as my palms itch. It takes everything in me not to pull her into my arms when we reach the landing.

  She turns and catches my eyes where they shouldn’t be, and smirks. “I’ll be down in a minute.” There’s laughter in her voice.

  I grin and shaking my head, enter my room.

  After changing into sweats and a tee shirt, I go downstairs to make some hot chocolate while thinking back over the evening with Rona and my family.

  Rona appears not long after looking comfortable in her yoga pants and tee shirt.

  We settle in the living room with our drinks, and without further prompting I decide to tell her why my family went quiet. “Rona, about the silence during the meal.” I sigh. “It was the fact that I took you to the river. They’ve only been to that spot once with me and they never asked to come again. We had other spots, but they know when their dad needed to be alone, that was my space, where I felt alone but not lonely. That’s why it was so significant.”

  I gently caress her face as I try to read the emotion welling in her eyes. Gratitude? Shock? She’s definitely touched and stunned by what I’ve just admitted to her.

  “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know. I never would have said something in front of your family if I had.”

  “Don’t worry. If I was bothered about anyone finding out, I would have taken you somewhere else, but having you with me, I knew my spot was where I wanted you.”

  Rona stands, and I follow. I’d follow her anywhere.

  Catching a few loose tears as they leave tracks on her face, I kiss her forehead before wrapping her up in my arms, against my chest.

  She pulls back slowly before she meets and holds my gaze. Reaching up, she caresses my cheek. “Cade, I want you to know that in the short time I’ve known you, that you’ve come to mean more to me than Nick ever did.”

  As she turns to climb the stairs, I long to follow her.

  Chapter 7

  Rona

  The morning after our talk, I’m in the kitchen with Cade and it’s wonderful—just the two of us. He’s making breakfast while I get the coffee started. Eggs, pancakes and syrup . . . yum!

  “What would you like to do today?” Cade asks while pouring the batter for the pancakes into the sizzli
ng pan.

  “I’m not sure, but I was considering renting a car so that I don’t have to rely on you or Jake all the time.”

  “You don’t need to do that. Driving you around and showing you where I live is certainly no hardship.” He flips a pancake. “I like spending time with you.” He pauses and gives me an apologetic glance. “Unless you would like a bit more independence, in which case, I’ll take you to sort out a car.”

  He doesn’t seem keen on that idea, though.

  Does he want me close to him?

  “If you really don’t mind, then I’ll leave it for now.” I smile. “I like spending time with you, too. I just didn’t want to keep putting you out.”

  “Then it’s settled, no car yet. Breakfast is ready. Let’s eat and we can talk about what to do later.” Cade carries the platter of food over to the table and as we settle down to eat, he tells me, “I need to reply to some emails and make a couple of calls, but after that we can head out someplace.”

  “I’d really like that.” I eat more of my delicious breakfast. “You make the best pancakes. Mine always end up thick and stodgy.”

  With laughter in his eyes, he retorts, “It’s all in the wrist.”

  “Ha.” As intended, I start to laugh, and then feeling wicked, I lick my lips very slowly and in a seductive voice, add, “That’s what they all say.”

  Cade’s eyes darken. Standing, he walks around the table and lifts me from the chair. I dangle in his arms for a second before he sits me on the table. His knee pushes my legs apart and he moves between my thighs. Threading his fingers through my hair, he cradles my head in his hands. I slip my arms around his waist.

  “Teasing has consequences,” he threatens, a breadth away from my lips.

  With a wicked grin, I say, “I’m ready when you are.” Wiggling in his hold, I slowly move my hands down to his rear, bringing him even closer. I feel his erection cradled between my thighs as his lips reach for mine in one hell of a kiss. Our tongues dance as I squeeze his firm bottom.

  Cade curses as he pulls away slightly, taking air into his lungs. “We better stop this. Jake will be down in a minute.”

  Somewhat reluctantly, he steps back.

  I glance down as the bulge behind his zipper twitches.

  He curses under his breath. “Stop looking at me or I’m not going to be able to keep myself in check.”

  “What makes you think I want you to behave?”

  Narrowing his eyes, his lips start to curve at the corners as he takes my hand to help me from the table. He leans toward me and drops a chaste kiss on my lips before holding my chair out for me.

  Before going back to our breakfast, a final touch of wickedness in me brings me to say, “One of these days there will be no interruptions and I hope you know what you’re going to do to me then.” I give him a saucy smile. “Because I know exactly what I’m going to do to you, and it involves my mouth . . . licking . . . and sucking on . . .”

  Leaving the sentence hanging, I catch the shock on Cade’s face and change the subject. “These eggs are good, too.”

  With a shake to his hands, Cade manages to put his cup of coffee down without sloshing too much on the table. “Are you trying to kill me?” he asks, in a strangled voice.

  I’m still laughing. “At least you’d die happy.”

  He picks his coffee back up, laughing now. “Minx!”

  Our laughter is broken by my ringing cell, which I only switched back on when I woke early this morning and dealt with the emails that had come through, plus voice messages. They were mainly from Nick and he was becoming a pain. Without reading his emails to me, I emailed him a short message telling him to stop with every effort to contact me and to leave me alone.

  Excusing myself from Cade, I dash back to the kitchen to retrieve my cell from the breakfast bar. Not recognizing the number, I send it to voicemail. Not two seconds later, it starts to ring again, same number. I might as well answer. “Hello.”

  “Rona, is that you?”

  Nick.

  I’m speechless but at the same time, I shouldn’t be. He has left a dozen voicemails and emails—why wouldn’t he try calling from a different number?

  I cast a worried look toward Cade. “Yes, it’s me. What do you want?”

  “Are you in Jackson Hole? Can we meet? Just to talk. I’ve been emailing you and left you voicemails, but you haven’t replied.”

  I stare out the window and search for some emotion, but I feel numb. No, not numb, that would actually be a feeling. Right now, talking to Nick, I feel nothing. How can I feel nothing for someone I was supposed to have loved?

  “Rona please, you should have been my wife by now, at least you can hear me out.”

  The cheek of him. As though it was me who called the wedding off. Although I’m relieved now, at the time I wasn’t and I’m not about to let him get away with it. “I’m sorry, but did you just say I should have been your wife now? I think I’m hearing things. As I recall you walked out on me an hour before the wedding, and, you know what?” I’m pacing in the kitchen now, waiting for him to answer.

  “What?”

  Cade is standing close to me with mere inches separating us, his jaw tense as he holds my gaze.

  I stop pacing as I’m unable to tear my gaze away from Cade. I reply to Nick, but I think the words are ones I need Cade to hear as well, “Canceling the wedding was the best thing you ever did for me so I guess I need to thank you for that.”

  After a long pause, he replies, “What do you mean? You were crying and screaming at me when I told you I didn’t want to get married.”

  The pig!

  “What did you expect me to do an hour before the wedding, you arrogant ass?”

  Cade raises an eyebrow at my words.

  I reach out for Cade, who takes hold of my hand and pulls me into his chest.

  “You know what, this conversation is over. I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

  As my thumb hovers over the end button, I hear him shouting, “Rona!”

  “What now? I’m losing patience,” I snap.

  “I’m here in Jackson Hole, staying at the cabin. Please meet me for lunch and then if you don’t like what I say, I promise not to call or email you again.”

  I look through the window at the deer grazing close to the back porch. “Not lunch, ring me back in five minutes and I’ll let you know whether or not I’ll meet you.” I hang up.

  Cade gives a slight tug to my hand and leads me over to one of the kitchen chairs. He sits down and pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist. I return his embrace. He always feels so good against me, holding me tight.

  “Are you all right?”

  I don’t want this hug to end.

  “I am now.” Pulling slightly away, I caress the side of his face. My heart turns over as I look into his eyes and see the passion he has for me shining brightly.

  Before I lose myself in him, I tell him about the call. “Nick is in town at his friend’s cabin. He wants to meet me this afternoon to talk. He says if I do, he’ll stop inundating me with voicemail and emails. I haven’t said anything, but he’s left dozens of both.” I sigh as Cade places a tender kiss to my lips. “I think it would be worth it just to get the messages to stop.”

  “Where does he want to meet?” Cade asks.

  “He didn’t say. Can you recommend anywhere?”

  “Tell him to meet you at the Silver Dollar Grill inside the Wort Hotel,” he offers, brushing my hair back from my eyes.

  “Do you think it’s a good idea to meet him? I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous.”

  “He obviously feels like there’s unfinished business between you both, so maybe meeting with him this afternoon will finish that, and you can both move on. If it helps, I’m going to come with you, but stay in the background so that he doesn’t know I’m there.”

  I kiss both of Cade’s eyes shut before laying a hot kiss to his lips. I gently pull away. “I’ve already moved on.
I’m happier here with you than I’ve ever been.”

  “Good! Because you mean the world to me.” Holding my face between his hands, he says, “I know this is fast, but I knew the moment I laid my eyes on you that you’d be trouble. I’ve fallen in love with you, Rona. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I can’t fight what you make me feel anymore.”

  “I’m in love with you as well.” With a tearful laugh, I kiss him. “You make me so happy.”

  My cell ringing interrupts a perfect moment. Wiping the tears from my face, I answer, not bothering with politeness, “I’ll meet you at one, inside the Silver Dollar Grill. Do you know where that is?”

  “I’ll find it. Rona—”

  Hanging up on him again without letting him finish, I turn to Cade. His eyes burn with passion, but also with love. I move in for another kiss at the exact moment Jake appears.

  “Get a room,” Jake says, heading toward the kitchen. “Would anyone like a refill?” he shouts, waving a cup in his hand.

  “No thanks,” we reply in tandem.

  I don’t quite believe how casual Jake seems to be about Cade and me. I was expecting—well, I’m not sure what, but not this.

  Jake reemerges from the kitchen, coffee in hand and sits down. He starts piling food onto his plate but he looks slightly distracted. “Lucy, the friend I mentioned who has the bed and breakfast in town said there was a guy in there asking for a Rona Jameson. She told me this when she was asking about the girl she saw me with the other day getting onto ‘Big Red.’ I mentioned your name and she told me about this guy.”

  I move from Cade and sit in the chair next to him. “Thanks for telling me Jake, but don’t worry about it. It must have been Nick trying to find me. He’s in town and wants to talk. We’ve arranged to meet later today in Jackson Hole.”

  “You’re going to meet the bastard?” His eyes have widened, probably in disbelief. “Dad, you’re not letting her go alone are you?” Jake stands and shoves his chair under the table, his hands clenched into fists in obvious anger.