The Promise (The Protectors Book 4)

by Leeanna Morgan

  “We’re not identical, so I don’t know what your problem is,” Matthew grumbled. “I thought you weren’t interested in dating anyone.”

  A blush skimmed Sean’s cheeks. “I changed my mind. Now stop stalling. Amy won’t wait if you’re not ready.”

  Within the space of eight minutes, Matthew shaved three days’ worth of hair off his face and passed Sean’s inspection.

  “You’ll do,” his brother said with a frown. “Tomorrow, you’ll appreciate the effort that went into making you look normal.”

  Matthew grabbed his hat off the hall table. “You’ve been spending too much time in the sun.”

  The front door banged open. Catherine and Toby skidded to a stop beside Matthew.

  “Are you ready?” Catherine asked.

  Toby held onto Sean’s hand and sent him an excited smile. “We ready.”

  A quick knock on the door made everyone turn around. Nathan stood on the porch, smiling at his children and brothers. “Is everyone ready for the best night of their lives?”

  Catherine and Toby filled the hallway with a resounding yes. Even Sean looked more excited than he should have been. Whoever he was meeting must have made a big impression.

  Nathan’s smile disappeared when he looked at Matthew. “Are you wearing that shirt?”

  Matthew looked at his plaid cotton shirt. “What’s wrong with it? Mom bought it for me.”

  “She gave it to you years ago. Haven’t you got something that doesn’t look as though it’s been washed a few million times?”

  “When did you turn into the fashion police?”

  “The day after Ashley went back to New York. You’ve been moping around the ranch so much that’s it’s a wonder you remember to get changed each morning.”

  “I haven’t been that bad.”

  Sean snorted. “Believe me, you have.”

  “The shirt stays,” Matthew muttered. “Come on kids. It’s time for Uncle Sean to drive us into town.”

  Catherine held his hand and Sean swung Toby into his arms.

  Nathan didn’t look impressed.

  “I’ve done my best,” Sean said as he walked past their older brother. “It isn’t easy when you haven’t got a lot to work with.”

  Matthew frowned at his brothers. “I don’t know what the two of you are up to, but it better not be a blind date. I’ve got my girl right here.”

  He squeezed Catherine’s hand and her grin warmed his heart.

  “Can we have some hot chocolate while we’re in town, Uncle Matthew?”

  “Of course we can. Uncle Sean might buy you and Toby a cookie, too.”

  Catherine’s big brown eyes looked up at Sean, and he smiled back. “We’d better get you and Toby buckled into my truck. It sounds as though we’ve got a busy night ahead of us.”

  Everyone seemed happy with Sean’s plan except Matthew. He would sooner have stayed home, drowning his sorrows in coffee while he wondered what Ashley was doing.

  “It’s all right, Uncle Matthew,” Catherine said far too seriously for a seven-year-old. “You’re going to love the lights.”

  He picked up his niece and gave her a hug. “I love you more.”

  Catherine grinned at her dad. “I told you Uncle Matthew would be okay.”

  Nathan’s gaze dropped to Matthew’s chest. “If he’d changed his shirt he’d be near perfect.”

  Matthew ignored his brother’s not-so-subtle dig at his dress sense and carried Catherine to Sean’s truck. Apart from spending time with Catherine and Toby, the only other highlight would be seeing the woman who had the power to make Sean blush.

  That, if nothing else, was worth a night in Bozeman.

  ***

  When Ashley arrived in Bozeman two hours ago, she didn’t think she would be helping Tess bake muffins and cookies. But one sick employee and hundreds of people coming into town for the Festival of Light had changed her plans.

  Tess walked into the kitchen from the café. “The fireworks will be starting soon, so I’ve stopped taking orders. How far away are the muffins and cookies?”

  Ashley picked up a tray and handed it to Tess. “I’ve just finished frosting some gingerbread cookies. The muffins are five minutes away.”

  “What would I have done without you? You’ve been a lifesaver.”

  “It’s the least I could do.”

  Tess smiled at the star-shaped cookies. “These look wonderful. Can you bring the muffins into the café when they’re ready?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you soon.”

  Ashley rinsed the bowl of frosting and placed it in the dishwasher. With quick hands, she wiped the counters and carried the powdered sugar and food coloring across to the pantry. By the time the muffins were ready, the kitchen was much tidier.

  She slid the lemon zest muffins out of the oven and inhaled their tangy sweetness. Tess’ customers would love them. They would be perfect with a cup of coffee or eaten on their own. She quickly arranged them on a plate and took them into the café.

  “Ashley?”

  Her smile disappeared. This couldn’t be happening. She hadn’t planned on seeing Matthew until tomorrow. The chance of running into him in town had to be slim at best, but here he was.

  She turned toward him and tried to smile. “Hi.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  His stunned expression would have been comforting if she knew he was pleased to see her. But after coming and going from his life so often, she didn’t know where she stood with him.

  “I flew in from New York a couple of hours ago.”

  “Table four needs a refill of coffee.” Tess, God bless her little cotton socks, came to her rescue. She handed Ashley a coffeepot and nodded at the far side of the room. “Take two muffins with you. There weren’t any left when Mr. and Mrs. Searle arrived.”

  Ashley kept her gaze focused on Tess’ customers. Once the man and woman were gratefully munching on the muffins and sipping hot coffee, Ashley left their table. By the time she made it to the front counter, her coffeepot was empty. Matthew was sitting at a table with his family, looking even more confused.

  Tess touched her arm. “I didn’t know Matthew would be here,” she whispered.

  “It doesn’t matter. I had to see him sometime.”

  “But that time was supposed to be tomorrow.” Tess looked at her watch. “I’m closing in ten minutes. If you want to finish now and talk to him, I’ll be okay.”

  Ashley shook her head. “I’ll stay with you. Logan wouldn’t be impressed if he knew I’d left you on your own.”

  A deep male voice cleared his throat.

  Sean stood in front of her, a worried frown on his face. “It’s my fault. I saw Logan after you arrived. He said you were helping Tess at Angel Wings Café, so I suggested we have hot chocolate here.”

  Ashley looked at the Gray family. Catherine smiled and waved. Toby was enjoying a banana and Amy was staring daggers at her husband. Matthew was heading toward them.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. My brother has been like a bear—”

  Matthew poked his brother in the back. “I can speak for myself.”

  Sean pulled out his wallet. “I’ll pay our bill.”

  With Tess helping Sean, Ashley couldn’t think of anything to say to Matthew.

  “How long are you staying in Bozeman?” he asked.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “For a while. I was going to call you tomorrow…to explain why I’m here.”

  Another man stood in line to pay his bill.

  Ashley moved away from the counter, hoping Matthew followed her. She wiped her hands on her apron and tried to calm her racing heart. “I accepted the job at the Bozeman Chronicle. I start working with Logan and his team on Monday.”

  Matthew’s frown tied her stomach in knots. She’d made a mistake. A big mistake. She’d let him down once too often, and now it was too late to do anything about it.

  She looked at the front counter. Wit
h the café closing soon, more people were waiting to pay their bill. “I need to help Tess. I’m sorry. I should have called you when I realized that I…”

  A siren sounded from outside. Ashley looked through the front window, expecting to see a fire engine racing down the street.

  “It’s not a fire,” Matthew said. “It’s to let everyone know that the fireworks will start in fifteen minutes.”

  The high-pitched wail did its job. Everyone in the café grabbed their hats and jackets, wanting to make a quick exit to Bogert Park.

  Ashley moved toward the counter. “I really need to help Tess.”

  “I could wait for you.”

  Her eyes widened. “I…that would be great.” Ashley’s body felt as though it was on autopilot. While Tess stayed at the cash register, she cleared the empty tables and loaded the dishwasher.

  Matthew’s family left the café, but not before Amy, Catherine, and Toby gave her a hug.

  She didn’t deserve their kindness. It had taken her a long time to work out what was important. While she’d been chasing the story of her career, they’d let her stay on their ranch, protected her from a private investigator, and shielded her from the worst of what could have happened with Jasmine and Congressman Welsh.

  Through it all, Matthew had stood beside her, helping to make her dreams come true, even if it meant losing his.

  The kitchen door swung open. “Do you have a dishcloth?” Matthew asked. “I could wipe down the tables.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to help. We’ll have to hurry if you want to see the fireworks.”

  She grabbed a dishcloth off the stainless steel counter. “This one’s clean. I’ll rinse it with hot water.”

  He waited, then left the kitchen.

  The breath that Ashley had been holding whooshed out of her lungs. She pushed a strand of hair off her face and tightened her ponytail. If she was going to tell Matthew how she felt about him, she needed to be strong and courageous.

  With one last glance at the kitchen, she headed into the café with another dishcloth. By the end of the night, she’d either be the happiest person in Bozeman or buying a dozen boxes of tissues.

  ***

  The first time Matthew remembered seeing fireworks was when he was about Toby’s age. His dad had driven their family to a festival on the outskirts of town. They’d parked in an open field and waited for the first big bang.

  He’d been amazed at the way each burst of color appeared and disappeared. For months afterward, he’d drawn pictures of the fireworks. His mom had kept some of the crayon drawings, storing them in her special box of family treasures.

  Tonight’s fireworks were just as incredible as the first ones he’d seen. But what made them different was the woman standing beside him.

  “Oh, wow. Look at that one.” Ashley pointed to a huge starburst of pink and blue lights. “Whoever chose the fireworks did an incredible job.”

  “The fire department hired a company from Great Falls. There was a story about them in the Bozeman Chronicle.”

  Ashley stood silently beside him. He could see her thinking carefully about her next words. “How do you feel about me working for the Chronicle?”

  Knowing she was going to be living in Bozeman wasn’t the problem. It was what would happen between them that was worrying him. “I’m happy you’re here, but are you sure it’s what you want?”

  A wobbly smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “It’s better than being surrounded by smog and waiting in rush hour traffic.”

  “It won’t be as busy as the job in Washington, D.C.”

  Ashley shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’d lost who I was in New York and it would have been worse in Washington, D.C. My work had become my life, and that’s not the way I want to live.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Horses, weekend sleep-ins, and to work on stories that won’t keep me awake at night.”

  “Is that all?”

  Ashley shook her head. “No.”

  Her quiet voice m ade his heart race. “What else?”

  “You.”

  Everything inside of him stilled. It was as if he’d stepped into a giant vacuum. The chatter of the crowd disappeared, the fireworks exploding overhead were silent, even the light breeze had vanished.

  All that was left was Ashley and the pounding of his heart.

  She buried her hands in her jacket pockets. “I never stopped loving you. I worked hard and tried to forget how much you meant to me. I wanted to be the best reporter The Daily Times had ever hired, but nothing I did was better than what we had in Bozeman. I missed everything about you.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”

  “If I’d spoken to you, I would have come home. I promised mom I wouldn’t second-guess myself, that I wouldn’t live my life with regrets. Until a few months ago, I thought she was talking about my career, but I was wrong. She wanted me to be happy. I’m happy when I’m with you.”

  He wanted so badly to believe her, but she’d told him more than once that she loved him. That hadn’t stopped her leaving or stopped his heart from breaking each time she did.

  “I don’t know what to say.” He had to look away, had to focus on something other than the hurt in her eyes. He couldn’t live his life thinking she would leave when the going got tough or when she got bored. Because deep down, he knew the life she thought she wanted would never be enough.

  “I love you.” Tears spilled down her face. She brushed them away and tried to look brave.

  She was offering him everything he’d ever wanted. But he didn’t know how they could ever have anything more than what they had now.

  “I can’t do this anymore, Ashley. I want to be part of your life, but I’m not sure it’s worth the pain of when you leave. I’m sorry.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “I’m not leaving. I want to stay here with you.”

  “It wouldn’t work.” A ball of grief lodged in his chest. He looked away from the tears falling down her face. “I’m sorry if you made your decision to work here because of me. If I’d known, I would have— ”

  “I understand.” Ashley took a deep breath and pulled back her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have expected you to feel the same way. I’ll call Tess. She’ll take me to her house when she leaves with Logan. Goodbye, Matthew.”

  If he thought it was hard watching Ashley leave, it was more difficult seeing her return. Whatever they had was over, and this time he was the one running away.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Sean swung an ax into the air and brought it down hard on the log in front of him. “Ashley’s been home for two months. Don’t you think it’s time the two of you talked?”

  Matthew moved the wheelbarrow closer. “I don’t have anything to say to her.”

  “Yeah, right. You’ve spent more time at Tess’ café over the last month than you ever have. For someone who doesn’t care about Ashley, you listen to everything Tess says about her.”

  “It would be rude if I didn’t.”

  Sean’s snort of disbelief made Matthew’s cheeks burn. He thought no one had noticed his regular trips into town. Whatever they needed, he made sure he was the person getting it.

  “Sally said that Ashley’s looking at buying a house.” Sean waited for him to throw some wood into the wheelbarrow before continuing. “You could go with her. Someone needs to make sure she doesn’t buy a bad investment.”

  “I don’t know anything about buying houses.”

  “You saw the potential in the warehouse in New York. Even Jacob said it was a good deal. If you can do that there, you’ll have no trouble in Bozeman.”

  “Commercial and residential properties are completely different.”

  Sean split another log. “The principles must be the same. Ask Jacob—he knows what he’s talking about.”

  “I don’t know why she doesn’t stay in the apartment she’s renting. It’s not far from town, and it’s in a
family-friendly neighborhood.”

  “And you know this because?”

  “Tess told me,” Matthew muttered. He didn’t add that he’d taken a detour once or twice to check on her.

  “Maybe she wants to put down roots—you know—the ones you decided she’d never have.”

  “You were the one who told me to be careful.”

  “That was before she stayed with us. Ashley’s okay if you like the tall, blond, intelligent type. Amy said she’s a great cook.”

  Matthew froze. “Amy has been to Ashley’s apartment?”

  “Lots of times. Catherine and Toby have been there, too. Just because you’re not talking to her, it doesn’t mean everyone is ignoring her.”

  “Are you going to chop more wood or stand there talking?”

  Sean leaned on the handle of the ax. “You always get bossy when you know you’re wrong. Some of us have a conscience, and some of us don’t.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “She moved here to be closer to you.”

  Matthew threw another log into the wheelbarrow. “That was only part of the reason.”

  “According to Sally, it was most of the reason. She could be earning twice as much money in Washington, D.C.”

  “Money isn’t everything.”

  “It is when you want to buy a house.”

  Matthew gripped the handles of the wheelbarrow. “I need to empty this. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Make sure you are,” Sean yelled after him. “By the time I’ve finished chopping all the wood, there’ll be enough to keep half of Montana warm.”

  Sean wasn’t wrong. Two huge pine trees had come down in a freak storm. Rather than let the wood rot, they’d pulled the trees closer to home and were chopping them into logs for the fire.

  Matthew stacked the wood beside the previous load. If they didn’t work faster, they’d be here until Christmas. He pushed the wheelbarrow back to his brother. “Do you want to swap around? I don’t mind chopping the wood for awhile.”

  Sean split another log. “Nope, I’m okay. What are you doing about Ashley?”