by Jeannie Watt
The phone rang as he was gathering up his clothes from where they were scattered across the bedroom floor. Serena.
“What’s up?” he asked as he shook out his slacks, then loosely folded them.
“Neal said that you were close to brokering the deal.”
“I have some cautious interest,” he agreed.
“That’s what Neal says.”
“And what does he think?”
“He’s impatient because Stewart’s impatient, but they’re more than aware that this is a delicate situation.”
More delicate than any of them knew, because now Gabe had to broker this deal without Dani discovering that the deal had been his intention all along. Lying to her didn’t sit well with him, but who would have guessed that she would come to mean so much to him in such a short period of time? Not him, that was for sure. Sometimes he felt as if he’d been smacked by a freight train.
Serena was talking again and Gabe had to ask her to repeat herself.
“I said I bought a classic car in Seattle and I’m driving it back to Chicago.”
“What kind of classic car?”
She cleared her throat self-consciously. “A...uh...’56 Ford Crown Vic. Impeccably restored.”
“Nice find,” Gabe said mildly, deciding he didn’t need to mention that Neal had long coveted exactly that car.
“Yes.”
“Is it for you?”
“For now,” Serena said.
“I won’t ask your future plans,” he said. But part of him hoped that perhaps she and Neal would take another stab at life together. Whatever had driven them apart didn’t seem to be affecting their relationship now.
Since when had he become a happily-ever-after guy?
Maybe he’d always been one, but afraid to think it was possible.
“When do you plan to be back in the office?” Serena asked. “I have some projects to go over with you and need a few honest-to-goodness notarized signatures.”
“Probably in a couple weeks.”
“Probably?”
“I’m kind of taking things day-to-day.” His statement was followed by such a long silence that he had to say, “Serena?”
“I’m here,” she said. “I’m just working on the idea of you taking things day-to-day. I’ve seen your planner.”
That planner had gotten him through college, grad school, his internships, every day on his job. It had kept a guy who’d never in his life set goals on track, but lately he was following his gut more than his planner. A good thing or bad? He couldn’t say for sure, but he felt good.
Dani was responsible for a lot of his recent positive state of mind, but Serena didn’t need to know that. Nor did Neal or Stewart. Once this deal was in place he’d figure out a way to straighten out all the loose ends without ruffling feathers.
Or maybe he wouldn’t have to. He and Dani could simply continue as they were now. His “friend” Stewart would turn her land into a golf course. Stewart had no reason to know or care just when exactly Gabe had become involved with Dani.
Walked through like that, in a logical step-by-step manner, he saw nothing to feel guilty about, but he was still aware of a vague nagging guilt that refused to stay tamped down.
“I’ll send you a schedule as soon as I work one out.”
“You do that,” Serena said faintly. He could visualize the perplexed who-the-hell-are-you? frown on her face, and laughed softly.
“A working vacation has been good to me,” he said.
“Obviously. You’re going to have to tell me the secret to embracing vacation sometime,” she said.
“I’ll do that,” he said, “just as soon as I figure it out.” Although honestly he knew the answer. She lived next door.
* * *
GABE SHOWED UP at 3:00 p.m., as he’d promised, pulling in just as Dani was saddling Molly for an hour-long outing. He got out of the car and sauntered over to the hitching post, moving with an unconscious athletic grace, making Dani want nothing more than to haul him into her house and have her way with him. Again.
Instead she waved at him and started to slip the bit into Molly’s mouth.
“Do you have another horse you could ride?” he asked.
“Yes,” Dani said on a note of surprise. “I have four horses that haven’t been worked.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “I thought I might get some hours in on Molly.”
And me? How about an hour or two there?
“Good idea. I’ll catch the black gelding.”
Gabe moved to Molly’s head and took the reins from her, capturing her hand in the process and meeting her eye with a look that made her shiver inside. Oh, yeah. She’d get her hour, if not more...
And so began the routine for the next several days. Gabe showed up at three, they rode out together, returned home, groomed the horses, then adjourned to the house, where they made good use of Dani’s twin bed.
Usually he then plugged in his laptop until Dani had finished working her other two horses and then she cooked, as in she threw two frozen dinners into the oven if she didn’t have something simmering in the slow cooker. But he didn’t spend the night and she never asked him, because, really, how much sleep would they get crammed into her narrow bed? And regardless of how much fun it was not sleeping, she did need some sleep and so did he.
As the days passed, Dani refused to let herself think about anything but the here and now. She enjoyed having him around and if it ended tomorrow, she would survive just fine. He was temporary, she knew he was temporary, and although that caused the odd pang now and then, she wasn’t going to push for more. She wasn’t ready.
Why aren’t you ready?
The question nagged at her occasionally, but she resolutely shoved it out of her mind without dwelling on it or trying to come up with any kind of an answer. Probably because she was enjoying her days and didn’t want to jinx them.
Gabe, as it turned out, was a natural horseman. His balance was superb and he stayed alert and aware of his horse, even during the times they were talking, which was for most of their hour-long rides. The one occasion when Molly shied violently at a duck that flew out of the weeds next to the river, he’d stayed in the saddle and been ridiculously proud of himself, which only made Dani find him more adorable. She congratulated him for not hitting the ground and then turned her attention back to the trail; there was no way she was going to tell him he was adorable, because in her experience guys liked to be sexy, strong, masterful—not adorable.
But he was.
* * *
GABE LOOKED FORWARD to his daily ride with Dani almost as much as he looked forward to taking her to bed afterward. Neal had called twice, trying to nudge Gabe into quicker action.
Gabe wasn’t sure he was interested in quicker action. Yes, he owed Stewart and he’d agreed to be the go-between in this plan, but it no longer felt right. He’d casually mentioned the sale again, and Dani had just as casually said that if the four sisters could ever agree on something it might be possible, but not to hold his breath.
Not the kind of news he wanted to bring back to his mentor, but he was rapidly coming to the conclusion that not all deals panned out. Like this one.
“I have something to show you,” Dani said after their fifth ride. She flopped the stirrup over the back of her saddle and began pulling the cinch strap free.
“Can’t wait.” Gabe felt a pleasant twinge of anticipation as he smiled at her over Molly’s back before pulling off the saddle. Molly nudged him with her nose as he walked by, a friendly hey-don’t-forget-my-grain nudge. He needed to make a decision as to what to do with the horse. A big part of him said he should keep her. Relocate to the Eagle Valley, buy a place he could afford, set up shop. Serena would have a cow, as would Stewart. Travel would be a lot more expensive, but in terms of peace of mind he’d be miles ahead of where he’d been working out of his offices in the Widmeyer suites.
“Ready?” Dani asked after she’d put away her tack, brushed dow
n the black gelding and turned him loose. She jerked her head toward the house.
“Always,” he said in a low voice.
She laughed and reached out to hook a finger in his belt loop as they walked. He’d never had anyone do that before and he liked it.
“Upstairs,” she said after they got inside.
“A nice place for surprises.”
“Mmm.”
He followed her up the stairs to her bedroom, where she opened the door with a flourish and then stood back so he could see. Inside was a new bed covered in a puffy white comforter. A wide bed. A bed that had room for two to sleep comfortably.
“I thought it was time to get a grown-up bed,” she said with a straight face, but her eyes were dancing.
“All the better to do grown-up things,” he said with a lift of his eyebrows.
“I—ooph!” She started to laugh as he scooped her up into his arms, but the laughter stopped when his mouth found hers in a deep, deep kiss. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him down with her as he set her on the bed. He went willingly, covering her body with his as the exploration continued.
“Do you want to spend the night?” she finally asked against his mouth.
“I’ll even cook breakfast.”
* * *
GABE DIDN’T STAY every night...but he stayed most. When he wasn’t there, Gus seemed to realize that she had a lot more bed than before and would creep up onto the empty side when he thought she was asleep. Amazingly, Dani usually did notice when the ninety-pound dog made the opposite side of the bed dip, but she didn’t have the heart to kick him off. He dutifully slept on the rug in the corner when Gabe was there, so Dani saw no reason to. He never disturbed her after he settled...or at least he didn’t until the night he let out a booming bark, shaking the bed and scaring the hell out of her.
Gus gave another bark, then jumped to the floor and bounded down the stairs while Dani sat perfectly still in her bed, heart pounding, sheets clutched to her chest, ears straining to hear something in the ensuing silence. If it was an intruder, the barks would have continued. Instead she heard the familiar thump of Gus’s big tail on the wood floor.
Someone he knew was coming up the walk, and that had to be Allie, Jolie or Mel. Everyone else, including Kyle—and Gabe—was considered deeply suspicious until Gus decided they weren’t. Usually that was about the time they stepped into the door, but Gus didn’t let anyone who wasn’t family into the house until they passed muster.
Dani got out of bed and tiptoed to the window without turning on the light, getting there just in time to see Jolie disappear from view onto the porch. Figured. If one of her sisters was going to show up without calling first, it would be Jo. A split second later she knocked loudly on the door and Gus gave another bark, a happy bark that said, Hurry up! Jolie’s outside!
Dani trotted down the stairs, hugging her arms around her in the nippy night air. “Coming,” she called.
“It’s me,” Jolie called from the other side of the locked door.
“I know,” Dani said as she unlatched the door and pulled it open. “What are you doing here at...” She glanced over her shoulder at the alarm clock sitting next to her chair.
“Ten o’clock?” Jolie asked with a smile. “What are you doing in bed at this hour?”
“I have to be up early.”
“So do I and you don’t see me in bed at ten.”
“I bet you look like hell in the morning,” Dani said, stepping out to take her sister’s second bag.
“No.” Jolie closed the door and dropped her overnight case. “I do not. Wow.” She turned in a circle. “You really did buy furniture.”
“I got tired of living like I was in college,” Dani said.
Jolie gave a considering nod, then pulled off her knit hat, letting her reddish-blond hair spill out. “I can see that. I can also see that your taste has shifted.”
“A little.” Dani pushed her own hair back and regarded her sister for a moment as she took in the new chairs she and Gabe had bought. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but is there a reason you’re here?” If her sister stayed for any length of time, it might cut down on her extracurricular activities, which in turn might put her in a testy mood. She wasn’t yet ready to share her budding relationship with Gabe with her sisters, which meant keeping him at arm’s length while Jolie, the most observant of her three sisters, was there. Nothing slipped under Jolie’s radar, which made Dani darned glad that nine times out of ten, her sister was on her side.
“I sent you a text,” Jolie said as she shrugged out of her coat and stuffed the hat in the pocket. “‘Get my bed ready’? ‘I’ll be there tonight, leaving day after tomorrow’?”
Dani shook her head and then walked over to where her phone was plugged in. “It hasn’t come in yet.”
“Ah, the wonders of technology.”
“It’ll probably be here by morning.” Dani walked over to flip on the lights. “So you’re here why?”
“Loose ends. I have training in Missoula on Monday, so thought I’d spend a couple nights on the ranch so that we could talk business.”
“Good idea,” Dani said. “I don’t have a room ready, but I’ll lend you half my bed.”
Jolie made a face. “I don’t fancy sleeping on half of a twin bed.”
“A real bed. Queen-size.”
“Does it fit in the room?”
“With room to walk around it. Kind of.”
“I bet. Why such a big bed?”
“In case of company,” Dani said.
“You’re not talking about me, are you?”
Dani just shrugged and led the way upstairs. “If you prefer, your old bed is available. We just need to find the bedding.”
“It there any left after Allie and Kyle moved out?”
“Just one set of sheets.”
“I’ll sleep in my room,” Jolie said. “I may not get up at the crack of dawn, since technically tomorrow is my day off.”
“How’s the internship?” Dani asked as she took her old polka-dot sheets out of the linen closet and handed them to Jolie, who shook them out and then spread the bottom sheet over the small bed.
“I’m so happy it was extended, but to tell you the truth, I’m not sure why it was. The work has dropped off now that the project is winding down, but apparently some last-minute funding came in.” Jolie tucked in the corners of the sheets on her side of the bed as she spoke. “Trouble is...it may not work into a permanent job as we’d hoped.”
Dani wasn’t sure how she felt about that, which made her feel a touch guilty. She was looking forward to not living alone, but she also liked entertaining Gabe anywhere and everywhere, a practice they’d have to seriously curtail once Jolie moved home.
He won’t be here then.
Dani fought the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’d known going in that this was a temporary relationship, she just hadn’t expected to enjoy it so much.
Jolie yawned as she flipped one of their childhood quilts over the bed. “Apparently the ranch has an early-to-bed effect, because suddenly I’m beat.”
“In that case, I’m going to let you get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”
“Right.” Jolie yawned again as Dani turned toward the door. “Get me up at seven, would you?”
Dani shook her head. “You’ll have to set an alarm. I’ll be long gone by seven on my second ride of the day.”
“Fine. Be that way, all workaholic-like.” But Jolie smiled as Dani shot her a frowning look. For all of her laid-back appearance, Jolie was as much of a workaholic as the rest of the Brody sisters. If she hadn’t been, she wouldn’t have had her internship extended when everyone else’s had terminated on the last day of August.
Dani went to her room and fired a text off to Gabe that said simply, My sister is here, so I’m not going to work tomorrow.
She figured he could read between the lines and know that meant he didn’t need to stop by. If he did, fine. It
wasn’t as if she had anything to hide, but again, Jolie was scary perceptive and she didn’t want her to ask a lot of questions, especially when Gabe was the one who had the friend interested in Montana property. That smacked of conflict of interest and Dani didn’t need to defend herself on two fronts. Getting Jolie to think about selling so that they could set themselves up in a better situation was her primary goal now and she didn’t need anything mucking with her sales pitch.
* * *
“LET’S GO OUT for breakfast,” Jolie called across the yard after Dani released her second horse of the day. “Either that or let’s starve, because you have no food.”
“It’s shopping day and I didn’t expect company.”
“I sent you the text.”
“Which I still haven’t gotten.”
“I have no control over the vagaries of the airwaves,” Jolie said, waving a hand.
Dani crossed the drive to where Jolie stood on the porch. “I agree. Let’s go out.” Today was her half day and since she wouldn’t be spending the other half with Gabe, going to breakfast with her sister was the next best thing, and she’d have some help with the shopping.
“This place is a wreck,” Jolie said as she followed Dani inside the house. “I walked around while you were out and, son of a gun, but Kyle did some half-ass stuff. Have you taken a close look at the roof on the shed? It’ll come off first good wind.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“And since he was the stay-at-home, why didn’t he maintain the corrals?”
“Because talking about it was easier than doing it,” Dani said. She peeled out of her light pullover and hung it on the coatrack near the door. “I’ll take a quick shower, then we’ll go.”
“No blow-drying. I’m hungry,” Jolie called.
Dani snorted and took her time in the shower.
* * *
“SO ANYWAY,” JOLIE said an hour later as she pushed what was left of her plate of French toast aside, “we’re going to have to sink some money into the ranch.”
“Yeah.” Dani propped her elbows on the table, holding her cup with both hands. “A lot of money. Kyle really let the place slide.”
