Montana Promises

by Law, Kim

  “You do,” she told him. “You probably should talk to someone about that.”

  “That’s exactly what Jaden said.”

  “He’s not wrong.”

  “I know. And I took several numbers from him of people I plan to reach out to next week.”

  That one shocked her. He must have had some sort of serious come-to-Jesus talk with himself while he’d been gone or something.

  She forced the tension in her shoulders to ease somewhat and let herself quit sitting so stiffly. She still wasn’t going to get her hopes up too far too soon, but he didn’t appear to be the exact same man he’d been when he’d left two weeks ago.

  “There’s something else, too,” he told her, and he licked his lips as if his mouth had gone dry.

  “What’s that?”

  He didn’t move as he spoke. “I think all that time that I spent hating my mother and knowing that she hated me, too, I might have actually been wishing for her to love me instead.”

  Megan’s eyes went wide. That one was deep.

  And that one sounded like something Jaden would come up with. It made sense, though.

  “Or,” Nate went on. “I could be wrong. I haven’t discussed that theory with anyone else. But I have done a lot of thinking the last few days. And that’s kind of what it feels like. And I think that might have transferred in some way when it came to Michelle.”

  * * *

  Nate waited to see if she’d say anything to that. Because that one brought him right back to what had made him leave town to begin with. Michelle.

  The lines of her face softened. “You’ve done all this thinking while you were gone?”

  “I had a lot of time on my hands.” He wanted desperately to reach out and take one of her hands, but they remained clenched around her blanket. “I was at a worksite in Texas,” he told her. “I knew we needed someone to fill in down there for a couple of weeks, so when I left, that’s where I went. But I couldn’t avoid thinking about the past. And for the first time, I didn’t want to avoid it any longer. I also didn’t want to run from it. I just wanted it to get out of the way, you know? Kind of bulldoze over it and be done with it.”

  She nodded, and he could see that she was getting it.

  “Not that I thought I could, at first.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t think that.” The outermost edges of her lips twitched upward for the first time since he’d sat down.

  “I seem to be set in my ways a little.” When her lips twitched again, he went on. “Anyway, back to Michelle.”

  “Your family filled me in on what they knew, by the way.”

  He nodded. “And Nick and Jaden pretty much know all of it. Nick was there, and she dragged Jaden into it. I had to tell Jaden what truly happened just to make sure he could protect himself while he remained in the house.” He studied her then, and he found himself surprised by something. “Jaden never told you any of this?”

  “Never. I knew that no one liked Michelle, and during that first harvest when I was here, I remember watching you at one point and thinking that your hatred for her seemed to go a little deeper.”

  “I suspect it does. There’s a fine line between love and hate, you know?”

  “So, you really did love her?”

  He could tell that she struggled with that concept. And he could understand why. Not only was she a bad person, but she’d been his brother’s wife. “I thought I did at the time. But you’ve got to remember, I didn’t exactly have a good role model for what love was. Our whole family was messed up.”

  “True.”

  He shifted on the seat, turning more toward her, and when his knee pressed into hers, he rested a hand on his thigh. “Let me start at the beginning. Michelle started coming on to me about the time I turned seventeen, doing little things when no one else was around. She’d act like she loved me. Hell, she eventually told me she loved me. That she wished she’d met me before she’d met Gabe.”

  “Wasn’t she several years older than you?”

  “A few, yes. And she was also just like our mother.”

  Megan’s eyes narrowed. “But you didn’t see her as a mother figure?”

  “With the way she often dressed?” He let out a short laugh. “No. She dressed to provoke. Or her actions did the same. And then she would touch me. Sometimes just on the arm, sometimes my back, my thigh.” He was encouraged by the way Megan didn’t seem to be judging his actions.

  “You were confused.”

  He nodded. “How’s a teenage boy supposed to be anything else? Plus, I’d never had my mother’s love. And unbeknownst to me, I apparently wanted love. Or so my theory goes.”

  “It sounds like a decent theory.”

  “I think I might be onto something. But still, what happened, it wasn’t right. I might have been a stupid kid, but I did know wrong from right. And she was my brother’s wife. And the thing is, it’s not like I thought I would ‘take’ her from Gabe or anything. Hell, I didn’t want her. Not like that. I wasn’t thinking love and happily ever after.”

  “You just wanted love.”

  “I think I did. Or maybe I just wanted someone in which I could give my love.” He paused as he said that, realizing that those words felt more right. He’d always had his love rejected by his mother. She’d hated him. It wouldn’t have done any good to try to love her because she wasn’t about to let him in. And then Michelle started acting like he meant something to her, so he . . .

  He stared at Megan, not having said any of his thoughts out loud, but the way she watched him was almost as if she’d heard every one of them. Then finally, one of her hands released its clutch from her blanket, and it covered his. “I think that might be a better theory,” she said. “And I think you probably do have a lot of love inside you to give.”

  Her words sounded promising. And he’d not felt overly promising at all since he’d shown up.

  “I was wrong to have sex with her after she came into the room,” he stated. “So wrong. I knew I shouldn’t do it. I told myself to reject her and to think about my brother. But I just wanted to think about me in that moment.”

  “And then you couldn’t think of anyone but your brother ever since.”

  He huffed out a sigh. “Pretty much. The shame I’ve carried . . .” He shook his head and briefly glanced away from her. The night was dark around them. “I don’t have to see a psychologist to know that my shame was—is—unhealthy. To understand how much it’s been weighing me down.”

  Her hand squeezed his, and his own heart clenched tight when she didn’t release her grip.

  “You may not want to hear it,” she told him, “but I’m glad Jaden forced the issue that day. Not just for you and your mental health, but for your whole family. I think in the end it’ll tighten your bonds.”

  “Well, I don’t know about our bonds . . .” He shrugged after thinking about it. “Maybe. But I will say that the weight that’s been lifted from my chest over the last few days”—he nodded, relishing the beginning feelings of freedom he’d been experiencing—“I’m glad he forced it, too. But you tell him that and I’ll deny it ’til the day I die,” he added quickly, and that got him the kind of smile he’d hoped he could pull from her tonight.

  His heart swelled. He loved this woman. He’d known it before he’d driven away like a man with snarling beasts at his heels, but he hadn’t let himself believe it. He hadn’t let himself fully grasp that he could have that. With her.

  And he still wasn’t sure if he could have it. She might have loosened up a little since he’d first shown up there, but she hadn’t exactly been inviting.

  “So . . .” He glanced around them, unsure how to broach the next topic, and realized that everyone else in the vicinity was now packing up and leaving.

  He turned his face to the sky and saw that the fireworks had ended.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, nodding toward the leaving families. “I made you miss the show.”

  “It’s okay.” Her smile
softened even more. “This has been better than fireworks, anyway.”

  Once again, his heart clenched tight. He grinned at her. “You think so?”

  She shot him a look as if to tell him not to be thinking that the way back to her was paved free and clear, before adding, “I’m happy that you’re finding a new path, Nate. That you can hopefully put this in your past once and for all and move forward. I’m thrilled that you’re beginning to see that you aren’t just some bad guy. You’re good. And your entire family loves you. They want you around.”

  He was beginning to believe that himself. It had felt that way when they’d all had a long talk earlier in the day. But he was also trying really hard to believe it himself. And he thought he just might get there some day.

  First, though, he had another reason he’d come back. The most important reason.

  He closed his other hand over the top of theirs, and he held her tight. “Please tell me what I can do, Meg. I know I messed up. I know I’m the world’s worst boyfriend. But I need you back in my life. So badly. I need you by my side, and I want to be by yours. So please, tell me what I need to do to make things right, and I’ll do it. I’ll fall on my sword for you, baby.”

  She looked mildly impressed. “That was quite poetic—in a sense.”

  “You think?” He gave her a teasing smile. “Better than my opening monologue?”

  “No.” She immediately shook her head, but she wasn’t returning his smile. “I don’t know if you can top that one.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you said three words in that one that I kind of liked.”

  Hope instantly returned and bloomed inside him. He let out a long breath. “I’ll say them again if you’ll give me a second chance.” He waited, not sure how serious she was, not knowing if she was teasing or still considering. Just . . . not knowing. But he did know that this would be totally her call. All he could do was wait.

  “You’re not going to run off and pull a disappearing act again?” she asked.

  “Never. Not with you. Not with my family.” He kept his hand over hers. “I’ve got all I need right here.”

  His last sentence seemed to surprise her. “You mean here, as in Birch Bay?”

  Now he was confused. “Isn’t that what we’re talking about?”

  “I’m just talking about being with you. Wherever that is. You said before that you didn’t know what you really wanted to do with your life, so if you figure it out and it’s not here, then let’s talk about it. I’m not married to Birch Bay. Not like I thought I was.”

  “Then how about being married to me? In Birch Bay?”

  The question caught her off guard, and he had the ring out of his pocket before she’d stopped gasping. “I want to live here, Meg. With my family. With you. And we can take things as fast or as slow as you need. Like I told you earlier, I get it now. I’m a firm believer that when a person finds what they want. Who they need. That they just know. So, I’m happy to wait. To take things slow. But I’m equally as happy to go fast. Because my mind isn’t going to change.”

  He dropped down to one knee before giving her a chance to speak, and as he held up the ring, a large burst of fireworks suddenly exploded overhead.

  “Will you marry me, Megan Manning?” He smiled at her, showing her all the love he felt inside of him, and all the love he wanted to share with her. “Will you be by my side from this day forward? Will you help me to not only build the type of tomorrow that I never thought I deserved, but the one that I never knew was possible to have? Would you do that for me, Megan?”

  She shook her head, and as his brain registered the move, he mentally stumbled.

  What?

  “I won’t do that for you, Nate. I’ll do it for us.” She nodded and reached her arms out to him “Yes. Yes. Of course I’ll marry you. I love you. I want to be a part of your life. For the rest of our lives.”

  “And I love you.” He pulled her in his arms then, and they rose to their feet, and as he lowered his mouth to hers, finally closing the distance he’d wedged between them two weeks before, more fireworks exploded above them.

  He pulled slightly back, looking down into her face as the bright colors lit up the night sky, and he knew that he’d found not only the person to show him love, to share her love with him, but also the one he wanted to share his with. For the rest of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Nate stared into the full-length mirror in his father’s and Gloria’s recently renovated guest room and slipped the second button of his navy suit jacket through the buttonhole. He smoothed his hands over the front of the jacket’s material, appreciating the complementing colors of the navy with the soft-pink rose boutonniere, and envisioned what his bride might look like standing at the end of the aisle.

  The summer had rolled through Birch Bay with Wilde Cabins and Adventures showing all signs of being the success he and his family had hoped for, and they were now not only planning to turn the barn into a wedding venue and add more cherry trees to the orchard, but they also had big plans for the main house.

  A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and Nick stuck his head in. “You ready for this?”

  “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

  Nick met his eyes, no doubt understanding how true the sentiment was, and as Nate stepped into the hallway of what had once been their next-door neighbor’s property, he took in all four of his brothers in matching navy suits. His strong, fierce lone sister, wearing a flowing navy dress that covered her five-and-a-half-month baby bump, stood next to them, and all of them were ready to stand at his side.

  His and Megan’s wedding wouldn’t be traditional in that there would only be men on Nate’s side of the wedding party and women for Megan’s, but it would hold all the traditions of bringing family together. On his side would stand his five siblings, while beside Megan would be Brooke, Erica, Arsula, Harper, and Dani’s husband Ben. A true family affair. And even Megan’s entire family had flown in for the event.

  After the wedding, the reception would be held at Nick and Harper’s house in lieu of their annual Labor Day cookout, then Nate and Megan would spend their first night as husband and wife in Cabin 10.

  He and his siblings exited the house together without saying anything more and piled into the waiting golf carts. They then headed for the cliff at the back of the property that overlooked the lake.

  After Nate had come back to town two months before, he’d already had in mind that he wanted to work a deal with the Wyndhams to buy the piece of their property where he wanted to build a house for him and Megan. But to his surprise, he’d discovered that his dad and Gloria had already signed a contract to buy both the house and land. They’d decided that the one-story home better suited their needs—with recent renovations led by Nate’s company, of course—but they’d also been more than willing to invest the rest of the land back into the business. More cabins might be needed down the road. Or possibly more cherry trees.

  But instead of rolling all the remaining land into the business, Nate had bought the spot at the cliff. He and Megan would be married today where their house would one day stand, then his crew in Birch Bay would break ground on the foundation next week.

  He’d sold off his other construction businesses and had made an offer to Dre to run the newly created one in Birch Bay. Because as Nate had told Megan before, construction wasn’t what he’d always wanted to do with his life. He now knew, though, what he did want to do. He wanted to be a part of the family business.

  And with that in mind, he was now managing partner of Wilde Cherry Orchard and Wilde Cabins and Adventures, while Megan had begun taking interior design and hospitality courses. She was also already accepting reservations and working on the details for the weddings and events they’d begin hosting starting the following year.

  The light wind of the beautiful September day whispered over Nate’s face as Gabe took his foot off the pedal and brought the cart to a stop. He’d p
ositioned them at the crest of the path that allowed both properties to be seen at once, and after Cord and Dani rolled their carts to a stop behind them, as well, all six of them got out and turned to take in the construction already happening next door.

  At their dad’s suggestion, they were turning the house into a lodge so they could host more guests, as well as special events and retreats. Work would be completed by December, then his family would come together for the holiday one last time in the home where they’d grown up. After that, they would transition over to their father’s and Gloria’s new home, where they’d start new and improved traditions.

  Cord pulled a decanter out of the back of his cart that Nate had asked him to put in there and poured and passed out five shots of whiskey and one of apple juice. Then he held his glass up in toast. “To Nate,” he said.

  The rest of them did the same, and Nate found himself utterly overcome with emotion. He looked at his family some days and couldn’t believe how far they’d come.

  “To us,” he corrected before he held up his glass. “For so many years, all I ever wanted was for you all to be okay. For my family to be okay. And for most of that time, I didn’t think I deserved to be a part of you. But at the same time, even through all the years that I stayed away or barely visited, I want you all to know that I would have done anything to make sure that ‘we’ didn’t fall apart.” He had to pull in a breath before continuing. “But now I see that ‘we’ honestly does include me, and that it never would have been right without me as an active part of it. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for never giving up on me.” He looked at Dani. “For kicking my butt over the years when it was needed.” To Jaden, he said, “For making me talk about things when you know that the last thing I ever want to do is talk.” He turned to Nick. “For always being my other half and having my back no matter what.” And to Gabe, he said, “And for forgiving me when I’d never known anyone who deserved to be forgiven less.”

  At the last part of his toast, he wrapped an arm around his soon-to-be only remaining single sibling, and he lifted his glass a little higher. “You’re about to be the last man standing, Cord. The only single Wilde. So, I’d suggest you strap in and be prepared, because if I’ve learned anything over the course of the last few months, it’s that while bumpy and sometimes treacherous, boarding this train was the best decision of my life.”