At Wild Rose Cottage (25 page)

She nodded thoughtfully. “I like it, but the hills to the west are special, too.”

They sat in the truck debating which view properly belonged to the living room, until Trent proposed a round house made of glass.

“If that's what rings your bell, go for it.”

He chuckled.

Finally they headed over to the Crazy Horse and spent time with Stella Luna before returning to Wild Rose Cottage, where Trent insisted on walking her to the door. He kissed her cheek and hurried back to his truck.

Emily swallowed. Trent had been dropping quick kisses when he left in the evenings—sometimes on her cheek, more often on her lips. It was always so fast that she didn't have a chance to react. Even if he was still figuring out how to be friends with her, she wished he'd stop the kisses—they always left her aching for more.

And it was difficult not to start hoping, because Trent wasn't treating her like a friend, he was treating her like a woman he loved.

* * *

T
RENT
DROVE
TO
Wilson's Jewelry Store for his evening appointment.

“Good evening, Trent,” Jarvis Wilson greeted as he let him into the back door of the store.

“Thanks for making a special time for me,” Trent told him. “I want this to stay confidential for the moment.”

“I understand,” said the old man. “This isn't the first time a fellow didn't want the whole town knowing what was going on in his heart.”

Mr. Wilson unlocked the safe and pulled out a velvet-covered box. “What do you think?” he asked, placing the platinum ring on a black cloth.

It was one of a kind, just like Emily.

Trent picked it up. The center sapphire was as intensely blue as the early evening sky, while sapphires in rainbow hues descended on either side. He'd spent hours choosing the gems, wanting something as unique as Emily. The center gem's Montana origin was sure to delight her.

His fingers closed over the ring for a brief, fierce moment. It hadn't been easy finding the patience and self-control to court her, when all he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and lose himself in making love. Yet he also enjoyed their conversations and the quiet moments that came when they were painting or doing something else together. And he might be making progress. Emily didn't push him away as much, and seemed less wary when he touched her.

Trent put the ring back on the cloth. “This is just what I wanted,” he told the elderly jeweler. “I'd like to take it with me tonight.”

“Of course.” Mr. Wilson returned his creation to the velvet-covered box. “Good luck,” he said simply, handing it back.

Trent put the box in his pocket. He was determined to convince Emily that they were right for each other, and that he would be the luckiest man in creation if she agreed to marry him and have a family together.

Now he had to find the right moment.

CHAPTER TWENTY

O
N
S
ATURDAY
MORNING
Emily brought the last of her belongings upstairs. The day before Eduardo and Vince had moved her mattress to the new master bedroom and she'd slept there for the first time. With the renovations nearly completed, she could go hunting for furniture. While the prospect didn't energize her the way it had a few months ago, surely that was a temporary condition.

Once Trent was no longer there every day she'd get her equilibrium back. But for the moment, Saturday stretched long and empty ahead of her.

She grabbed the phone and dialed. “It's me,” she said when Alaina answered. “Would you like to go shopping for furniture?”

“Oh.” Alaina was silent for a moment. “What about your stuff in Los Angeles?”

“It doesn't fit here. I'm considering mission style. What do you think?”

“All for it, but this is Schuyler. Our furniture store is basic, to say the least. You'd have better luck finding what you want in Helena. You should go with Trent. His truck is huge and he can bring back anything you want.”

Trent...furniture shopping?

“He's far too busy,” Emily objected. “You said he's even behind on signing estimates.”

“He's working that out. Why don't I call and see if he's free?”

Emily hesitated. The suggestion was bizarre, but Alaina was so involved with Mike, she probably hadn't thought about what she was saying. “Maybe another time. Do you want to look at the local store, anyway?”

“Sure, but let's have lunch at the Roundup Café first. Around noon?”

“Sounds good.”

* * *

A
LAINA
HUNG
UP
the phone and shook her head in amazement.

“What's up?” Mike asked.

“Emily wants to shop for furniture with me.”

“What about Trent? I doubt he's into shopping, but he's into Emily.”

“I think she still doesn't get that he's interested. Or can't let herself believe it, which works out the same.”

Mike snorted. “Then she's the only one who doesn't get it. The crew is practically stuffing sawdust into their mouths to keep from saying anything.”

Alaina frowned. “They wouldn't, would they?”

“Nah, they'd never embarrass Em.”

“Good.” Alaina leaned across the bed and kissed him. “I'm counting on you to keep me posted on what's happening.”

He tugged her down for a more thorough kiss and she felt his hand on her breast.

“You have amazing stamina,” she murmured.

“Athletes usually do,” he said, his fingers teasing her.

“Mmm.”

Four hours later, she dragged herself away and met Emily at the Roundup Café.

“Hey,” she said. “You look as if you didn't get much sleep last night.”

“I didn't—probably just excitement because the house is nearly finished.”

Alaina doubted that was the reason. She envied Mike's front-row seat to the strangest courtship in Montana history. And to think she'd never believed her brother would let down his guard enough to fall in love.

“Are you sure it's the house?” she asked innocently. “I mean, Trent can be overwhelming and he's obviously been zeroed in on you lately.”

Though her cheeks reddened, Emily just shrugged. “I'm probably the first woman he's had as a friend. He has to get used to it. So, what's going on with you and Mike?”

“We're doing okay.”

“Glad to hear it,” Emily said with a faint smile. She'd probably guessed where Mike was spending most of his nights.

Alaina felt her own face go hot. She was having trouble taking the last step with Mike...agreeing to forever.

The night before Mike had told her he'd wait as long as she needed, but he'd also reminded her that fantasy was usually more prettily polished than reality.

She knew what he was trying to say.

All these years she'd had a glowing vision of them together...rather like a wedding photo. But life was what happened after the flowers faded and the wedding dress was turning yellow in the back of the closet.

For her first parents, life had disintegrated into violence and alcohol and disappointment. Outside of fairy tales, happily-ever-after wasn't perfect. Even for Parker and Sarah McGregor, things hadn't always been easy.

If she married Mike, life would be messy and imperfect. He would be irritable at times, sometimes from the pain in his knee, sometimes for other reasons. She might have trouble getting pregnant the way Jackson's wife was having trouble... All sorts of things could come along. Still, they'd have each other to help deal with the imperfections, and Mike had promised to put their marriage first as long as she kicked him in the butt if he fell into bad habits.

He was doing his best to be up-front and honest.
This isn't fantasy baseball, and we aren't a fantasy team,
Mike had said before she'd left that morning.
I want the real thing.

Alaina shook herself.

There was a difference between being realistic and procrastinating. She loved Mike. The grown-up Mike, not the boy from her childhood fantasies. And with that acknowledgment, the dream faded and reality came into focus, with a brighter, fuller vibrancy that any dream could ever hold.

* * *

E
MILY
WAS
ABLE
to fill her Saturday with activity, but after an early-morning visit with Stella Luna on Sunday, the rest of the day loomed long and lonely. At length she decided to work on the yard, so after church—where Sarah McGregor urged her to come to Sunday dinner—she went to the nursery and bought several fruit trees.

She was digging her third hole when Trent arrived.

“Take it easy,” he said as she wiped a drip of perspiration from her jaw. “I can plant those for you.”

She gave him a tight smile. “So can I.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. I came to take you out to the ranch. We usually arrive early for dinner.”

Emily shook her head. “It was nice of Sarah to invite me, but I can't intrude.”

“Mom will be hurt if you don't come. She's expecting me to bring you.”

“Oh. Um...can you wait while I get cleaned up?”

“Take your time.”

He eyed the shovel, so Emily took it with her. She didn't want to come back and find the trees had all been planted in the time it took to wash her face.

* * *

T
RENT
KNEW
IT
hadn't been fair invoking his mother, though nothing he'd said was a lie. He'd mentioned wanting to bring Emily, and Sarah had been delighted. Of course, Mom had also gotten her hopes up because he'd never brought a woman to Sunday dinner...or any family event, for that matter.

I must have been waiting for the right one,
Trent thought,
even if I didn't know it
. It might sound sappy, but somewhere, deep in his heart, he must have known Emily was the right one from the beginning, or she never would have gotten through his defenses.

* * *

E
MILY
LAY
IN
bed that night, again unable to sleep.

Hope, stubborn and intractable, kept rearing its head.

Trent had stayed close at the weekly McGregor barbecue, even convincing her to go riding with him after the meal. He hadn't joined in with the family merriment, but he was less standoffish and seemed more at ease.

As for Mike and Alaina?

From what Emily had seen, it was obvious they were going to be okay. No doubt another family announcement was coming, a far more pleasant one this time.

It wasn't light yet outside, but she got up and decided to wear some of her new clothes—it turned out that form-fitting T-shirts and shorts were just as comfortable as skirts and blouses that billowed like curtains in the wind.

Emily was putting the ingredients together for chili when Trent knocked at his usual time. She hesitated, abruptly self-conscious about her outfit, but it was too late to change her mind.

“Hey,” she said casually, opening the door.

“Uh, yeah. Good morning.” Trent gazed at her figure longer than usual and Emily gritted her teeth. If he was still attracted to her, why didn't he do something about it? The excuse that he was adjusting to having a female buddy was growing thin, but he hadn't made any effort to
really
kiss her in weeks. Just quick little pecks. It was discombobulating...a word that usually made her smile, except she was too exasperated to find anything amusing.

That evening, as usual, Trent stayed after the others had left.

“How about Mexican for dinner?” he asked. “Manuela's has started delivering, but we could go out if you want a change of pace.”

She'd had enough.

“Stop it,” Emily said.
Loudly
. “Stop paying so much attention. Stop ordering dinner. And stop looking at me all the time!”

He didn't stop. Instead he looked at her all the more closely, his chest rumbling with a low, gravelly laugh that sent electric pulses down her spine.

* * *

T
RENT
HAD
WONDERED
how long Emily's patience would last.

“Why should I stop?” he asked. “I love you and I won't stop until you agree to marry me.”

Shock flashed across her face. “That's ridiculous.”

Trent shook his head. “The idea of living without you is ridiculous, and it's just as ridiculous that I took so long to figure it out. You're the best friend I've ever had, and what could be better than loving my best friend with all my heart? What's wrong with wanting you in my bed every night and making babies and raising our children together? Is there something bad about finding you more desirable each time I look at you?”

She stared and he laughed again.

“Hell, Emily, I thought my heart would fail when I saw you in those shorts this morning. You're gorgeous no matter what you wear, but—”

“Don't say that,” she interrupted.

“I said
gorgeous
and that's what I meant,” he told her firmly. “For God's sake, stop listening to that nonsense you grew up hearing. You're stunningly beautiful, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. I don't want a boring blonde Barbie. I want you.”

A sober expression crossed her face. “I'm flaky. Don't deny that's what you think, or that you don't consider it a compliment.”

Panic tightened his gut. He took a deep breath and decided to be honest. “Okay, I went through a time...a lot of times, maybe, when I was trying to figure things out. You're different than anyone I ever knew in Schuyler and I kept trying to put you in a category I could handle, or at least understand.”

“Like a woman who uses people.”

He swallowed. “Yes. I also wondered if you were one of those people that always need to be rescued, unable to deal with real life. People like that suck you under. Now I know better.”

“How do I know you wouldn't start pigeon-holing me again?”

“Because I expect our relationship to grow. Most of the reason I was doing it in the first place was to keep myself from envisioning a relationship. You turned my world upside down, or so I thought. Now I know you turned it right-side up.”

* * *

E
MILY
'
S
HEAD
WHIRLED
. Trent was saying the kind of things she'd dreamed of him saying, but she needed to stay rational.
Maybe this isn't the time to be the smart George sister,
a voice whispered. Perhaps it was Wild Rose Cottage talking, or maybe just her wishful heart.

He reached out and tugged her close, his lips brushing her cheek, her neck and finally her lips.

“You say you get feelings about places, not people,” he murmured. “Yet when you saw me taking that gun from the wall, you trusted me, before there was any reason for trust. Please listen to your heart again. Please have faith in me, the way I have faith in you. Please love me.”

The hope that had been growing inside of Emily went bounding out of control. She
did
love him. As for trust...maybe she mostly needed to trust herself and the honest certainty she saw in Trent's eyes.

“I'll always love you,” she whispered.

His kiss was fierce, stealing her sanity for an endless minute. After a long, long time, he pulled back a few inches and stared at the smile on her face. She saw the excitement in his...not only the surge of desire, but a joy that went deeper.

He took a velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen.

“They're all sapphires, but the center stone is from Montana,” Trent explained, slipping it on her finger. “I wanted something unique, just like the woman I love.”

Emily hadn't known sapphires came in different colors and her eyes widened; he'd chosen something exactly right for her.

“You're the only future I will ever want,” Trent promised. “We can build our dream house on my ranch, the place I showed you with the wonderful views, or we can live here and be Wild Rose Cottage's second chance.”

“I think someone else is supposed to make it their home,” she said slowly, finally understanding what the house had been trying to tell her... Wild Rose Cottage had been remodeled just for her, but they could build a home for both of them out on the ranch. “Let's build the other house. I have a really good feeling about that piece of land. I think it wants us there.”

Trent smiled and kissed her. “You're right. Absolutely and wonderfully right.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from BETTING ON THE ROOKIE by Stephanie Doyle.