Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) (28 page)

“Do you need more boxes brought out?” Emily asked from the front porch.

“I haven’t got any more room. Are you sure you don’t want to come and have a look at my new house?” Even though she wasn’t supposed to move in for another few weeks, Mrs. O’Ryan had said it was okay to move some of her things into her new home.

“I’ll go with you next time. I promised Alex I’d make his favorite dessert tonight.”

Sarah smiled. “Would that come with or without whipped cream and chocolate sauce?”

Emily’s cheeks glowed. “What can I say? We’re in love.”

Sarah wished she could say the same thing. The object of her fantasies wasn’t talking to her and she still didn’t understand why. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Take care on the road. There’s ice everywhere.”

“You know me. I’m Miss Overcautious.”

Emily stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and smiled. “Tell me if you find more dead rats.”

Sarah started her car and drove down the driveway. The first time she’d seen the O’Ryan’s home she’d found a dead rat in the living room. It had been huge. Jacob had scooped it up and thrown it outside, but not before Sarah had seen its enormous teeth and long tail. She’d had nightmares about a zombie rat invasion for the next couple of nights.

As she drove along the highway, she thought about how it would feel once she was living in her own home. She wanted to watch each sunset paint the mountains in glorious shades of pink and orange. She wanted to feel a deep sense of belonging, to be part of something that was bigger than herself.

She leaned forward and turned the radio on. She smiled as country music filled the car. It was one of her favorite songs and within minutes she was singing along with the lyrics.

She slowed down to make the first turn off the highway that would take her to the O’Ryan’s ranch. She indicated, turned her wheel, and panicked as her car slid across the road. She knew she shouldn’t have put her foot anywhere near the brake. But before her brain could catch up with her body, she’d slammed her foot hard against the pedal. The car spun, turned so fast that she didn’t know which way she was facing.

Then everything stopped. Sideways. Her car had left the road, flipped onto its side and left her pushed up against the driver’s door. After she’d spent a couple of minutes catching her breath and figuring out she wasn’t hurt, she turned the ignition off and looked around.

Her wallet, laptop, and sunglasses were sitting at her feet. The boxes of books and summer clothes she’d packed had been tossed around the back seat. All of that didn’t matter. What she needed was her cell phone.

She unclipped her seatbelt and spent a few minutes hunting under the seats, pushing boxes left and right, trying to see where it had gone. She couldn’t find it anywhere. She tried not to panic. Panicking had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

The best thing about the accident was that she’d stopped beside the main highway. The worst thing was that it was two o’clock in the afternoon. At times like this she would have given anything for a little Portland rush hour traffic.

She thought about whether she should stay where she was or try to walk to the nearest house to find a phone. One thing she knew for certain was that she couldn’t stay inside the car. She hid her laptop under her seat and looked around for her jacket. At least that had landed somewhere she could see it.

She crossed her fingers and prayed the car had enough power to open the passenger window. She smiled as the window slid smoothly down, then frowned as she tried to put her jacket on.

With the elegance of an elk trying to jump a six-foot fence, she clambered out of the car. In a few days’ time, she’d probably look back on this as a big adventure. Right now it sucked.

With no homes in sight, no vehicles on the road, and an urgent need to use a bathroom, this wasn’t one of her favorite days.

***

Jordan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered his brother’s call. “I’m ten minutes away.”

“That’s not why I’m calling,” Trent said. “Is Sarah with you?”

“No. Why would she be here?”

“Alex called. Sarah was supposed to be home half an hour ago and she hasn’t shown up.”

“Is she answering her cell phone?”

“No. She left for the O’Ryan’s place ninety minutes ago. Can you go out there and see if she made it?”

Jordan was already heading across to his truck. “What did she go there for?”

“The realtor gave her a key. She’s been boxing up some of her stuff and taking it out to the ranch.”

Jordan frowned. “On her own?”

“Don’t get annoyed with me. Give me a call when you get there.”

Jordan jumped in his truck and headed toward the highway. It was still light. She couldn’t have gone far. She was probably having coffee in town and didn’t realize the time. Or maybe she’d started working on another project. She could have become so involved in what she was doing that she’d forgotten when she’d said she’d be home.

By the time he’d driven to the turnoff by the ranch he’d convinced himself that everyone was over-reacting.

When he pulled up outside the O’Ryan’s home, he got out of his truck and had a look around. The front door was locked shut and it didn’t look as though anyone had been out there.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his brother. “She’s not here. Get Alex to give me a call.” He hung up and while he was waiting he walked around the yard. He’d been out here so many times that it felt like home.

Jack O’Grady and his dad had been good friends. The friendship between their families had continued after both men had died. Mabel O’Grady, Jack’s wife, had enjoyed seeing them. She’d often baked a batch of cookies or had a cold drink ready when she knew they’d be over.

Selling the ranch hadn’t been an easy decision for her to make. But both of her daughters weren’t interested in ranching and she needed the money to buy a retirement home. So she’d put the ranch on the market and waited.

Jordan’s phone rang.

“Sarah’s arrived home,” Alex said. “She had a car accident, but she’s…” Jordan didn’t bother listening to the rest of Alex’s call. He hung up and ran back to his truck.

He was going to see Sarah.

***

Jordan pulled up outside Sarah’s home and banged on the door before going in. Ethan looked up from in front of the TV. “Is Sarah here?”

“She’s over at Emily and Alex’s place. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He left Ethan and drove across to Alex’s home. This time the door opened before he got there.

Emily was waiting for him. “She’s okay.”

“What happened?’

“She skidded on some ice and flipped her car onto its side. She’s in the living room.”

Jordan pushed his boots off in the entranceway and walked through the house with Emily. Sarah was sitting on one of the sofas, sipping a hot drink. His chest felt as though it was clenched tight. His breathing was rough and shallow.

As soon as Sarah’s blue eyes met his everything else in the room disappeared. She stood up and met him halfway across the room. He lifted her against his chest and hugged her tight. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, but my car isn’t.”

“It can be fixed.” He hugged her again before lowering her to the ground.

Alex cleared his throat. “Now that you know Sarah’s okay, do you want to take your coat and hat off?”

“If I do that, I’ll have to let go of Sarah and I’m not ready to do that.”

Sarah smiled at him and lifted his hat off his head. “I can help.”

That was definitely not the thing to say in front of Emily and Alex. Jordan’s body tightened. He remembered what it felt like to sleep with her, to have her wrapped in his arms and never want to let her go.

Her fingers were working the buttons on his jacket open, making his body burn. He held her hand and sat beside her on the sofa. “You need to sit down. You had an accident.”

“A silly accident. I stuck my foot on the brake as soon as I started sliding on the ice.”

“At least you weren’t hurt. Did you hit anyone else?”

“No.”

Jordan finished undoing his jacket and wrapped his arm around her. “You were lucky.” He kissed the top of her head and held her close.

“Do you want a cup of coffee, Jordan?” Emily held a mug toward him.

He took the cup and smiled. “Thanks.”

Alex looked at Sarah. “What did the insurance company say?”

“I’ve got to leave the car in the garage. Someone will look at the damage tomorrow and let the insurance company know what it’s going to cost to fix. Until then there’s not a lot I can do.”

“What about the boxes that were in the car?” Emily asked.

“I’ve left them there. The only thing I brought home with me was my laptop.”

Emily looked at Jordan, then at her husband. “Now that Sarah’s here, I’ve got something I want you to do for me, Alex.”

Alex looked confused.

“The shelves. Upstairs. I need a hand to finish putting them together.”

“I thought we’d…” He looked at Emily. “Oh, the shelves. Right.”

Emily smiled at Sarah. “If you need anything, just let us know.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Jordan watched Emily and Alex leave the room. “What happened after the accident?”

“I waited beside the car for about ten minutes. A lady stopped to help me, but she didn’t have a cell phone. She drove me back into town to a garage and I called the insurance company from there. They organized one of the tow truck companies to pick my car up. I went with them and didn’t think to call Emily. The driver dropped me off here before taking my car into Bozeman.” She leaned against Jordan’s chest. “I’ve got the lady’s name and address that stopped to help me. I’ll buy her a gift next time I’m in town.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Sarah sighed. “So am I. It gave me a fright when the car tipped on its side.”

Jordan held her in his arms and thought about the last few days. “What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“About us,” he said. “I acted like an idiot when you told me about the money.”

“And the ranch.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”

“Just saying.”

He could hear the smile in her voice, felt her arms tightened against his chest. “Are we okay?” he asked.

Sarah sat up and held her hand against the side of his face. “Depends on what you mean by okay?” Her fingers rubbed the stubble on his face and she smiled. “You look like a grizzly bear. A sexy grizzly bear.”

She leaned forward and kissed his lips, a soft and gentle kiss that went straight to his heart. He deepened the kiss, felt a tremor pass through her body. And then it was all touch and taste. Giving and taking.

Sarah molded herself against him, sighed as his hands roamed over her body, giggled when he tickled her ribs.

“Not fair.” She smiled, pulling at his shirt. “You’ve forgotten that I know your tickly spots, too.”

“Except my tickly spots aren’t…” He groaned as her hands found one spot that had never been on his tickly list. He hoped like crazy Alex’s shelves took a long time to put together. When Sarah’s lips left his mouth and started wandering, he knew they had to leave.

“Come back to my place.” He nipped her earlobe and smiled when she groaned. “I’ll make you dinner.” The smile fell off his face when she straddled his hips, pushed on all the right places, and started moving her body.

“I don’t want dinner. I want you.”

Her voice whispered across his skin, sent goose bumps along his body. He held her waist, tried to slow the heat racing between them, then gave up when her tongue found his ear.

“
Sarah
.” He pulled her off his lap and grabbed her hand. “We’re going back to my place. We’ll be home in fifteen minutes. Ten if I hurry.”

“You need to hurry,” Sarah said as she grabbed her jacket. She glanced at the stairs as they ran into the entranceway. “Start your truck. I’ll be there soon.” She disappeared up the staircase.

Jordan went outside. His phone started ringing when he was halfway across to his truck.

“How’s Sarah?” Trent asked.

“She’s okay. We’re coming back to my place, so don’t come visiting.”

“Are you sure? Last I heard you couldn’t get your head around dating a millionaire.”

“I’m over it,” he said. Sarah ran out of Alex and Emily’s house. The smile on her face made him catch his breath. “Gotta go.” He ran toward the passenger door and opened it for her.

She threw a small bag on the back seat and kissed him until he couldn’t think straight. “Drive.” She gave him a gentle shove when he didn’t move. “I told Emily I wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay.” He kissed her once more before making his way around the truck. He closed his door and started the ignition. Sarah could stay for the rest of her life if she wanted to, but one night would have to do. For now.