Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides Book 5) (18 page)

“The camera doesn’t lie. A photographer can influence the light, create mood where there’s stillness. But it’s never forced. What you see and don’t see depends on who’s doing the looking.”

Emily thought about what Molly had said, let the words settle, shift and finally rest where they needed to. “Can I ask you a personal question? Why did you come to Montana?”
 

“To find my light,” Molly sighed. “Without my sister pulling me across the ocean, I might have stayed at home, feeling sorry for myself.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story. Too long for a hot summer afternoon in your grand boutique. Now that we’ve cleared the air, why don’t I give you a hand to move more of your pretty fabrics?”

“Only if you’ve got time.”

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” Molly said. “And we can make the most of it together.”

Emily stopped her truck in front of Alex’s home. It was Sunday, eight days before the boutique opened and twelve days before the fashion show. Everything was working out the way it was supposed to. As long as you discounted the lighting company who couldn’t deliver the chandelier she’d ordered, and the panicked designers ringing her every hour to talk about the clothes they were showing.

And as much as she adored Flavio, he was a perfectionist, and she didn’t have time for perfection. She needed to get her boutique set up, all of the pre-ordered designs shipped off to their owners and a fashion show organized. She didn’t have a couple of hours to look at different options for floral arrangements, or compare the design of one invitation card over another. Decisions had to be made fast, and Flavio didn’t do fast.

That was part of the reason she’d come out to Alex’s ranch. She needed time to breathe, time to get away from the chaos erupting around her. Spending a couple of hours away from her family, away from her cell phone, and most importantly, away from Flavio, would settle her nerves. That was the theory, anyway.

She got out of the truck and stared at Alex’s home, seeing things she’d missed on her first visit. A horseshoe hung above the front door, barrels full of pansies surrounded the old tack room.
 

The height and width of Alex’s home cast a shadow across the front yard and over the flowerbeds that someone had spent a lot of time planting.
 

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

Emily turned to face the woman walking toward her. Her blonde hair was caught at the back of her head in a pony-tail. She was tall, curvy and had a wide, friendly smile on her face.
 

“They’re oriental poppies. Mac thought I was going overboard with the number of plants going into the ground, but I’m pleased with the result. I’m Sarah, part-time cook, dishwasher and cleaner around the ranch.” Sarah held out her hand and Emily shook it.
 

“I’m Emily. Alex and I are business partners.”

“Mac told me about the photo shoot. Sounds like you had a lot of fun.”

“It was and the photos look great. The catalog’s at the printers and we’re working hard to get everything ready for the opening of the boutique. Is Alex home? I wanted to give him something.”

“He went off with Mac a few hours ago. Some cattle escaped last night and they’re fixing the fence. He shouldn’t be much longer.”

Emily knew what it was like on a ranch, one hour fixing fences could easily become three. It was a twenty-four hour a day operation and anyone who lived by the clock wouldn’t last more than one season.

“You’re welcome to come inside with me,” Sarah continued. “I’ve got lemon cake cooling on the counter and a pot of hot coffee ready.”

Emily glanced at the house behind Sarah, then out over the ranch. The wild flowers were still blooming, spreading a riot across the pasture. “It sounds lovely, but would you mind if I went for a walk first? I’ve been bent over my sewing machine all day and I could do with the exercise.”

Sarah smiled. “Enjoy yourself. I’ll be inside when you’re ready for a cup of coffee. If you head behind Alex’s home and turn right, there’s a path that takes you down to the lake.”

Emily waved goodbye and started walking. Within minutes she could feel the tension in her shoulders unraveling, leaving her lighter, more positive about what she was doing.

She saw the dirt path that Sarah had told her about and moved more quickly, lengthening her stride, pulling her spine straight. The smell of sage, mint and lemon filled her lungs as she brushed past the field of flowers. She kept moving, listening to the sounds of the ranch, the sound of a life so different to her childhood in Los Angeles.
 

The friends she’d left behind in California wouldn’t recognize the person she’d become. Even she had a hard time believing that someone who’d been spoon fed exhaust fumes and smog could enjoy living in a town that didn’t have a Neiman Marcus store.
 

But they did have Macy’s and so many other good things that it made the loss of Neiman Marcus easier to bear. Emily laughed at herself, at the person she could have been if she’d stayed in Los Angeles. Life had been too easy. She didn’t have to prove herself, fit in, or try to be better than she was.

Nicky had told her to find something that pushed her out of her comfort zone, but she’d been living out of her comfort zone for years. Only now it had become her normal. Living in Montana had forced her to be better than she had been. To learn how to stand out in a crowd and be proud of herself. How to love someone when you didn’t know if it was right or wrong, or something in-between that shook the very foundation of who you were. Who you could be.

The fashion show wasn’t pushing at her comfort zone, Alex was. How far she was prepared to be pushed was what had brought her out to the ranch.

Alex made his way along the edge of the lake, heading toward Emily. Her could see her red hair shining in the early evening light, sense the purpose in her stride. The rest of the ranch was slowing down for the evening, but not Emily.

He kept walking, keeping pace with her, wondering where she was going in such a hurry.

She stopped and turned.
 

He smiled at her across the pasture of wild flowers. She waved and started walking toward him.

“You weren’t gone as long as I thought you’d be.” She was slightly out of breath. Her smile was contagious and made him feel lighter, less worried about the decisions he was making. The direction his life was about to take.

He pushed his hat back, absorbing the easy atmosphere between them. “I saw Sarah. She said you were ten minutes ahead of me. Where are you going?”

Emily opened her arms wide. “I’m exploring. I’ve been cooped up inside for most of the day and I need a break.”

“I’m glad you decided to take a come out here. How did the sewing marathon go?” He knew she had three dresses that needed to leave Bozeman tomorrow morning. And that didn’t count the wedding dress sketches she’d promised another client. Or the samples of lace she’d put together last night and asked him to mail on his way back to the ranch.

“I’ve got an hour or two of hand stitching left for tonight and then I’m finished. I had to turn my cell phone off otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten half the work done. I’ve got something for you.”

He knew he should be worried about the grin on her face, but he’d given up being worried around Emily weeks ago. She constantly surprised him, left him spinning in circles. Left him so topsy-turvy that he’d forgotten what it was like to wake up, set his feet on the floor and know what would happen next.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out an envelope. “I saw Sam the other day. He mentioned something about a bet he’d made with you.”

Alex frowned, flicking through his memory to find what she was talking about. When he landed on the answer he didn’t know whether to smile or run for cover. “The poker game.”

“You made yourself two hundred bucks.” Emily held the envelope toward him. When he didn’t take it, she stuffed it in his top pocket. “Sam should have known better, but it worked out for the best.”

He took the envelope out of his pocket and handed it back to her. “I don’t want your money. It was a dumb bet in the first place.”

She shook her head. “It’s not mine. Sam gave me the money. He said to tell you that it hadn’t worked out for him. Nicky’s still pestering him.”

“She’s not happy with the space we created?” They’d nearly finished Nicky’s office on the top floor of the boutique. They’d built it big enough for a huge desk, a play pen, a conference table and more shelving than any management consultant could ever need. And to top it all off, they’d put enough wiring in the walls for two more computers.
 

“No, it’s fine. She wants Sam to remodel one of their bedrooms. He’s getting buried under wallpaper samples and color charts.” With a wide grin on her face she announced, “Nicky’s pregnant. I’m going to be an auntie again.”

“Congratulations.” The happy glow on Emily’s face made him pause, take note of what she wasn’t saying.
 

Everywhere he looked people were having babies, getting married, making a life for themselves. He was having a hard time figuring out his own life without adding someone else’s wedding bells and teething rings to the equation. It was enough to make a single man run a mile.

“Mom’s already pulled out her knitting needles and quilt fabric. We’re going to have a winter baby this time, and she doesn’t want it getting cold. As if that would ever happen.” She looked down at the envelope in her hands. “Why don’t I add this to the money we’re raising for Kaylee?”

Alex had lost track of the conversation after Emily mentioned knitting needles.

She waved the envelope in the air. “Earth to Alex? Do you want me to add this money to Kaylee’s transplant fund?”

“Sounds good.”

“What’s wrong?”

Alex pushed his hat back and looked across the lake. He could hear a brood of Dusky Grouse near the water’s edge. They’d be watching their nests, getting ready for the chicks that would soon be hatching. Damn, even the wildlife had the date and mate thing going on.

“I was wondering…” He cleared his throat, stumbling over the words inside his head. “We never got around to discussing kids and things. I don’t even know if you want to get married some day.”

Emily had gone white. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

Oh, hell. He didn’t know why he’d brought the subject up. He was tired and brain dead. He was working long hours at the boutique, helping out on the ranch and trying to figure out where bull riding featured in his life.
 

“No.” His voice echoed across the lake and a dozen grouse shot into the air. They flapped their wings furiously, lunging high with bodies that didn’t look as though they were made for flight.

The baby thing had snuck up on him. Christopher would make a great older brother and when Gracie had her baby she’d be a wonderful mom. The thought of all the new babies was muddling his brain.
 

“I just wondered, that’s all.” He pulled his hat low, hiding behind the brim. He might not know what he wanted, but she didn’t have to look so shocked about the prospect of marriage. At one time, half the women in Montana would have married him. The single half that had World Bull Riding Champion’s wife etched onto their brains and in their bank accounts.

“I need to sit down.” She looked around her, then folded her legs, sitting exactly where she’d been standing.
 

“I didn’t mean marriage as in you and me. Not that I don’t want to get married, but not now. Not for a while.” He shut his mouth while he still had some common sense left and someone to talk to. Emily looked as though she was either going to leave or throw up. He sat down to block the path back to the house, waiting to see what she made of his crazy question.

She yanked a few wild flowers out of the ground, holding them in her hands like a weapon. “I want to get married one day. I’d like children too.” She put the bouquet on her lap and snapped more flowers off their stems, adding them to the pile. “Three would be nice.”

“Three?” Alex tried not to sound too panicked.
 

“Three,” Emily agreed more firmly. “Two boys and a girl. Tommy, Connor and Alice.”

She had names already picked out? Alex tried to remember that this was just a ‘what if’ conversation. It wouldn’t necessarily happen. And even if it did, Emily could marry anyone she liked. Have babies with anyone she liked. The thought wasn’t all that appealing.

“What about you?”

Alex bent his knees close to his chest and pulled the brim of his hat lower. Hell, if he curled in on himself anymore he’d look like a snail. He deliberately stretched his legs out, leaned back on his arms. Mr Cool, Calm and Collected. Yeah, that was him. Until Emily turned and smiled at him and then he went back to brain dead.

“I want to get married one day, too. Have a family. No numbers in mind, but not too many that you could leave one at the supermarket..”

She smiled. “You think you’d leave one of your children in a supermarket?”

“Mom did.” If Alex’s mom could leave him in a store, then anyone could. “I was four years old. Mom went off with Jacob to buy him some jeans and forgot that I’d gone shopping with them. She’d driven out of the parking lot before she remembered.”
 

Emily’s smile got a whole lot wider. “It must have scarred you for life.”

“I was fine. I found the toy aisle and didn’t even know they’d left. I don’t think mom ever forgave herself. She’s bought one of those kid harnesses for Christopher for when he’s walking.”

“Wise woman.” Emily picked up her flowers and held them close. “I promised Sarah I’d have coffee with her. Do you want to come?”

Alex had been halfway through imagining the rest of the evening. He’d cook steak on the barbecue for them, make a salad, open a bottle of wine. Maybe even try for a little romancing under a big Montana sky. Especially since they’d been discussing marriage and babies. The sort of things people did who were interested in spending more time together.

Sarah hadn’t figured in any of his plans.