Forever Wishes (Montana Brides Book 4) (18 page)

“And I could have made everyone’s life easier by letting Scott shine all by himself, instead of trying to do everything for him.”

Jake wrapped his arms around his mom’s waist and held her tight.

Rosemary kissed the top of his head. “Look at all the good work you’re doing for the kids at camp. And you’re here now, helping all of us find our feet. I’m proud of the man you’ve grown into. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, honey.” Rosemary sniffed. “Now I’m getting all teary-eyed.”

“I can recommend the muffins, mom.” He grinned at the smile on her face.
 

Giving him a final squeeze, Rosemary sat down and finished her coffee.

After his mom left, Jake went for a long walk, thinking about what had been going on in his life. Scott and their mom had taken giant leaps of faith in each other. Lucy and Ethan were the happiest they’d been in years. Even his job was working out better than he’d thought it would.

But he needed to make a few changes. Erin was right. He couldn’t change what had happened in his past, but he was able to do something about his future. And that future included her.
 

He just hoped like crazy that she’d be prepared to give him another chance. A chance he didn’t deserve.

He looked down at his watch. He’d leave it until later in the evening to give her a call. Right now he needed to get ready for Ethan’s birthday party. If hitting the big time with a group of sugar-loaded six and seven-year-olds couldn’t distract him from the mess he’d created, then nothing else would.

Erin glanced around the food court, then took another sip of her hot chocolate. She didn’t know why she’d agreed to see a movie with Matthew. They’d finished her garden weeks ago, but in between Nicky’s wedding plans and work, he kept appearing in her life. They hadn’t even made it into the theater and she already regretted the spur-of-the-moment decision to see a movie with him.
 

Matthew cleared his throat. She knew that sound. It meant he had something important to say and she really didn’t want to hear it. She jumped into the conversation before he could utter a single word. “What kind of a day did you have?” She cringed. Surely she could have come up with something a bit more riveting than a step above, ‘how’s the weather?’

One look from Matthew told her he’d cottoned on to her diversion tactics.
 

She sighed. That’s what you got after practically living with someone for a year.
 

Matthew cleared his throat. Again. Didn’t he know how annoying that habit was?
 

Fidgeting with the napkin in front of him, he quickly glanced at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about not wanting to have kids.”

Erin scowled. He’d had a major tantrum when he’d seen the baby clothes she’d packed away. Walking out on a twelve month relationship because diapers and baby formula weren’t his thing had to be the most lame excuse she’d ever heard.

Matthew continued on a little warily. “I’ve done quite a bit of thinking over the last few months. I missed you when I went to Seattle.”

Erin looked at him, hoping this conversation wasn’t going where she thought it was.

Sensing none of her mounting distress, Matthew kept talking. “I still love you,” he blurted out. “I want us to get back together. If you want to have children, then that’s fine by me.”
 

He looked at her expectantly. Erin wanted to disappear under the tale. Her brain went into hibernation mode. She knew exactly what she needed to say, and it didn’t bode well for the movies.
 

How did you tell someone you once loved that you didn’t want to get back together with them? Taking a deep breath she decided that being honest with him would be her best option. And maybe, if she’d been more up front with him earlier on, this conversation would never have taken place.
 

She took a sip of her hot chocolate, wincing at the bitter sweet liquid in the bottom of her cup. “The thing is, Matthew. I don’t love you anymore.”
 

His faced dropped. “Are you sure?”
 

She nodded. Not so long ago she’d loved this man more than anyone else in the world. She’d wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. After their engagement ended she’d been devastated.
 

And now here they were. He’d just offered her marriage and babies, everything she’d ever wanted. It should have been a dream come true, but it wasn’t. In fact the whole evening had turned into one big nightmare.
 

Saying no to him could mean giving away her last chance of being someone’s mom.
 
But she knew she couldn’t marry him. A certain six-foot-five, handsome-as-you-please lawyer had captured her heart and
pulverized it to a pulp.
 

She knew that spending time with Jake, even if it meant not having children or getting married, would be better than getting back together with her ex-fiancé.

Now that was a sobering thought.
 

Her heart sank. Maybe she’d left it too late to be a part of Jake’s life. He didn’t want marriage or babies. But did he still want her?
 

“I’m sorry, Matthew. It’s over between us.” She didn’t know what to do. Did she thank him for thinking of her? Did she wish him well in finding someone else to have a happy life with? Or did she just stand up and walk away?
 

“Erin, Erin.” High pitched squeals sounded across the food court as Ethan come hurtling toward her. “It’s my birthday. I’m seven.” He skidded to a halt beside their table.

She smiled at his cheeky grin. “Happy birthday.” Three other boys followed close behind him. “Have you guys been to the movies?” A row of heads started nodding. Everyone started talking at once about the movie they’d just seen.
 

The four way conversation skipping between the boys left Erin’s head spinning. Apparently, Tim the mechanical wonder kid, had invented a machine that made small machines come to life. Ethan thought it was a super-cool idea. If the reaction from his little buddies was anything to go by, their parents had better guard their cameras, hairdryers and toasters with care.

Lucy appeared behind Ethan. “Have you managed to survive the ambush?” She laughed.

“I’ve got the easy job. It looks like I’m a two second diversion between the movie and home.”

The smile on Erin’s face disappeared when she saw who was standing behind Lucy. Jake. Her heart slammed into her ribs as she looked up his long, lean body, into a face set like stone. His gaze burned hard and hot into her face.
 

Nodding in her direction, he said, “Erin.”

She looked at him, utterly confused. She’d never seen him so annoyed. She went through their last conversation in her head. Maybe he couldn’t get pass her calling him selfish and irresponsible? She didn’t blame him. She’d lashed out with her tongue and her temper, and regretted every word she’d said.

“Are you going to introduce your
friend
?” Jake asked.

Looking at Jake, she knew she wouldn’t introduce him to her worst enemy at the moment. His arms were braced on his hips and the glare he shot Matthew would have curdled fresh milk.
 

Matthew stood beside her and extended his arm. “I’m Matthew Sullivan. A…friend of Erin’s.”
 

Her gaze swung to Matthew. The pause had been deliberate.

Holding her breath, she looked between the two men. Jake’s arm slowly came forward. He shook Matthew’s hand in a grip that made her wince.
 

Both men were no slouch in the physical department. They stood eyeball to eyeball, watching each other like roosters waiting for dawn.

Ethan tugged on her sleeve. “Who’s that?” He pointed to Matthew.

“This is Mr. Sullivan. He’s just moved back to live in Bozeman.”

“Have you come to see a movie too?”

She could have leapt out of her chair and hugged Ethan senseless. Any excuse to get Jake and Matthew away from each other had to be a good one. She grabbed onto the movie scenario and held firm. Two minutes ago she’d been going to ditch the movie altogether, but not anymore.

“Yes. We’re going to the movies. Nice seeing you again, Lucy.” She looked across at her one time heart throb. He still looked as though he wanted to do serious bodily harm to Matthew.
 

She gave Ethan a hug. “Have a great birthday. I’ll see you next week at the library.”

Grabbing her purse in one hand, she pushed Matthew away from Jake with the other. Before they were two steps away from the table, Matthew slung his arm over her shoulders. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as Jake growled behind her.
 

This wasn’t the kind of reunion she’d had in mind when she thought about her man of steel. Walking quickly toward the theater, she mumbled, “Matthew Sullivan, get that arm off my body now or I swear it’s the last movement that shoulder socket ever makes.”
 

She was angry. More than angry. Two prehistoric males were playing with her future. It wasn’t a competition to see which one had the most testosterone between their ears.
 

She hadn’t come to the theater looking for confrontation. She’d come to enjoy a movie, not ruin any chance of apologizing to Jake for what she’d said at camp. He wouldn’t want to talk with her after Matthew’s not so subtle display of togetherness.
 

If it hadn’t been for Matthew stopping in front of the movie theatre, she would have marched straight on past.

 
“Is he the reason you don’t want to get back together?”
 

Matthew looked annoyed. But more than that, he looked hurt.
 

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I met Jake a couple of months ago. We broke up. I guess you got the tail end of his anger back there.”

A resigned look slipped across his face. “That wasn’t anger.”

“What do you mean, it wasn’t anger? He looked like he was ready to rip your head off and feed it to the ducks outside.”

Reaching across, Matthew gently kissed her cheek. “You need to work that out for yourself. I’m sorry you don’t want to get back together with me.” He brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “Have a good life.”

He left her in the corridor, disappearing out of her life almost as fast as he had a year ago. Sitting down heavily on a seat, she could have dropped her head to her hands and wept.
 

She must have been dense not to realize Matthew had been coming around for more than a helping hand with the garden. More than a quick cup of coffee at the weekend. There had to be a rule somewhere that said any woman past the ripe old age of twenty-eight should have developed a sixth sense into the workings of the male brain. Even a tiny bit of intelligence would have gone a long way to cutting off his declaration of love.
 

Nicky had warned her of his ulterior motives, but had she listened? No.
 

She allowed herself another few minutes to wallow in self-pity before heading to her car. Pulling into the evening traffic, she drove out of the parking lot. She didn’t know where she was going, didn’t have a clue what she was going to do. An ambulance roared past, lights and sirens blazing.
 

Erin pulled over and wiped the tears off her face. She thought about her parents and the love they’d shared. She thought about the lessons they’d taught her, and the person she’d become.
 

Sucking up what courage she possessed, she knew there was one last thing she had to do before she went home. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing Jake. But she knew if she didn’t at least try, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

She drove toward his house. Her palms slipped against the steering wheel and her dinner started doing cartwheels inside her stomach. She slowed down when she got closer to his home.
 

Sitting in her car, she thought about what she would say. A part of her wanted to turn around and hightail it back home. But a bigger part knew she had to get out of the car and face him.

She gave the night sky one last glance before she braved the lion’s den. A bright light streaked across the sky. Logic told her it had probably been a satellite or an aircraft, but logic wasn’t what she needed right now. What she needed was divine intervention. If the light in the sky could offer even a tiny morsel of help, she’d take it with open arms.