Montana Reunion (7 page)

The
truck was huge, but they knew the driver and he was calling out to them. Jack’s
shirt was stuck to his chest, perspiration dripping down his neck and his
forehead, soaking through his clothes. His mom was still smiling
though,
never fazed by the weather or how hard the work was,
so long as she was outside doing something.

Jack shook his head, trying to push
the memories away and failing. They were like a movie, playing through his
mind, gnawing at him whenever he failed to keep the wall up that kept them at
bay. That stopped them from resurfacing.

“My dad had always been hard on me,
Maddison
, you know that. But the way he looked at me
that day, the change in him, was…” he blew out a big breath. “I know you were
there through so much of it, but I still don’t think even you could understand
how he looked at me from that day forward. The way he went from loving me as
his son, to hating me, despising me with so much fury, blaming me for
everything.
From marrying my mom in the first place and
moving to the ranch, to having me.
He made it all my fault.”

“He was a bastard to you, Jack,”
Maddison
said, her voice so low and powerful that it made
him stop. “You needed to be loved and comforted, to be held.”

He’d
been a boy. A kid in need of a parent, grieving the death of a mom who’d loved
him so fiercely, taught him so much, that even in his thirties he still missed
her. But his dad had punished him, like it had been his fault. Had beaten him,
yelled at him,
reminded
him over and over that he
should have done something to help.

But
his mom had gotten pinned between a truck and a trailer. She’d been as good as
dead the instant it had happened.

“My dad changed,
Maddie
. He changed because he lost someone he loved, and as
much as I hated him, I don’t think he was capable of behaving any other way.”

“That’s bullshit, Jack.”
Maddison
was on her feet now, marching toward him, arms
crossed as she stood her ground. “
It’s
bullshit and
you know it.”

“Bullshit or not, it’s why I don’t
want to be a parent. And it’s why I don’t want to fall in love. I don’t want
any of that, okay?”

She just stared at him.

“My dad was a bastard,
but he loved my mom
. Her dying turned
him into a monster, and I don’t ever want to be in danger of hurting a child like
he hurt me.”

“But you wouldn’t.”
Maddison
sounded like she was out of breath, and her face
told him she had no idea what to say, how to act,
how to deal with what he’d just told her.

He closed the gap between them, put
his arms around her and pulled her in tight. Jack held her in his arms, dropped
a kiss into her hair and rocked them both.

“I’m sorry,
Maddie
,”
he told her, wishing things could have been different, for both of them. “If
you want to be a mom, don’t let me hold you back, but I’m not the guy to help
you.”

She was silent, face pressed
against his chest, arms looped around his waist.

“If we’re going to do this, then we
need to be honest. So maybe we should take some time to think things through
first. Come up with an agreement.”

That made her
laugh
. “You want some sort of marriage contract drawn up?”

Jack let her go, took a step back
and shoved his hands into his pockets. “A list,” he said. “I think we need to
work out what we want, and what we don’t. Then we can see if any negotiating is
needed.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Maddison’s
dad was standing in the entrance to the barn,
pitchfork in one hand.

“I’m just trying to talk some sense
into your daughter. Make an honest woman of her.”

Maddison
punched him in the arm before going to her father.

“Dad, give me that. You’re supposed
to be resting, or have you forgotten that already?”

Jack put his hat back on and walked
past the pair of them, patting her dad’s shoulder. “I’ll see y’all later.”

He left
Maddison
scolding her father and headed for his truck. It was the first morning, other
than to attend his own father’s funeral
service,
he’d
taken time off work in years.

All
because a girl he’d used to know had come home and made him remember the past,
and start to wonder about the future.

CHAPTER
SIX

“You’re going to marry him, aren’t
you?”

Maddison
was starting to remember one of the reasons she’d been so pleased to leave
home. She forced a smile, buttering her toast as she talked. “Aside from it
being none of your business, no.” It wasn’t a lie because she hadn’t decided
yet. She needed to make a final decision, because it was either Jack or a baby.
Maddison
didn’t want to let Jack down, knew it was a
sensible agreement, but still…

“So you’re okay with us looking for
another girl for him?” Charlotte teased. “Or perhaps if you’re not interested
then I could marry him. I mean, he is pretty cute, for a Gregory.”

Maddison
resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
 

“I’m going for a ride.”
Maddison
announced, grabbing her horse’s halter and
slinging it over her shoulder.
“On my own, just in case you
were thinking of joining me.”

“Suit yourself. I have jobs to do
anyway.”

Maddison
waved to her sister and crossed the field to her horse. She caught him and led
him over to the barn, busying herself with brushing him down and saddling him
up.

A week or two from now, she’d be
back in the city. Dealing with her normal life, planning events that people
with way too much money paid her way too much to organize. Then, she’d hardly
remember what it was like to get dirt under her nails and do simple things like
ride a horse.

She led Finn out and mounted,
before nudging him into a walk, then a brisk trot. What she needed was a good
gallop to take her mind off everything.
Jack
included.
Because deciding on what her future held was tying her all up in
knots.

Finn was fighting to go faster, so
she loosened the reins a little and pushed him forward. She cantered across the
field, coming closer to the boundary between her family’s land and the
Gregory’s. Even after all these years, she still remember exactly where the
jump was that had been the gateway between their two properties – as kids
they’d jumped it daily on their ponies, both families hanging out together.

It was well maintained, like it was
still in use, and she pointed Finn toward it. Jumping had always made her heart
race a little faster, and she was ready for that feeling again.
For the exhilaration of flying through the air.

She slowed her horse, sitting
deeper in the saddle, guiding him with her legs more than her hands. She
counted out the strides as they approached, just like she’d been taught as a
pony-mad girl, but she felt it go wrong.
And
it was too late to stop.

Finn took off sooner than he should
have, missing the final stride and launching himself into the air. She tried to
stay on, tried to clutch at his mane and then his saddle, but it was too late.
Maddison
went airborne, lost her stirrups and flew through
the air solo, the ground coming at her so fast she knew it would knock her
breath straight from her lungs.

She hit with a
thump, her horse’s hooves coming down too fast toward her head, and she rolled
out of the way before everything became a blur.

A movement caught Jack’s eye. He
stopped what he was doing, leaned on his spade and turned.

Fuck.

Maddison’s
horse was trotting, head held high as the reins dangled.
Which meant he’d lost his rider.

Jack brushed his hands off,
whistled for his dog and ran for the truck.
Where
the hell would she be?
He changed his mind, got back out and called her
horse. She’d kill him if he didn’t at least take the bridle off, make sure Finn
couldn’t stand on his reins and break his neck.

Jack got close, did what he needed
to do and sprinted back to the vehicle. Fast. He didn’t like second-guessing
himself, but when it came to accidents? He’d never trust himself again that he
knew the right things to do in an emergency.

“Where are you,” he muttered,
searching back and forth with his eyes, leaning hard over the steering wheel.
His pulse was racing, fingers drumming a beat as his panic levels started to
rise.

He
didn’t need this. If she was seriously hurt…
he forced the thoughts away.
Finn could have bucked and dislodged her, leaving her annoyed and stranded. She
could have dismounted and he’d just gotten away from her.

So
was why his heart hammering so hard it felt like it was ready to explode?

He drove toward the boundary fence,
still methodically surveying the land. There was the jump and…
shit.

He planted his foot and drove
faster when he saw her pink T-shirt, slowing only when he was almost beside
her. Jack leaped from the truck and ran, skidding to his knees at her side.

“
Maddison
?”
He touched her shoulder gently.
What the hell was she doing riding without a
goddamn helmet when she was jumping?
“
Maddison
,
can you hear me?”

She moaned. Jack didn’t want to
move her in case it was something more serious, in case he made the situation
worse, but there was no chance he was leaving her.

“
Maddie
,
can you move for me?”

The moan became louder and she
opened her eyes. “Jack?” her voice sounded hoarse.

His heart rate seemed to slow the
moment she spoke.

“Yeah, it’s me. Can you move your
legs?”

Maddison
groaned again, but she managed to turn her body, gingerly stretching her legs.

“I think I fell off,” she said,
wincing as she sat up.

“Yeah, I think you might have.” He
couldn’t help but laugh, because it was better than being angry at her. “You
have any idea how much you scared me?”

She shut her eyes. “Do you have any
idea how much my head hurts? It’s like it could actually split open.”
Maddison
had her palm pressed to her forehead, the other
hand bracing
herself
upright.

“That’s what happens when you jump
goddamn fences without a helmet on,” he scolded, the anger starting to take
hold again now that he was convinced she was fine. “You’re lucky I didn’t
arrive to find you with a serious head injury instead of concussion.”

Maddison
opened her eyes and managed a brave, weak smile. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he
muttered. “Let’s get you up and I’ll take you to my place. Check you over.”

He bent to put his arm around her,
slowly helping her rise to her feet.

“Ouch!” She put what felt like all
her weight into him.

Jack changed his mind and picked
her up instead, not wanting her to put any more strain than she had to on
whatever was hurting. “Rosa, scoot over.”

His dog moved across toward the
driver’s seat and he helped
Maddison
slide in.

“Jack?”

He let go of her and held on to the
door as he leaned back.

“Thank you.”

He touched her shoulder and shut
the door, walking around the back to the driver’s side.
She was okay
. He needed to keep reminding himself that.
She was fine, and nothing was going to
happen to her.

Trouble was
,
he didn’t believe himself. Not really.

He’d
thought he just couldn’t be a father, but maybe he wasn’t capable of being a
husband either.
Because just when he’d though he could handle someone like
Maddison
being part of his life, she’d gone and shown him
just how easy it would be to lose her.
And for him to have something else to blame himself for.

“Do you have pain meds?”
Maddison
asked him when he finally got in the vehicle.

Jack forced a smile, not wanting
her to know how rattled he was. “I should have something.”

“Good.” She put her head back and
shut her eyes again, like she was trying to block the pain out.
“Because I don’t want dad worrying about me, so I might stay at
your place a while.
If you don’t mind.”

She turned her head and opened her
eyes, but he refused to look back at her, kept his eyes on what he was doing.
What he needed was to take her home – try to forget all about the fact that
Maddison
even existed, let alone that he’d been considering
marrying her or the fact she could have died on his land – and be alone for a
while.

“Sure thing,” he heard himself say.

Or he could be a complete pussy and do
whatever she wanted.

Maddison
was slowly starting to feel human again. The thump in her head had retreated,
but she was still tender. Her ankle wasn’t broken, given that the burning pain
was starting to subside slightly, and she could almost flex it again.

“Pain meds kicking in yet?”

She looked up at Jack’s words.
“Yeah, starting to.”

He walked into the room, standing
back to watch her, looking at her like she might suddenly snap in two. She knew
she’d given him a fright, but she hadn’t given him credit for how hard it must
have been, finding her lying there.

“You manage to find Finn?” she
asked.

“Yeah, still grazing near where I
left him,” Jack said, slowly moving closer, hands deep in his pockets. “I took
his saddle off, checked him over,
then
let him loose.”