Montana Skies (You, Me and the Kids) (Harlequin Superromance, No 1395) (24 page)

“But you more than like him…don't you?” Skylar pressed, refusing to drop the subject. “Maybe even…love him?”

She stared at Skylar in surprise. “We've grown close over the last few months,” she admitted carefully, “but sometimes love has a lot of complications.”

Skylar digested those words with a frown. “Are you sure…are you sure he didn't say that because of me?”

“Oh, honey,
no
. Jonas and I… We both carry some heavy baggage emotionally. That's the problem, not you.” She reached out to her, tentatively laying her hand on Skylar's shoulder, rubbing gently. “I was so worried about you. Thank God you and Carly and Brandon are all right. Is there…do you want to talk about it?” Rissa waited, wanting to press but knowing from experience not to. “I like your new look.”

In typical Skylar fashion, she rolled her eyes with a snort. “Whatever. It seemed kinda stupid to put it back on when everybody saw me out there anyway and—” she held up her hands “—Grace wrapped them up so much I wondered if she did it on purpose.”

Rissa laughed at the wry twist of Skylar's bare lips. Whether Grace had done it on purpose or not, she was thankful.

They sat there a long moment, silent, both of them lost in their thoughts, her hand on Skylar's tense shoulder and back.

“Mom…you were right about something.”

“I was?”

Skylar wouldn't look at her. “I—I didn't tell you some things because I…felt like I couldn't. After Dad died and—and the problem with the insurance and bills, I felt like you couldn't— I don't know,
deal
, you know? I know I could've told you, but you didn't need another problem.”

Clearing her throat, sensing the moment had finally come, Rissa tried to slow her rapidly beating heart. “I was a mess afterward,” she agreed. “You're right. I should've been stronger for you. I'm sorry I wasn't, Sky.”

“It's not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. You've always acted so grown-up sometimes I'd forget you were a child—my
daughter
instead of my friend. I won't forget again. I hope you won't
let
me, and that you'll call me on it if I do. You can tell me anything, baby. I'm back on my feet now, I'll do my best to help if I can.”

Skylar stared at her hands, the tips of her fingers visible, her black nail polish chipped and worn away. “When Dad died…he died because of me. If I'd kept my mouth shut and not said anything to you about Dad and Nic's mom—”

“I'm
glad
you told me, I needed to know. I'm just sorry you found out at all and wound up caught in the middle.”

“Rick was mad that Dad had slept with Cindy.”

He wasn't the only one. “That's understandable, no one wants to find out their spouse cheated.”

“But…that's not all that happened.”

After wishing her heart would slow its racing, it did in an instant. Seemed to stop entirely in preparation of the news Skylar was about to impart. Sitting there on the step with the bright sunshine and beautiful day around
them, Rissa knew true fear. A chill ran down her spine, laced with unadulterated terror at the look on Skylar's face. She'd never forget it in a million lifetimes.

“What, Sky? Tell me.”

Jaw tight, Skylar fiddled with the bandaging. “Before the—the accident…before I saw Dad and Cindy… I stayed there a lot, remember?”

“You and Nicole were very close.”

She nodded, shrugged. “I liked it there because… Nic's dad—he always teased us and goofed off. Played games and, you know, hung out with us, took us places. He was…cool.” Skylar glanced at her quickly then looked away. “Nic and I still talked some after things blew up. And sometimes when I went over Rick was there….” She wet her lips. “D-do you remember how he would always joke around and tease me?”

Rissa's mind whirled with the potential scenarios, things she didn't want to consider, but did due to Skylar's tone. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and Rissa knew she was close to fainting for the first time in her life. If Rick had—

“I—I kind of had a crush on him, a really big one. Sort of like Carly was with Travis. You didn't know that, did you?” Skylar didn't look to see if she responded. Her gaze remained unfocused, her breath, her words, coming faster. “Anyway, after Dad and Cindy, Rick k-kissed me.”

“Sky—”

“And then one weekend when N-Nic was away we…something happened.”

An invisible fist punched her in the stomach, the impact of Skylar's words more powerful than any physical blow she could've imagined.

“I didn't mean for it to go so far. We were goofing around, wrestling over the stupid remote and then— I swear I didn't mean to, but—” Skylar began to cry, couldn't sit still. She rocked on the step, back and forth. “We k-kissed some more and— He said things l-like how much he liked me and cared for me and l-loved me. That he was l-lonely because—because of what Dad had done. I felt sorry for him and Nic called and said she and her mom were staying with her grandma and not coming home. Rick was upset because Nic was supposed to spend the weekend with him, the three of us were going to the zoo and stuff, and I knew I should leave but—” Skylar broke off with a vicious curse. “I didn't.” She closed her eyes and grimaced. “God, what an idiot. Mom, I didn't come
home.
”

Rissa was too stunned to comment. Too horrified. Too numb, and not nearly numb enough.

“I…I spent the night there. Just me and—and Rick.”

Anger overtook the numbness, and Rissa grabbed Skylar by her shoulders, turning her so fast Skylar winced. “He took advantage of you! Skylar, oh, dear Lord, there are
laws
—”

“I wanted to!”

Rissa's horror returned. The air left her lungs in a rush and she stared at Skylar, realized the words weren't said in defense of Rick, or what happened. Tears flowed freely down Skylar's face, but her expression gave truth to her words.

“I
wanted
to.” Skylar met her gaze numerous times before she quickly looked away again, her face pale. “Mom, he— Rick didn't
make
me do anything. I wanted to. I didn't mean for it to happen, but he
didn't
rape me. You need to—to know it wasn't like that.”

“Sky—”

“There's more.”

God give me strength.

Skylar pulled away and distanced herself again, averting her face so that all Rissa could see was her profile. That and the way she curled in on herself, her shoulders hunched.

The rocking motion started again. “I c-came home and everything was fine. You—you and dad didn't think anything about it because I—I always stayed over at Nic's and you were all pretending everything was okay even though me and Nic had heard all the fights and knew…But then Nic called. Dad picked it up and sh-she talked to him, asking permission for me to c-come over because she'd been gone. D-Dad started questioning me, w-wondering where I'd been and what I'd done and then…I slipped. I s-said Rick's name and—”

“He knew,” Rissa finished dully. “That's why Larry called my cell so many times.” Dizziness washed over her. “That's why the tower didn't patch a call through. He wanted me to land first before he told me—” Her gaze narrowed. “You and your dad were on your way to Rick's,” she said suddenly, piecing the events together. “That's where you were going when you—”

“See?” Skylar demanded, her whole body trembling. “It
is
my f-fault. If I'd kept my mouth shut you and Dad wouldn't've—and Rick and I— None of it would've happened.
None of it.”

Rissa put her arms around Skylar, her concern for her daughter's broken state overriding everything else.

Skylar reacted blindly. She lowered her head to Rissa's lap and clung to her like she had when she was a little girl.

She was
still
a little girl. But whatever had happened in the woods had released the hold, giving her courage and strength to face the future—and the past.

“I felt like such a—a whore. Every boy at school already hit on me and said nasty things because of my boobs, and they thought—they thought just because I cheered I was easy, but then Rick… I really
liked
him. He m-made me feel good about… Said I was pretty and not sleazy. Then after the accident…he came to the f-funeral.” She cursed again, the words coming out accompanied by strangled sobs. “He offered to
c-comfort
me to m-make me feel better.” A caustic laugh followed, bitter and full of tears. “Nice, huh? I—I couldn't believe he'd
say
something like that. Not when he
knew
what happened. When he
knew
it was our fault Dad died.”

“Baby, don't—”

“He—he really liked my hair. He got mad when I cut and—and dyed it. He actually
ordered
me to change back, but I t-told him if he didn't leave me alone I'd say he raped me. He didn't, Mom, really, but that—that shut him up. Stupid ass. If Nic and her mom knew what an SOB he really is…”

Rissa wrapped her arms tighter around her daughter's quivering body and lowered her head onto Skylar's back, giving into the tears she'd somehow managed to hold in check. She rocked them both back and forth. Slow and easy, back and forth. The motion soothing, automatic. Controlled because she couldn't control anything else.

How could she not have known? Not have realized?

The rational part of her knew she'd been reeling from the affair and knew a divorce was inevitable, but that didn't excuse—

She shoved the guilty thoughts aside to deal with later and concentrated on the here and now. “We're going to get through this, Sky. We are. I'm so glad you told me. That you—you trust me enough to be honest. I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most, but we're going to get through this,” she crooned, pressing a kiss to Skylar's dark head. She petted her, held her, tried to make up for a year's worth of lost time and a lifetime of pain. “I'm sorry he hurt you, I'm sorry I didn't know…I'm sorry I wasn't the mother you needed me to be, but regardless of what you've told me, it's
not your fault.
”

She made Skylar sit up and wiped her tears away. Staring into eyes so like her own, she tried to convey her love. “Skylar, listen to me. Every girl has a crush on a friend's dad at some point, but Rick should've been man enough not to take his anger out on you for something your dad and Cindy did. He lied, Sky. Honey, if Rick cared for you at all, he would've left you
alone.
”

Fresh tears rolled down Skylar's cheeks. “I know. I know that now, but Dad—”

“An accident,” Rissa insisted, ignoring her own tears because she refused to remove her hands from Skylar's face, refused to let her look away. “Skylar, we are not in control on this earth. We're not invincible, we're not infallible. We're human and we screw up. We make poor decisions, but they keep us humble and make us try harder, to be wiser. And sometimes…things just happen, bad things and good, and it's all out of our hands and in God's. All we can do is face our mistakes, grow from them, and move on.”

Skylar blinked rapidly, her expression seemingly torn between hope and disbelief. The girl Skylar had
been was easy prey for a grown man bent on revenge. A man who knew the right things to say to get her to do the unthinkable.

“You mean…like Jonas dumping us? Are you taking the job?”

Rissa stared into Skylar's blue eyes, the exact color of the deep blue sky overhead. Montana sky that couldn't be replaced with city streets and smog or even a pilot's job. Eyes that begged her to be the mom she should've been before. To make a firm decision and settle their future. “Like Jonas dumping us.”

Skylar wiped her nose on the back of her hand. “Do we have to move because of him? I—I will if it would be too much for you to, you know, stay and see him.” She sniffled. “I didn't want to move here, but, I was glad I wouldn't ever see Rick again.”

Rissa forced a smile, wondering what, if anything, she could do about Rick's behavior now, especially when she refused to put Skylar through more than she'd already endured. “We'll see.” She glanced up at the heavens, knowing in her heart Rick would indeed face a punishment more harsh than any she could inflict on Skylar's behalf.

She looped her arms around her daughter's shoulders, wanting to touch her as much as possible now that she was allowed to. “How about we go to our cabin and—”

“Eat some chocolate?”

Her daughter knew her well. Rissa laughed and squeezed Skylar tight. “Works for me,” she said, kissing her cheek. “Let's go get some brain food and…talk. Okay?”

Fresh tears filled Skylar's eyes. “You don't…you don't hate me?”

Rissa wiped them away. “I could never hate you. You're my baby girl, Sky, and I'll always love you.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to be happy.”

“I want
us
to be happy.”

“Then can we stay?”

A
WEEK LATER
Jonas glared out at the stretch of highway outside town that was so inviting to speedsters, and tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with the first time he'd met Rissa.

The town was buzzing with all sorts of gossip. Skylar's transformation, the fact that Mr. Paxton's vacation was over and Brandon was out of the hospital. How they'd all packed up and gone home, leaving behind a generous donation for Seth's ranch after Brandon owned up to his involvement in getting them lost.

Rumor also had it that the Paxtons had flown out of North Star via helicopter.

Which meant Rissa had accepted the job.

Carly moped around the house, refusing to talk to him about the goings-on at the ranch because he'd “ruined everything” by telling Rissa to leave. All she'd say was that Rissa and Skylar were both upset with him and for good reason. Yeah, well, that much he knew.

A loud, shrill beep sounded right before the radar gun flashed wildly. Jonas sat up, blinking in horror when Whitefeather's helicopter headed right toward him and skimmed the roof of the cruiser. Jonas ducked down in the seat, amazed it hadn't taken the lights off the top. The old fool was liquored up again, no doubt trying to
get himself back in the air now that Rissa wasn't there to do it for him.

He scrambled out of the car, unsure of what to do. The helicopter did a quick turn midair and headed back down, right toward—

Jonas hit the dirt when it flew over again, low enough that he squeezed his eyes shut and told himself it was from the grit flying through the air instead of the instant flash of regret he felt for not swallowing his pride and begging Rissa to stay. He opened them in time to see the chopper turn yet again before setting down in the field next to the road with barely a bounce.

He stared in disbelief, scrambled to his feet and took off running for all he was worth. He had to get to the helicopter before Ben took off again. Jonas was almost there when the blades powered down and slowed, the door opened, and the pilot got out removing his—
her
—headset and ball cap.

Rissa?

Her expression carefully guarded, Rissa pulled something from her pocket and flung it through the air toward him. “You're going to give me a ticket this time, right?”

He caught the small plastic card instinctively, but a quick glance down had him doing a double-take. The shiny, newly issued license listed her home address as North Star, Montana. Whitefeather's place? “You bought him out?”

She nodded. “I thought I'd stop by and tell you that Skylar and I decided we're staying,” she informed him, her gaze narrowed. “But you need to realize something, Jonas.
We
chose to stay on our own. You didn't make us, and we're not the least bit embittered about it.”

He closed the distance between them, uncaring about
the details so long as it was true. He pulled her into his arms, wanting to kiss her, to make love to her. “No one will ever believe you managed to get that crazy old man to sell.”

Her expression softened. “They just hadn't made him an offer he couldn't refuse. All I had to do was promise to take him up every now and again.”

Ingenious. Jonas stared at her, tension filling him. Hope. More love than he'd ever dreamed possible. “Will you make me one of those offers? One I can't refuse?”

She swallowed. “Perhaps… After you apologize for being so dense you told me to leave.”

A smile pulled at his lips. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean a word of it, but my pride wouldn't let me beg you to stay.” He waited, impatient for her to speak. “My offer?”

Raising an eyebrow, she wet her lips, and Jonas had a hard time concentrating.

“I'm a pilot, and I'm going to start up a charter business. I'm a horrible cook and not a great housekeeper, and if you've got some preconceived notion that I'll give up flying to become June Cleaver—”

“I understand.” He winked at her. “Trust me, when I think of you, I see way more than June Cleaver.”

Her chin lifted. “Good.”

“What else? I want more than you simply living in the same town, Rissa. I've always wanted more from you, that was the problem from the beginning.”

She inhaled shakily. “Well, maybe we could work something out where…Carly could have a best friend and sister rolled into one. Maybe, under the right motivation, more?”

“More,” he repeated, liking the idea despite the two teenagers giving them both fits. “That would require
you making an honest man of me,” he mused aloud. “And I'm afraid I still don't understand. You're going to have to spell things out for me and be more specific. Just so we're clear.”

Her gaze narrowed a bit more, but her smile was unmistakable. “It means I love you and I want you to marry me,” she said, finally giving voice to the words he was about to say himself since she couldn't seem to get them out.

Rissa's gaze held his, soft, warm. Full of love. “I can't promise it'll be easy, but I do promise I'll see it through, Jonas. To the very end. You and Carly won't ever be left behind again, not if I have any say in—”

Jonas lowered his head and kissed her. His tongue swept inside her mouth and the taste of her filled him, eased the tension and pain he'd carried ever since that day at the ranch. He'd missed her so much. Loved her even more.

Her arms rose to curl around his neck, but he pulled them down, capturing her hands behind her back long enough to quietly slip the cuffs from his belt.

“I accept your proposal,” he murmured against her lips. “And we're getting married soon. I don't want to wait.”

“What— Jonas, what are you doing?”

He snapped the cuffs into place around her wrists and smiled down at her. “You were speeding, Mrs. Taggert. Second time I've caught you, too.”

Her surprised expression turned to one of sensual promise. “And my punishment?”

He kissed her again, deeply, leaving both of them breathless and panting. “Fifty years to life.”