Montana Wrangler (12 page)

Her stomach tightened but not from hunger. Relaxing her death grip on the reins, she gave Peaches a nudge with her heels.

Trotting, Archie went with her out of the corral.

Chapter Eleven

“R
elax your seat. Enjoy the ride.” Riding beside Paige, Jay had taken the trail past the main house. He figured with the court hearing tomorrow this could well be the only chance he'd have to show her his special place, the natural cathedral he'd found.

After tomorrow, she could well be on her way back to Seattle with Bryan. Or she could hate Jay for blocking her plan, if it came to that.

“If I relax my seat, my spine is going to turn into overcooked spaghetti.”

Jay stifled a laugh. “That might be a little too relaxed. Just kind of lean back in the saddle. Let your body move with the rocking motion. Keep your reins loose.” While Paige would never be a natural rider, he was amazed how much progress she'd made since her first up-close encounter with Bryan's horse, Bright Star.

He watched as her hair bounced against her cheek with each stride the horse took. His fingers itched to slip through the silky strands.

“What if Peaches decides to take off at a run? That will unrelax me in a hurry.”

“She won't do anything you don't tell her to. Unless she gets spooked by a bear or something.”

Paige's head snapped around. She glared at him. “That's the second time you've said something about bears. You're just trying to spook me, aren't you? There aren't really any bears, are there?”

“Don't worry. Yeah, there are bears around here. But if they're nearby, they'll hear us coming and take off before we even see them.” Usually that was the case. But springtime and hungry bears could be an unpredictable combination. The bear he'd spotted yesterday was on the far side of the hill. Probably still sleeping off the big meal he'd eaten. Chances were good there weren't any other bears in the area. Except that it was close to mating season. A male bear could travel a long distance to sniff out a mate.

Archie raced off after a squirrel. With a warning wiggle of its tail, the squirrel scampered up a tree. He perched on a branch out of Archie's reach and chattered at the dog.

“Does Archie ever actually catch a squirrel?” Paige asked.

“She used to. Now she just chases them for sport. Keeping in shape, I imagine.”

“Huh. She ought to leave the poor little things alone. They're cute.”

The squirrel chase appeared to have relaxed Paige a little. She was sitting more comfortably in the saddle. The reins looser even though she still had one hand on the saddle horn. She held her head high, her chin at a determined angle that made Jay smile. He hated the thought that, one way or another, she'd be leaving Bear Lake soon.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“There's a lookout up ahead with a clear view of the lake. Then, if you're up to it, we can go on to the natural cathedral I mentioned.”

Her brown eyes widened, sparkling like she'd just awakened to Christmas morning. “Really? How far is it?”

“It'll take us about forty-five minutes to get there.”

Her forehead furrowed. “Okay. I guess that means my muscles will need a long, hot soak in the tub by the time we get back home.”

His lips twitched at the enticing image that conjured. He quickly refocused his attention on the turnoff to the overlook a few feet up the trail.

Paige fell in behind Jay as he turned onto a narrower trail. Pine branches brushed against her arm. A small brown bird flew past her right at eye level. She smiled as the tiny creature darted and twisted its way through the maze of overlapping tree branches.

In a matter of minutes, they broke out of the forest into a cleared area. Bear Lake appeared in front of them, a brilliant reflection of the blue sky. Paige drew in a deep breath.

“It's beautiful.” Pristine. Primitive in the way nature had carved the rugged hillsides into an irregularly shaped bowl to gently contain the glistening water.

“Yeah, it is.” Jay hooked one leg over his saddle horn and pointed toward the west. “Town is over that way. You can see the highway that runs through town and the layout of the residential areas.”

The highway wound its way from the south, vanishing from view behind a hill north of town. From this distance, the homes looked like dollhouses set on tiny ribbons that were streets.

“Across the lake from town, there's Arrowhead Cove.” Jay pointed to a bay on the east side of the lake. “Folks like to go there for picnics. There are a lot of summer cabins along that side of the lake, most of them hidden by trees. Everyone has a dock. Sometimes on holiday weekends there's a real traffic jam with speedboats and sailboats, water-skiers and kayaks swarming all over the place.”

Today, Paige noted, the lake looked placid and welcoming. Only three boats were cutting wakes through the clear water.

“You can't quite make it out,” he continued, “but at the far end of the lake is the town of Polson. It's not as pretty as Bear Lake but there's some good fishing down that way.”

“I can see why you like to live here.” But could she ever make the area her permanent home? That seemed impossible. For one thing, what would she do for a living? Turning herself into a back-country trail guide wasn't a plausible choice.

After a few minutes, Jay led her to the main trail and they continued up the hill. On an open slope covered with low vines, tiny blue flowers peeked out, looking fragile against a gray background of granite debris. Lodgepole pines shaded spruce and fir trees as the forest thickened again.

Jay pointed to the top of one of the pine trees. There, perched majestically on the highest branch, his white head clearly visible, a bald eagle gazed off into the distance.

Paige wondered if there was a nest nearby with baby hatchlings to feed.

As she rode, her gaze kept returning to Jay riding ahead of her. His broad back. The way his muscles flexed. The tilt of his cowboy hat. Definitely a man's man.

The trail wound downward, and soon they were enveloped by trees that blocked out the sun. She had no idea whether they were heading north or east or south. In the distance, she heard a roaring noise like cars racing around a track.

“What's that sound?” she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder. “You'll see in a minute.”

The noise became progressively louder until they broke out of the trees high on a cliff. Below them a boiling river of water raced through a narrow canyon confined by steep vertical walls. Above them, thousands of gallons of water leaped off a cliff higher than the one where they were, plummeting into the canyon below.

Jay's cathedral.
It was all she had imagined and more.

He dismounted, looped his horse's reins over a nearby branch, and came back to help her down from Peaches. Her legs wobbled. She grimaced.

“We'll stretch our legs for a minute.” Cupping her elbow, he edged her forward to get a better view.

“This really is incredible.” In awe, she gazed at the scene of power and glory, nature's wonder, and understood why Jay would feel close to God here. She felt His magnificent spirit here, too.

Archie trotted up to explore for new scents, sniffing at the ground and around the trees.

Jay looped his arm around Paige's shoulders. “This is the headwaters of Moccasin Creek, which flows into Bear Lake. It's still carrying a lot of snowmelt from the higher mountains. In the fall the waterfall isn't quite as spectacular as it is in the late spring.”

“Then I'm glad you brought me here now.” Her voice was husky with wonder, her senses overflowing, her heart filled with the rightness of being here with Jay. Sharing this moment together. This place of God's grace.

He turned her slightly, lifted her chin and she looked up into his intense blue-green eyes now dark with need.

“Whenever I've come here, it was to pray and remember Annie. Losing her and our son almost killed me. There were times when I didn't think I could go on. That's why I sold my ranch and took Henry's job. There were too many memories around my ranch.”

He ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Lately, I've been thinking a lot about you.”

Slowly, almost as though he were afraid she'd turn away, he lowered his head to hers. With the first brush of his lips, she shuddered in anticipation. He drew her closer. She lifted her arms around his neck. Her fingers threaded through the thick hair at his nape. She'd never felt quite like this before. Had never before wanted a kiss to go on forever.

Had never before fallen in love.

That realization stunned her. How could she possibly—

There was no way they could—

Did he mean that he was ready for a new relationship? That he'd let go of his memories of his wife?

She had no answers to her questions. But it didn't matter. Their lives were so different. City and country. Seattle and Bear Lake. The distance was insurmountable. Wasn't it?

It took all of her will to step away. His eyes even darker than before, he brushed a wayward strand of hair from her cheek. Goose bumps sped down her arms.

“You okay?” His whispered words shimmered through her like sparkling drops of clear water tumbling over a cliff.

“I'm fine.” She cleared her throat. “Should we head back now?”

Slowly, he nodded. “I guess we'd better.”

He helped her mount Peaches. She groaned as she straddled the horse again and he shot her a rakish grin.

“Remember the hot tub soak at the end of trail.”

“I can hardly wait!” But she couldn't bear the thought of washing away the imprint of Jay's lips on hers. His taste. Or the sensation of being in his arms.

Loping ahead of them, Archie seemed to know they were heading home. Paige envied the dog's sure sense of where she belonged.

* * *

Henry and Bryan cooked hamburgers on the grill for dinner. They were blackened and hard as hockey pucks, but Jay was glad Henry had felt up to the task. He was breathing better these days and able to walk farther without having to pause.

Good for Dr. Johansen.

Slathering the burger with ketchup, Jay managed to finish off one hamburger. But his appetite wasn't up to par. His guilty secret made it hard for him to swallow. Tomorrow could well change everything.

He watched as she tasted one of the frozen French fries Bryan had heated in the oven. She wrinkled her nose, a funny little habit he'd noticed when she didn't approve of something.

“This afternoon I made a few calls,” Paige said. “I found a Mrs. Murphy who does some housekeeping for local families. She's going to come by in the morning—”

“What do we need that old woman for?” Henry asked.

“I'm going to have her thoroughly clean and scrub Krissy's room. She'll make your lunch for you, too, while we're in Kalispell for the court hearing.”

“I can make my own lunch,” Henry grumbled.

“Am I going to Kalispell, too?” A deep frown worried Bryan's forehead.

“I think you should,” Paige said. “The judge may want to ask you some questions.”

“I'm going, too,” Jay said.

Paige's brows rose. He hadn't told her he was coming along. Or why he would need to.

The boy's lower lip jutted out. “I'm going to tell him I'm not going to Seattle no matter what.”

“I'd better go with you, too,” Henry said. “No need for me to stay here and have an old woman fuss over me.”

“She's not going to fuss over you, Grandpa. Besides it's a long trip up and back. It would wear you out.” She turned to Bryan. “I know you're still upset about the move, but I promise we'll work it out. Seattle isn't the end of the world, you know.”

Her voice had a soft, soothing quality, but Bryan wasn't buying it. He grabbed his plate and carried it to the kitchen counter. The plate clattered on the tile.

“The judge will listen to me. I'll make him listen.” He whirled and marched out the back door.

Paige's face paled. “I wish there was something I could do to help him understand.”

Jay shoved his plate aside. “It's not too late to consider an alternative. Shared custody. Something that would help Bryan.”

Slowly, she glanced at Grandpa then shook her head. Jay was right. Grandpa would never agree to moving to Seattle.

“We've had this discussion before,” she said to Jay. “Krissy wanted me to raise Bryan. It's the one thing I can do for her, and I intend to do it to the best of my ability. Besides, I love my nephew, pouty lower lip and all.”

Jay couldn't hold her gaze. He got up and started the kitchen cleanup. She'd earned the right to be Bryan's guardian. She'd done everything she could to get to know the boy. She'd stayed here for nearly two weeks when she probably should have gone back to Seattle to protect her job.

Maybe she was right. Bryan would have more opportunities in Seattle. Better schooling. A chance to see the Mariners play in person. Hear a symphony. Go to first-run movies without driving as far as Kalispell.

Bryan would have a good life with Paige.

But would Bryan make good on his threat to run away? If the boy headed to the high country, he might try to stay out there on his own.

A knot twisted in Jay's gut. How could he stop Bryan if the boy was determined to go off on his own? The kid was only twelve! He couldn't survive for long by himself.

When the kitchen was back in order, Jay went out to his quarters. He dropped down on the lumpy couch and stared at the photograph of his beloved wife.

“What should I do, Annie? Paige is a good woman. I think you'd like her. She's a strong woman like you were.”

Leaning back, he scrubbed his hands over his face. How could he objectively weigh what Bryan wanted versus Paige's desire to follow her sister's wishes? There seemed to be no good answer. No middle ground.

Night began to creep in through the windows. He was about to turn on a light when there was a knock on the door.

Jay's heart skipped a beat.
Paige?