And what was worse was neither Rainey nor Brad stopped her tirade.
“Oh, God,” I moan as a fresh set of tears begins to burn again. Blindly, I grope for where I was certain I left the tissues last night, only to find them back on my nightstand. Along with my cell phone.
Then I sit up in a panic. “Oh, my God. The party.”
Heart pounding, I swipe away the tears and dash out of my room, grabbing my cell. Coming up short, I’m stunned to find my kitchen in practically immaculate condition. Pressing my shaking hand to my forehead, I spin toward the glass doors and find the fire was put out. Kody did this. He must have come looking for me, and I cringe at what he must have found.
Pulling out a stool, I open my cell to find it riddled with texts from my sister, Kara, and Maris. I can’t handle them just yet. Ignoring them, I pull up the online schedule for work at Nature’s Song to see if there’s anything I can be doing at the main residence to distract me today. A quick check of the schedule disabuses me of that idea as the guys are ripping out insulation and replacing it with spray foam.
A key in the lock captures my attention. I blurt out as Kody enters, holding my key aloft, “You’re supposed to be dealing with the insulation. It’s too bad they can’t spray me with it.”
“Yeah, but we don’t know if you’d survive. This isn’t carbon freezing. I suspect you’d suffocate.”
His eyes are bloodshot, face unshaven. There are lines bracketing his mouth that don’t belong there. It’s disconcerting, because this isn’t the Kody I know. The normally laid-back man I’ve known for years is gone. Yet, for a man who has always been such a bright force, it’s his darkness calling to me on an elemental level.
Without a word, I move toward him. He holds himself still, waiting. I slide my hand over his heart to find it pounding. Raising my eyes over his plaid-covered chest, to his exposed neck, the underside of his jaw, I finally whisper, “I went to bed feeling alone and cold and woke up feeling cherished. It’s the first time in too many years I experienced that.”
With a groan, his strong arms pull me into his body. All those times we lay next to each other talking, how did I never wonder we’d ever fit against each other like this?
“I did too,” he murmurs into my hair. “Way too many nights.”
I choke, realizing I spoke out loud.
Pulling back, some of the lines have eased. I reach up and trace them. “I’m sorry I flaked out on last night.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Flower.”
“Are you sure?” I can’t stop the uncertainty in my voice.
“If anyone has any apologies to make, it will be me to Shane.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
Kody leans down and nuzzles my ear before whispering, “Because we’re going to play hooky. Have you eaten?”
“No. I just got up.”
“Go get dressed. I have an idea.” He pulls back, and his sea-colored eyes are twinkling.
Suddenly the idea of escaping everything to be with Kody sounds perfect. “I just need a few minutes.”
When Kody lets me go, I miss the warmth of his embrace. Then I freeze when he says, “I’ve waited a long time for our first date, Ms. Borneman. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
My lips part in surprise before I turn to make a dash back to my bedroom. I don’t even care that I hear his low laugh behind me.
Maybe some part of me has been waiting too.
After stopping for some drive-thru coffee, we begin to drive almost with no destination in mind. At least I’d think that if it weren’t for the voice telling Kody to make an occasional left or right before notifying us we have thirty-five miles until we reach our destination.
“I’m going to have whiplash by the time we get back,” I tell him. The scenery out the windows is beyond magnificent.
He points to some mountains in the distance. “That’s Glacier National Park over there. When the weather warms up, I want to take the Road to the Sun.”
Twisting toward him, I declare, “So do I. But you know we can see the glacier even now.”
He doesn’t take his eyes off the graveled road, but his lips curve. “Sounds like another date.”
And again, emotions reminding me of the days that were flood through me, and my mouth speaks before my mind can hold it back. “If this one works out, then maybe.”
He begins to retort, but before he can, a call comes through. I tense when I see it’s Brad. Kody doesn’t hesitate before sending the call to voicemail. “I’m impressed, Meadow. You haven’t asked me where we’re going.”
“Because I suspect I know,” I tell him.
“Do you?” The phone rings again. This time it’s Jennings. Again, Kody declines it.
“You don’t want to answer the guys?” I’m confused. These are the Jacks. If they’re calling back-to-back, something must be really wrong. And unless there’s a tragedy, in which case my phone would be blowing up as well, the only thing wrong would be…
Me.
“Kody?”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” I whisper. Suddenly my stomach rolls as Kody whips the truck off to a scenic photo stop.
Jamming his finger to put us in park, he demands, “How did you know what they’re calling about?”
“What else could it be? First, my children tell me they want to live with Aunt Rainey and Uncle Brad. Now, the Jacks are frantically calling you? It’s not hard to piece together. I just want to know what I did to alienate everyone when just a few weeks ago it felt like they supported me.” My eyes drift over the trees that were caught in the wildfire that made national news a few years ago that are just starting to grow again.
Kind of like me.
A painful silence engulfs the car. Reaching for the handle, I mumble, “I need to get some air.”
“Meadow, this isn’t about you,” he begins.
And fury whips through me.
“The hell it’s not,” I lash out as I face him. “I don’t know why you don’t have children, Kody. You’re perfect husband and father material. And I prayed you’d be happy. That’s all I wanted for you from the moment I told you I got married—that you find some woman who’d steal your heart and make you forget all about that wretched moment between us, even if I never could.”
“Maybe I couldn’t either,” he counters.
I shake my head because to believe him makes my heart hurt more than it already does. “I thought I knew what love was. I was so wrong.”
His hands tense on the steering wheel, but he doesn’t interrupt me. “But the love I have for my children is absolute. Being Elise and MJ’s mom means loving them enough to sacrifice anything, including my honor. Having children means giving up on your dreams so theirs come true. And I thought I was doing that. I fought for them, and each night since the divorce, I died inside for them. Now, they want me to give them up. Apparently so do Rainey and Brad, who didn’t say a damn word to stop them. Then Rainey said we’d discuss it when we were calmer. As if that would ever be the case.” Even as I spit the words out, I recognize the shock on Kody’s face.
“That’s what happened?”
“And now it looks like they’re trying to get you involved too. So why don’t you give them a call back?” I gesture angrily.
And I pretend bravado when he pushes a button on his steering wheel and says, “Call-Jennings-Cell.”
The powerful engine is the only sound other than the ringing of the phone. “Kody, thank God. No one can reach Meadow—”
“If you all think for one second I’m going to help anyone get her kids away from her after the hell she’s survived, you’re out of your fucking minds. Jed would be ashamed of all of you.” Then he disconnects the call.
My lips fall open, but no words come out. I know because I can taste the tears on my face after Kody tells me, “Last night, Brad told me I had a choice. I had a choice to declare right then and there where this was going or I was out.”
“I’m giving you the same honesty I gave to Brad. There’s something between us, but I refuse to be dictated to. I’m a different man and you’re a different woman than we were all those years ago.” His head ducks and the sunlight bounces off the gold streaks of his hair. I want to sink my hand into it to pull him closer, but is that my right? “I want the chance to explore that. He said it wasn’t good enough. What you just told me? Everything’s worth that.”
“Forget what I have the right to do.” I flick off my seat belt and launch myself at him over the console.
He clutches me to him. “What do you mean by that?”
“I wanted to hold you while you were telling me about the Jacks. I wasn’t sure if I could. Should.”
Letting out a sigh that blows across the top of my hair, he admits, “Should. This absolutely goes on the should list.”
We sit there for a few moments holding on to each other before he eases me back into my seat. “Come on. Now, I really want to get where we’re going.”
“Which is?” I don’t bother to hide wiping my fingers under my eyes.
“Supposedly the best bear claws in this part of the state.” He glances over. “Are you buckled up?”
Quickly, I snap my belt in place. “Yep.”
“Then let’s get going.”
The rest of the ride to Polebridge I spend asking him about his crew. What I get are a crazy riot of stories that have me in stitches. “There’s enough material here for you to write a book!” I screech at one point.
Just as we pull into the small gravel lot behind a sign indicating the unincorporated community of Polebridge, Kody flashes me a wicked grin. “Maybe one day when they can no longer aim power tools at me. Now, wait for me. I’ll be right around.”
As Kody slides from the car, I reach for my cell. Pulling up the list of activities I was waiting to share with my kids when they arrived in Montana, I almost hit Delete on the whole damn thing. Instead, I look at the third item on the list and just remove it.
Go to Polebridge for huckleberry bear claws
Instead of experiencing this unique place for the first time with my children, Kody and I are about to step into the unknown together.
Kody
I knock on the wall outside the room so I don’t startle Meadow where she’s priming the walls with Kilz. She’s rolling the paint on the walls while humming along to some song I don’t recognize. It’s catchy and if it’s any indication of her mood, she’s in good spirits.
That’s perfect for what I have planned.
“I know you’re there.” Meadow executes a perfect spin while holding the roller full of the thick primer as she attacks another spot in the small room Jed used to love that overlooks the water. It was a great surprise to us both to come back from Polebridge and find new doors replacing the shattered ones.
“That was the idea. I didn’t want you to…” I’m stunned speechless as Meadow begins to use the roller as a microphone before dipping it back into the paint tray. “Whatever you had this morning, I want some.”
A smile lights her face. “I just feel good in this room now that the windows were replaced. Don’t you?”
Come to think of it… “You’re right.” Approaching her from behind, I grab the roller out of her hand as the song tells us to move. Laying my hand on top of hers, I absorb her laughter into my soul as I help her paint the wall. When we drain the roller dry, I pull it from her hands and toss it into the pan.
Amid drop cloths and paint fumes, I spin Meadow in a tight circle, careful not to step in any obvious globs of paint.
“You know how to show a girl a good time, Kody.”
“Well, thank you, Ms. Borneman. I sure do try, but I think I can do better.” I waggle my eyebrows.
Meadow’s hand slaps against my chest. “Stop before I end up falling on my butt in a paint puddle.”
Glancing around, I roar over the amount of Kilz on the floor. “How much have you actually got on the walls, Flower?”
“The job said to get the walls covered. There was no requirement on how much I had to avoid hitting the floor,” she informs me loftily.
“Remind me to have one of the guys do the ceiling, or you might have to shave your head.”
“So, I’m a sloppy painter. What are you going to do about it?”
“Hmm. I was thinking about asking you out on our second date.”
“Fifth,” she corrects me.
I frown down at her. “We’ve only been to Polebridge, Meadow.”
“And we’ve been together every night since either at my house or here.”
“Those weren’t exactly dates.”
She bends down to pick up the roller, and I let out a small groan of appreciation. Twisting her head, her hair comes perilously close to landing in the pan. “Why not?” she demands.
“You cooked while I sat at your kitchen counter. I brought subs here while we went over work. And last night…”
“We had leftovers. But the real questions you should be asking are did I want to be there, and did you kiss me good night?” She straightens, brandishing the roller like a weapon.
I growl, “I hope the answers are yes and hell yes.”
“Since they are, then they count as a date. Now, I’m on a tighter schedule than I thought I was since I have an important date to impress and you’re a distraction, Mr. Laurence.”
Bravely, as she’s still holding the roller, I get back into Meadow’s personal space. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Six. Okay.”
“Meadow?”
“Yes?
“You okay?”
She stops. For a moment, the joy disappears and I see what’s beneath the dancing—a woman who’s fighting to find her happy. I want to kick myself for taking that moment away from her.
“I’m an idiot,” I rasp.
“According to Shane, you are for ordering the wrong kind of nails, but that appears to be the kind of thing I don’t know much about. I can’t wade in to save you.”
“I think you may already be doing that.” And without thinking, I pull Meadow in as close as I can. My lips brush hers once, twice, before settling down for a longer, more intense kiss that leaves us both breathless as we pull back.
Meadow licks her lips. “Whoa.” Then she goes to raise her hand to her cheek and whacks herself smack in the lips with the roller. “Oh, gross.” She begins spitting.
I’m wheezing as I clasp my knees in order to stay upright. As Meadow paces around swiping her face, it reminds me of Jed the first time a girl at the Lumberjack show pounced on him and kissed him. For just a second, I’m transported back to Ketchikan with Jed clomping around the apartment we shared, spitting out mouthwash in every available sink and demanding, “Do I look like the kind of guy girls should throw themselves at? Christ Jesus, if you got that axe in the right spot, they’d have crawled all over you, Kody.”
Right then, remembering Jed, remembering that time with him, makes me stalk Meadow amid her grumbling and place a huge kiss right in the middle of the splotch of primer. “Get your groove on, Meadow. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“I’ll be the one that looks like an art project!”
But even as she starts to paint again, I still hover for a few moments to make certain she’s okay.
A few minutes after six, I pull up to the guest house. Ringing the bell, I hold the flowers to the side so she can’t see them. I thought the florist’s head was going to pop off when I went in a few days ago with my request. “But they have to be blue,” I stressed.
“There’s a whole bunch of lovely flowers here,” she tried to dissuade me.
I started to make my way to the door.
“I’ll have to special order them,” she panicked at the thought of losing a sale. “You do realize many people don’t think of them as flowers at all.”
“I’m not one of them. As for cost, just bill my card.” I pulled o
ut my wallet to hand it to her.
I hope Meadow appreciates them. As for me, they remind me of roads in Alaska that would be dotted with them, reminiscent of Meadow even when I wasn’t able to see her because of my obligations in Ketchikan.
The bouquet was originally wrapped in paper. When I first took it from the florist, I knew something was wrong about it. Finally, after dressing in jeans and a dressier shirt, I realized what it was. I tore the paper off and grabbed the natural twine I had in my suite, careful not to damage the beautiful blue buds. Using careful fingers, I tied a simple bow around the bouquet.
Now, it’s perfect. It’s something I would have given to her seventeen years ago as well as now. I don’t want her wondering how much it cost; I only want her knowing it came from one place.
My heart.
When Meadow flings open the door, I forget about the damn flowers. Hell, I forget my own name. There’s nothing in my head except the glow emanating from her. Forget spending time removing the primer from her skin, Meadow worked some secret woman magic—the kind I know my mother passed down to my sisters—to turn into the siren standing before me.
“You’re beautiful,” I manage to get out. I’ve always thought so, but the young girl has only evolved into an evocative woman who tantalizes me more than I ever thought anyone could.
Even Meadow herself.
I was right, I think fiercely. I couldn’t tell Brad how I feel about her, even if I caved, because I’m just learning. What I feel for Meadow is so much more intense than what I felt all those years ago. It’s a hundred times more intense as I stare at her in simple leggings, boots, and a blue top that’s fitted yet slouchy with a dropped neckline.
“And you’re charming. Come on in.” She backs up, and I enter. “I just have to grab a jacket, and then I’ll…”
Return by Land (Glacier Adventure Series Book 2) Page 16