Montana Wishes

by Amy Vastine

  Without waiting for a response, she pulled him outside. The sun was blinding and Blake shielded his eyes with his hand.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, knowing he wasn’t. The question gave him permission to let it all out.

  “What is going on in there? I thought we were coming here to find Lily a dress, and the next thing I know, I’m getting married in the winter instead of the summer because Nadia finds a dress with faux fur that she falls in love with? What kind of marriage is this going to be if we can’t even compromise about when we should get married?”

  Amanda let him vent all his feelings about that, and none of them were good. When he was finally finished, she took him by both hands. “Look at me,” she said, standing in front of him. “Take a deep breath. It’s not like you to lose your temper like that.”

  Blake was the chillest guy. He was an easygoing, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. This was not how he usually handled himself. Amanda admitted this had been building for a while.

  “You’re upset and tired. Maybe what you need to do is not pop her bubble right now. She thinks she’s in love with that dress. Maybe you ask her to put it on hold while you two have a more reasonable conversation about what you want in the privacy of your room at the cabin versus in public in front of the nice woman running the bridal shop.”

  He hung his head. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.”

  “You need to take a few more deep breaths and get yourself together. Then you need to go back in there and apologize profusely.”

  “I know.”

  His dad had been a yeller when Blake was growing up. It was not Mr. Collins’s most redeeming quality. It was the one trait Blake tried very hard not to emulate. It sometimes made him more passive than assertive, but he usually felt that was a reasonable trade-off.

  “Amanda?” The sound of her name made her turn around. Logan had a box in his arms and car keys in his hand.

  “Hey, Logan. How are you?”

  Logan put the box in the back of the blue pickup truck parked on the side of the street in front of him. “I’m good. Hey, Blake.”

  Blake took a very deep breath. “Logan,” he said in his exhalation.

  “What brings you guys to Overland?” he asked.

  Amanda nodded in the direction of the bridal shop. “My sister and his fiancée are dress shopping. We are taking a break from all the discussions on tulle, lace and crystal beading.”

  Logan laughed. “I don’t blame y’all for that. I’m happy to see you, though. I was disappointed I didn’t get that call about breakfast.”

  The timing of this conversation could not be any worse. She felt her neck turning red from the awkwardness. “Funny story. See, my phone fell in a pond. Totally ruined it. I lost everything that hadn’t been backed up to the cloud, including your number since it was the last one put in there.”

  He seemed pleasantly surprised. “Oh, well, that’s a better excuse than I was expecting.”

  “We just got new phones this morning. I have the same number. If you text me, then I’ll have your number again,” she said.

  “Great. I can do that. Maybe we can get together for breakfast?”

  There was no way she could turn him down when he flashed her that smile with dimples in full effect. “That would be great.”

  “Great.” Logan was still grinning.

  “Great,” she replied, not knowing what else to say.

  “Great!” Blake chimed in. “Well, we’ll see you later, Logan. Lots of wedding planning yet to do before we head back to San Diego. Where we live. Where we’ve lived since we were born. Where we live permanently.”

  Amanda internally cringed. Logan’s face fell and he took a step back. The poor guy did not deserve any of Blake’s pent-up frustration.

  “Well, hopefully we can see each other before you go back.” He gave her a little wave goodbye and started for his truck.

  “Hopefully,” Amanda said, raising her hand in farewell.

  Once Logan was safe inside his truck, she turned on Blake. “Not cool. I know you’re having a minor crisis here, but it is not fair to treat Logan like that.”

  “Why are you leading this guy on? Are you really planning on dating this guy long-distance? What is the point of pretending you’re going to call him?”

  This was the same fight they had just ended without being resolved a couple of nights ago. She didn’t understand why he was so bothered. Was he really so worried that she was going to move to Montana? If she did, it wouldn’t be because of Logan.

  “Being nice to someone and having breakfast with them—neither of those things are leading anyone on. Can you stay focused on your own problems and not make new ones with me?”

  Blake threw his hands up. “I don’t want you to move to Falcon Creek, okay? I want you to come back to California with me. Sorry if that’s selfish or me being too involved in your love life or whatever you think I’m doing. I don’t care. I don’t want to get married in the winter and I don’t want you to move. Nadia doesn’t seem to care what I have to say about anything—do you?”

  “Don’t compare these two things because they are not the same. You and your fiancée need to talk about your wedding date. Plain and simple, that’s an issue that you need to resolve because it involves both of you. Me going to breakfast with Logan doesn’t have anything to do with you. It doesn’t have anything to do with where I live or where you want me to live. You don’t get to treat him like a jerk because he’s being nice to me and because you and Nadia are having issues.” She opened the door to the shop and went inside, leaving him out there to think about how he wanted to talk to the people in his life. She wasn’t going to tolerate it and neither was Nadia.

  Speaking of Nadia, she was busy giving her two cents about the dress Lily had tried on. “I really like that little bit of crystal beading around the waist. It’s not too much, but it really elevates the whole look of the dress.”

  Lily spun around in front of the full-length mirror in the back. The dress had a brocade skirt, cut at the waist, and a crepe long-sleeved V-neck on top. The crystal beading adorned her waist in the front of the dress. Because they only had one dress to try on in each style, it wasn’t exactly Lily’s size. They had it clipped in the back to make it fit better in the front. It was supposed to be tighter fitting in the arms than it was.

  “What do you think?” Lily asked Amanda, gazing at her through the mirror.

  “You look beautiful. The more important question is, what do you think?”

  Lily slipped her hands in the pockets in the skirt of the dress and checked herself out from all angles. “It’s what I was looking for. Simple but not too simple. I love the texture of the skirt. I like that I’ll be able to accessorize with a cool necklace. I feel pretty in this one.”

  Amanda realized how different this dress shopping experience was from the last. Lily hadn’t even had an opinion the first time; she had wanted Amanda to just pick something. Maybe that was another red flag Amanda had failed to notice. Lily hadn’t wanted to marry Danny, so it hadn’t mattered what she looked like.

  With Conner, it was different. It mattered, so she wanted it to be right. That was why she was so critical of everything they had looked at until now. She had been worried she wouldn’t find the dress for this wedding, the wedding to the right man.

  Amanda smiled at her sister. “I’m glad you found something you like.”

  “Where’s Blake?” Nadia asked.

  Amanda was about to say he was still outside when he appeared. “Right here. Can we talk for a second?” Nadia seemed hesitant. “I promise I will not raise my voice. I’m sorry I did that.” He glanced over at Amanda when he said it, like he meant it for her, too.

  They went outside, leaving Lily and Amanda with the saleswoman.

  “I know I should try some more on, but I really like this one.”


  “When you know, you know. Why waste your time looking around for something else when what you want is right in front of you?”

  “Good point,” Lily said, taking one last look at herself. “Let’s send a couple pictures to Fiona for one more opinion.”

  Amanda pulled out her phone to take the picture and noticed a text from an unknown number.

  Great to see you again. Hope it wasn’t the last time.

  Logan. Was she leading him on by agreeing that they could get breakfast before she went back home? Why not go on an innocent date? Shouldn’t she give guys a chance, because who knew—maybe she would find someone who didn’t want kids. It wasn’t like what she wanted was standing right in front of her. She glanced in the direction Blake and Nadia had gone. He may have been everything she wanted, but he wasn’t the one she could have.

  “Smile,” Amanda said as she prepared to take the picture. She took a few and sent them all to Fiona. It didn’t take long for their baby sister to give her enthusiastic approval.

  “So, you’ve decided?” the saleswoman asked.

  “Yes. I would like to order this one.”

  “Wonderful! I’ll need to take your measurements.”

  Amanda went to find somewhere to sit while Lily got sized and Nadia and Blake made up. So much for her telling him that she didn’t want him to marry Nadia until he was truly sure about her. The woman wanted to buy a dress. How could Amanda interfere now?

  She decided to text Logan back. One breakfast wasn’t going to change anything. It was a chance to not be a third wheel for a few hours, though, and that had never been more desirable than it was today.

  Doughnuts and coffee tomorrow at 8?

  Logan was quick to reply. See you then!

  Amanda dropped her phone into her purse. She had a date. In Montana. She had no idea what she was doing. She was trying to not fall apart like everything else in her life.

  Lily had finished getting her measurements and walked up to the checkout counter with the saleswoman to put a down payment on her dress. This was really happening.

  “Did your friend also want to pay the down payment on her dress?” the woman behind the counter asked.

  Lily glanced at Amanda, who didn’t want to interrupt those two to ask. She shrugged back at her sister.

  “We’re not really sure,” Lily replied with a pasted-on smile.

  Amanda could see them standing outside, deep in conversation. She could see Blake’s face and he didn’t look happy. It was killing her not to know what they were talking about. This conflict was stirring up those protective feelings again. He deserved to marry the perfect woman. The one who would make him smile all the time. Nadia had done nothing today but make him defensive and frustrated.

  “I’m going to go out there and see what they’ve decided,” she announced. Lily gave her a good-luck thumbs-up.

  “Then I guess that’s it,” Nadia said when Amanda stepped outside. They both turned their attention to her.

  “Lily is putting money down on the dress. The lady is wondering if you were going to do that, too, or not.”

  Nadia’s eyes went back to Blake. “We’re going to hold off for now.”

  The rush of relief that Amanda felt was indescribable. Maybe he had called the whole thing off like she had wanted. Blake held Nadia’s hand and brought it up to his lips, dashing those hopes instantly. Amanda would have to be happy with the fact that they weren’t going to get married the same time as Lily, at least. Blake had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want to get married in the winter, and it seemed that Nadia had listened and was willing to compromise.

  They headed back to the ranch, and all Amanda wanted was to get Blake alone and find out what had happened. That was not a possibility. Nadia was attached at the hip to Blake the rest of the day. Hadley agreed to meet with them and take Nadia on a tour of the property and to the wedding barn.

  Amanda realized this was what her future would be like. This was how it would be when they were married. Thinking about what it would be like and experiencing what it would be like were two very different things. There was no way she could share a cabin with those two. She had to give them their space and protect herself.

  “Can I move into your cabin?” she asked Lily while they were eating lunch together in the dining hall.

  “Sure. But why?”

  “Do you really have to ask? I can’t be in there with them. It’s too weird.”

  “Of course you can stay with me. If you can handle my messiness.”

  If the choice was between some clutter and having to see Nadia and Blake be together, her sister’s dirty laundry won every time. “After lunch, let’s go back and move my stuff.”

  Lily took a bite of her salad. “What are you going to say to Blake?”

  “I’ll say it’s because of Clancy. Nadia doesn’t like him.”

  “She doesn’t like Clancy? What kind of person doesn’t love that guy? He’s the sweetest dog ever.”

  “She’s not a fan of his size or his interest in her.” Amanda understood that Clancy’s size would be overwhelming, but it was shocking that Blake would consider being with someone who didn’t love animals of all shapes and sizes. “It will be completely believable and she’ll be relieved. Blake won’t question it.”

  Lily shook her head. “And so it begins.”

  “Why do you keep saying that? What begins?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Blake is going to make sure everything is hunky-dory.” Lily went back to eating her salad.

  Amanda wanted to believe that was true. “In other news, I have a breakfast date tomorrow morning.”

  Lily dropped her fork. “What?”

  “I ran into Logan outside the bridal shop. He texted me and I asked him to meet me for breakfast.” Her sister’s eyes were wide and her mouth agape. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a nice distraction.”

  “Conner is going to freak out.”

  Amanda’s forehead creased. “Why would Conner freak out?”

  “That’s his best friend. He is Conner’s Blake. He’ll want to know that you’re not going to break his heart.”

  Wow. This was not what Amanda needed to hear. “I’m eating breakfast, not trying to win the guy’s heart. He knows I don’t live here. I don’t know why he even wants to spend any more time with me, but he does. I’m sure we’re both on the same page that this isn’t going to be something more than breakfast.”

  “Well, maybe he’ll steal your heart and you’ll move out here.”

  Amanda shook her head. “Why would you even want me out here? I thought you were trying to assert yourself as your own person, be independent. How would I fit into your new life exactly?”

  Before she could answer, she heard a familiar voice over her shoulder. “If it isn’t my two favorite Harrisons.”

  Conner pulled up a chair and sat down with the sisters. Lily leaned over and gave him a kiss. “If it isn’t my second-favorite Hannah.”

  “Ouch,” he said, pressing his hand against his chest.

  “You know you’ll never outshine your mother.”

  He smiled and gently tugged on the loose strands of hair that weren’t pulled up in her ponytail. “Truer words were never spoken.”

  They were painfully cute together. They were happy. They were going to have a wonderful life together.

  “Guess who’s having breakfast with your best friend tomorrow?” Lily said, getting right to it.

  Conner’s expression dampened a bit. “You’re having breakfast with Logan?”

  “Is that bad?” Amanda asked.

  “Conner!” Ethan Blackwell came running into the dining hall, panic written all over his face. “We’ve got a horse tangled up in some barbed wire fencing on the southwest side of the grazing paddock. I need your help.”


  Conner didn’t hesitate. He sprang into action. Lily followed. “I’m helping!” she shouted after the men.

  “We’re helping.” Amanda couldn’t stand the thought of an animal in distress. She was on her feet before Lily.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  HADLEY PACED BACK and forth. “Ethan said he was going to find Conner and get out here as fast as he could.”

  Blake hated feeling helpless, especially when it came to an animal in danger. “I wish I had something to distract him with. He looks so afraid.”

  “I’m so glad you noticed him when we were driving by,” she said.

  “Is someone coming?” Nadia shouted from the car.

  Blake walked over to her. “Yeah. We’re waiting for them to get here.”

  “Could we go back to the cabin and Hadley can wait for them to come?” she asked.

  “I want to help the horse, Nadia. If that poor thing injures its leg bad enough, they’ll have to put it down. I don’t want to see that happen, so anything I can do, I want to do.” Helping animals was in his blood. It was a passion he’d had as long as he could remember. He’d thought he was weird for feeling that way until he met Amanda.

  Conner’s pickup truck towing a horse trailer came barreling down the dirt path and to a quick stop behind Hadley’s car. Conner, Ethan, Lily and Amanda all jumped out.

  Amanda seemed surprised to see him there. “What are you doing here?”

  “We visited the barn and Hadley decided to show us where other bridal parties have gone to take pictures. I saw this guy and noticed he didn’t seem to be able to move. Then I noticed the fence was all messed up. We called Ethan right away.”

  Conner grabbed tools out of the back of the truck, and Ethan had a small bundle of hay. “Lily, can you get the head collar and lead rope? We need to secure him so we can control where he goes and doesn’t go. Amanda, I need someone to feed him some hay while we work to free him from the fence.”