Stolen Away (Hearts of Montana)

by Jennie Marts

  They had all been together again last night—Cash, Zack, Sophie, Charlie, and her—sitting around the table enjoying the evening meal. She’d filled her stomach with spaghetti and garlic bread and had loved listening to the farm talk and the easy banter among the friends. She interjected a little, but was really content to listen and just be part of their world.

  Cherry had dropped by around seven, just as Zack and Sophie were leaving for the night. Cash had left earlier to complete the night’s chores, and she and Charlie had just finished cleaning the kitchen.

  Sophie had taken one look at the dress and declared that she had the perfect necklace for it. She’d told Emma she’d bring it with her in the morning and that she just had to wear it. Emma had chuckled at the teenager’s enthusiasm and promised she would wear whatever Sophie brought her.

  After they’d left, Charlie had poured the three women each a glass of wine, and they had sat around talking for another hour. It had been so long since Emma had visited with friends, she wanted to weep at the sheer loveliness of the scene.

  It had been a good night, and Emma had gone to bed with a full belly, a head buzzing with wine, and a feeling of being safe for the first time in a long time. She’d drifted off to sleep thinking about the moment in the barn when Cash had almost kissed her. The way his lips had barely brushed hers, filling her with hunger and a need for more.

  It was a terrible idea, getting involved with him, getting involved with anyone, really. She knew that. She needed to focus on herself and get her own life back on track. The last thing she needed was to get entangled in a fling with a bad-boy cowboy.

  Because that’s what it would be to him. A fling. A momentary distraction. She knew his reputation. He didn’t do relationships.

  So she’d told herself she wouldn’t get involved. But she could still enjoy thinking about him. Thinking about kissing him and dreaming of being held in his arms. Thinking about him wouldn’t hurt anything.

  The only problem was that she was spending way too much time thinking about him. Thinking about what it would be like to be with him, in his arms, or better yet, in his bed.

  Pushing him out of her mind, she focused on finishing getting ready. She slipped her feet into the pair of white tennis shoes she’d worn for her last waitressing job. She would probably need new ones, but would have to wait until she got an actual paycheck before she considered a new pair of shoes.

  She took a look at herself in the full-length mirror hanging on the back of the bedroom door. Not having Cherry’s curves, the dress hung loosely on her, but the color was good and accented her skin tone.

  Sophie had dropped by with a necklace for her on the way to school. It was a short strand of multicolored glass beads. The bubbled beads varied in shades of purple, teal, and pink, and the teenager had been right that it went perfectly with the waitress uniform.

  Emma smiled as she touched the fun piece of jewelry. She didn’t care what the necklace looked like—she would have worn a circle of macaroni around her neck if Sophie had brought her one. She loved the teenager’s enthusiasm and that Sophie cared enough about her to pick something out and bring it by so she would feel pretty on her first day.

  In that respect, she’d taken a little extra time getting ready this morning, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail and brushing on a little eyeshadow and a trace of mascara. She hadn’t worn eye makeup in a long time, but had thrown some in when she and Charlie had stopped by the house to get her a few more things the day before.

  Leroy had hated it when she’d worn any makeup, said it made her look like a slut, and it wasn’t worth spending the money on stuff that you just washed off every night.

  Yeah, much better to spend their money on beer that he drank and pissed away every night. Anger and resentment filled her as she thought about Leroy, and that was the last thing she needed as she started her new job. Instead, she took a deep breath, calming her nerves, and told herself she could do this.

  Twenty minutes later, she parked her car in the alley behind the diner, not wanting to take up a spot in front of the café, and approached the glass door of Cherry’s Diner.

  The breakfast rush hadn’t started yet, but she could see a few customers already at the tables and the counter.

  Her heart pounded against her chest, and she could feel her hands beginning to shake. Squeezing her fingers into fists, she remembered Cash’s words from the day before.

  Imagine what it would feel like to be brave and then just pretend that you are.

  If she really were brave, she wouldn’t care what the town of Broken Falls thought about her, she would only be concerned with doing a good job for Cherry and helping her business to do well. If she really were brave, she would plaster on a smile and walk into the diner like she knew what she was doing and had every right to be there.

  Imagine you are brave then pretend that you are.

  She took a deep breath, put a smile on her face, and opened the front door.

  Five hours later, she’d forgotten all about her fears, too caught up in the job and taking care of customers to be concerned with being brave or fearless.

  When she’d first gotten there, Cherry had spent twenty minutes filling her in on where to find everything, how the cash register worked, and how to prepare orders for Stan.

  Then the morning crowd had filled in, and she’d been off and running. She knew how to keep coffee and soda cups full and had enough waitressing experience to keep the orders straight and the customers happy.

  Cherry had left mid-morning to take care of Sam. She had another waitress, a teenage girl named Sara who’d graduated the year before, who came in as she was leaving, so Emma never felt like she had to take care of the restaurant all on her own.

  Her feet were killing her, but she was actually having fun. And she’d collected a nice pocketful of tip money already. A few people had mentioned her ex, and a few had asked invasive questions trying to get at the juicy gossip of her and Leroy’s split, but most had been kind and simply welcomed her back to town.

  She felt good as she raced around the counter and passed another order to Stan. He had been a great help that morning, showing her around the kitchen and teaching her the order lingo he preferred. He made her laugh, and his kind and gentle nature had her feeling completely at ease around him.

  She glanced around the diner, noting that the lunch rush was finally tapering off, as she topped off a cup of coffee for a customer at the counter. She looked up as the front door of the diner opened, a smile ready on her face to welcome the new customers.

  Her heart leaped to her throat as she recognized the tall, dark-haired cowboy who walked in and flashed her a panty-melting grin. He ambled up to the counter, greeting a few townsfolk as he passed them, but his smile was just for her as he straddled a stool in front of her. “Hey darlin’, you look awful pretty today.”

  Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. Had he noticed the light makeup or that she’d taken the extra time with her hair? Or did he say that to all the girls? After working all morning, she likely looked a mess. Most of the mascara had probably faded, and she reached to tuck the loose strands of hair back into her ponytail. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

  He grinned, apparently unfazed by her messy hairdo. “How’s your first day going?”

  Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed, trying to think of something clever to say. “Good,” she croaked, which wasn’t clever in the least. She cleared her throat. “Really good. It’s going really well. I’m having fun.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  She held up the pot she was still holding. “You want some coffee?”

  “Nah, but I wouldn’t mind a glass of iced tea, when you’ve got the time. Charlie needed something in town, so we thought we’d come in for lunch, see how your first day was going. She had to grab something at the drugstore, then she’ll be over.”

  “Wow. That was really nice. You guys didn’t have to do that.”

  “I know. But we wanted
to.”

  Why did every word out of his mouth sound sexy and sinful? He could have been talking about the weather, and the drawl of his voice would still send shivers of heat up her spine.

  “I’ll get you that iced tea.” Her hands shook as she scooped ice into a red tumbler and filled it with tea. She’d been doing so well, but this man made her all kinds of nervous. It didn’t help that his chin was covered in a sexy smudge of dark whiskers and his aftershave smelled amazing.

  She couldn’t believe he and Charlie had taken the time to come into town just to support her on her first day at work. Who did that?

  Friends. Friends did that.

  And Charlie was really beginning to feel like a friend. So was Cash. She reminded herself of the way he’d introduced her a few days before as his friend. But friends didn’t kiss each other.

  Although she and Cash hadn’t really kissed, either. They almost had, but almost didn’t count.

  Just thinking about the “almost kiss” had her cheeks warming again, and she was glad to see Charlie walking into the diner as she set the glass of tea in front of him.

  Emma smiled warmly at the other woman as she approached the counter and slid onto the stool next to Cash. “Hey, Charlie.”

  “Hey, yourself. How’s it going?”

  “Good.”

  “Really good,” he said, giving her a wink as he teased her.

  Oh boy. Tingles of nerves fluttered in her stomach.

  “I’ll take a glass of that when you get a chance,” Charlie said, pointing to Cash’s tea. She waved through the window to the cook. “Hey Stan, can you make me a cheeseburger and fries, with the works? I’ve been writing all morning, and I’m starving.”

  “Make it two,” Cash said.

  Emma filled another glass with tea, and the three of them made small talk for a few more minutes, then Stan hollered as he set two heaping pink plates of food onto the window. “Order up.”

  Charlie waved her hand. “Go take care of your customers. Don’t mind us. We’re just here for the support and for Stan’s delicious fries.”

  “Right on, baby,” Stan called from the kitchen. “My fries do rock.”

  “We’ll grab a table and get out of your way.” Cash picked up their glasses, and they moved to a booth against the wall.

  Emma took care of the remaining customers, bustling around, bringing Charlie and Cash their burgers, and keeping the tables cleared. She and Sara split the bulk of the work, the teenager easygoing and friendly and patient with Emma’s questions and mistakes.

  So far, this job was going great. She was getting more comfortable, had nice coworkers, and she felt good about the work she was doing. She only hoped it would last.

  …

  Cash finished the last bite of his burger and pushed his plate away. “Damn, that was good.”

  “The burger or the woman you’ve been watching the last half an hour?” Charlie asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, come on. I’ve been watching you, and you haven’t taken your eyes off Emma the whole time we’ve been sitting here. You like her.”

  Charlie had only come into his life a few months ago, but they’d had an instant rapport and always got along well. And they spent a lot of time together working the farm and living in the same place. He didn’t let a lot of people in, but he cared about Charlie, and she already knew him better than most people did.

  Which was why there was no use trying to hide his obvious feelings for Emma from her. She’d just wheedle the truth out of him anyway. “Of course I like her. She’s sweet.”

  Charlie cocked an eyebrow at him and waited for him to go on.

  “All right. I like her, okay. I have this strange urge to take care of her. Protect her.”

  “That’s because you’re not as tough as you act. Zack told me that you’ve always been one to take in the wounded and hurt animals.”

  He sighed. “I know. And maybe that’s all this is. Maybe I just feel bad for her.”

  Charlie laughed. “If you just felt bad for her, you wouldn’t have been watching her the past hour like you wanted to lap her up. And you wouldn’t have been checking out her butt every time she walked by.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, probably not. She is a pretty little thing. She reminds me of a skittish mare—all full of spirit and grace, but timid and scared when you try to approach her.”

  “I can see that. She does seem to frighten easily. I find myself being careful with her, too.”

  “But I don’t just want to take care of her. She gets under my skin, like an itch I can’t quite scratch, and I can’t stop thinking about her.”

  “You’ve got it bad, mister.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, probably. But it doesn’t matter.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s barely divorced from a violent man who brutalized and degraded her for years.”

  “And?”

  “So she doesn’t need the likes of me in her life. You know I’m terrible at relationships. I run from commitment like it’s a house on fire and end up hurting every woman who’s tried to get me to settle down. I’m not about to do that to Emma.”

  He didn’t talk about the dark past that haunted his relationships or say that Emma didn’t need another man who had violence in his blood.

  “Maybe she is different,” Charlie said. “Maybe she’s the one who could break your streak of terrible relationships. You don’t have to hurt her.”

  “No, but I will. I always do. And she deserves better. She’s a sweet person with a big heart. She needs a nice guy. Someone who will treat her well and make her feel like a princess.”

  “You’re nice. Why can’t that be you?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “What? You are nice. When you want to be. I’ve seen you let down your guard with Sophie and do incredibly sweet things for her. And you’re totally patient and kind to every animal on our farm. Except for Clyde. But that old goat takes the patience of a saint.”

  “That’s true. But she needs more than just a guy who’s good with animals and nice to his goddaughter.” He glanced over, watching as Stan explained something on the cash register to Emma. She seemed relaxed as she smiled at the cook.

  A spark of jealousy lit in his gut as Stan wrapped an arm around Emma’s shoulder. He tamped it down as an idea came to him. “She needs a good guy. Someone who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Someone like Stan.”

  “Stan?”

  “Yeah, Stan. The guy’s good-looking and always freaking happy. He’s the most easygoing person I know. I’ve never seen him get mad or even raise his voice. He would be great for Emma, just what she needs.”

  “Hmm.” Before Charlie could say anything more, Stan approached the table, four plates of pie in his hands, and Emma on his heels.

  Stan set the pie on the table and slid into the seat next to Cash. “Hey, dude. We decided we needed a break after working so hard, and thought we could all use some pie. We brought a piece of each.” He gestured to the plates, a different flavor on each one.

  “We’ve got apple, pecan, chocolate silk, and lemon meringue.” Emma named the flavors as she set a full pot of coffee and four cups on the table and squeezed into the booth next to Charlie.

  Cash offered her a charming grin. “I’ve never been known to turn down a piece of pie. Especially when the pie looks this good.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of Emma’s lips, but she looked at her hands as she filled their cups with coffee.

  Charlie rolled her eyes at his flirty comment but didn’t say anything about it as she pulled a plate toward her. “I’ll take the apple.”

  “What do you want, Emma?” he asked and got a charge out of the way a pink tinge covered her cheeks.

  She shrugged. “I’m not picky. I’ll take whatever no one else wants.”

  Of course she would.

  He reached out an arm to block Stan as he reached for a plate. He looked Emma in the ey
e. “No, you’ve been working hard. You deserve to have the kind you like the best. Take what you want, Emma.”

  She stared back at him, as if gaining courage from his gaze, then nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll take the pecan. It’s always been my favorite.”

  His head tilted, and he offered her a smile of encouragement. “Then it’s yours.” He pulled his arm away and let Stan take the chocolate silk.

  Cash picked up his fork and stabbed at the flaky crust of the remaining piece of lemon meringue pie. “Cherry does make the best pie.”

  “I couldn’t make a pie if someone offered me a million dollars,” Charlie said.

  Emma laughed. “Me either.”

  “I’m a terrible baker. Sophie’s been trying to teach me how all summer.”

  “I do all right with cakes and cookies, but I’ve never been able to get the hang of pies.”

  “It’s never too late to learn something new.”

  “No, you’re right,” Emma said. “I’ve already learned a ton of new things today. Like how to make a cherry soda and how to run the cash register.”

  “Well, you’re working on learning how to run the register,” Stan teased. “I wouldn’t say you’ve mastered that one yet.”

  She laughed. “True. You’ll probably have to teach me that control-Y key thing another hundred times.”

  Cash watched the easy way she joked with Stan. The easygoing guy would be a good match for Emma. He could teach her to make a pie while they listened to reggae music and made tie-dye T-shirts.

  The thought of Emma with another guy had acid churning in his gut, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was what was good for Emma. And he knew that he wouldn’t be.

  But Stan could be.

  He pressed the tines of his fork against the remaining crumbs on his plate as he thought about how to get Emma and the cook together.

  Fortunately, he didn’t have to.

  Charlie did it for him. “Listen, Emma, it’s Friday, which means I don’t cook, and Zack takes us all out for pizza. You should come with us.”

  Emma glanced at him, and it was almost like he could hear her telling herself to be brave, to try new things. “Um, yeah, sure. I’ll come along.”