Rolling Like Thunder

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  She still couldn’t believe it. After years of frustration, she would get the chance she’d yearned for—to see if they could be a couple. And not just here, where he felt removed from the pressure cooker of his business. He was willing to risk putting it all on the line.

  He hadn’t mentioned love, but knowing Finn, he wouldn’t toss that word into the mix until he thought they had a decent shot at making it together. No point in telling someone you love them and then having to swear off that person for the rest of your life. She felt the same way, although the emotion rolling through her had to be connected to that four-letter word. Either that or she was coming down with the flu.

  Right after their food arrived, he came back in wearing a puzzled expression. She’d expected a smile. “Did you talk to her?”

  “I did.” He put his napkin in his lap. “And she made me promise to relay the message that she’s superexcited to meet you.”

  “Same here. But what about the cabin thing?” Her burger was huge, so she cut it in two before starting to eat. “How did she react to that?” She took a juicy bite.

  “Knowing Rosie, I think she’s messing with me. I explained the situation, which made her very happy that I’m involved with someone, especially someone she can get to know. She never met Alison.” He picked up his entire burger, but then, he had the hands for it. “She and Herb had planned to fly up to see us but we were fighting all the time and I told them not to come.” He took a healthy bite.

  “I guess I’d better be on my best behavior, then.”

  He swallowed his bite. “Your behavior is always your best, even when you’re being snarky.”

  “I’m going to start getting that way if you don’t tell me what she said about the cabin. Are we sleeping together or not?”

  “I’m pretty sure we are, but she said the Brotherhood cabin—that’s what we call the one all three of us stayed in—wasn’t a good idea and she had a better one.”

  “She’s not giving us a guest room in the house, after all, is she?”

  “I doubt it.” He put down his burger and grabbed a fry. “I raved on about how much you would love staying in a real log cabin, that it would be a whole new experience for you.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “You’ve stayed in one before?”

  “Sure, at summer camp. That’s why I made that remark when you mentioned bunks and a bathhouse that’s a short walk away.”

  “Oh. Well, I didn’t know that.” He looked a little disappointed as he went back to eating his burger.

  She found that adorable. “But I’ve never stayed in a log cabin with you, so what you told her is true. It will be a whole new experience. And for the record, I loved summer camp, so walking outside to the bathhouse will bring back good memories.”

  “That’s assuming we stay in one of the cabins. I’m not sure what Rosie’s up to. All she said was that I’d be pleased.”

  “She sounds like a pip.”

  “None of us were a match for her. Herb’s pretty easygoing and we could fool him sometimes with our shenanigans. Not Rosie. If she didn’t call us on something we’d done, it was only because it was small potatoes and she didn’t feel the need to deal with it.”

  Chelsea started on the second half of her burger. “You’ve called it the Brotherhood cabin twice now. Does each cabin have a name, like we did at camp?”

  “No, just that one. Cade, Damon and I were the first three boys Rosie and Herb took in, and we called ourselves the Thunder Mountain Brotherhood. They started out using guest rooms for the boys, but eventually they built cabins. The three of us got the first one.”

  “Rank has its privileges.”

  “Oh, yeah, we lorded it over the others.” He ate another fry. “We’d been through a blood brother ceremony and they hadn’t, so we were special. It’s a wonder any of them still speak to us.”

  “A ceremony? Really?”

  “Actually, I wasn’t invited. I was the third boy brought out to the ranch. Cade and Damon had been there for months and were buddies by then. They kind of ignored me.”

  “Aw.”

  “It’s okay. I was odd man out. Kids are like that.” He took another bite of his burger.

  “I know, but you’d just lost your grandfather and now nobody wanted to be your friend.”

  He shrugged as if it hadn’t mattered. She knew it had, but if he wanted to pretend otherwise, fine with her.

  “To be fair,” he said, “I was big on rules, which doesn’t tend to make a kid popular.”

  “Anal, even then.”

  “Probably worse. Anyway, they snuck out of the house at midnight and I followed them. You weren’t supposed to leave the house after lights-out. I hadn’t decided whether to tell on them or not, but I scared the hell out of them walking up to their little campfire. When I realized what they were doing, I wanted in.”

  “And they let you.”

  “They probably didn’t want to, but Cade gave me this look as if he knew it would hurt my feelings if they didn’t. So I made a cut in my hand and pressed it against their cuts and we said a pledge Cade had written up. Thirteen-year-olds can be so melodramatic.”

  “I love this story. I’m so glad you told me before we got there.” She hesitated. “Should I let on that I know?”

  “Sure. It wasn’t exactly a secret, like I said. Apparently Rosie knew we’d gone out there and listened to make certain we came back okay. We all wore bandages the next day, so I’m sure she figured out the whole thing.”

  “Do you remember where you had that little ceremony?”

  “Absolutely. We all do.” He munched on another fry, but he still hadn’t finished his burger, as if he’d rather talk than eat. “We’ve joked about putting a plaque in the ground to commemorate it. I’d already planned to take you on a tour of the significant places on the ranch, and that’s one of them.”

  “I’m so excited to go there now.”

  “Me, too, especially if the sleeping quarters turn out okay.” He glanced at the time on his phone. “Speaking of that, we should head out.”

  “But you haven’t finished your lunch.”

  “No worries. It’s been fun telling you about that stuff. I’ll get our waitress to box up the rest and I’ll eat on the road while you get some more work done.”

  “Um, right.”

  “You’re planning to work again, aren’t you?” He caught the eye of the woman who’d been serving them.

  “That was my original idea, but—”

  “And it’s a good one.” He glanced up as the waitress came over. “Ma’am, we have to leave. I wonder if you could please box this up for me and bring the bill?”

  “You’ve got it.” She winked at him.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Anytime.” She smiled at him as she whisked away his plate.

  He’d made another conquest but didn’t seem to notice as he kept talking to Chelsea. “I have so much I want to show you when we get there, so the more you can do on the road, the better.”

  “True.” Maybe she shouldn’t admit how excited she was about his plan to move in with her. All through lunch the prospect had hovered in the back of her mind, demanding attention. She needed to think about practical things like making room in her closets and dresser drawers. Maybe she’d buy bath sheets because her towels weren’t big enough for him.

  But mostly she wanted to sit and contemplate the joy of taking a Sunday morning stroll to Pike Place Market for coffee and croissants, or cuddling on her sofa on a blustery winter’s night watching TV—assuming they made it to winter, of course. They liked some of the same shows. She knew that from five years of animated conversation.

  So much to think about and so much to anticipate. She doubted that she’d be able to concentrate on work now that he�
�d dropped his bombshell. But if she told him all that, she might spook him, and that was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.

  “You’re right,” she said. “Using the rest of the trip to work on my client’s project makes perfect sense.”

  “See, that’s what I admire about you. You work when you need to work and you play when you want to play.”

  “Thank you.” Okay, she’d definitely better work this afternoon if he was taking her as a role model. Now wouldn’t be the time to stare out the car window daydreaming about the future.

  “I’ve been paying attention to how you manage it. If I can learn to unplug instead of constantly thinking about work, you might not toss me out on my ass the first week.”

  “I won’t toss you out the first week, no matter what. We should give ourselves time to adjust.”

  “You say that now, but you haven’t lived with me when I’m in work mode. I made Alison miserable. I might make you miserable.”

  “No, you won’t, because I understand what it’s like to have responsibility for the entire operation. I’m not sure she did.” She was determined not to rag on his ex, but drawing a few comparisons wouldn’t hurt.

  “I’ve thought about that. Her job was nothing like mine and she didn’t get it. But I took the whole work thing to extremes, too.”

  “Sometimes you have to. I burned the midnight oil to finish Saturday’s presentation. If you’d been around then, you wouldn’t have been able to get my attention.” She wasn’t positive about that but it sounded good. “When you’re self-employed, sometimes you put in long hours and other times you give yourself time off.”

  “But I’ve never let myself take time off.”

  She smiled. “I know. We can work on that.” And she had all kinds of ideas about how to coax him to relax and let go for a while. She could hardly wait to put them into practice. She’d been dreading the end of this trip and now...now it could be the beginning of something very wonderful.

  15

  BACK ON THE ROAD to Sheridan, Finn couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy. The weekend at the Bunk and Grub had been great and he’d cherish it forever, but he hadn’t had a plan. He always felt better when he had one, and now he did. Or rather, they did.

  Chelsea had agreed to give him a shot, and he couldn’t ask for more than that. She probably had more faith in him than he had in himself. He was counting on that because his confidence sometimes got a little shaky when it came to a major overhaul of his normal routine.

  But she seemed ready and willing to take on the challenge of rehabilitating a confirmed workaholic. From the corner of his eye he could see her typing on her laptop. The soft click of the keys soothed him, letting him know that she was in control of her habits in a way that he wasn’t.

  He could be, though, given the right motivation. If the promise of being with Chelsea wasn’t enough motivation, then he was a hopeless case. He’d dreamed of it for five long years without ever thinking he could be that fortunate. Now a life with her was within his grasp.

  Her little apartment wasn’t huge, at least what he remembered of it. He’d only been there a couple of times because everything about the place had tempted him to stay. Her furniture had beckoned him to relax into the plump cushions, and the art she’d chosen was so Chelsea—abstract and cheerful.

  As he recalled, the apartment had been tidy without being fussy. He had his hang-ups, but extreme neatness wasn’t one of them. Living in chaos didn’t appeal to him, but he could tolerate a little clutter, even liked it. Chelsea’s place had struck that happy medium.

  He wondered if her landlord allowed pets. She didn’t have any, but that didn’t mean there was a restriction. His apartment complex permitted certain pets in exchange for a hefty deposit. Not a pig, of course, but dogs, cats, fish and birds were fine. He’d checked that out before renting.

  Then he’d made no move to adopt because his schedule was so insane. Back in June, Lexi had suggested he get two cats because they could keep each other company. But he’d never followed through. He still believed his lifestyle had to change first.

  Maybe it was about to. And good thing he hadn’t adopted a couple of cats. Asking if he could move in with Chelsea was one thing. Bringing along a couple of cats would be a lot more complicated.

  As they drew closer to Sheridan, the landscape began to look familiar. He’d flown in from Seattle in June, but seeing it from the road was better. As he drove, the silhouette of the Big Horn Mountains shifted with the changing angle. Gradually the mountains assumed the burly shape that meant he was almost home.

  No, not home, not really. He’d told Chelsea that he’d shifted his allegiance to Seattle and it was true. But these mountains would always tug at his heart.

  Unlike the Grand Tetons of Jackson Hole, which thrust skyward in dramatic jagged splendor, the Big Horns were more solid and broad shouldered. He appreciated the beauty of the Tetons and sitting on the porch at the Last Chance had given him a spectacular view of them. But these mountains calmed him in a way that the edgy Tetons never would.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Chelsea turned off her laptop and closed the cover. “So different from where we’ve just been, yet majestic.”

  “I love these mountains. Sometimes when I was afraid that my grandfather wouldn’t be able to take care of me, I imagined that the mountains would.” He felt her watching him. “When I was five or six. Not when I was older.”

  “Why not? It’s a lovely thought and they do give you that feeling. They’re muscular, in a way.”

  “That’s a good way to describe them, but I don’t want you to think I lived in some fantasy world.”

  “I know you didn’t, but there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasy now and then if it helps you cope with your problems. I’m glad you had these mountains. I can see why they’d be comforting.”

  Another knot loosened in his chest. He hadn’t realized that he needed her to understand his connection to the mountains, but of course he did. He needed her to understand...everything. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He glanced over at her. “I should have had sense enough to bring you before without being roped into it.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Her smile was warm. “I’m here now, and I can’t wait for you to show me your old stomping grounds.”

  That made him think of something else. She probably needed him to understand everything about her, too. “We should go to Bellingham when we get back.”

  Her response was slow in coming. “Yes, I guess we should.”

  “You sound a little hesitant.”

  “Maybe because I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find this was all a dream.”

  He took a deep breath. “Me, too. But I want it to be real, and that’s why we should go to Bellingham. I’ve known you for five years, but I want to really know you. I want to meet your folks. I want to see where you went to school and where you hung out with your friends. You must have gone to the beach a lot.”

  “We did.”

  “I want to see what that beach looks like.”

  She reached over and squeezed his arm. “Thank you. Maybe this is real, after all.”

  “I’m determined to make it that way.” He turned down the familiar road leading to Thunder Mountain Ranch. “We’ll be there in about ten minutes. I just wish I knew what sort of arrangement Rosie has come up with.”

  “She said you’d be pleased.”

  “Yeah, but whatever it is, she’ll milk it for all it’s worth. Rosie likes to have her fun. From what I hear, she let Damon think he was going to work on the new cabin project over Fourth of July weekend with a guy named Phil. Turned out to be Philomena. You’ll meet her at dinner tonight. They’re together, now, which makes Rosie very happy.”

  “You weren’t kidding about her matchmaking, were
you?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Lexi told me in an email that he was with someone and that he’d moved back to Sheridan, but she didn’t mention the Phil-slash-Philomena twist. Why did Rosie let him think she was a guy?”

  “Apparently, Damon had some old-fashioned ideas about women in male-oriented jobs and she wanted to give him a wake-up call.”

  “I see.” Chelsea smiled. “I’m getting a better picture of Rosie with every new story. Anything else you should tell me about her?”

  “When she was in the hospital last June, she gave everyone strict orders not to bring her flowers as if we thought she was about to croak. So Damon and Cade bought her a case of Bailey’s. Needless to say there’s still a lot of it left, so if you’re a fan, then—”

  “I am! I love Bailey’s. A little bit in a cup of coffee in the evening is perfect.”

  “Then you two can bond over that. Nobody else likes the stuff, but it’s her favorite.” He looked forward to bringing Rosie and Chelsea together. He had a feeling they’d speak the same language. But he wished to hell Rosie had told him her plan. He wasn’t big on surprises.

  The road was a winding one, and he knew each curve by heart. A few more and he’d reach the turnoff to the ranch.

  “We have to take a short dirt road to get there,” he said, “but unlike Jack’s washboard, this one will be graded.”

  “I’ll admit that’s the first time I’ve heard of someone deliberately keeping a road nearly impassable.”

  “I guess I understand it. It’s such a landmark in the area that they could have tourists driving out for the hell of it. Rosie and Herb don’t have to worry about that. Their place isn’t anything like the Last Chance. It’s a single-story ranch house.”

  “How big?”

  “I’m not sure about the exact square footage, but it’s larger than it looks from the front. They have five bedrooms. When they bought it they expected to have kids of their own. That didn’t happen.”