by Peak, Renna
Adam doesn’t even glance his way. “I won’t be insulted like this.”
“There are other ways to handle this,” Sloan says. “Better ways.” His tone suggests he won’t be argued with, but Adam looks like he might try anyway.
Finally, though, my former fiancé tears his gaze away from Nick.
“Let’s go,” he says to his father. “I’ve wasted enough time in this shithole of a town.”
He strides away without another glance at his parents. Sloan and Eleni Bennett walk after him, looking as dignified as they can given the circumstances. I watch them all go, not sure if I trust myself to feel relief just yet.
Eventually, though, I hear a car start on the far side of the stables. The crowd has stayed silent this entire time, but that sound seems to break the spell. The murmuring starts up again, stronger than ever, and I look up at Nick.
He’s staring at me—or, more accurately, through me. And he looks just about as lost as I’ve ever seen him.
I know exactly how he feels. What do we do now? Adam might be gone, but he was just one of our problems. Now we have to face the people of Firebird Falls. And my family. And there’s still that teeny-tiny detail that I haven’t let myself think about yet: he said we were engaged. Unless he proposed to me in my sleep, I’m pretty sure that never actually happened. So why did he say it? Even if he wanted to protect me in the moment, he had to realize there would be consequences to those words. Even if he were joking. But what guy even jokes about something like that? What does it mean that he blurted that out in front of my family and the entire town?
“What do we do?” I ask him quietly.
“I tell you what you do,” says I voice I recognize as Bill’s. “You give all of us here an explanation of what’s goin’ on.” He steps free of the crowd, his arms crossed. He looks very much like an angry, skinny Santa Claus, which I’d probably find funny if I didn’t feel like I was going to throw up. “And you give it to us now.”
Nicholas
The entire crowd seems to have focused their attention on me. I glance around at them, but it would appear than nothing other than a speech of some sort is going to get them to back down.
I let out a long breath as I fold my arms across my chest. “There’s very little to tell. I purchased my ranch legally. I—”
“You bought out the Crowleys,” someone from the crowd yells. “Why didn’t you make an offer like than on my ranch?”
“Yeah! Yeah!” Others in the gathering jeer in my direction.
“It’s quite simple,” I say, though there’s really nothing simple about what is going on today. “I was a guest at the Crowley ranch, and I loved it so much there, I knew I needed to purchase it. It wasn’t a slight against anyone else in the town. I merely—”
“You’re a prince,” a woman yells. “You can have anything, anywhere. Why here?”
A murmur of agreement ripples through the crowd.
I let out another long breath. “I like that it’s out of the way. That I can just live on my ranch without bother. Is that so different from what all of you love about living here? That you can just be?”
Many of the townspeople turn to each other, though I have no idea whether or not they’re agreeing with what I’m saying or not.
Sophia comes to stand beside me and tugs at my elbow. “Perhaps we should go, Nick.”
“Yeah.” Pax looks over at me with a frown. “They can’t really do anything about you living here. Not legally. But they can sure make your life miserable if they want to.”
My brow furrows, and I look back over the crowd. I certainly never intended to become one of the townspeople—not really. I just wanted to live in seclusion. In peace. And I’ve not found much of that since I’ve come here, for one reason or another.
“I’m…sorry.” Clara presses her lips together, her voice little more than a choked whisper. “I ruined everything for you.”
“Nonsense,” I say, though I suppose she has a point. If she’d at least kept my identity a secret, we wouldn’t be having the very real concern about whether or not I’ll get to return to my ranch.
“Maybe I should go.” She bites her bottom lip. “I—”
“I’ll take care of this.” Clara’s mother places a hand at her elbow. “We’ll get you the help you need.”
“Can everyone just take a breath, please?” I look from Bill—who looks particularly upset with me—to Clara’s mother. “No one is going anywhere. Clara has already said—”
“You don’t know her. Not like I do.” Mrs. Weaver glares at me. “And we’ll discuss the engagement after Clara has had time to settle down a little.” She shakes her head. “You certainly took advantage of her. She was so fragile, and you just swooped in—”
“Forgive me madam,” I interrupt, “but I hardly swooped. If anything, your daughter—”
“Mom.” Clara shakes her head at her mother. “Nick has been nothing but a gentleman. He’s been…wonderful.”
Something about the way she says the words makes my heart warm, but this is hardly the place to consider my growing feelings for Clara.
The woman turns her gaze between Clara and me, still frowning. “So, that’s it? You’re going to run off to Montovia and get married? Am I at least invited to the wedding?”
Her sisters whisper to themselves behind their mother.
“Mom…” It appears as though Clara may cry. “Can you just, I don’t know, back off?”
“Back off?” Her eyes widen. “You realize what an imposition this has been, right? We came all the way out here for your wedding—”
“A wedding I never agreed to!” Clara’s eyes are wild again. “Mom, seriously—”
Bill interrupts, taking a step toward us. “I think we all just need to calm down a bit and figure out what we’ve got goin’ on here.” He looks over at me. “You, you’re not actually Nick Smith.”
Pax snickers beside me, and I shoot him a glare that quiets him for the moment.
“You’re Prince Nicholas.”
“I’m still Nick,” I mutter. “My given title changes nothing—”
Bill interrupts again. “Well, if it pleases Your Majesty, it changes everything.”
Pax snickers again, and my sister elbows him in the ribs.
“Did the Crowleys know? When they sold you the ranch?” The man tilts his head. “I can’t imagine they would have sold to some…some…foreigner.”
“Again, my money spends the same as anyone else, does it not?” I look out among the crowd. “I fell in love with this place. And why would any of you doubt that? You all love it here at least as much as me.”
Another murmur ripples through the crowd, but no one seems to understand my point.
Bill grits his teeth. “I think you should probably leave, Your Majesty.”
I wince at his words—it feels as though he’s driven a knife into my chest.
“And why should he?” My sister pulls my hand into hers. “He owns his land legally, does he not—”
“Because we don’t want him here.” Bill shakes his head. “You want to know how many celebrities have bought land around here? Well, maybe not here…” He motions with his hands as he turns to the crowd. “You all know what happened in Blakeland.”
Many in the crowd nod, muttering aloud to the others.
Bill turns back to me. “That’s right. A movie star bought a bunch of land, and every time he comes out to visit, he brings the paparazzi with him. We don’t need that in Firebird Falls.”
My jaw tightens. Surely if they knew anything about me, it would be how I try to stay as far from the media as is humanly possible. “I can assure you—”
“You can’t assure us of anything, Your Majesty.” Bill shakes his head slowly at me. “Now you and your celebrity friends need to get out of here before we run you out—”
“But our horses,” Clara seems to have found the ability to speak again. “We can’t just put them on a plane—”
“We can board y
our horses here,” Bernice calls. “Until you get them shipped back home.”
“This is my home,” I mutter, but no one is listening.
Sophia tugs on my arm. “We need to go, Nick.”
“I’m sorry, man.” Pax looks like he might genuinely believe his words.
I lift my chin and turn to Clara. “I’ll make arrangements to have our horses brought to Montovia.”
Her bottom lip trembles, and she nods.
I turn back to the crowd. “I apologize to you all. I never meant to cause a melee such as this. I only meant to live peacefully on my ranch. And if none of you can understand that, perhaps this isn’t the place I should be.”
The crowd seems to agree, many of the townspeople nodding, though I’m not sure if it’s because they understand the need for a peaceful existence or because they want me to leave.
I turn back to Clara. “I suppose now there’s only one question that remains.”
“I can get back to New York with my family—”
“If that’s what you truly want.” I tilt my head, my brow furrowing with confusion. “Is it?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Of course not—”
I have to interrupt. “Then the only real question is whether or not you will accompany me to Montovia.”
Clara
I stare at him. He actually wants me to come to Montovia with him?
It’s not just the ranch or this town that has filled my heart these past few weeks. The scenery and location are certainly a big part of my renewed sense of hope and life, but I’d be lying if I said Nick hasn’t been a big part of that, too. Maybe the biggest part, if I’m being completely honest. We needed each other—and we still do.
But is that reason enough to pack up and leave for the other side of the globe? With a man I haven’t even known for two months? To leave my country behind on a whim?
I almost laugh at myself. I left New York on a whim. Just packed my bags and drove away with hardly a word to anyone. It might not have been the smartest decision I’ve ever made—I still regret the way I handled things with Adam and my family, and I know my own stupidity contributed to the events that brought them here today—but at the same time, I haven’t regretted that choice even for a moment. I needed to do this. And during my time here in Montana I’ve felt more vividly alive than I ever have before. I can’t go back to the way things were. I don’t want to. I just want to live.
“Yes,” I say to Nick. “I’ll come to Montovia with you.”
Someone—probably my mom—makes a little choking sound. I don’t bother looking to see who it is. My eyes are on Nick. The serious expression in his eyes shifts to surprise when I give him my answer, then, shockingly, to something that looks like pure pleasure.
I realize I’m grinning at him. We’re going to Montovia together! Even though I’m saddened by the idea of leaving Firebird Falls—it really does feel like it’s become my home in the last month or so—I’m surprisingly delighted by the idea of this new adventure. Who’d have guessed that a week ago I was afraid of this very thing, of Nick being forced to return to his home country?
“There are lots of arrangements to be made,” I hear my mom saying. “We’ll need to make announcements at the club back home. When are you going to tell the press? And I hope you intend to give me and your father some say—many of our friends will be expecting invitations, and it won’t do to insult them, especially after this stunt you pulled with Adam. We’ll need to discuss everything with Prince Nicholas’s parents, and—”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Mom,” I say. “We’re not exactly planning the wedding yet. We’re just trying to figure out what happens tomorrow.” No point in telling her it’s not a real engagement, not in front of all these people. I’ve already embarrassed myself and my family enough for one day. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Nick and I have some things to discuss.”
My mom still protests, of course. And my dad alternates between trying to quiet her and staring daggers a Nick. I don’t blame him for being suspicious after everything that’s happened.
But neither of them tries to stop us as I hook my arm through Nick’s and start to pull him away from the crowd.
“We need to go settle things back at the ranch,” I announce to the crowd. “Mom, Dad—I don’t know if you already have a place to stay, but Delilah runs a delightful bed and breakfast in town.” I know Delilah is here, even if I can’t spot her at the moment. “We won’t bother anyone around here anymore.”
Pax and Sophia follow us away from the rest of the townspeople, around the side of the long stable. My mom and dad stay where they are, thank God. Hopefully they’ll respect my request for a little privacy.
None of us speak until we’re nearly to the car. Then Pax lets out a laugh.
“Now that’s what I call a party,” he says. “You may claim to hate drama, Nicky, but it seems to follow you as much as it does the rest of the family.”
Nick shoots him a scowl, and Sophia pokes her husband in the side.
“What?” Pax demands. “It’s true. Though we all know who’s really to blame. That Adam guy was a real asshole. Were you really engaged to him, Clara?”
“Unfortunately,” I say softly. “He wasn’t always like that. Most of the time he was considerate and kind. I just… It’s my own fault for breaking our engagement the way I did. He didn’t handle things well, but I started it.”
“What I really want to know is about you two,” Sophia pipes up, looking from Nick to me. “How long have the two of you been engaged? Why didn’t you say anything to us?”
I jump in quickly. “Oh, we’re not really—” I cut myself off when I glance at Nick’s face. He was the one who said it. Maybe he should be the one to answer his sister.
I can’t tell from his serious expression what he’s really thinking. He studies my face for a moment before turning back to his sister.
“It’s complicated,” he says simply. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to our parents.”
“Of course not,” Sophia replies immediately. “It’s not for me to tell. But you better say something to them sooner rather than later. You just announced it to a whole town of people, including Clara’s family. I bet one of them tells the press before the week is up, if not before.”
“They don’t want that kind of attention pointed here at their town,” Nick points out. “They’ll keep it quiet if they can.”
“Even Clara’s family?”
Three sets of eyes turn to me.
“I…I’m sure they will if I ask them to,” I say. I hope they will. But I’ve never been “engaged” to a prince before, so I honestly have no idea what they’ll do.
We pile into the car. I risk a glance back toward the stable, and sure enough, my parents and sisters stand at the corner of the building, watching us go. I’ll certainly have to do something about them soon.
The car ride back to the ranch is relatively quiet. I can tell by the way Sophia keeps looking between Nick and me that she has more questions, but thankfully, she doesn’t ask them. But I won’t be surprised if she corners Nick or me later and tries to get more answers out of us. I’d like some answers myself.
Nick’s sister is pretty understanding, though, especially when it comes to her brother. When we get back to the ranch, she immediately pulls Pax away from us.
“I’m so tired,” she says to her husband. “Can we go to bed a little early?”
Pax grins, obviously having some ideas about that. They wish us goodnight and head upstairs, leaving Nick and me alone.
I know there’s tons of stuff we need to discuss. But now that the moment is here, I have no idea what to say.
Nick clears his throat.
“I think I might go check on the horses,” he says. “Would you care to join me?”
“Sure,” I say, then grin. “You know, you can drop the American accent now. Your secret’s out. And your accent was never very convincing to begin with.”
He frowns. “I thought it was getting better.”
“A little,” I give him. “But your normal accent suits you better.”
If he’s insulted or pleased by that, he doesn’t say. Together, we tramp across the yard to the barn. The last of the sun’s rays disappeared during our drive home, and the land around us is cast in darkness, broken only by the lights on the porch and barn and the flicker of fireflies in the air. It’s a cool night, with a breeze that stirs my hair loose from my braid.
I’m going to miss this place, I admit to myself. Even if my adventure lies elsewhere.
When we reach the barn, the horses stick their heads out of their stalls to greet us. I go to Pom, and Nick steps over to Prince, scratching him beneath the chin.
It’s a moment before he speaks.
“You know,” he says. “I won’t hold you to it.”
“Hold me to what?”
“The engagement.” He frowns in that way he does when he’s deep in thought. “I don’t even know why I said it. At the moment it just seemed like the easiest way out of that situation. It wasn’t my intention to complicate things for you.”
“Oh.” I scratch Pom behind her ear, then press my cheek against hers so he can’t see my face. “I thought… I mean I knew it wasn’t real, of course. I knew you were just trying to help me.” I take a deep breath, suddenly feeling queasy. “Does that mean you don’t want me to come to Montovia with you? I know we just had to say something to get my family and the townsfolk off our backs. I totally understand if…” I can’t bring myself to say it.
“Do you want to come to Montovia?” he asks.
I wish I could see his face. I’m too much of a coward to show him mine.
“I asked you first,” I point out. “And I want you to be honest with me. Do you want me to come to Montovia with you or not?”
He takes what feels like an eternity to answer. My heart is beating so loud that I wouldn’t be surprised if Pom could hear it.
“Yes,” Nick says finally. “I want you to come with me.”