It was small, but still larger than the tiny cabin they were living in now. It had three bedrooms, two living areas and an eat-in kitchen. For the last two weeks, he’d had some of the ranch hands helping him to modernize the kitchen and update the electrical to meet current code. By some miracle, they’d pulled it off in the short time all while keeping it a secret from Allie. Getting the inspector to sign off on the paperwork was the final step before he could bring his wife here.
If everything went right, within two weeks they would be living here. He stood, walked to the porch rail and rested his elbows on it. From here, he could see his future. This cabin sat on a piece of property more secluded than his cabin now, but in a larger clearing overlooking a small valley. He could see their kids running on the hills, darting in and out of the trees to the rear, playing hide and go seek. He could see Allie and him rocking on chairs with graying hair, talking about the good old days; then laughing that they might be old but were still living the good days. This is where their life would be.
The fading sun reminded him he needed to get back to their little cabin. Charlie and Missy were coming tonight, and he’d promised Allie he’d help clean up. They’d both been so busy with work, even Allie had slid on her cleaning regimen. He untethered Lightning, who had been making enormous strides, and went back to the stables. After unsaddling and brushing him down, he led him to his stall, then walked briskly back to the cabin.
“You’re adorable with an apron on,” he teased Allie when he walked through the door. “I thought Missy was bringing the food.”
“She is, but I wanted to make a dessert.”
“I see that.” He kissed the batter off her cheek. “Mmmm, chocolate cake- my favorite.”
“You smell like sweat. Can you hurry and clean up please so we can get this place in order.”
“Nag, nag, nag.” Allie tried to smack him with a spoon, but he blocked it, sending cake batter everywhere.
“Look what you’ve done now,” she shrieked through laughter.
He dipped a finger into the bowl she still carried and wiped it across her cute, little nose, before kissing her again. “You had more on you.”
With a gleam in her eyes, she put some batter on her finger and wiped it on his neck, kissing it away. Parts of him stirred and as much as he’d like to continue, this game needed to stop or they’d never be ready for Missy and Charlie. The batter was cleared, but Allie continued lining his neck with soft caresses from his lips. Oh hell, he didn’t have it in him to stop this. He pulled her to the couch, kissing her deep and hard. Their breathing became ragged as the intensity between them grew. His hands found their way up her shirt, trying to unclasp her bra, when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned, when he heard another knock. Reluctantly, he went to answer the door after stealing one last kiss, while Allie smoothed her hair and tried to look presentable.
“What happened in here?” Missy exclaimed, wide-eyed, the second he opened the door.
“Cake fight?” he offered, shrugging his shoulders, attempting to pass it off as a normal occurrence.
“I don’t even want to know.” She burst out laughing, looking around. “Where’s Allie?”
He glanced around, seeing she’d left the room. “Check the bedroom. Where’s Charlie?”
“Bringing the food in.”
“I’ll go help him.”
“You might want to go find Allie first and see if she can finish licking the rest of that batter hiding behind your ear.” He turned red and laughed to play it off, but Missy just kept grinning at him with a knowing smirk. Damn her and her blatant observations.
“I’ll be right out. Just excuse the mess. We were going to clean up, but weren’t expecting you for another hour.”
“We had an appointment in town that ended early so we figured we’d head over. I sent Allie a text. If I’d have known what we’d be interrupting, we would have hung out somewhere for that hour.”
“If there’s cake at dinner, I don’t think I want any,” Charlie commented, walking in and seeing the mess.
“You’re just jealous,” Jase shot back, then escaped to the bedroom before anymore comments could be made.
“Thanks for abandoning me,” he told Allie who had cleaned up and changed into clean clothes.
“You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed.” She fell into a fit of giggles. “You should have seen your face when Missy walked in.”
“If someone had checked their phone, they’d have known Missy would be here an hour earlier.” He undressed and pulled on some clean clothes, not having time for a shower.
“It was worth the diversion. This will have to do for now.” Allie came to him with a wet washcloth, clearing the missed batter from him.
“You know Missy’s never going to let us live this one down.”
“Probably not. All the more reason we better get out there before she starts thinking more happened.”
“And it’s a shame nothing more did happen.” He winked at her, wishing they could have finished what they’d started. “Go on; I’ll be right out.” When Allie left, Jase looked in the mirror, combing his hair, letting out a long laugh. Life with her would be anything but boring.
Returning back to the kitchen, he saw Missy helping Allie to clean up the mess; engrossed in a conversation he was sure he was the topic of.
“Charlie, you set the table while we finish.”
“Jase, you can take out the trash.”
The women gave orders like pros. He exchanged amused grins with Charlie before following Allie’s edict.
Missy had brought fried chicken, baked beans and potato salad for dinner, all made by her. The four of them loaded their plates, eating between small conversations. After dinner, Allie cleared the plates from the table and they remained sitting, catching up on the last several weeks.
Predictably, the conversation turned to their weekend in Vegas and his marriage to Allie.
“So it’s true, you’re making this marriage permanent now?” The way Missy beamed, one would think she’d been responsible for pushing them together.
Looking over to Allie, their eyes locked sharing one of their extraordinary glances that spoke volumes. He still couldn’t believe how easy the transition from friends to lovers had been once they stopped hiding how they felt. No awkwardness; only indulgence to their love.
“’Til death do us part,” Allie quipped.
“In that case, I should have dared you to marry him a long time ago.” Missy chuckled, obviously pleased with herself.
Jase registered what Missy said, breaking his gaze from Allie and slowly turning to face Missy. “What did you say?” The room went silence and Allie’s face turned ghostly white.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Missy waved her hand, dismissing the notion this warranted further discussion.
“No, it’s something.” Jase couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He turned back to Allie. “Did you marry me on a dare?”
“Not exactly.” Her voice wavered with nervousness.
“What do you mean by ‘not exactly’? What happened?” he demanded, his jaw clenched tight, his face still minus an angry tic in his cheek.
“You’re overreacting, Jase,” Missy interjected. “In passing, I dared Allie to marry you, but it was just a joke. I never thought you guys would actually go and do it, at least not in Vegas.”
“Is that what our marriage is to you? A joke?” he trained his eyes back on Allie, feeling a double-edged sword piercing his heart.
She stared back at him, tears welling in her eyes. “Of course not,” she whispered.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie nudge Missy and they stood up, gathering their things.
“I’m sorry.” Missy leaned over and gave Allie a hug before leaving with her husband.
Alone in their home, Jase didn’t know what to do. For years, he’d been drawn into Missy and Allie’s schemes, but none had ever hur
t him. Until now, none had ever ripped his heart out of his chest.
“Why?”
“I promise you, it’s not what you are making it to seem.” Her voice still quivered and he wanted to go to her, wrap his arms around her, assure her that all was fine, but he couldn’t. How could he when he just found out the one thing he’d always wanted was only his because of a dare.
“Then what is it?” he pleaded.
“It’s love. Yes, at some point that weekend, I vaguely remember Missy saying something about marrying you, but that’s not why we got married. Deep down, we both know this is what we wanted.”
He raked his hand through his hair, torn on what he believed. History repeats and history was full of Missy and Allie’s jokes and dares. He loved Allie, but if all of this only existed on the basis of a dare, was it going to last? But at the same time, did it really matter if the end result was he loved Allie and she openly loved him in return?
“I need some time to think.” He grabbed his hat and went to the door.
“Please don’t leave like this,” she begged him.
“I need to clear my head.”
“I love you,” he heard as he closed the door behind him.
***
“Thank you for coming and I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay.” Allie bid farewell to the final guests checking out this week. All caught her up on her work, she took off an hour early. Tomorrow would come soon enough and she’d never been so miserable and exhausted. Jase still wasn’t talking to her and, she hadn’t seen him since he walked out the other night.
She knew from Lanie that Roxanne and Morning Glory had both started foaling, and he’d been staying with them overnight in case any complications arose. Part of her justified his absence with that, assuring herself he wasn’t still avoiding her but merely busy with responsibilities. But the larger part of her knew that no matter how busy he was, he’d make time for her if he weren’t still upset.
If she could take back every dumb thing Missy and she ever did, she would, if it would only convince Jase the dare meant nothing. Honestly, she hadn’t even remembered Missy saying it until dinner that night. On some level, she knew that night in Vegas, when she suggested to Jase they get married, it was the alcohol giving her the liquid courage she wanted to go after what she’d been afraid to otherwise. She walked to the cabin, hoping the fresh air would soothe her. Opening the door to the cabin, her heart dropped to her feet.
Jase must have been home during the day at some point. Moving boxes were scattered through the house and the few shelves were empty. What was going on? He couldn’t, he wouldn’t leave without telling her, would he? Could he really walk away from them? Looking more closely, everything but the essentials, her essentials, was packed away.
She took her phone, frantically trying to call him, but the line went straight to his voicemail. Throwing herself on the bed, she struggled in vain against the sobs, wondering where it all went wrong. It wasn’t in Jase’s character to act like this; it didn’t make sense.
After crying herself to sleep, she woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. She shuffled to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, but there were no grounds. Frustration with Jase took over and she threw the empty bag across the room. Maybe she should go look for him;but if he was really leaving, she couldn’t hear the words.
Halfheartedly she dressed and went over to the main lodge. The sun wasn’t up yet and there were still a few hours before she had to be at work, so she stopped at her parents first. There was no sign of her mom and dad, but fresh coffee was in the pot and she poured a cup. Heading upstairs to her old room, she dug through her closet pulling out an old shoebox. At the bottom, she found what she was looking for.
A Polaroid picture, two decades old, captured the memory of her first kiss with Jase. She remembered that day like it was yesterday. It took a little longer than normal to get him to cooperate, but she knew he would. He always had. With a bittersweet smile, she recalled how he’d never even seen Missy holding the camera behind her back, and it was months before he’d agreed to play wedding with them again. The poignant memory took her from a smile to more tears.
“Allie dear, is that you?” Her mom’s voice followed the knock on the door.
“It’s me,” she answered through sniffles.
The door opened and Vera glided in, giving her a daughter a curious look. “What has you crying?” She sat down on the bed next to Allie, pulling her into a motherly hug.
“It’s over,” Allie cried.
“What do you mean? What’s over?”
“Jase and I. Our marriage.”
“Oh honey, I’m sure it’s not that bad. All newlyweds have fights. Marriage is a huge adjustment.”
“It is mom. He’s packed up the cabin and won’t answer my calls. He’s taking the job at the Triple M.”
“Jase is not the type of man to walk away from a marriage. He loves you, Allie, and he will honor his vows.”
“But it wasn’t a real marriage. At least not in the beginning,” she added. She continued, telling her mother the entire truth that Jase and she hadn’t had the chance to tell since returning from the Tetons.
Her mom remained still, not showing any reaction, and Allie assumed her silence meant she was angry at being deceived.
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you at first. Jase wanted to, but it was my idea to keep it secret. And we’re going to pay you back the money his parents and you spent on our trip.”
“Shh, honey. We knew the truth before we ever made arrangements for that trip. We knew what we were doing.”
“But how?”
“Missy came to us for help because she wanted to see your marriage stay together.” She paused, letting Allie absorb the words. “You’re an adult and can make your own choices. No matter what you do, your father and I love you. If we’ve ever seemed hard on you, it’s only because we love you and want you to be happy. Besides, every couple’s entitled to their secrets.”
“Yeah right, I bet you and dad have never done anything crazy.”
“If I tell you a secret, you have to promise not to tell your father I told you.”
A twinkle in her mother’s eye made Allie’s ears perked up. “I won’t.”
“Your father and I eloped. Our real anniversary is March twenty-first, not April the fourteenth.”
“Really? No way.” Stunned almost speechless, she couldn’t believe her parents had done something so out of the ordinary.
“Love has its own timing.” Taking the picture from Allie’s hands, she examined it closely. “I remember the day this picture was taken. Jase came stomping up to the house with that dog of his who was covered in mud. My, he was madder than a hornet. When I finally got him to calm down, he told me what Missy and you pulled on him. If I had my guess, he purposely took Scruffy to the mud hole before coming to the house. That was the moment I knew one day he’d marry you for real.”
“What do I do, mom? How do I make him understand it’s always been him?”
“A man’s pride is a fierce thing, honey. I’m not saying he’s not overreacting, but I can understand why he’s upset. He has a good head on his shoulder; he’ll come around in a few days or less, but in the meantime, be there when he’s ready to talk. And for the love of everything, it’s time you and Missy stop the hijinks.”
Allie gave a sheepish smile. “But I was innocent this time,” she protested.
“Getting drunk in Vegas is hardly innocent, my dear child.” Her mother smiled gently at her, patting her arm. “Come on downstairs, and I’ll make you breakfast.”
The talk with her mom made her feel better, but she still wasn’t convinced Jase planned on staying with her. His distance and taped boxes in their cabin said otherwise. She ate her blueberry pancakes, barely tasting them, thinking of the conversation with her mom. Should she just wait for Jase, or seek him out? She washed her plate, dried it and then replaced it in the cabinet.
In the few minutes before she got to her
office, she’d decided she’d talk to Jase, even if she had to track him down. She couldn’t just sit around waiting for him, especially when time seemed to be of the essence. As soon as she finished her work for the day, they’d settle this once and for all.
The day dragged on. She put a smile on her face and did what she needed to give each guest a superior experience, but her heart wasn’t in it. When Lexie came in to take over, Allie rushed out to the stables, hoping to find Jase.
“Looking for someone?” Trevor asked, coming around the corner.
“Is Jase around?”
“No, the foals were born overnight and he left at first light. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Thanks. If he happens to come back around, please let him know I’m looking for him.”
“Will do, ma’am. Would you like to see the foals?”
“I’ll stop by later.” She went back to their cabin, expecting to find him there. Instead all the boxes were gone, and their house looked void of being a home. Her heart dropped and she ran back to the main lodge, pounding on the Callahan’s door. This could not be happening. Lanie swung open the door.
“Allie? What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Jase?” she breathed out in a rush.
“He left for the Triple M a few hours ago, he…”
Allie was already running to her truck before Lanie finished talking. Tears streamed down her face. He’d left. He really left. She wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. With a quick mental calculation, she figured she might be able to catch up with him if he drove slowly like he always did on long drives.
Every mile became a deeper heartache, every landmark a memory of their friendship. Vast open landscapes that went on for miles mocked the emptiness overwhelming her. Focusing on the road ahead, she trucked on, pushing forward until a glowing light on the dash indicated she needed to pull over. Stopping at a desolate convenience store that was so outdated it didn’t offer the pay at the pump service, she went inside.
His Heart to Have (Cowboys of Whispering Winds) Page 15