by Liz Isaacson
“Not good,” Micah said.
“No,” Sammy agreed. “You guys are coming, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Micah said. “I just wasn’t connecting all the dots. Okay, let me think.”
Sammy only let him think for three seconds before she said, “Maybe I can call him and say I’m on my way up, and he’ll wait for me.”
“He already texted you,” Logan said from beside her. She looked at him, her eyes wide. She had said it out loud when Bear had texted. “Maybe Micah could text Bear and say he has something for him for his birthday, and could he stop by and get it?”
“That might work,” Micah said, obviously having heard Logan. “I’m on it, Sammy. Don’t worry.” The call ended, and Sammy definitely kept worrying.
She was going to corner Bishop and demand to know what he’d been thinking. And after she’d helped him with Charlotte. He’d been off kissing her for a week now, and Sammy had made that happen.
She turned to Logan. “I think we need a back-up plan.”
“I don’t own a cattle ranch,” he said. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I know Harlan,” Jeff said. “I can call him real quick.”
Sammy spun toward her other mechanic, “What?” slipping from her mouth, but Jeff already had his phone at his ear.
“Harlan, hey,” Jeff said, a fake smile on his face and that quality screaming from his voice. “I was thinking of coming down there tonight with my tasting group. How busy is it?” He paced away from Sammy, and she exchanged a glance with Logan.
“I’ve never heard him talk like that,” Logan said.
“Tasting group?” Sammy asked, her eyes wide.
“They do those at the cider mill,” Logan said.
Their eyes met, and Sammy saw the same shock in Logan’s as she had running through her. “Can you see Jeff doing that?”
Logan scoffed, and it quickly turned into a laugh. “No, I can not.”
“Oh, a big party already rented it?” Jeff said, his voice getting close again. “That’s too bad. What time will they be there? Could we come right now?” He faced Sammy and Logan, his eyes bright and wide. “It’s dead? Not even one lane being used.” He grinned, and the cunning Jeff shone right through.
“Great,” he said. “Sammy’s on her way then. If you need me to pay for the extra half-hour, put it on my tab. Or….” He lowered his voice and turned his back on Sammy and Logan. She instinctively edged forward to hear him, but she couldn’t.
A few seconds later, Jeff said, “Right,” and turned back to her. “You can go now, Sammy.”
“Or what?” Sammy asked, her curiosity firing on all cylinders.
“You have a tasting group?” Logan asked, stepping next to Sammy. “And a tab at the bowling alley?”
Jeff looked between the two of them, swallowing as he paled slightly. The three of them looked at each other, and they burst out laughing together.
“All right,” Sammy said, shoving her phone at Logan. “Call Micah back and tell him we’re good. Jeff—”
“I have Micah’s number,” Logan said.
Sammy extended her phone toward Jeff. “Call Bishop and tell him we’re okay, that we can get in early.”
He took her phone and started swiping while Sammy ran over to the sink and started washing up. She needed to change her clothes and fix her hair and put on lip gloss. Her mind ran in a dozen different directions, and her pulse pounded in that vein in her neck. Slow down, she told herself. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s just a birthday, and he’s already said it’s the best birthday he’s had. It’s going to be fine.
“I’m just going to change real quick,” Sammy said, pulling a couple of paper towels from the dispenser and turning back to her mechanics.
“Bishop said Zona ‘accidentally’ bumped the cake into the door, and she made Bear go back to the house so she could fix it.” Jeff grinned, Sammy’s phone still pressed to his ear.
“Oh, good one,” she said, starting to relax.
“You’ve got time,” Sammy,” Logan said. “Micah did text Bear about stopping by, and he said he would.” He looked up from his phone. “Micah said he wanted Bear to do it before too long, because their baby is fussy today, and Simone wanted to put him to bed and then go to bed herself.” Logan grinned at her too. “Bear said he’d come before he went to the bowling alley.”
Sammy’s heart filled with gratitude for the people helping her to make this the best day of Bear’s life. She smiled, emotion surging up her throat. Logan and Jeff put down their phones, and Sammy crossed the garage to them.
“Thank you,” she said to them. “For helping me with this. For being great mechanics around here, and for being my friends.” She looked at them, the surprise in their eyes not hard to see. Awkwardness descended on the three of them, and she sort of lunged at them to form a three-way hug.
“I don’t tell you guys enough how amazing you are, and how much I appreciate everything you do for me, and that you’ve done for me, both professionally and personally.”
“Sammy, you’re a great boss,” Logan said. He stepped back and smiled at her, the motion easy and the mood lightening. “I love your shop here, and everyone loves you.”
She nodded, because she didn’t need the compliments.
“You really like this Bear guy, don’t you?” Jeff asked.
Sammy smiled at the older-brother tone in Jeff’s voice. “I really do.”
Jeff relaxed, his smile pulling somewhat at the corners. “I’m glad, Sammy. You deserve someone good to take care of you.”
She nodded, because while she didn’t need a man to take care of her, she sure would like one. “Thanks, guys. Okay, I really am going to go change. I need my phone, so I can text Jason to make sure he’s still good with getting my parents.” She held out her hand, and Jeff handed the phone to her.
“I’m going to go grab Carmen and the kids,” Logan said. “I’ll see you there in a bit.” He left, and Sammy went into the restroom out front, which had decidedly less grease than the employee one in the back.
When she came out, Jeff sat on one of the couches in the waiting area. He looked up from his phone and stood. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Sammy said, still combing her fingers through her hair. She wore a cute flowery jumpsuit now, though, and her makeup had been touched up, and she’d undone the braids she’d put her hair in that morning, and it had a nice wave to it all the way to the tips.
Jeff tried to take a step back, but he met the couch and ended up stumbling sideways. “Trish and I are having some problems, and I, uh, I’m wondering if you might help me know what to do.”
Sammy froze, because she had no idea what to say. “I mean, I can try?”
“It’s just that you like Bear, and I would say he’s grumpier than me.”
Sammy just blinked. “He’s really sweet too. He works really hard, and he does little things that just tell me that he cares about me.” She took a deep breath. “And he’s really good with Lincoln.”
Jeff nodded, his fingers flying over his phone. “Sweet too. In what way?”
Was he seriously taking notes? Sammy glanced toward the door leading to the garage—and escape. “He brings me lunch from my favorite restaurant,” Sammy said. “He asks me about my parents. He knows which cars I’m working on or worried about, because he asks me questions and listens when I tell him.”
“Mm hm.” Jeff kept typing as he asked, “What kind of little things?”
“All those things I just said. Plus, stuff like—take the other night, for example. He knew I was coming, but dinner was ready at the homestead. He waited for me. He dished me a plate and had it waiting for me on the porch, and we had a little private dinner together. That’s sweet, and it’s just this little thing that doesn’t move the Earth and the moon. But it means a lot to me.”
“Would you say women like that kind of stuff?”
“Yes, Jeff,” Sammy said with a smile. “Women like that kin
d of stuff. Men do too, I’m willing to bet.” She shook her head at him. “Can we talk more about this tomorrow? I think I need to get to the bowling alley.”
“Sure, yeah.” Jeff put his phone away. “I’m good. We don’t need to talk about it, especially in front of Jason.”
Sammy sensed something there, but she just said, “All right,” and headed for her escape. “Will you make sure that front door is locked?”
“Sure thing,” Jeff said behind her.
As she drove the short distance to the bowling alley, she thought about Jeff. It was nice to talk to him on a more personal level, she decided. It made him more human, and as she waited to turn into the parking lot at the bowling alley, she said, “Bless him and Trish to work out their problems. He’s a good guy, even if he’s a little gruff.”
She knew, because Bear was exactly like that.
Inside the bowling alley, she found exactly what Jeff had described on the phone—emptiness. Harlan looked up from the counter, and he actually smiled at Sammy. “Thanks for letting me come a few minutes early. Turns out I don’t need to, but I thought I’d come say thank you anyway.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “People can start coming in whenever they get here.”
She nodded and turned toward the door as it opened. Bishop walked in, and he whistled at Sammy as he looked her up and down. “Look at you, Miss Thing.” He grinned as he sauntered forward, and it was easy to see why women liked him.
He brought several other Glovers with him, and Sammy hugged Bishop hello, and then she shook Cactus’s hand and then Judge and Mister. “You guys are early,” she said, giving them all a pointed look.
“But Bear’s not,” Bishop said. “This way, everyone can get here, and it’ll be like this, huge surprise.”
“Yeah, everyone can get here,” Sammy said. “And when Bear finally pulls up, he’ll recognize every truck in the lot and know what’s going on.”
“Not a surprise,” Cactus said, his tone as dry as a desert.
“There you go,” Sammy said, flashing a smile at Cactus. He was looking right at her, but he didn’t crack a smile or even act like he heard her. She’d only met him once or twice, and apparently the third time wasn’t going to be the one that endeared her to him.
Sammy couldn’t stop the tide, though, and over the course of the next twenty minutes, the door kept opening and more people kept coming in. All the Walkers arrived, except for Micah, as did the rest of the Glovers, including Ranger and Lincoln.
“Sammy!” Link skipped toward her, and Sammy’s heart warmed.
“Hey, Linky,” she said, hugging him tight. “How was the ranch today?”
“So fun,” Lincoln said. “I rode Churro all by myself, after saddling him too. Bear found a yellow card in the barn, and then we found this orange one nailed to a tree.”
“Wow,” Sammy said, smiling at him. “That all sounds amazing.”
Cowboy after cowboy entered from Three Rivers, and Lincoln ran over to greet all of them. They smiled and hugged him, and Sammy had a few moments of existing outside of her own awareness, because she’d never seen such a manifestation of Lincoln’s life beyond her. But he clearly had met the cowboys she hadn’t, and she blinked only when her parents walked in with Jason and his wife.
“Grandma,” Lincoln said, and Sammy moved toward her parents too.
“Hey, baby,” her father said as Sammy hugged him. She embraced her mother next, and they faced the bowling alley.
“Food’s here,” a man said behind her, and in came Squire with a stack of pizza boxes. His wife followed, and one of his teenagers, and they all brought pizza with them. “Where do you want the pizza, Sammy?”
“Right over here,” she said, leading him toward a few tables that had been set up beyond where people rented shoes. Sammy busied herself getting out the paper plates and napkins.
“Drinks,” Pete said, putting a large white cooler on the end of the table.
Sammy looked up. “Thank you for picking all of this up.”
“It was on the way,” Pete said, and he smiled at Sammy. “Is Bear here yet?”
“Not yet,” Sammy said, glancing toward the door. She looked around and met Bishop’s eye. He lifted one shoulder, and Sammy shook her head.
Her phone buzzed, and she checked it. “It’s Bear,” she said, though Pete had left, and she stood near the food alone. Almost there. Two minutes out.
“All right,” Sammy said, looking up. “Everyone make a line right here. Right here in the front.” She hurried over to the spot where she wanted everyone. “He’s almost here. Two minutes, guys. Two minutes.”
Everyone congregated, herding in their kids. Sammy took Lincoln’s hand and stood next to Momma and Daddy, her pulse beating shallowly and at the speed of light while she waited for the door to open.
The only people missing were Zona, Bear’s mother, and Bear.
The door opened. “…I got it,” Bear said, but he didn’t appear. Zona came in, carrying the cake and walking very slow. “Come on, Mother,” he said, and Sammy watched as Bear entered, his arm linked through his mother’s.
Sammy smiled at the sight of him, because he was cowboy perfection walking toward her. On the second step, he slowed, recognition crossing his face.
“What is this?” he asked.
Sammy hadn’t coached anyone on what to say, and Bishop jumped in front of the crowd and yelled, “Sing, everyone.” He started waving his hands, and they broke into a cowboy-heavy rendition of Happy Birthday.
Sammy sang, her eyes glued to Bear. He surveyed the crowd, his eyes finding Sammy’s and refusing to look away. He inclined his head toward her slightly as if asking her if she was responsible for this.
She lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug and finished the song. The crowd swarmed forward, Lincoln leading them. Bear laughed in that hearty voice of his and lifted the boy straight into his arms.
Sammy hung back and let everyone say hello. Bear kept Lincoln with him, and once most people had greeted Bear, she lifted both arms and said, “All right, everyone. There’s pizza and soda over here, and the whole bowling alley is ours for two hours. Get some shoes, get a ball, and bowl as much as you want.”
A line formed at the shoe counter, and Sammy turned toward Bear. He put Lincoln down and said something to him. Link skipped toward her, saying, “Grandma, I want some of the Hawaiian kind.”
“Okay, kiddo.” Her mother looked at Sammy, pure joy on her face. She took Lincoln’s hand in one of hers and Daddy’s in the other, and they moved toward the pizza table.
Sammy tucked her hands in the pockets of her jumpsuit, resisting the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Hey,” she said.
Bear grinned, his bright blue eyes glinting in a sexy, delighted way. “You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Happy birthday,” she said. “Are you surprised?”
“To see everyone I care about at the bowling alley?” He glanced around and looked back at her. “Definitely surprised.”
She reached for him, glad when he received her into his arms. She enjoyed his warmth and strength, and Sammy didn’t care how many people might be watching. All of his family and friends. Her parents and son.
She didn’t care, because she’d been steadily falling in love with Bear Glover, and it was his birthday. She’d done this amazing thing for him, and he said, “Thank you so much, Sammy. I’ve never had a better birthday.”
She kissed him, feeling utterly cherished when he cupped her face in one of his large hands and kissed her back.
Chapter Nineteen
Oakley Hatch held her can of soda and watched as the pumpkin hot air balloon lifted into the air. She smiled, because she knew exactly how to look like she was having a good time when she wasn’t.
She liked Three Rivers, and she couldn’t have picked a better place to retire after her racing career. The dealership was doing well, as there hadn’t been much in town before. A few used car lots, and one dealership that only sold truck
s. But she’d brought new cars, SUVs, trucks, ATVs, and other personal sport vehicles to the growing population.
The town had plenty to do in the summer, and she probably shouldn’t be drinking diet cola this early in the morning. She always liked to have something in her hand when she was alone, as it gave her something to use to get out of a situation should one arise.
“There you are,” someone said, and she turned toward her date for the morning.
“Nick,” she said, her smile switching to a real one. He hugged her, and she let him, because Oakley saw no reason not to.
“Did you see them launch that pumpkin?” she asked.
“From afar,” he said. “Which one are they doing next?” He took her hand in his, and Oakley liked the feel of it. His skin was warm against hers, and Nick Ryan was a nice guy. Good looking and employed, kind and not too eager. Oakley had definitely had enough of overeager men.
“I think they’re doing that patriotic one,” she said, and they started strolling across the lawn to the next team who’d put up the next hot air balloon. This festival was all about hot air balloons, and it started at five-thirty in the morning. The point was just to learn about them and be there while the teams launched or when they came back down.
Last year, Oakley’s first year in Three Rivers, she’d seen the balloons from her back deck when her dog started barking and wouldn’t stop. Formula One didn’t really like anything or anyone but her, people food, and sleeping, and Oakley didn’t try to make him.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Nick said as they leaned against the temporary barriers that had been set up in the park.
“Yeah.” She sipped her cola, wondering how much longer she’d have to keep up this charade. She liked Nick, but there was no spark with him. Oakley wanted a man that made her heart pound at the very thought of him. She wanted someone she couldn’t wait to hold hands with, who actually made her nervous, and who would kiss her so completely, she’d never need to kiss another man but him.
It wasn’t going to be Nick.