“Don’t be too sure about that,” he muttered.
Nicky gave him a sharp stare. It sounded as though someone else had been on the receiving end of her stepmom’s rescue missions. Every time Nicky visited Montana, Maureen packed months of advice into whatever time frame she had to work with.
Regardless of what Nicky thought about Maureen’s pearls of wisdom, she had to hand it to her, the woman was a force to be reckoned with. She lifted her suitcase off the bed.
“Three suitcases?” Sam looked at the bags stacked in her doorway as if they’d been infected with a deadly disease.
Nicky gave him a tight smile. “You should be thankful I stopped when I did, otherwise you’d be paying a lot more for excess luggage.” Frowning, she looked around her room.
This was it. The beginning of the worst six weeks of her life.
She jammed another pair of sandals into the side of her bag and headed down the hallway. Sometimes helping her family sucked big time.
***
“Are you practicing for a marathon, or just trying to outrun me?”
Pulling on the handle of her airport trolley, Nicky came to a screeching stop in the middle of the arrivals area. Sam’s eyes were alive with laughter, his mouth in serious danger of tipping into a smile. She clutched the trolley as he moved toward her.
It was time to face a sad fact. She’d never get this man completely out of her system. After three and a half hours of uninterrupted bonding time, her body had remembered just how addictive Samuel Delaney could be.
She ran her hands down her suit. It was supposed to remind both of them that she was returning to Bozeman for business and nothing more. But the wider his smile grew, the harder it was not to smile back. “If you can’t keep up with me, then maybe you should set the pace.”
Sam took another step forward. She realized too late that four-inch heels weren’t a good idea. They put her eye to eye with Mr. Chief Executive. And eye to eye was a dangerous place to be.
Mischievous brown eyes fused with blue. “Maybe we could take turns?”
Nicky frowned. “With what?”
“Setting the pace.”
Heat slammed through her body. He was playing dirty and her two-timing body remembered just how well they could share. Her gaze skittered away from his eyes, landing squarely on her stepmother’s face. Her heart sank. First Sam and now Maureen. She must have been really bad to deserve the two of them in one day.
“Darling, I’m so pleased I found you. Cody said you were arriving with Sam, and I couldn’t resist coming to meet you.” Maureen opened her arms and kissed her on each cheek. “It’s good to see you too, Sam. I’ve organized a little welcome home barbecue for Nicky. Are you able to join us?”
Nicky hoped not. He must have something more important to do than make polite conversation around their patio.
He glanced at her. The mischievous gleam was back in full force.
She squinted back. He wouldn’t dare say yes. He couldn’t say yes. Having Maureen and Sam in the same house, at the same time, would drive her insane.
“Thank you.” Sam aimed a blinding megawatt smile at her stepmom. “I’d love to come.”
Her shoulders sagged. The toad.
“Do you want me to take your suitcases to the truck?” he asked.
If you didn’t look too closely, you’d swear Sam Delaney was being his normal charming self. But Nicky knew better. The man was seriously delusional if he thought she’d let him take anything of hers. “I can manage them on my own.”
“I guess you’ll have to follow me then.” He held his arm out, leading Maureen toward the main exit.
Sending an evil glare straight through his shoulder blades, Nicky muttered unladylike things under her breath. Despite her best intentions, Samuel Delaney had wormed his way into her personal life and she wasn’t impressed.
With one last push of the trolley she made it out the terminal doors and into a warm Montana evening. And into the next six crazy weeks of her life.
***
Nicky stood in front of her father’s house, gazing at the beautiful two-story building. He’d built his home ten years ago and it still managed to take her breath away.
Stone, timber and glass walls drew the outdoors in, creating a warm and inviting heart to the ranch her great-grandfather had created. It would have been perfect if you ignored the trucks and cars filling the gravel yard to overflowing.
Nicky stared at the vehicles, then down at her crumpled red suit. Maureen’s barbecue had turned into a full-blown social event. “I can’t go in looking like this.”
Sam spent a leisurely few moments studying what she’d quickly dismissed.
Clenching her jaw, she ignored the heat hitting her cheeks.
“You look fine to me,” he said. “Just the right amount of rumple to bring out the sympathy vote, but not enough to make you look like a bag lady.”
Planting her hands on her hips, Nicky glared at him. “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, you’ve got a bit more training ahead of you in the empathy department. Knowing Maureen’s friends, every one of them will be decked out in casual designer chic. I feel like I’m wearing airplane grunge.”
“Some of us like airplane grunge.” Sam smiled.
She ignored her jean clad kidnapper. How anyone could look as good as he did after spending most of the day in airports was beyond her. The creases in his cotton shirt added to his charm, along with the dark shadow hugging his jaw and the wicked gleam in his eyes. He didn’t care about stepping in on fashion central, but she did. Her gaze shot to his truck.
“You want me to grab one of your suitcases, don’t you?”
Chewing her bottom lip, Nicky tossed up between clean, wrinkle free clothes and a suit that felt like it was ready for the Laundromat. The clean clothes won. “I don’t know which case I packed my pants and shirts in. I’ll hunt through them out here, so we don’t have to lug them all inside.”
With a resigned sigh, Sam moved around his truck and opened the back passenger door. He grabbed one of the suitcases and nearly dropped it on the ground. “What did you pack in here? Rocks?”
An excited squeal filled the evening air, followed by the clatter of high heels against slate tiles.
“Nicky, I’ve missed you.”
Emily raced toward her, arms extended, and a huge smile on her face. Nicky couldn’t help but grin at her stepsister. Surrounded in a cloud of expensive perfume and a bright pink shirt, she hugged her tight, glad to at least have her company as a buffer between fashion perfection and wrinkle hell.
“You look wonderful. It’s been too long since you came home.” Emily looked happily at Sam. “You need to bring my sister back to Montana more often.”
“Once is more than enough,” Nicky muttered.
Flicking her mop of red curls over her shoulder, Emily gave her a bland look that set her nerves on edge. Her sister had to be nuts to think Sam was anything more than her current employer.
“Hey, sis. Long time no see.” Cody grinned from the front door, bounding down the steps two at a time. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, squeezing all the oxygen out of her lungs.
“Where did all those muscles come from?” Nicky asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve been going to the gym?”
“You don’t need a gym when you’ve got a ranch to manage.”
Nicky poked at the rock hard biceps flexing in front of her. “Have you swept any females off their feet with those muscles, little brother?”
He grinned wickedly at her. “I’m perfecting my technique at the moment. What’s with the suitcases? I thought you were staying in The Village?”
“I need to change my clothes. How about you put all those muscles to good use and take my suitcases upstairs to my old room?”
Cody looked across at Sam. “I don’t think you know what you’ve taken on. Nicky will have you jumping through hoops before the end of the first week.”
Sam looked amused. “She’s alread
y set some pretty impressive ground rules, but I think I can take what she dishes out.”
Nicky stared at her muscle-bound step-brother and overconfident employer. “Would you two stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here?” She growled at the grin spreading like a rash across Cody’s face. “If you both did as you were told there wouldn’t be any problems. My life would be a whole lot easier.”
Hauling one of the suitcases past her, Sam whispered, “There’s not one easy bone in your body. But I’m sure you’ll find someone who thinks listening to you will give them fringe benefits.”
A wave of heat washed through her body. Cody burst out laughing, and Emily stood with her mouth open, watching Sam vanish through the front door.
With more admiration than she thought was strictly necessary, Emily turned and asked, “Tell me again why Sam flew to Denver to get you?”
“Work and nothing more,” Nicky muttered.
“What’s taking you so long to get inside and give your granddad a hug?” Michael Roy Scotson stood in the entranceway, commanding everyone’s attention the same way he lived his life; loud and with maximum impact.
The white stone columns of the house were every bit as imposing as the seventy-six-year-old standing with his shoulders back and an impatient gleam in his eyes. He wasn’t a man who took kindly to being told what to do, or waiting for a runaway granddaughter to make an appearance. Nothing short of death would slow her bossy, old-fashioned, and totally loveable grandfather down.
“Hi, granddad. It’s good to see you.” Moving up the stairs, Nicky hugged him tight, smiling to herself as his wiry gray hair crinkled against her cheek.
He leaned back, spearing her with a look that meant business. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, girl. I’m counting on you to get this mess sorted before anyone gets wind of our problems.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”
His raspy voice stirred unpleasant memories of life in the Scotson household. Her parents marriage had ended when she was fourteen-years-old. After a messy divorce her mom had taken her to Seattle. As a teenager, returning to Bozeman to visit her father had been the low point of Nicky’s life. She’d missed her mom, her friends and the life she’d made thousands of miles away.
After her stepmom and her children arrived on the scene, the carefree days of not worrying about what she was wearing were over. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never felt comfortable in Maureen’s world of high fashion and expensive accessories. And she’d tried really hard.
“I’m surprised you want me to help out, Granddad. What happened to all those male managers with steel running through their veins?”
Her grandfather glared at her. “Don’t get sharp with me young lady. It’s one of those idiots that caused this mess. Maybe more than one.” He led her inside and stopped in front of the staircase. “If I can’t trust the men I handpicked to realize there was a problem before it got this far, then I sure as hell wouldn’t trust them to find the culprit.”
“Move out of the way, you two. This suitcase weighs a ton.” Cody staggered up the stairs, cursing women and their clothes the whole way.
“I’ve got to go and get changed, granddad. I’ll see you soon.” Nicky kissed his cheek and followed Cody.
She caught up with her brother just as he threw her case on the bed.
“Here you go. One renovated bedroom, for one renovated sister.”
She looked at her old room. The cream walls had been replaced with powder puff blue. Gold brocade curtains fell in soft folds around the windows and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. “I can’t fault Maureen’s taste. It’s beautiful.”
Cody grunted. “She damn near drove me insane with her twitter about colors and fabric. Every time I came near the house she wanted me to paint another strip of color on the walls to compare samples. I’m going on vacation next time she decides to redecorate.” Flexing his hand, a slow grin washed across his face. “Damn case nearly cut my circulation off.”
“That might account for the brain dysfunction, then,” Nicky laughed.
“Very funny.” Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Tell me about Sam. What’s going on between the two of you?”
“Nothing,” she growled. “He’s employed me for six weeks to do an efficiency audit at head office.”
“Efficiency, my ass. I’ve known him for seven years. There’s something going on and it hasn’t got anything to do with efficiency models.”
Walking across the room, Nicky unzipped her suitcase. Squashed between three pairs of shoes and four dresses was a pair of black pants. She yanked them out, frowning at the other suitcase beside the bed. “You’ll have to ask Sam because I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She glanced up at the disbelieving look on Cody’s face. “And if you think there’s another reason why Sam brought me back here, then you’re wrong. I’ll be gone before you know it.”
“Sam’s my friend and a great guy. But he can be ruthless when he needs to be. I’d have to be a complete moron not to remember you high-tailing it to Denver after you’d finished working with him. I care about you, Nicky. Just be careful.”
Nicky had been careful last time, but she’d still ended up pregnant and heartbroken. Flicking the lid of the second suitcase open, she grabbed a pale apricot blouse off the top of the pile. Clutching her clothes in her hands she turned to her brother. “I don’t need to be careful. I need to be smart.”
Jamming his hands in his pockets, Cody moved toward the door. “You know where I am if you need me.” He paused in the doorway, listening to whatever was going on downstairs. “You’d better get changed fast otherwise mom’s going to start hunting for you.”
Nicky breathed a sigh of relief after he left. Heading toward the ensuite, she knew she didn’t have much time before she had to mix and mingle with Maureen’s friends. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she knew she’d need every second she could manage. The face staring back at her wasn’t an image of a professional, confident, woman. It was the face of a person coming head to head with a lot of uncomfortable demons she thought she’d left behind two years ago.
***
“I thought you’d done a runner back to Denver.” Sam stared at the transformed business executive standing in front of him. Her carefree fall of blonde hair had disappeared into a fancy braid hanging down her back. And the hot red suit that had done more for his sense of well-being than anything else over the last few days, had been replaced with black pants and a sleeveless silk top. She looked prim and proper, not like the carefree spirit that had surprised him on her front doorstep.
“What’s with the pants? I thought you’d knock them dead with your killer legs, not cover up like you’re preparing for war.”
Nicky’s nose pushed a little higher in the air. “For your information, Mr. Delaney, this is my professional look. It’s supposed to inspire confidence, not lust.”
Sam looked at her serious expression and couldn’t help the grin that slipped across his face. “It’s a family barbecue, not a job interview.”
“You’ve got no idea,” she muttered, not quite catching his eye as she tweaked the edge of her blouse.
Jamming his hands in his pockets, he stared at her mouth as she gently bit down on her bottom lip. “Well, from an entirely professional perspective, I like the color of your lipstick.”
“Ravish me Red.”
His heart thumped in his chest. “Excuse me?”
“The lipstick. It’s called, Ravish me Red.”
Sam took another hard look at the lipstick and hoped to God she chose a different color at work.
“Darling, you’ve made it at last.” Maureen made a beeline straight for her stepdaughter. “Your father’s helping Jordan McKenzie fix his tractor. He’ll be home soon.” Her gaze wandered over Nicky’s confidence inspiring outfit. The blank look on her stepmom’s face didn�
��t bode well for the professional look Nicky had hoped to achieve.
“Let’s get you both a drink and then I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Maureen gazed around the room, waving at a matronly woman sitting on a high-backed French chair. “You’ll remember most of the people here, but some are new friends.”
Sam followed the two women as they moved through the house. Maureen looked as though she was ready to be photographed for a fashion magazine. Somewhere between the airport and her home she’d managed to change into a pair of cream pants and a long flowing tunic. Gold jewelry added a touch of polish to an outfit reeking of understated elegance. Without a hair out of place, or a spilled drop of wine from her crystal glass, Maureen managed to circulate the room with the efficiency of a general.
The color coordinated gathering of family and friends blended into muted tones of beige and cream, with a touch of navy and black to break the boredom. Apart from what he was wearing, there wasn’t a pair of jeans in sight. Hell, even he’d begun to feel a little underdressed without a jacket and tie on.
He should have known to expect nothing less of Nicky’s stepmom. Somehow he doubted there’d be plates of steak, burnt sausages, and buckets of potato salad thrown on a table in the backyard. Gourmet buffalo burgers, marinated chicken wings, and wild rice salad served on china plates seemed a more likely scenario.
Taking a sip of wine, his gaze caught a flash of color darting out the French doors. Emily looked like a licorice allsort in her hot pink top and black leggings. A chunky yellow and orange necklace completed her outfit, and gave him a small measure of hope that someone in the room had a sense of humor as warped as his.
A woman with a tight pinched face walked toward them. “Are you going to tell me who the dishy man is, or do I have to wait for a wedding invitation before I know what my niece is up to?”
Nicky’s cheeks flamed redder than the suit she’d worn on the plane. “Aunty Valerie? When did you arrive?”
“I’ve been staying with Maureen and Gary for the last week. My flight back to New York leaves on Monday. Are you going to introduce me to your man?”
Forever After (Montana Brides, Book 3) Page 2