A hot shower and a bowl of chili made Paige feel almost human again. While Bryan was regaling Grandpa with his now-heroic tale of frightening off a gigantic bear, Paige wandered out to the barn to visit the puppies.
The lights were still on when she found her way to the tack room. She squatted down a few feet from the cardboard box. Archie and her beautiful puppies rested on a nest of old towels. Two of the puppies had Archie’s border-collie black-and-white coloring; the other two were brown with white noses.
“How are you feeling, girl?” she asked.
Archie’s tail flicked up.
“Pretty proud of yourself, huh?”
One of the puppies stirred, climbed over a sibling and found a teat. Archie licked the puppy’s head.
Paige inhaled a sharp, painful breath but the air didn’t make it to her lungs. Oxygen couldn’t slip past the blockage of regret and guilt in her chest, an obstacle so large it felt like a malignant tumor. She tried to clear her throat.
“You’re going to be such a good mother,” she whispered.
“You’d be a good mother, too.”
Jay’s voice behind her made Paige start. Before she could turn around, he hunkered down beside her.
“I’m not so sure of that,” she said. “Not after the way I blew it with Bryan. I’d probably turn out to be like my mother.”
He raised his brows. “And that isn’t good?”
“It wasn’t that Mom didn’t love me and Krissy. But she and Daddy were a team. We were...an inconvenience, I think. They were both centered on what they, and the store, needed. Not what we might need or want.”
“I don’t think you’d be like that, Paige. Not even close.”
“We’ll never know, will we?” She shoved herself upright. He stood with her, his big hand on her elbow to steady her. The heat of his palm spread all the way to her diaphragm.
She drew a breath. “I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to bed.”
“You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“I hope so.” At least physically. She was less confident about her mental and emotional state.
As she walked back to the house, she glanced up at the sky. The storm had passed, leaving only a few scattered dark clouds and a sprinkling of stars.
Jay’s idea of opening an Elite Hotel in Bear Lake would be laughable if she didn’t half wish it were possible. A hunting and fishing lodge on the hillside above the lake designed with a long porch for sitting and window boxes of colorful flowers. A dining room with a high ceiling, paintings of royalty or maybe cowboy kings on the walls, antique tables covered in white cloths, fancy folded napkins at each place setting. Bedrooms with tall feather mattresses and canopies of silk drapes that could be pulled closed for privacy.
And tea time. Such a glorious hotel would need a fine tea service in late afternoon. People from miles around would come just to enjoy the ambience.
She laughed at the fantasy she’d conjured. But it was a bitter laugh, one that bit deep into her soul.
Dear Lord, please help me to accept the life You have given me and rejoice in Your loving goodness.
She slipped out of the house early the next morning. This would be her last day in Bear Lake for a while. She’d make the call to the courthouse to change Bryan’s guardianship arrangement. Even drive up there if she had to. Then she’d head for Seattle.
For now, she wanted to revisit the place Jay had shown her, the place where both of them had felt close to God.
The natural cathedral.
* * *
He had to find a way to keep Paige in Bear Lake.
Jay knew it was a crazy thought. He’d struggled, searching for an answer all night. What could a simple wrangler and trail guide offer her?
Nothing but love and a ready-made family, her family. A family he wanted to be a part of, if she’d have him.
Once up and dressed, he did his usual quick walk-through of the barn and stable to see that everything was in order.
At Peaches’s stall he halted. The horse wasn’t there. Thinking someone might have left the door to the corral unlatched, he stepped outside.
No Peaches.
Back in the tack room he checked for Peaches’s saddle. It was gone, too.
If a thief wanted to steal a horse from Henry, Peaches would be at the bottom of the list. Any one of the string of horses he ran were worth far more.
To anyone except Paige.
He strode purposefully toward the house. Why would she want a horse? He was sure after yesterday’s ordeal she’d never want to ride again.
He found Henry at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.
“Where’s Paige?” he asked.
Henry raised his head. “Her door was closed when I got up. I assume she’s still asleep.”
Jay suspected otherwise. He marched down the hall and rapped his knuckles on the door. When he didn’t get a response, he quietly peeked inside.
An open suitcase sat on the neatly made bed.
His gut clenched. She was leaving this morning. There was no time left to—
“Looks like she’s all packed.” Henry had come up behind Jay and was peering around him.
“Yeah, it does.”
“You gonna let her go, son?”
“Don’t have much choice, do I?”
“Sure you do. But if you want her to stay, you gotta ask her.”
“And offer her what? Being the wife of a wrangler in a town that doesn’t even have a movie theater? And the biggest cultural event is a bunch of fiddle and guitar players in a country-Western festival at the municipal park.”
“You’ll think of something, I reckon.”
Maybe. But was he ready to take the risk? The risk of loving and losing? “There’s one problem. Paige is gone and so is Peaches and her saddle.”
“Son, she’s not planning to ride that horse all the way to Seattle. Go find her. Say what needs to be said and bring her on back here.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll try.” He hesitated a moment thinking where Paige might have gone. In an instant he got the answer. “Wish me luck.”
His nerves snapping like an electrical wire gone crazy, he jogged out to barn and saddled Thunder Boy. He’d only have one chance. He’d have to make it good.
* * *
Paige sat on a boulder listening to the roar of the waterfall cascading to the river below. The waterfall was wider and wilder this morning than when Jay had brought her here. White spray spread its reach clear to where she sat. The mist mixed with the tears on her cheeks.
The Lord’s natural cathedral, Jay had called this spot.
How could she leave all this and return to Seattle? Return to a job she no longer treasured?
How could she stay here without a job?
And what could she do about her love for Jay? Although he had kissed her, and seemed to care for her, was he past the pain of losing Annie and ready to move on to someone else?
If Jay couldn’t reciprocate Paige’s love, it would be cruel punishment for her selfish behavior. And well deserved.
Bryan’s rejection of the love and life she’d offered him was another whiplash across her conscience.
She exhaled a breath. It was time to stop being so maudlin. She wasn’t a quitter. She’d follow the career she’d chosen. She’d make it a success.
She rose from the boulder, her muscles still aching from yesterday’s ordeal. Untying Peaches’s reins from where she had secured the horse, she started to mount.
Why not make your career a success right here in Bear Lake?
Where in the world had that thought come from? There weren’t any four-star hotels around here that hosted conferences. She had seen very little of what she’d call fine dining.
So why don’
t you change that? Why don’t you build your own hotel?
Ha! Fat chance.
And then she remembered Elite’s restored hunting lodge in England’s Lake District where she’d stayed for three lovely days and nights. Bear Lake couldn’t support anything quite that elegant and pricey. But a rustic lodge with lots of amenities would be doable.
Why hadn’t she recognized the possibilities before?
But where on earth would she get the money to build a lodge around here? She couldn’t even afford to buy the necessary land much less construct a decent building.
Pensive, she mounted Peaches and reined her back down the trail. Paige did have her condo. As small as it was, if she sold that to move here she’d have a nice chunk of money from the equity.
Maybe that would be enough money to get a bank loan and start construction on something modest.
But what about buying the land? The price of property around Bear Lake had to be enormous. This was prime recreation land with a growing year-round population.
As she reached the short trail to the overlook high above the lake, she turned off. At this early hour the lake was a clear blue sheet of glass. No wind ruffled the surface. No water-skiers cut through the stillness. The only movement on shore was a fly fisherman casting his line, drawing S-shaped patterns in the air above the water before dropping his lure on the surface to tempt a passing trout.
From this vantage point she could just make out the shape of Grandpa’s wooden dock reaching out into the lake. An old rowboat rested upside down on the weathered pier.
Her thoughts skittered to a stop.
Grandpa owned some sixty or seventy acres of land, including a long stretch of lakefront property. If Grandpa would go partners with her—
A horse snorted.
She turned. Her heart lunged as she saw Jay riding toward her on Thunder Boy. Her breath tangled in her lungs as she took in the breadth of his shoulders, the length of his legs and his uncertain smile.
“I thought I’d find you at the waterfall,” he said.
“I was there.” The excitement of hope spun through her as he dismounted. She could be happy here with or without Jay’s love. She’d have Grandpa. Hopefully, Bryan, too. Her family. “Come here. Let me show you something.”
“First there’s something I have to tell you before I lose my nerve.” He walked toward her and cupped her cheek with his big, callused hand. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Lowering his head, his lips touched hers. The warmth of his mouth on hers sent her spinning over an emotional cliff. A roar as loud as the tumbling waterfall filled her ears but it wasn’t loud enough to silence her thundering heart.
“I need you to stay here with me and Bryan and Henry,” he whispered against her lips.
She searched his eyes, seeking the truth. Hoping against hope that he did care about her. That she had a chance. That they had a chance.
“I can’t offer you the world travel you’ve dreamed about. Or even a fancy hotel. I’m only a hired hand but I do have some money saved from selling my horse ranch. Enough so I could build us our own house—you and me and Bryan. I love you, Paige Barclay. I will love you forever, if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, Jay, I was so afraid—”
“I want you for my wife. The mother of my children. Fifty years from now, I want to sit on the porch holding your hand, watching the sun go down and the stars come out. I want to see you every morning with your hair mussed from sleep.” He ran his fingers through her hair then brushed another kiss to her lips. “I want to kiss you every morning and every night. I want to hold you forever. Marry me. Please.”
“Yes! Yes!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the fierce love she felt. Love she’d feared would never be reciprocated. “I love you, Jay Red Elk. Every bit of you. I never thought I’d be content living here. But now I realize I don’t have to travel the world to follow my dream. You are my dream. You and Bryan and Grandpa and Bear Lake.” She took his hand and drew him to the edge of the cliff.
“We can build our life together right here.” She pointed toward Grandpa’s worn and weathered dock. “That hillside above the dock is a perfect place for a rustic lodge with all the amenities. Fishing, boating and horseback riding right outside the door.”
He quirked his brow. “And a long porch to sit on at the end of the day.”
Laughing, she hooked her arm through his. “Do you think we can do that? Pull it off? I have some equity in my condo. Bryan and Grandpa could be partners.”
“Hey, don’t leave me out of your dream.” He turned her into his arms again. “The four of us can do anything we set our minds to. We’ll create the most posh place on Bear Lake and folks will be clamoring to stay here because you’ll run the best hotel in the entire West.”
“I can do it. I know I can with your help.”
He held her tight as they both looked out over the lake imagining their future together. Paige sent up a prayer from her heart.
Thank You, Lord, for leading me home to Jay and the family I love.
Epilogue
The leaves on the aspen trees outside Bear Lake Community Church had begun to turn golden when Paige walked down the aisle on Grandpa’s arm. Jay and Bryan waited for her at the altar, both wearing dressy jeans, cream-colored shirts and turquoise bolo ties handcrafted by Native Americans. Jay looked as nervous as Paige felt. Bryan’s grin suggested he relished being in the spotlight.
Paige clung tightly to Grandpa for fear she might make a misstep. Her dress had a drop waist, handkerchief hemline and was sewn from lined lace. She wore a matching shawl around her shoulders.
Rachel Farnsworth, who Paige had been volunteering with at the thrift shop, served as her bridesmaid. She held a bouquet of bright fall flowers that matched the ones Paige carried.
The church was quite full, including Jay’s warm and accepting mother and an assortment of Jay’s other relatives who had come from their homes on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Paige’s family had suddenly multiplied many times over.
“You okay, girl?” Grandpa asked under his breath.
She forced an anxious smile. “I will be when this is over.”
“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what Krissy had in mind all along.”
Paige stumbled and skipped a beat to stay in step with her grandfather. “Why would you say that?”
“She thought Jay would make a good catch for some girl. Think she spotted him checking you out during one of your visits.”
“You mean by naming me Bryan’s guardian, she was really matchmaking?”
“Could be.”
Stunned by the revelation, she almost walked right into Jay, who had stepped down from the altar to greet her.
“Easy, sweetheart. No need to rush.”
Grandpa handed her off to Jay, and the moment he held her hands, she knew that the family they were creating would be one filled with love and the Lord’s blessing.
The ceremony led by Pastor Walker went by in a blur. Jay and Paige rode in an old Model T Ford to the reception, to be held in their own rustic hotel. During the summer they had completed the first phase of the Red Elk Lodge, including the great room with high ceilings, polished floors and rough wooden beams.
While the wedding guests admired the interior of the lodge and enjoyed the snacks prepared by Mama Machak and Nick Carbini, the chef at Pine Tree Diner, Paige only had eyes for her husband. Later they’d cut the three-tier cake provided by Love 2 Read Books and Bakery.
“Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?” she asked her groom.
“And I love you, Mrs. Red Elk. To me you will always be as beautiful as you are today.”
His sweet kiss tasted of love and home.
* * * * *
K
eep reading for an excerpt from Plain Admirer by Patricia Davids
Dear Reader,
I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Bear Lake, MT, and the beautiful area south of Glacier National Park. One of the treats my family enjoyed on camping vacations was horseback rides through national forest areas and national parks. Of course, in addition to the beauty of nature, I do recall a few aches and pains from using muscles not accustomed to riding a horse.
In truth I don’t recall any of our trail rides led by a wrangler as handsome as Jay Red Elk. But that doesn’t mean I can’t fantasize such an experience. I’m glad you came along for the ride with him, too.
The death of a sister changes many lives. In this story it certainly changed the path Paige Barclay traveled in life. She learned a good deal about herself and how her family history shaped who she had become. She needed to do that before she could give and accept the love she needed.
The themes of my stories are often about creating a new family, parents and children (and even Grandpa) coming together in newly found love and appreciation for each other. I’d like to think that’s not a fantasy but what can happen in real life.
I wish you all the love and happiness Paige, Jay, Bryan and Grandpa have found in their new family.
Happy reading...
Charlotte Carter
Questions for Discussion
Paige grew up afraid of horses; her sister Krissy loved to ride. Which sister are you more like?
Did you have childhood fears? How have you overcome them?
If you have young children, have you named the person(s), in writing, who you would want to raise them should something happen to you and your spouse? If not, why not?
If you work outside the home, how do you balance your work and family life?
Have you or any of your friends become guardians to children who have lost their parent(s)? How has that worked out? What adjustments did both adults and children need to make?
If you go on vacation and stay in a hotel, what services do you expect? Pool? Exercise room? Cable TV? What else?
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