Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series)

by Michelle Maness

  They were going to have to get him a cane or something, Amanda realized.

  “Go on home, Amanda; you’ve been here all day,” Naomi ordered after she had made certain Sterling was situated in his recliner.

  “I think I will,” Amanda nodded; she felt as though she could go on to bed. Amanda gathered her and Cadey-Lynn’s things and walked the distance between the main house and her own little corner of the ranch. The night was chilly, prompting her to make certain Cadey-Lynn’s blankets were firmly over the child, and to pick up her pace. She soon had Cadey-Lynn in the tub, her little arms splashing as she squealed happily. When water splashed into her eyes, she blinked in shock and Amanda laughed as she reached for a rag to wipe the water from her daughter’s face.

  “Oh, Cadey-Lynn, your daddy would love you so much,” she leaned forward to kiss her daughter’s forehead. “Can you believe Mommy will be a whole twenty years old, next week?” Amanda lifted her daughter and wrapped her in a towel. “And I’m already mommy to the best little girl in the whole world.”

  Amanda dressed Cadey-Lynn for bed, fed her, and put her down for the night. Amanda took the baby monitor to the couch with her and found an old romantic comedy on one of the movie networks. She laughed as she watched the interplay between Katherine Hepburn and Carey Grant. If only life were as neat and tidy as the movies, she mused wistfully. Sometime later Amanda woke and wiped tears from her eyes. She had been dreaming of Cade. Amanda stood and moved to the kitchen to pour a glass of juice before she returned to the couch. A knock on her door brought her back to her feet.

  “Jenny? What are you doing here?”

  “I left for your house right after your brother dropped me off,” she admitted.

  “Come in,” Amanda smiled. “How was it?” she asked, though her friend’s bright eyes suggested it had gone well.

  “Oh, Mandy,” Jenny sighed, her eyes dreamy. “We had a wonderful time.”

  “Good, was my brother a gentleman?” Amanda asked, and watched her friend scrunch her face up.

  “Yes, though given it was our first date, I’ll forgive him,” she joked. Amanda picked up a pillow from beside her and walloped her friend.

  “Didn’t you learn anything from me?” Amanda demanded.

  “Yes, grab life while you can.”

  “Well, not exactly what I was thinking but I suppose there is a grain of truth in that,” Amanda smiled at her friend. “So tell me all about it,” Amanda invited. She listened for the next hour as best friend poured over the events of the evening and began analyzing and over thinking everything until she was pacing the floor.

  “He wanted to marry my sister; do you really think it could work for us?” Jenny stopped to question Amanda.

  “I think it could,” Amanda nodded.

  “I hope so,” Jenny sank onto the couch.

  Twenty-Eight

  Amanda watched her father gain strength as Cadey-Lynn gained mobility; first rolling herself over to smile brilliantly at anyone who would take notice. Then scooting, her long skinny legs pushing her off the edge of her blanket as little hands reached for items Amanda didn’t see until they were on their way to a curious mouth.

  “The bug doesn’t taste good does it?” Amanda asked of her daughter as wiped her mouth free of bug. “Yuck, Cadey-Lynn.”

  Cadey-Lynn shook her head and tried to avoid her mother’s hands.

  “She’s as stubborn as you ever thought of being,” Sterling accused.

  “I don’t doubt it,” Amanda placed her daughter back on the blanket.

  “She’s growing fast,” Sterling noted.

  “Yes, she is,” Amanda smiled and grabbed Cadey-Lynn’s favorite stuffed animal to place it next to her daughter. “Dr. Connors seems pleased with your progress,” Amanda commented.

  “It’s slower than I would like.”

  “Daddy, you had a stroke; you don’t just bounce back from that,” Amanda informed her father.

  “I need to be running my ranch,” he growled.

  “Trent does very well because you taught him well.”

  “He’s stubborn and hot headed,” Sterling accused.

  “Well, now, I wonder where he got that from?” Amanda demanded. Her father’s words were barely slurred now; Amanda felt relief every time he spoke.

  “Girl, you are twice as sassy as your mother ever thought of being,” Sterling shot at her.

  “It comes from living with two stubborn, hot headed mules,” Amanda claimed and watched a smile tug at her father’s mouth, though he was trying to stop it.

  “Cadey-Lynn, what do you have now,” Amanda scooped her daughter off the blanket. “I swear child, you have microscopic vision. I keep thinking she’s going to take off crawling at the rate she’s going.”

  “She does seem to want to be mobile,” her father agreed.

  “Hey, Mandy, Naomi and I are back if you need to get going,” Trent offered. He and Naomi had gone for groceries. They were no longer sitting with Sterling around the clock, but they weren’t leaving him all alone either.

  “Thanks, Trent; you have a date tonight?” she asked as she started gathering Cadey-Lynn’s things. Trent entered the room to scoop his niece up before he answered.

  “Yes,” he then turned his attention to Cadey-Lynn. “Hey beautiful, are you Uncle Trent’s girl?” Trent lifted her shirt and blew raspberries on Cadey-Lynn’s tummy. Cadey-Lynn’s laughter peeled through the house.

  Amanda was folding Cadey-Lynn’s blanket and smiling at her brother.

  “When are you going to start dating, Mandy?” her brother queried.

  “There’s only one man I’m interested in dating,” Amanda reached for her daughter.

  “Come on, Mandy; are you going to spend the rest of your life alone?”

  “I can if I choose to,” Amanda grabbed Cadey-Lynn’s bag and left the house; she didn’t bother to say goodbye. She felt tears sting her eyes. It had been over a year since Cade left, she should be past this by now.

  Amanda decided she had to get away, just for a little while and started packing Cadey-Lynn’s diaper bag. After loading enough that it felt as though she were moving, Amanda placed Cadey-Lynn in her car seat and drove to the mall in Haddon. She found herself wandering aimlessly around the mall with no real interest in shopping.

  When she found herself watching a tall dark handsome cowboy she shook her head. He bore just enough resemblance to Cade to make her heart clench. Based on the way he kept glancing back at Amanda, he probably thought she was flirting. Amanda stood and grabbed the handles of Cadey-Lynn’s stroller. Cadey-Lynn had plenty of clothes, as did she; there really was no reason to be here.

  “What are we going to do with our selves Miss. Cadey-Lynn? We can’t sit in the house the rest of our lives,” Amanda asked her daughter as she fastened her back into the Jeep. Back at the ranch she walked down to the barn and flipped the lights on.

  “Hi, Dandelion, we don’t see as much of each other do we?” Amanda rubbed her horse with her free hand. Dandelion stepped closer and nudged Amanda lightly. Cadey-Lynn squealed in delight and reached for the horse. To Dandelion’s credit, she tolerated it well.

  “Gentle, Cadey-Lynn,” Amanda flattened her daughter’s hand and rubbed it up and down Dandelion’s nose. Amanda walked around the barn telling her daughter all about horses, though she knew it meant little to her daughter.

  “I have a lot of fond memories in this barn, Sweet Pea. Your daddy kissed me for the very first time in this barn. Well, I kissed him first, but he kissed me back. I knew I was in trouble then,” Amanda rambled. She finally closed up the barn and returned to the cabin and bathed her daughter for bed. After her daughter was down, Amanda turned the TV on and allowed herself to get lost in the plot of a movie.

  The flash of headlights told her someone was there before footsteps sounded on the porch and Amanda stood to open the door as Jenny came up the steps.

  “Hey, Jenny,” Amanda stepped back to let her friend in. It was nearly one in the mo
rning; what was she doing here?

  “Hi,” Jenny’s expression was an odd mixture of elation and hurt.

  “What’s up, Jenny?” Amanda reseated herself on the couch as her friend paced the room.

  “I slept with your brother,” she finally blurted.

  “Okay, not a complete shock,” Amanda returned. “Are you disappointed? You don’t look altogether happy about this.”

  “No, I’m not disappointed; I’m a little angry at him and I need you to tell me I am being unreasonable,” Jenny informed her as she finally settled into a chair.

  “Perhaps you should tell me the problem first,” Amanda suggested. “Did he pressure you into it, did he hurt you?”

  “No! Nothing like that. I was a very willing partner and he was…he didn’t hurt me.”

  “Okay, so why are you upset?”

  “He actually implied that he was surprised that I was a virgin!” Jenny came out of her seat. “What does he think I slept with every guy I dated? I thought he was teasing when he suggested I was a bad influence on you! If he thinks I’m that kind of girl why is he with me? Am I a nice distraction until somebody better comes along?” Jenny was pacing the floor again.

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way,” Amanda assured her friend. And if he had Amanda would kill him. When she presented the judge with the tally sheet of offenses that had finally driven her over the edge she was sure she would be acquitted. Still, for all of her brother’s short comings she couldn’t imagine her brother using Jenny that way.

  “If he insulted you why did you sleep with him?”

  “He waited until I was lying with my head on his chest thinking how nice it had been to go and make a comment like that! Then he says he has to be up early and he has to go and I’m left sitting in bed wondering if I just handed him something that meant nothing to him,” Jenny was starting to cry now.

  “What did he say exactly?” Amanda demanded to know.

  “’After the way you came on to me I wasn’t sure you were a virgin.’ What is that supposed to mean? I was trying to decide if I should be upset when he kissed me and said he had to go. I felt so brushed off,” Jenny sank onto a chair.

  “He has to be in Missoula tomorrow morning, if that makes you feel any better.”

  “I’m not sure it does.”

  “Jenny, Trent has never been good at communication. He says stuff without thinking about how it sounds.”

  “Cade seemed to communicate with you just fine,” Jenny sniffed.

  “When he communicated. Most the time I was left wondering what he was thinking. He communicated more with me in letters than he ever actually said to me. I’m sure Trent wasn’t trying to brush you off, Jenny.”

  “It felt that way.”

  Amanda sighed. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I’ll be right back,” Amanda excused herself. She topped the stairs and went her room to call her brother. Jenny was going to be pissed at her but the only way Jenny would get answers was to ask questions. She checked in on her daughter and returned downstairs.

  “Where’d you go?” Jenny demanded.

  “To check on Cadey-Lynn. I wish I knew what to say, Jenny.”

  “You think I’m being paranoid?”

  “I don’t know,” Amanda admitted.

  She heard her brother’s boots on the porch and watched Jenny panic.

  “Amanda!”

  “What’s wrong, Mandy?” her brother was frowning as he entered. She watched his gaze land on Jenny’s tear stained face.

  “Jenny, what’s wrong?” Trent was across the room in a moment.

  Jenny wouldn’t look at him.

  “What is it sweetheart?” Trent took her by her arms. His voice was low when he spoke, “If you didn’t want to…”

  “It’s not that,” Jenny cut him off.

  Amanda moved up the stairs to give the couple privacy. She moved into her daughter’s room, pulled the covers back over her, and leaned over to kiss her daughter’s head as she inhaled the baby smell of her. Amanda crossed the upstairs landing to her room, her thoughts straying to how close to the surface her own emotions and nerves had been the night Cade finally made love to her. She smiled; she had been a basket case too.

  A short time later, Jenny topped the stairs and moved into Amanda’s room to plop onto the bed.

  “All better?” Amanda queried.

  Jenny laughed and nodded. “I feel like an idiot.”

  “So you aren’t a casual fling?”

  “No. Apparently,” Jenny paused her cheeks staining red, “he rather expected I would be but when I was so bold,” Jenny stopped unable to finish the sentence.

  Amanda smiled. “Who called who brazen?” she teased.

  “You threw yourself at Cade,” Jenny accused. “More than once!”

  “I did,” Amanda acknowledged, “but when he finally took me up on it I was shaking like a leaf and nervous beyond belief; almost scared.”

  “You were?” Jenny looked shocked. “I was a little nervous but not too bad; I certainly wasn’t scared.”

  “See, you’re bolder than I am.”

  “It was a bigger deal than I thought it would be,” Jenny admitted as she fiddled with the hem of her jeans. “You know what I mean?” her hazel eyes were intense when they met Amanda’s.

  “I know,” Amanda nodded understanding.

  Twenty-Nine

  Amanda watched Cadey-Lynn cruise along the couch in the main house as she bounced to the song on the radio. When she threw her sippie cup and reached for it with a grunt, Amanda sighed.

  “Cadey-Lynn you just want to play fetch,” Amanda accused. When Cadey-Lynn screwed up her face for a tantrum Amanda dropped to her knees.

  “I’m going to get you, Cadey-Lynn,” Amanda crawled in her daughter’s direction. It had become a new game between them. Cadey-Lynn turned and cruised to the end of the couch before dropping to all fours to make an escape, her breath coming in little grunts as she made for the door. Her daughter suddenly stopped and settled onto her bottom to stare up. Amanda spotted boots in the doorway and sat back hard, her gaze going up, much as her daughter’s had. She found a tall man grinning down at them; she felt heat climb into her face.

  “Your brother said you could show me to the barn,” the man informed her.

  “Right,” Amanda prepared to stand, she found a hand in her face and accepted it. “Thanks,” Amanda turned and scooped her daughter off the floor. “We were just playing chase,” Amanda explained.

  The man’s grey eyes were lit with humor when he nodded, “I could see that.”

  “I’m Dr. Foster; I’m replacing Dr. Adams at the large animal clinic,” the man extended his hand.

  “Amanda Jennings,” Amanda shifted a squirming Cadey-Lynn so she could take his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Your brother said he has a bull penned at the barn that needs a look; he said you could point me in the right direction,” the man explained why he was there. “Your aunt let me in.”

  “Let me just leave Cadey-Lynn with Naomi; it’s a little cold out for her,” Amanda nodded. She was irritated with herself. The man was attractive, thick dark brown hair, soft grey eyes, and a killer smile. Nice build too, broad shouldered, thick and solid, though not at all fat; it looked to be pure muscle. She had no intention of verifying that. He had caught her in an embarrassing situation, so naturally she felt jumpy.

  “Naomi, I need to show Dr. Foster to the barn, can you watch Cadey-Lynn a moment?”

  “Just put her in her highchair; I’ll give her a cookie and milk in a moment,” Naomi had her hands buried in bread dough. Amanda did as instructed before grabbing her coat from the hall closet.

  “Here, let me,” Dr. Foster stepped forward to hold her coat.

  “Thanks,” Amanda wasted no time stepping away from him after her coat was on.

  “Katie-Lynn, is that some kind of family name?” Dr. Foster asked as they stepped onto the porch.

  “It’s Ca
dey-Lynn,” she corrected his enunciation and then spelled it for him. “She’s named for her father.”

  “It’s a pretty name,” he told her.

  “Thanks.”

  “I need to pull my truck to the barn, it has my supplies inside,” he opened his passenger side door.

  “Thanks,” Amanda ignored his hand and climbed in on her own. Once at the barn she showed him to where the bull was penned and excused herself to hurry back to her daughter. She was wiping Cadey-Lynn’s sticky hands when Trent entered.

  “Did Reece make it out here yet?” he asked as he entered.

  “Who?” Amanda frowned.

  “The vet.”

  “Oh, Dr. Foster; he’s at the barn,” Amanda supplied.

  “He seems nice. I was worried when Dr. Adams announced he was retiring but everyone is saying good things about Reece,” Sterling accepted a cup of coffee from Naomi.

  “He seemed nice enough,” Amanda lifted her daughter. A knock on the front door, prompted Trent to hurry that direction. Amanda moved to get her coat and Cadey-Lynn’s to go home; she caught the tail end of the conversation.

  “I gave him an injection; he should be fine,” Dr. Foster was telling her brother.

  “Thanks, Dr. Foster, would you like a hot cup of coffee before you go?”

  “I better not, but thank you for offering.”

  Amanda had put Cadey-Lynn’s coat on her and set her in the floor to put her own coat on. Cadey-Lynn went for Dr. Foster’s shoe laces.

  “Cadey-Lynn, no!” Amanda corrected sharply. Cadey-Lynn plopped onto her bottom and started howling.

  “Hi, there, cutie,” Dr. Foster dropped to his haunches and addressed Cadey-Lynn. Cadey-Lynn stopped crying, a finger going into her mouth as she watched the man, her blue eyes wide and lashes still spiked with tears. “Oh, you are a heart breaker aren’t you?” Reece smiled at the child.

  Cadey-Lynn studied him a moment before smiling back and crawling over to him to pull herself up on his knee and reaching to be lifted.