I found myself at the fire tower tonight. Do you remember that night we conspired to get Trent out of the house and ended up there? I climbed to the top again. I don’t know how long I stood there remembering and crying and in my own way saying good bye. I have to move on; I can’t stand still any longer watching life as a by stander. I suppose I’ll continue to write; I think it helps me sort things out, though I no longer hold any hope that you’ll be reading the words I write here. I miss you; I always will.
__________________________________________________
“Ugh! Where is my cute basketball belly, like you had?” Jenny demanded as she stood in front of a mirror in the maternity store. “I’m not pregnant in my belly; I’m pregnant all over!”
“You look fine,” Amanda assured her friend.
“I look awful! I am so glad your brother has already married me; he’d never go for me looking like this.”
“My brother adores the ground you walk on, pregnant belly and all. I didn’t know Mr. Thick Skull Jennings could be so gentle with a person,” Amanda assured her friend.
“You said you were going to start dating, Mandy; when?”
Though Amanda had promised herself she was going to start moving forward and dating she had yet to take anyone up on their offer. Not since the debacle with Kevin.
“Cadey-Lynn is now two years old, Mandy; it’s been almost three years. I want you to be as happy as I am now, maybe have another child. As much as you love being a mother, you can’t tell me you don’t want more.”
“You just said you’re fat and miserable,” Amanda countered.
“No, I said I look awful and I’m pregnant all over,” Jenny corrected her. “So how does it look? Like a tent?”
“You aren’t even that big yet,” Amanda rolled her eyes.
“I know what we could do,” Jenny’s eyes lit.
“What?”
“We could invite that hunky new vet out to the ranch. He certainly seemed to shake you up that night in town.”
“That hunky vet, as you put, is entirely too forward.”
“Yeah, because you like subtle men?” Now Jenny was rolling her eyes. “Come on, Amanda; let the hunky new vet shake things up a little,” Jenny grinned teasingly.
“I don’t need things shaken up,” Amanda protested.
“I don’t know, shaking things up can be kinda fun,” Jenny’s eyes twinkled.
“Go try the next outfit; we’re here to shop,” Amanda grumbled.
“Fine,” Jenny sighed and turned back to the dressing rooms.
Thirty-Three
Amanda held Cadey-Lynn in her arms swirling and dancing around and through the house to a country song; her daughter was giggling and her eyes were bright.
“I love you, Cadey-Lynn,” Amanda yelled above the music. As the music on the radio transitioned, Amanda placed a hand high on her daughter’s back and dipped her low to the floor. Cadey-Lynn’s eyes were bright as she laughed deep in her belly. Amanda smiled; her daughter’s laughter made her heart soar. Amanda spun Cadey-Lynn around several more minutes until she ground to an abrupt halt. The day was warm and Amanda had left the inner door open; Reece stood, his shoulder propped against the door frame and was smiling at them.
“Hi,” Amanda was breathless from dancing and okay, his smile might be part of it too. She went to turn the music down.
“Hi,” he returned.
“How is it you have a way of catching me at my goofiest moments and leave me feeling at a disadvantage?” Amanda moved toward the door.
“Wasn’t my intent,” he assured her.
“What was your intent?” Amanda inquired as she noted his faded jeans and crisp blue shirt.
“I was just checking on a foal for your brother and thought I would say hi. I wanted to apologize again if I upset you that night in town. You’ve been pretty efficient at avoiding me ever since.”
“You unnerve me,” she admitted and watched him smile again.
“Is that necessarily a bad thing?”
“I haven’t decided,” she informed him as she opened the screen door. “Come in,” she stepped back and watched him enter. He was tall, well filled out; he made the room seem smaller.
“Thanks,” he glanced around the space curiously and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I think it’s great that you play with your daughter with abandon and aren’t above being silly with her. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed or at a disadvantage because of that.”
“Oh, well, you caught me off guard,” Amanda set Cadey-Lynn on her feet. The toddler quickly moved to claim her favorite dolly and tote it to her toy highchair; she shoved her in head first before correcting her mistake.
“I see she’s practicing for when she gets older, let’s hope she gets the hang of which end goes in first,” Reece grinned at Amanda; she felt herself smiling in return.
“Listen, I don’t want to harass you or anything but I would very much like to take you out,” Reece, his gaze direct, waited.
Amanda had to swallow hard before she could speak. “Okay,” her insides jumped. “When?”
“I’d like to take you to dinner next Friday night, just me and you. Today, I was hoping you might be open to a picnic in the park; the three of us,” Reece nodded in Cadey-Lynn’s direction.
Amanda felt thrown off kilter, of all the men who had asked her out, only Reece had expressed an interest in knowing her daughter as well. Amanda, unable to speak, nodded.
“Thank you,” Reece smiled at her.
“I’ll need to gather a few things; packing for a toddler is a bit like moving,” her voice finally returned.
“Not a problem; I have the rest of the day,” he assured her.
“As far as food…”
“I’ve got it in the truck,” he informed her.
Amanda, her brows inquisitive, paused.
“I knew I had to come out here this morning. I was hoping; figured worst case scenario I was eating a picnic by myself,” he offered with a shrug.
“A big handsome guy like you picnicking by his self? What is the world coming to?” Amanda teased.
“You’re flirting!” his expression was comical.
“I do know how,” she laughed as she grabbed her daughter’s bag to pack it. “Excuse me,” Amanda lifted her daughter and moved up the stairs.
“Well, Cadey-Lynn, what are we getting ourselves into this time?” Amanda asked as she changed the child’s clothes. “You want to go the park?”
“Go park,” Cadey-Lynn agreed.
Amanda gathered what she needed as quickly as she could.
“Can I get anything?” Reece asked as he followed her into the kitchen.
“I think I’ve got it,” she assured him before filling a couple of cups for Cadey-Lynn.
Amanda stepped onto the porch and pulled the door to behind her. “I’ll have to get Cadey-Lynn’s seat,” she told him. By the time she was ready to go he was going to have changed his mind, she mused. There was no such thing as getting out the door quickly with a toddler in tow.
“Let me help,” he volunteered. They soon had Cadey-Lynn’s seat transferred and were on their way. She had made a quick call to the main house to tell her aunt she was going out so no one would worry but she wasn’t quite ready to tell Jenny where she was going; that was going to cause a stir.
“Well, I made all these plans to get you to go out with me and now I can’t for the life of me decide what to say next,” Reece grinned. “I know you’re from here; I know your mom died when you were a baby, your aunt and father raised you and you have one brother married to your best friend. You have a daughter, just over two years of age; you have a business degree, and you love ranch life. I know you had your heart broken, survived it, and find you to be an amazing woman. What else should I know?”
“How do you know all that?” Amanda demanded of him.
“I did my homework,” he turned to offer her a grin.
“I guess so. Where are you from?”
“I am from North Dakota, small little prairie town.”
“Have you always wanted to be a veterinarian?”
“No, actually. I was into bull riding for a while; wanted to go professional but after getting my brains knocked around, once almost mortally, I changed my mind.”
That explained the muscle, she mused.
“Wow, adventurous type?”
“Can be. These days I keep it to some white water rafting and wrestling bulls for medical care.”
“So what are these life lessons you said something about sharing?” Amanda asked him.
“One is to never lay my cards on the table all at once,” his eyes sparkled as he answered.
“I think you are entirely too charming and therefore dangerous; you can take me home now,” Amanda laughed.
“I have worked too hard to finally get you to go out with me to give up now that you’re here. I have tried to bump into you at church, I’ve even been to the ranch a couple of times; turns out you weren’t home. Today I just decided to go for it.”
“I’m flattered,” she admitted.
“I’m flattered that you agreed; you seem pretty cautious, but then considering all I don’t blame you.” Reece turned his truck into the park drive.
After Reece had parked, Amanda jumped down and started gathering Cadey-Lynn and her things. Reece grabbed a picnic basket and they crossed an open field to a stream bank; Reece spread a blanket on the ground.
“Figured it would be easier for Cadey-Lynn if we skipped the picnic tables,” Reece explained.
“Good thinking,” Amanda set Cadey-Lynn down and then seated herself beside her daughter. Their conversation was relaxed as they ate. Cadey-Lynn called every animal “bwird” and kept trying to stray down the stream bank; between the two of them they managed to keep her from the water.
“Where are you going?” Amanda chased her daughter as she took off running across the field, her giggles floating behind her. Amanda caught her around the waist and swung her off her feet. “You are a booger,” Amanda accused.
“What do you say we take her to the playground where all that energy can be put to good use?” Reece was already packing their supplies.
“Thanks, sorry about that.”
“It goes with the age. My cousin’s daughter is about to get the better of her.”
“This one’s a hand full to be sure,” Amanda admitted. Once on the playground, Cadey-Lynn wasted no time climbing the large child friendly steps onto the play structure, Amanda and Reece followed. Reece seemed unfazed, chatting easily with Amanda as they followed behind the toddler and helped when she needed, otherwise they let her explore. When she spotted several children playing on a handle attached to a track that mimicked a zip line, she grabbed her mother’s hand and started pulling.
“Cay-Lynn play,” she pointed to the handle.
“Cadey-Lynn, I don’t think you can do that one sweetie,” Amanda informed her daughter.
“You want up there?” Reece squatted to ask her. A moment later he lifted the child. “Hold on tight,” he kept his hands at her waist and held onto her all the way to the other end. Cadey-Lynn’s delighted laughter filled the air. She convinced Reece to do this several more times before he set Cadey-Lynn down and collapsed dramatically.
“You wore me out,” he told her.
Cadey-Lynn grabbed his hand. “Up,” she tugged.
“I’m too tired; you wore me plum out,” he said.
“Up,” Cadey-Lynn shook his chest. Reece sat up with a roar and scooped the child into his lap to tickle her ribs.
Amanda was smiling as she watched; her father and Trenton were the only men who played with Cadey-Lynn in this way. By the time they left to return to the ranch it was getting over into the evening and Reece insisted on taking them to dinner. Amanda felt torn about Reece. He seemed to be a nice man, very patient with her daughter too, but the thought of dating him scared her.
“Thank you; I had a nice time today,” Amanda told Reece after they had hauled in all of Cadey-Lynn’s things.
“My pleasure, we’ll have to do that again sometime.”
“I think I’d like that,” Amanda smiled.
“Good. I know I would. Good night, Amanda.”
“Good night, Reece,” Amanda bid and closed the door. Cadey-Lynn was drooping, suggesting that it was time for a bath and bed. After settling her daughter in, Amanda grabbed her journal and moved to the porch.
Cade,
Cadey-Lynn and I spent the day with a really nice man. He was good with Cadey-Lynn; that’s important, very important. I think I might like him and that scares me. Reece is a gentleman; at least he certainly seems to be. I said I was going to move on and I want to. I just wish it wasn’t so scary. Our daughter is becoming a chatterbox, her vocabulary expanding so fast she seems to have a new word every few minutes. She is so smart and so incredibly fun to be with. I so wish you could know her. Miss you.
Thirty-Four
Jenny had grilled Amanda about her afternoon and evening with Reece and readily agreed to watch Cadey-Lynn and made Amanda go shopping for her date. Amanda had chosen a pretty green sundress and bought herself a nice jacket to go over it. Her heart had been about to pound from her chest as she waited for Reece and continued to behave erratically over dinner at a nice restaurant in Haddon. After eating, they strolled through town as they talked and shared details about themselves they hadn’t yet covered. When Reece walked her to her door at the end of the night, Amanda knew she would be seeing him again. He had kissed her lightly on the lips, hesitated a moment, and then kissed her more thoroughly before he bid her good night and left. His kiss hadn’t set off the same intense response in her as Cade’s had, but it had definitely set off some fireworks.
As Jenny’s due date approached, Amanda waited for the call to come that they were off to the hospital. The call came in the dead of the night; Amanda hurried to dress. Her father had suggested ahead of time that Amanda bring Cadey-Lynn and leave her with him. He said he would see the baby first thing the next morning and Amanda and Naomi wore definitely more equipped to help Jenny deal with child birth, he reasoned. Jenny’s parents reached the hospital right behind them and hurried into the waiting area. Once Jenny was settled, they took turns visiting her where she and Trent waited impatiently for their child to arrive.
It was well into the next afternoon before Angela Naomi Jennings arrived already screaming her displeasure with the world. Amanda had taken one look at her niece and fallen head over heels in love. Sterling arrived and playfully demanded to know when someone was going to give him a grandson.
“We’ll be waiting a while. Talk to Mandy; she has a new suitor,” Trent teased his sister.
“I am a long way from knowing whether I would want that with Reece,” Amanda protested.
“He’s a nice man, Mandy,” her father encouraged her.
“I need time to know that,” she insisted.
“You know you want another one,” Jenny teased.
“I would, if and when it’s the right time, right man,” Amanda acknowledged. Cadey-Lynn sat perched in her mother’s arms and frowned at the baby as though she was an unwelcome invasion.
“Baby,” she finally pointed at the little one.
“That’s Angie,” Amanda carried her daughter closer to Trent, who held his daughter.
“Angie?” Cadey-Lynn leaned in. “Angie play wif Cay-Lynn.”
“She’s not big enough yet, give her a little time and she’ll love playing with you,” Amanda promised. Cadey-Lynn seemed to lose interest at that point and started squirming to get down.
“You do not need down in here,” Amanda informed her daughter. “I’m going to take her home, congrats you two; she’s beautiful, but then you know already know that.” Amanda kissed her new niece, her brother, and Jenny before leaving. Jenny had been right, Amanda wanted another child, but she wasn’t about to rush into a relationship just to get one.
____________________________________________
_______
Amanda found herself visiting Jenny and little Angie frequently and drinking in the sight and smell of the sweet little one. The only child she had ever loved more was her own daughter. Her relationship with Reece was going well, though she was insisting on taking things slow. They had been on several more dates, just the two of them as well as with Cadey-Lynn in tow. Cadey-Lynn had decided that Reece was her favorite new play thing. He would push her on the swing for seemingly forever, give her rides on his shoulders, and even let her ride on his back and play horsey. Amanda liked him; she liked him a lot but when he asked her to meet his family while they were visiting she had almost run the other way. He had finally convinced her to come, insisting that Cadey-Lynn be included. It was on shaking legs she entered his house the night of the gathering.
“Reece is back,” a petite brunette announced as she hurried toward them. Amanda could see the resemblance immediately; this had to be his sister.
“Rachel, this Amanda and Cadey-Lynn. Amanda my favorite little sister in the world, Rachel,” Reece made the introductions.
“It is so nice to meet you,” Rachel hugged Amanda. “I have been hearing about you since Reece moved here. First how he couldn’t figure out how in the world he was ever going to get you to go out with him,” Rachel’s eyes gray were twinkling as she shared this.
Amanda felt heat climb into her cheeks.
“Come on Rache, really,” Reece chastised his sister. An older couple had joined them as they spoke and stood smiling as they waited for their introductions.
“Amanda, this is my mother, Stella, and my father Oliver,” he introduced the couple. Mom, Dad, may I introduce Amanda and this little cutie is Cadey-Lynn.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Amanda returned nervously. This felt serious despite Reece’s assurance that his parents knew they were still getting to know each other.
Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series) Page 32