Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides, Book 5)

by Leeanna Morgan

  Emily’s body melted. She wanted everything. But most of all she wanted Alex. “I want to be happy. I want you to be happy. I’m sorry I thought the worst of you yesterday.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that.” He moved in close and held her hands. “There’s one good thing that came out of your jealous rage.”

  Emily frowned. “I wouldn’t have called it a jealous…”

  Alex leaned forward and kissed her. Hard. Then came back for another toe curling kiss that left them both breathless. “You were saying?”

  She leaned against him and breathed. “You don’t play fair.”

  “I’m not playing,” he whispered.

  “Okay, you two. Keep the hot and heavy stuff away from here. Some of us have a work ethic that needs to be maintained.”

  Emily stepped away from Alex and grinned at her brother. “Your work ethic only comes into force when you haven’t got a girlfriend.”

  Cody threw his hand over his heart. “I’m wounded. You’d better tell me why I’m here, otherwise I might go home and wallow in self-pity.”

  “Drywall,” Alex said. “I need a hand to hold it in place.”

  “No problem.” Cody helped Alex lift a sheet across to the wooden framing. “Nicky came in a few minutes ago. She said that Flavio is available if you want him to supervise the models, whatever that means.”

  Emily clapped her hands and did a happy dance. “That’s awesome. Flavio is the king of the catwalk. What he doesn’t know about pomp and pageantry isn’t worth knowing.”

  Cody held the drywall while Alex got his electric drill. “I’m good with models, too. If you need an assistant, I’d do it for nothing, seen as you’re my sister.”

  Emily laughed at the innocent expression on her brother’s face. “I’m blown away by your generosity.”

  Alex drilled half a dozen screws into the drywall, then glanced at Emily. “You’re sure you can organize a fashion show and still open the boutique on time?”

  She crossed her fingers, her toes, and anything else she could think of. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “It looks as though we’ve got two deadlines for completion, then.”

  And before Alex could move, Emily threw herself into his arms and held on tight.

  ***

  Emily turned another page in the album Molly had put together. The photographs of their fashion shoot at the ranch weren’t the standard editorial shots she’d been expecting. The images were whimsical, stunning and so breathtakingly beautiful that she had to blink back the tears that sat heavily on her lashes.

  “Oh, my.” Emily swallowed. Gracie glowed from the page. Sunlight danced off her hair, through the sheer fabric of her shawl and in gentle waves over the baby she held in her body. “These are beautiful. I don’t know what to say except thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Molly said. “It was easy to capture the moment, harder to choose which images to add to the album.”

  “Are you sure I can’t pay you something toward the cost of the photos? I feel bad accepting these for a couple of dresses.”

  “But then they’re not your average dresses either.” Molly smiled at the row of fabric they’d hauled across from Emily’s home. “There’s a pretty pink silk over there that caught my eye. If you’d be open to a suggestion or two, I’d like to help design a dress for a special occasion.”

  Emily smiled. “Absolutely.”

  Molly nodded and set the album aside. “I’ll send the images to your graphic designer tomorrow. And now onto the fashion parade that Nicky talked so highly about. What is it exactly that you’d be wanting me to help with?”

  “I was going to hold a fashion show in my boutique as part of the opening. But I started thinking about Kaylee, the little girl who needs a bone marrow transplant. I thought that a fashion parade with other designers would draw a crowd, pull people into the audience that wouldn’t normally come. We could charge a fee for the designers and the audience. I’d like you to take a photo of each model at the end of the runway.”

  “Sounds like a grand way to help. Will it still be in the boutique?”

  Emily shook her head. “It’s not big enough, so I made a few phone calls. The Emerson Center in downtown Bozeman had a late cancelation. I’ve booked the fashion show for three week’s time.”

  Molly smiled. “You’re not one to muck around. I’ll be in Montana for another month, although not so much in Bozeman. If you give me the dates, I’d be honored to help out. Did Alex tell you about the book I’m putting together?”

  Emily nodded and tried to ignore the blush on her face. “It’s a great idea.”

  “He’s a fine man.”

  “When I saw the photo of you and Alex in the newspaper, I thought that you…”

  “Don’t be daft,” Molly scolded. “I don’t go pecking at another woman’s man. He did me a favor, although I can’t say it was done gladly. He has an aversion to publicity.”

  “He never used to be like that.”

  “We get older, we change. Sometimes for the best and sometimes not.” Molly reached for her satchel. “I thought you might want to see the photos of Alex.”

  “I don’t need to…”

  Molly left an album on the table. “Go ahead. Look at your man and tell me what you see.”

  “You don’t understand. Alex and I are finding our way. He’s not my man.”

  Molly pushed the album closer. “Tell me that after you’ve looked at them.”

  Emily lifted the cover and stared at the photo in front of her. She turned the page, then the next, spellbound by the emotion, the raw intensity stamped on each image. There was pride, determination, and majesty. And something else, something she hadn’t noticed before.

  She flipped back through the photos and looked again, sure she must be imagining things. It was in the way he held himself, the angle of his head. The shadow in his eyes. The only word she could find to describe it was loneliness.

  Alex wasn’t lonely. He had friends and family around him. A career that put him in front of thousands of people. But it was there, all the same.

  “Look at the last photo,” Molly said quietly.

  Emily turned the page. “When did you…”

  “At the school play when I first arrived. You didn’t see me, but I saw your chicken feathers.”

  Molly had cropped the image, zoomed in until just their heads and shoulders filled the page. Alex’s hand brushed Emily’s face, wiping a feather off her check. They were looking into each other’s eyes. They were happy, relaxed. Connected to each other in a way that went beyond the lens of the camera.

  “Do you see?” Molly asked.

  Emily closed the album and ran her hand over the cover. “Alex will be leaving soon. What’s in the photo doesn’t mean a thing.”

  “The camera doesn’t lie. A photographer can influence the light, create a mood where there’s stillness. But it’s never forced. What you see and don’t see depends on who’s doing the looking.”

  Emily thought about what Molly had said, let the words settle, shift and finally rest where they needed to. “Can I ask you a personal question? Why did you come to Montana?”

  “To find my light,” Molly sighed. “Without my sister pulling me across the ocean, I might have stayed at home, feeling sorry for myself.”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story. Too long for a hot summer afternoon in your grand boutique. Now that we’ve cleared the air, why don’t I give you a hand to move more of your pretty fabrics?”

  “Only if you’ve got time.”

  “I’ve got all the time in the world,” Molly said. “And we can make the most of it together.”

  ***

  Emily stopped her truck in front of Alex’s home. It was Sunday, eight days before the boutique opened and twelve days before the fashion show. Everything was working out the way it was supposed to. As long as you discounted the lighting company who couldn’t deliver the chandelier she’d ordered, and the pa
nicked designers ringing her every hour to talk about the clothes they were showing.

  And as much as she adored Flavio, he was a perfectionist, and she didn’t have time for perfection. She needed to get her boutique set up, all of the pre-ordered designs shipped off to their owners and a fashion show organized. She didn’t have a couple of hours to look at different options for floral arrangements, or compare the design of one invitation card over another. Decisions had to be made fast, and Flavio didn’t do fast.

  That was part of the reason she’d come out to Alex’s ranch. She needed time to breathe, time to get away from the chaos erupting around her. Spending a couple of hours away from her family, away from her cell phone, and most importantly, away from Flavio, would settle her nerves. That was the theory, anyway.

  She got out of the truck and stared at Alex’s home, seeing things she’d missed on her first visit. A horseshoe hung above the front door, barrels full of pansies surrounded the old tack room.

  The height and width of Alex’s home cast a shadow across the front yard and over the flowerbeds that someone had spent a lot of time planting.

  “They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

  Emily turned to face the woman walking toward her. Her blonde hair was caught at the back of her head in a ponytail. She was tall, curvy and had a wide, friendly smile on her face.

  “They’re oriental poppies. Mac thought I was going overboard with the number of plants going into the ground, but I’m pleased with the result. I’m Sarah, part-time cook, dishwasher and cleaner around the ranch.” Sarah held out her hand and Emily shook it.

  “I’m Emily. Alex and I are business partners.”

  “Mac told me about the photo shoot. Sounds like you had a lot of fun.”

  “It was and the photos look great. The catalog’s at the printers and we’re working hard to get everything ready for the opening of the boutique. Is Alex home? I wanted to give him something.”

  “He went off with Mac a few hours ago. Some cattle escaped last night and they’re fixing the fence. He shouldn’t be much longer.”

  Emily knew what it was like on a ranch, one hour fixing fences could easily become three. It was a twenty-four hour a day operation and anyone who lived by the clock wouldn’t last more than one season.

  “You’re welcome to come inside with me,” Sarah continued. “I’ve got lemon cake cooling on the counter and a pot of hot coffee ready.”

  Emily glanced at the house behind Sarah, then out over the ranch. The wildflowers were still blooming, spreading a riot across the pasture. “It sounds lovely, but would you mind if I went for a walk first? I’ve been bent over my sewing machine all day and I could do with the exercise.”

  Sarah smiled. “Enjoy yourself. I’ll be inside when you’re ready for a cup of coffee. If you head behind Alex’s home and turn right, there’s a path that takes you down to the lake.”

  Emily waved goodbye and started walking. Within minutes, she could feel the tension in her shoulders unraveling, leaving her lighter, more positive about what she was doing.

  She saw the dirt path that Sarah had told her about and moved more quickly, lengthening her stride, pulling her spine straight. The smell of sage, mint and lemon filled her lungs as she brushed past the field of flowers. She kept moving, listening to the sounds of the ranch, the sound of a life so different to her childhood in Los Angeles.

  The friends she’d left behind in California wouldn’t recognize the person she’d become. Even she had a hard time believing that someone who’d been spoon fed exhaust fumes and smog could enjoy living in a town that didn’t have a Neiman Marcus store.

  But they did have Macy’s and so many other good things that it made the loss of Neiman Marcus easier to bear. Emily laughed at herself, at the person she could have been if she’d stayed in Los Angeles. Life had been too easy. She didn’t have to prove herself, fit in, or try to be better than she was.

  Nicky had told her to find something that pushed her out of her comfort zone, but she’d been living out of her comfort zone for years. Only now it had become her normal. Living in Montana had forced her to be better than she had been. To learn how to stand out in a crowd and be proud of herself. How to love someone when you didn’t know if it was right or wrong, or something in-between that shook the very foundation of who you were. Who you could be.

  The fashion show wasn’t pushing at her comfort zone, Alex was. How far she was prepared to be pushed was what had brought her out to the ranch.

  ***

  Alex made his way along the edge of the lake, heading toward Emily. He could see her red hair shining in the early evening light, sense the purpose in her stride. The rest of the ranch was slowing down for the evening, but not Emily.

  He kept walking, keeping pace with her, wondering where she was going in such a hurry.

  She stopped and turned.

  He smiled at her across the pasture of wild flowers. She waved and started walking toward him.

  “You’re back early.” She was slightly out of breath. Her smile was contagious and made him feel lighter, less worried about the decisions he was making. The direction his life was about to take.

  He pushed his hat back, absorbing the easy atmosphere between them. “I saw Sarah. She said you were ten minutes ahead of me. Where are you going?”

  Emily opened her arms wide. “I’m exploring. I’ve been cooped up inside for most of the day and I need a break.”

  “I’m glad you decided to come out here. How did the sewing marathon go?” He knew she had three dresses that needed to leave Bozeman tomorrow morning. And that didn’t count the wedding dress sketches she’d promised another client. Or the samples of lace she’d put together last night and asked him to mail on his way back to the ranch.

  “I’ve got an hour or two of hand stitching left for tonight and then I’m finished. I had to turn my cell phone off, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten half the work done. I’ve got something for you.”

  He knew he should be worried about the grin on her face, but he’d given up being worried around Emily weeks ago. She constantly surprised him, left him spinning in circles. Left him so topsy-turvy that he’d forgotten what it was like to wake up, set his feet on the floor and know what would happen next.

  She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out an envelope. “I saw Sam the other day. He mentioned something about a bet he’d made with you.”

  Alex frowned, flicking through his memory to find what she was talking about. When he landed on the answer, he didn’t know whether to smile or run for cover. “The poker game.”

  “You made yourself two hundred bucks.” Emily held the envelope toward him. When he didn’t take it, she stuffed it in his top pocket. “Sam should have known better, but it worked out for the best.”

  He took the envelope out of his pocket and handed it back to her. “I don’t want your money. It was a dumb bet in the first place.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not mine. Sam gave me the money. He said to tell you that it hadn’t worked out for him. Nicky’s still pestering him.”

  “She’s not happy with the space we created?” They’d nearly finished Nicky’s office on the top floor of the boutique. They’d built it big enough for a huge desk, a playpen, a conference table and more shelving than any management consultant could ever need. And to top it all off, they’d put enough wiring in the walls for two more computers.

  “No, it’s fine. She wants Sam to remodel one of their bedrooms. He’s getting buried under wallpaper samples and color charts.” With a wide grin on her face she announced, “Nicky’s pregnant. I’m going to be an auntie again.”

  “Congratulations.” The happy glow on Emily’s face made him pause, take note of what she wasn’t saying.

  Everywhere he looked people were having babies, getting married, making a life for themselves. He was having a hard time figuring out his own life without adding someone else’s wedding bells and teething rings to the equation. It was e
nough to make a single man run a mile.

  “Mom’s already pulled out her knitting needles and quilt fabric. We’re going to have a winter baby this time, and she doesn’t want it getting cold. As if that would ever happen.” She looked down at the envelope in her hands. “Why don’t I add this to the money we’re raising for Kaylee?”

  Alex had lost track of the conversation after Emily mentioned knitting needles.

  She waved the envelope in the air. “Earth to Alex? Do you want me to add this money to Kaylee’s transplant fund?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Alex pushed his hat back and looked across the lake. He could hear a brood of Dusky Grouse near the water’s edge. They’d be watching their nests, getting ready for the chicks that would soon be hatching. Damn, even the wildlife had the date and mate thing going on.

  “I was wondering…” He cleared his throat, stumbling over the words inside his head. “We never got around to discussing kids and things. I don’t even know if you want to get married some day.”

  Emily had gone white. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  Oh, hell. He didn’t know why he’d brought the subject up. He was tired and brain dead. He was working long hours at the boutique, helping out on the ranch and trying to figure out where bull riding featured in his life.

  “No.” His voice echoed across the lake and a dozen grouse shot into the air. They flapped their wings furiously, lunging high with bodies that didn’t look as though they were made for flight.

  The baby thing had snuck up on him. Christopher would make a great older brother and when Gracie had her baby she’d be a wonderful mom. The thought of all the new babies was muddling his brain.

  “I just wondered, that’s all.” He pulled his hat low, hiding behind the brim. He might not know what he wanted, but she didn’t have to look so shocked about the prospect of marriage. At one time, half the women in Montana would have married him. The single half that had World Bull Riding Champion’s wife etched onto their brains and in their bank accounts.