by Liz Isaacson
She nodded as the waitress arrived with their food. “What colors are neutral to you?”
“Gray, or I don’t know.” Jace smeared the butter on his French toast. “Eggshell, or whatever you fancy designers call it.”
“Not white.”
“Shows too much dirt,” he said. “And we get dirty.”
“Oh, I’ve seen how dirty you get.”
Jace chuckled, his spirits lifting a little bit with the easy banter of the beautiful woman across from him. “The cabins have exposed wood in the ceiling. That can stay. We do live on a ranch.”
“Maybe it just needs to be refreshed?” Belle forked a bite of omelet into her mouth. “Dark stain would offset well with eggshell. Or gray.”
Jace noticed her hopeful expression, the nervous tick of her eyes as she looked into his. He didn’t know what to make of it. “You can come see my place,” he said. “It’s bigger than the rest, but the color scheme and wood beams are similar.”
A rosy flush colored her fair cheeks. “You inviting me to your house?”
“Or maybe you’ve already been to Landon’s cabin.” Jace couldn’t sort through how he felt. He definitely wanted Belle to come to his house. But at the same time, his cabin provided the only sanctuary he had left. If she entered it…Jace didn’t know what would happen. And that scared him.
“I haven’t been to Landon’s.”
“No? No brother-sister-bonding time?”
“He comes to the house sometimes.”
Jace noticed she didn’t say my house. “You plannin’ on staying in town long?”
She picked at her food, moving ham and tomatoes around without eating anything. “I—I’m not sure.”
“Your parents will be gone for six more months.”
“This job could take that long, I suppose.”
“And then you’ll go?” He wasn’t sure why he cared so much, but he yearned to know.
She flashed him an annoyed glare. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, okay.” He tried on a smile but it felt wrong, so he wiped it away.
“Tell me about the lodge. Who works there, what kind of things you do there, that sort of thing.”
Jace liked the tonalities of her voice, the way she watched him with rapt attention when he spoke, how she didn’t write anything down. So he allowed himself to relax and get lost in telling her about the ranch. By the time he finished, Belle rushed off to her next appointment, and Jace realized he’d been talking for hours.
It felt good.
5
Jace aimed his truck under the arch boasting the double-H logo, and everything in his chest released as he drove onto the ranch. He drove down the road and around the bend, where the homestead sat on the left side of the road, and the inner workings of the ranch—the lodge, the barns, stables, silos, and the long row of cowboy cabins, with Tom’s way down at the end, ran along the right side.
When Landon exited the administration trailer—without a coat—and headed toward him before he’d gotten out of his truck, Jace quickened his pace. “What’s wrong?”
“Sent Ty and Nelson out to the west fence this morning. They were gonna de-ice the fence line, reset the posts, and be back by lunch.”
“Right.” Jace didn’t like the worried lines around Landon’s eyes.
“They didn’t come back. We can’t reach them on the radio.”
Jace checked his watch. Quarter to two. They should’ve been back three hours ago. “Did you send anyone out there?”
“Rob went with Elliot.”
“Rob went?” The owner of Horseshoe Home got involved with dealings on the ranch from time to time, but usually nothing more than giving out bonuses or boosting morale.
“He insisted. He happened to be in the office when I realized they hadn’t come back in yet.”
“When did we realize it?”
“Well, Gloria brought lunch, so….” Landon frowned at the ground. “They only left about one o’clock.”
“They have radios?”
Landon held up the handheld device as an answer. Jace took it, and pressed the button. “Rob, come in, Rob. It’s Jace.”
The silence unnerved him. Not only the silence from the radio, but that pressing on him from all sides. The Montana winter snows could do that—mute everything until the quiet drove a man mad.
“Jace,” came through the radio.
“Where you at?” Jace asked.
“Almost to the fence site,” Rob said. “I’ll keep you posted.”
“How long?”
“’Bout ten minutes.”
Jace confirmed that he expected to hear in ten minutes and gestured for Landon to come with him into the lodge. “Where are the rest of the boys?”
“Stables or barn. I gave them all something to do, what with the sun shining and all. Didn’t see any point in hanging around here, worrying.”
“Good call, Landon.” Jace clapped him on the back as they went inside. Jace had never noticed the things the building lacked, but after talking to Belle—and being in that beautiful building where she worked—he saw all the flaws. He ignored them as he strode toward his office, guilt gripping his gut. He should’ve been here—at the ranch where he belonged—not enjoying breakfast with Belle.
Just another reason to pass the renovation on to Landon. Then Jace could continue to manage the ranch.
Twelve minutes passed while Jace beat himself up for being absent when his men needed him. Twelve minutes before the radio made another noise. “Jace, come back.”
“Jace here. Landon’s with me.”
“We made it to the work site. They’ve been here, but they’re not here now.”
Jace heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. He prayed for the safety of his cowboys, his friends. “I’ll call emergency services.”
“We’ll follow the tracks. We didn’t see anything on the way in.”
“Keep the radio on,” Jace said. The conversation ended, and Jace looked at Landon for several long seconds. “I should’ve been here.”
“Nothin’ you coulda done different.”
“I might have noticed they were gone sooner.”
Landon swallowed, his green eyes bright with defiance. So much like Belle’s, but they didn’t elicit the same emotion in Jace that hers did.
“I didn’t mean that,” Jace said. “You’re a good cowboy, Landon.” He stood and moved to the landline in the front of the building to call the authorities. They might send an ambulance out. They might not. Jace didn’t really know what to expect, but it was standard procedure to let the authorities know when men went missing on the ranch.
Jace and Landon then moved some chairs to face the windows so they could keep a vigil until their friends returned.
Belle’s phone rang just as she sat down to eat the salad she’d brought home. Jace’s face brightened the screen, brightened the room, brightened her life. She smiled before she could remember that he rubbed her the wrong way, that he was a cowboy, her brother’s friend, and well, Jace.
“Hello?” She acted like she didn’t know who was calling.
“Hey.” Jace sounded tired. “You talked to Landon yet?”
“Haven’t heard from him. Why?” Something in his voice concerned her, made her forget about the deliciousness she’d brought home.
“We had some trouble out at the ranch today. He was pretty upset by the end of it.”
“What happened?”
“Lost some of our men for a little while. We found them, but Landon feels responsible. I told him he wasn’t, but…he said he didn’t want to stay in his cabin. See, one of the men who was stuck out in the cold is his roommate. The paramedics took both men to the hospital, just to make sure they’re okay.”
Belle got up and moved to the front window, as if she’d see her brother coming up the sidewalk at any moment. “How long ago did he leave?”
“Coupla hours. I told him to call me when he got to your place. He hasn’t checked in.”
“
Jace.” Belle took a deep breath and tried to reason through her rising anxiety. “He hasn’t called. And he hasn’t been here.”
“You sure he’s not there? How long have you been home?”
She stepped away from the window and headed toward the bedrooms on the left side of the house. “Only about ten minutes, but I’d have seen his truck.” She opened all the doors. Her brother wasn’t there. “Where could he have gone?”
She headed downstairs, but it sat empty too. She even checked the backyard while Jace attempted to soothe her. He finally said, “I’ll come pick you up. We’ll check his usual haunts.”
“I’ll call him,” Belle said, the only thing she could think to do while she waited for Jace to make the thirty-minute drive from the ranch.
“See you soon.”
Belle hung up and dialed Landon. He answered on the first ring. “Where are you?” she demanded, equal parts relief and rage roiling through her. Loud music pounded through the line. “Why didn’t you check in with Jace?”
“Did he call you?”
“He’s worried about you. Of course he called me. And I’ve been freaking out for five minutes while he explained everything.” She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. “Come home, okay?”
“Sorry, Belle.” He sounded sincere.
“I’ll call Jace. He’s on his way here.”
“Tell him I’m sorry too.”
Belle agreed and hung up. She tried Jace, but he didn’t answer. She wondered how he had service at the ranch in the first place. She hadn’t been able to receive texts.
Landon arrived at the house and Belle hugged him tight. “It’s not your fault. Accidents happen.”
“Don’t want to talk about it.” His eyes seemed darker and more dangerous than Belle had ever remembered seeing them.
“Okay.” She gestured toward the freezer. “I have ice cream.”
He pulled open the door. “Perfect.” He took out the container and scooped up a dishful of chocolate. Belle tried Jace again, with no success.
He arrived at the house five minutes after Landon fell asleep in the living room, the TV blaring and his empty bowl in front of him on the coffee table.
Belle let him in and gestured him into the formal living room. “He was just at the sport’s bar,” she whispered. “He’s fine.”
“Is he?” Jace tried to look over her shoulder, but he couldn’t see around the corner.
“He’s clammed up.” Belle rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Didn’t want to talk about it. I tried to call you.”
“I saw when I got out of the canyon. I figured I was already almost here. So….” He seemed to realize how close they stood at the same time she did. He backed up a step, meeting the desk behind him, as she retreated into the hall.
She couldn’t look away from him. His gaze bored into hers as well, creating an electric circuit between them. She shook her head, trying to get the attraction between them to settle down a notch. Plus, she had no idea what her body was doing, finding him so desirable, so alluring.
“Are you still gonna make him do the renovation?” she asked, her voice straying up into another octave. “You know, he has no taste.”
“You think I do?” Jace took a small step forward, enough for the light in the hall to illuminate his smoldering eyes and catch on the edge of his jaw.
Belle licked her lips; her eyes traced the edges of his beard. “More than him.”
Jace dipped his head, hiding that handsome face. A sense of loss Belle didn’t understand rang through her. “I don’t know, Belle.”
A thrill ran through her when he said her name. “Why not?”
“If I’d been there today instead of meetin’ with you, I might have noticed those men were gone sooner.”
“Where were they?”
“They fixed the fence and had started to come back in. But their vehicle got stuck in the snow and when they tried to get it out, it rolled down the embankment. Ruined their radio. They then hiked three miles through the snow to a cabin we have out on the property. They built a fire and dug in.” He inched forward again. “Landon couldn’t have done anything more than he did.”
“Neither could you,” she said, lifting her chin. If he stepped closer, drew his arm around her waist, and leaned down, she could kiss him. Her gaze focused on his mouth, and she lost all reason as she fantasized about what it would be like to touch her lips to his.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He swept by her without touching her, though the heat from his body made her tremble. He checked on Landon, who snored softly on the sofa. Jace came back, and he brushed his fingers against hers for the briefest of moments. A whisper almost, barely tangible and barely there. She tried to hold on, but his fingers disappeared.
“I’ll let you know if I can do the renovation tomorrow, okay?” His breath coasted over her shoulder, slid down her spine. She couldn’t speak, so she simply nodded and Jace let himself out.
Belle braced herself against the doorway and breathed. What was going on? She hadn’t been so attracted to a man since, well, she’d never been so attracted to a man. Even her last boyfriend didn’t hold a candle to the electricity that had flowed between her and Jace just now.
She pushed her ex from her mind. She didn’t need bad memories and her poisoned past haunting her, not right now. No, all she wanted to do was stand where Jace had so she could smell his cologne. A smile played with her lips as she thought about working with him on the renovations, beside him, day after day.
Please help him believe he can work with me, she prayed.
Belle suffered through her morning of organizing suppliers for Tilly and the hotel. The woman was stuck in the eighties, but Belle knew just how to bring her into the future. She’d made a list as soon as she’d arrived at her desk, and now four binders lay open in front of her, product numbers recorded and prices checked online. Belle enjoyed the work—there was something about making lists and checking things off that appealed to her. Sometimes she even made lists of things she’d already done, just so she could experience the rush of accomplishment when she crossed off the items.
It was a sickness, really. As was watching the clock on her computer. The minutes seemed to tick by. She glanced down, noticed her phone face-down on her desk, and flipped it over with an edge of panic in her motions.
What if she’d missed Jace’s call?
But she hadn’t. Her black screen stared back at her, reflecting her auburn hair and making her eyes look like dark pits. She unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. As a child, she’d longed to have a normal hair color. Anything but the dark red that seemed to catch everyone’s attention—and not in a good way.
She sighed and pushed her first-world problems away. She could dye her hair if she really wanted to. But the upkeep took too much money and too much time, both luxuries Belle didn’t have in Gold Valley. In Sacramento, before she’d been blamed for the Mix-Up of the Century, sure. But now? Definitely not.
Her phone buzzed and the ringtone began to play. Her heart kicked out a series of extra beats, but it was only Calvin.
“Hey, Calvin.”
“You should answer the phone with a, ‘Good morning. This is Belle Edmunds. How can I help you?’” The disdain in his voice practically dripped from the phone.
“I knew it was you.”
“I see the Rimrod Lodge hired you.”
Pride swelled in Belle’s chest and leaked into her voice when she said, “Yes. I got the paperwork signed yesterday.”
“I have another lead for you.”
Her suspicions went up. “For me? You don’t want the client?”
“I’m far too busy for something like this.” He acted like he designed castles for kings.
Belle employed her professionalism, glad for maybe the first time for her tutelage in Sacramento. There, she’d been nothing but perfect, nothing but professional, at all times. By the time she returned to her apartment eac
h evening, she’d been utterly spent.
“Who is it, Calvin?”
“The Flathead Lake Hotel and Spa.”
Belle frowned. “Flathead Lake is, what? Two hours from here?” The thought of driving around the mountain and across the Flathead Reservation—during the height of winter—made Belle shiver.
“About two hours, yes,” Calvin confirmed. “It’s a million-dollar contract. They want a complete overhaul, from top to bottom.”
“Right now? Isn’t the lake frozen?”
“They just barely put out the job. It could be a few months before it starts.”
“Good,” Belle said. “I don’t think I can handle Horseshoe Home, Rimrod Lodge, and driving to Flathead Lake every other day.” She’d only ordered materials for a few clients in Sacramento. Never more than one at a time—usually. The job that had been botched in California had been one of three clients she’d ordered for in the same day.
She hadn’t made a mistake, but she’d been blamed for the barn door coming in with the absolute wrong dimensions. The designer who should’ve been fired that day still worked at the company, and she’d thrown Belle under the bus faster than Belle thought possible. She’d wondered since losing her apartment and returning to the mountain town of Gold Valley, if Ynes lost sleep at night because of what she’d done. Belle certainly did. She wondered if she’d stood up for herself, if things could’ve been different. But she hadn’t. She’d been trained to be a silent bystander and that was how she went out.
“Do you want to send them your portfolio?” Calvin’s snappy tone erased the past from Belle’s mind.
“Yeah, I mean, yes. When is the proposal due?” She glanced at the binders on her desk and wondered if she really wanted another client right now. A million dollar contract, her mind whispered.
With a contract like that, Belle could leave the conglomerate and start her own business. Never mind that she had no home of her own in Gold Valley. She wasn’t tied to the area, though she loved the naturally occurring waterfalls and the soothing sound of the river at night.
“Not until the end of February,” Calvin said, pulling her back to the proposal. “They’re casting a wide net on this one, but I think having someone close, someone who knows Montana, will give you an edge.”