by Liz Isaacson
“You’re afraid to be seen with me.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re afraid to admit you like me. You’re—”
“Shh.” The elderly man in front of them turned around and frowned. Jace lifted his hand in a silent apology, then cast Belle a look filled with challenge, hurt, and fear. The older gentleman turned around, Belle faced the pastor, and Jace got up and left.
Jace couldn’t sit next to Belle for one more second. She obviously didn’t understand how hurtful it was to hear her tell Landon that she wasn’t there with him. Jace felt like someone had jammed a knife into his gut. His cowboy boots clunked the whole way down the aisle, an endless retreat. He couldn’t fathom what his face looked like, but concerned eyes and curious glances landed on him as he approached then passed. He hated breaking down in front of other people, but at the same time, he couldn’t keep up his strong man act much longer.
He managed to make it out of the chapel before he wheezed. He didn’t stop there, but hurried to his truck and secured himself inside before starting the ignition.
Then he just drove.
He steered his truck alongside the river, all the way up to the horseshoe waterfalls. He’d spent a lot of time fishing in this river and splashing in the pool at the bottom of the falls. Wide and short, they created a deafening noise he’d always loved.
He pulled into the parking lot and rolled down the window. Even though February had just begun and the weather still hovered below zero, the swift-moving water kept the falls liquid, though not as much water dropped over the twelve foot ledge.
After dinner with his family, Jace had decided to take a chance. He’d been encouraged by Belle’s response about sitting with him at church, and while he may not have thought through sitting by Landon, he certainly hadn’t expected Belle to deny being with him.
His nose tingled in the cold, and he rolled up his window. Every muscle in his body felt stretched too tight, and he hated it. Hated feeling so disposable. Hated feeling so weak.
He backed out and turned toward town. He drove past the church and into the heart of Gold Valley. Houses surrounded the city center, which boasted busy parks in the summer, the best Italian food at locally-owned Migliano’s, and a long row of shops on both sides of the street. Jace had loved buying penny candy at the corner store, ducking into the bookshop on hot summer afternoons, and racing Tom back to the river before their dad discovered they’d left their poles unattended.
He drove across the railroad tracks, turning when he felt like it. He hadn’t spent much time in town beyond going to school and the occasional day-trip to fish and wander Main Street. Ranching was an around-the-clock job, and his father had expected his sons to help.
Jace returned to the main road, and headed toward Silver Creek. Tom had said nothing but good things about the therapeutic riding program there, even suggesting that perhaps Jace could benefit from the equine therapy. For ten seconds, Jace considered pulling in and finding someone to ask about the program. In the end, he continued up the mountain, where an exclusive cabin community could only be accessed through a gate equipped with a code. A code he didn’t have.
He turned around and retraced his path, once again bypassing the church in favor of heading up the canyon and back to the ranch. Before Tom had returned to Montana, Jace hadn’t been much of a church-goer. But he’d gone along with his brother and he’d found value in the messages he heard. He felt something once he started going to church, once he started paying attention to others more than himself, once he felt God’s love for him.
After Wendy had left, Jace had craved the peace attending church had brought him. Now, though, he needed more.
He needed answers.
He needed closure.
He needed someone more than God to love him.
His truck bounced over the ruts in the road leading to the ranch, jarring Jace out of his thoughts. Though true, they only fueled his frustration. He didn’t know how to achieve closure, or how to make someone love him enough to stick around. Heck, he’d take someone liking him enough to admit it to their brother.
He skidded to a stop when he realized a red sedan sat in front of his house—where he usually parked. As his anger amped up, Belle unfolded herself from the driver’s seat. She cocked her hip and folded her arms as if to say, “Well, it’s about time you showed up.”
Jace got out of his truck and mimicked her body language. “What are you doin’ here?”
“I wanted to talk to you, but you apparently didn’t come straight home.”
He shrugged. “Drove around a bit. Cleared my head.”
“Oh, is that all it takes?” Her honeyed voice dripped with poison. “You thinking more clearly now?”
“I’ve been thinking clearly all along, sunshine.”
She snorted. “Obviously not.”
“You are afraid to be seen with me. You can’t admit you like me. Not even to your own brother. Not even to yourself.”
She marched toward him, her fingers balled in fists. For a moment, he thought she’d barrel right into him, and he braced himself. But she stopped with only eight inches to spare. “I like you,” she said through clenched teeth. “Happy now?”
“I like you, too,” he shot back. “I’m interested in getting to know you better, if you want that too.”
“I do.”
“Great.”
“Fine.”
Jace wasn’t sure if he should haul her into his arms and kiss her or steer clear of those fists. Judging from the fire in her eyes, she could’ve gone either way. “You want to come in and have some coffee?” he asked. “It’s mighty cold out here.”
“What kind of coffee do you have?”
“Oh, brother,” he muttered. “If it’s not up to your standards, you’re welcome to leave.” He stepped past her, wondering why he was so drawn to a woman he could barely tolerate.
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be up to my standards,” she said as she moved with him. “I don’t even have standards for coffee. You can’t keep putting words in my mouth.”
He paused with his foot on the bottom step. “You’re right.” The fight left his body. “I’m sorry.”
She stepped up onto the first stair so their eyes were level. “You need to get it into your head that I’m not your ex.”
“What? That has nothing—”
“She has everything to do with why you’re all worked up over simple things.”
“You told Landon you weren’t there with me.” His voice rose, and he swallowed to keep it from getting louder. “That—how do you think that made me feel? How would you like it if Tom asked me if we came together and I said no?”
“We didn’t come together.”
“We planned to meet and sit together.” He shook his head. He couldn’t make her understand. As he continued up the stairs he said, “I don’t think you’re Wendy. She has nothing to do with you rejecting me while I sat a foot away. That was all you, Belle.”
10
Belle’s heart beat furiously in her chest, drumming up into her ears and causing tears to form in her eyes. She had rejected him. Right in front of him, she’d rejected him. She watched him disappear into his house, the screen door slamming closed behind him. He didn’t close the solid wood door, though, and she squared her shoulders and marched up the stairs after him.
Be nice, she told herself for the hundredth time. She’d coached herself to be nice on the entire drive here. As she waited nearly an hour for him to show up. But something about him made her blurt whatever came into her mind.
She entered the house and softly pushed the door closed behind her. Jace stood in the kitchen, his back to her.
“Jace,” she said. “I’m really sorry.”
He swiveled toward her, his face shadowed by his hat. But his body language screamed tense and guarded.
“You’re right.” She slipped through the living room and stood chest-to-chest with him. “I didn’t think. And I’m sorry. I do
like you, and I don’t care who sees us.” Fear flowed through her, but she didn’t blink, didn’t look away.
“I like you, too, sunshine.” One hand came up to cradle her cheek while the other swept around her waist. He leaned down and inhaled her hair before pressing his lips to her forehead. Belle leaned into his touch, inhaling his warm, spicy scent and feeling safe in his arms. She imagined, just for a moment, of this being her reality, of going to church with him every week, coming home with him, sharing stories over coffee, and kissing to make-up every time they disagreed.
Happiness and peace poured through her. “Sorry,” she murmured again.
“Apology accepted.” He cleared his throat and fell back a step. “So I have coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Pick your poison.”
She wondered if he was on the menu, and how dangerous to her health he would be, but she kept that thought to herself—for once—and pointed to the coffee.
With the coffee brewed and doctored up the way she liked it, she moved into his living room and curled into his couch. He sat next to her, far enough to be comfortable and close enough to convey he wanted to get closer.
“Tell me what you did in Sacramento.” His tone didn’t demand, didn’t suspect, only asked. Politely too.
“Same thing I’m doing here. Interior design.”
He nodded as he sipped his coffee. “Mm, this is good.”
“You did a good job,” she agreed.
“You added more hazelnut cream than coffee,” he said.
She took a sip of the hazelnut concoction—with a hint of coffee in the background. “It’s so good. I mean, have you had hazelnut cream?”
“Obviously,” he said. “As this is my house, and you just drained the last of my supply.”
Guilt tripped through her and she lowered her mug. “You said I could drink it.”
He chuckled as he leaned forward and placed his coffee on the table. When he sat back, his arm came around her shoulders, tucking her securely against his side. “You can. I’m glad you like it.” He took a deep breath, and Belle snuggled an inch closer. She felt adored, like he couldn’t get enough of her.
“Sometimes I’d go surfing,” she said. “But it was a long drive. So we really just stuck to the riverfronts. We’d picnic or rent some jet skis. That kind of thing.”
“You like surfing?”
She drained the rest of her coffee. “Not really.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” he asked.
Her muscles spasmed, and she couldn’t hide the fact from Jace. Next to her, his lean body tensed, creating a hard wall of muscle. “Uh—I’d go surfing with my boyfriend. We both loved the ocean.” She wanted to look into his eyes when she mentioned a boyfriend, but she couldn’t tip her head back far enough without being obvious.
“You and this boyfriend, it’s still a thing?”
“Of course not.” She sat up and twisted toward him. “You think I’d be here if it was?”
His expression stormed, but he relaxed. “Sorry. Of course you wouldn’t. So you broke up?”
Everything Belle wished could be erased from her life came roaring back. “Yes, we broke up after he didn’t back me up on one of my projects. He’s still there.” She chewed her bottom lip, her mind about as far from Gold Valley as it could get. “He’s one of the people I need to forgive.”
“Ah.” Jace reached for her and gently pulled her back to his side. “What happened on the project?” His breath tickled her ear, and she imagined his lips to be so close, not close enough. Nerves ran down her arms, making her shiver.
“You cold? I can light a fire.”
Nothing could be more romantic, and building a fire would take him at least a few minutes. “Sure, a fire sounds great.”
He left her on the couch while he went to the wood closet off the back porch. Belle worried through telling him what had happened in California. Would he judge her? Think her incompetent? Wish he hadn’t hired her for the huge renovation at Horseshoe Home?
Trust him.
The words resonated in her mind until Belle’s anxiety faded. He returned and started stacking the wood in a pattern she didn’t understand. But when he crinkled newspaper, stuffed it in the cracks, and held a lighter to it, the wood caught almost immediately.
He turned back to her and clapped his hands together.
She took a deep breath. “I was fired in Sacramento.”
He flinched, but quickly regained his stoic expression. “That’s too bad.” He stepped into her and gathered her into a warm embrace. She pressed her cheek against his chest and relished the feeling of safety within the circle of his arms.
“But I’m kinda glad,” he whispered. “Because now you’re here.”
She’d never considered what doors would open from losing her job in Sacramento. But now, with the heat of the fire licking her face and the warmth from Jace permeating her senses, Belle thanked the Lord for putting her on the path she needed to be on, even when she didn’t know where that path would lead and she had to experience some hard things to find it.
Jace thought he could hold Belle forever. She fit against him, fit into his life. Easier than he thought possible. Wendy always seemed to buck against who Jace was—he’d just never known it until she left. He realized now that she never fit on the ranch, that she wouldn’t have been happy here. He wasn’t sure Belle would either, but she’d at least try.
“So, your turn,” Belle said as she settled back onto the couch. “Tell me something about your life here.”
He gestured to his house, the ranch beyond it. “This is my life. It’s pretty mundane.”
A crinkle appeared between her eyebrows. There, then gone in a flash. “There has to be more.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” He sat next to her but didn’t reach to touch her. “I’ve always wanted to see the ocean.”
“You’ve never even seen it?”
“Not in real life.”
“But you’re like, thirty years old.”
He cocked one eyebrow at her. “What does that have to do with anything? And I’m thirty-two, for the official record.”
“Your parents never took you on vacation?”
“My dad ran this place for thirty years,” Jace said. “And my mom skipped out on us when we were young, remember?” He suddenly felt so inadequate to be Belle’s boyfriend. She’d experienced things beyond Gold Valley, and well, he hadn’t. Horseshoe Home was all he knew, and until this very moment, it had been enough.
“Maybe we could go,” he suggested. “Me and you.”
She blinked, reached for her coffee cup, and frowned into it when she found it empty. “Sure. But not northern California. We should go to San Diego.”
“Sure.” He threaded his fingers through hers. “After the reno.”
“After the reno,” she echoed, her voice distant. He switched on the TV, having had enough conversation to last a week, and Belle dozed against his chest for the better part of two hours. Jace sank into slumber too, the most content he’d been since his botched wedding day months ago.
The next morning, he shouldn’t have been surprised to find Landon lounging in his office, but the sight of the size twelve cowboy boots propped on his desk did annoy him. “Can I help you with something?” Jace moved behind the desk and leaned his fists into it as he tilted forward.
Landon glared at him. “So you’re dating my sister.”
“She’s twenty-nine-years-old,” Jace said. “She can make her own decisions.”
Landon thought about that, even nodded to acknowledge its truth. “I don’t get it. You two never get along.”
“We get along fine.” The tension left Jace’s body, and he sank into the chair opposite Landon. “She’s…she makes me feel like living again.” He glanced over Landon’s shoulder, not really looking at anything. “I haven’t felt like that in a long time. It’s…nice.”
Landon’s frosty exterior melted. “With what you’ve been through the past year, I guess I can’t blame you.”
He stood and stared down at Jace. “Be careful, boss. Belle is a firecracker.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“It’s not her I’m worried about.” Landon tipped his hat and walked out, leaving Jace’s heartbeat pulsing in the back of his throat. It was good to know he and Landon were watching out for each other. Nice to know he had friends he could trust, could count on. Friends who understood and cared about him.
Thank you, he prayed. He’d needed to know he had more than God watching out for him. And now he knew he had Landon in his corner, even if things went south with Belle.
He worked through the day, the week, and the weekend. He took a shift every couple of months to give his cowboys a day off. That Sunday, he and Tom took the day to feed the herd before they retired to Tom’s cabin. Rose bustled around as she made cookies, and Mari stayed downstairs where another TV kept her occupied.
“Thanks for helping,” Jace said. “Sorry you had to miss church.”
“It’s once every few months.” Tom yawned and laid his head against the back of the couch. “But feedin’ the herd by yourself is tiring.”
“Sure is.”
Companionable silence ensued, and Jace enjoyed spending time with his brother, a luxury he’d missed for years while Tom worked in Texas. “I’m seeing Belle Edmunds,” he finally said.
That got Tom to shoot straight up, his eyes open wide as he searched Jace’s face. “You are?”
A slow smile spread across Jace’s face. “It’s a new development.”
“I saw you stomp out of church last week. She followed a few minutes later. Didn’t want to say anything about it.” He ran his hand over his unshaven face. “Wow, Belle Edmunds.”
“She’s a bit out of my league, isn’t she?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Tom peered at his brother. “You deserve a good woman in your life, Jace. Is she that?”
Jace’s sarcasm and humor went out the window. “I think so. I’m just gettin’ to know her. But she goes to church, and she works hard, and she’s kind. Well, at least to other people.”
Tom quirked half a smile. “You two never did get along.”