After the food was gone they continued to sit on the log talking about ways they could make the camping experience even better next time. He had no doubt there would be a next time. Visualizing the future, he saw a whole string of next times, whether they ended up camping or hanging out at her place.
Or they could stay at his place once he rented an apartment. Or...their place? Although he knew not to anticipate something so major this early in the relationship, he couldn’t help it.
She’d worn her necklace outside her shirt this morning since they wouldn’t be hiking. Reaching over, he took the pendant between his fingers. “Your grandmother had great taste.”
“I know. She didn’t just buy this in a store. She had someone design it.”
He smoothed his thumb over the large pearl. “Then she must have had an idea of how she wanted it to look.”
“Definitely. And it all has meaning. The pearl is so I’ll remember to be kind to everyone because under their protective shell could be a pearl.”
“I like that. What about the diamonds?”
“She used to say I was her sparkly girl and she never wanted me to lose my sparkle.”
Tugging gently on the necklace, he brought her closer and looked into her eyes. “You haven’t. I can see that sparkle right this minute.”
She laughed. “I’ll bet you can.”
“What about the silver heart?”
“That’s the most important part of the necklace. She always told me that no matter what, I should follow my heart.”
“I would have liked your grandma.” He leaned in, eliminating the gap between them.
“She would have liked you, too.” She sighed. “We should probably pack up.”
“But we’ll come back.”
“I’d like that.”
“Then we will.” He kissed her gently, mindful of his stubble.
As they broke camp and lugged everything to her truck, he thought about the next few days filled with wedding activities. The events would present some challenges for finding private time, but he was ready to tackle the obstacles and look for hidden opportunities to be with her.
On the drive back he started with the immediate one, Cade’s bachelor party that night. “Obviously, it cuts out dinner and most of the evening,” he said. “And no telling how late that will go, but I could come by your place whenever it winds down. Would that work for you?”
She laughed. “Are you asking if you can show up at my door at two in the morning?”
“Yes, ma’am, I suppose it could be that late. When you put it that way, it’s an imposition. Never mind.”
“You can show up at my door anytime, cowboy.” She continued to watch the road, but she reached over and squeezed his thigh. “Anytime at all.”
Heat traveled straight to his groin. “Any more of that talk and I’ll be looking for a little side road.”
“I’ve been fantasizing about that ever since we left our camp.”
He sighed. “But we really can’t.”
“No, we really can’t. We’ll already get back later than I expected.”
He checked the time on his phone. “And by now the ranch house will be filling up with people from out of town. I should be there.”
“Absolutely. And I have an editing job to finish.”
“You do? I thought you’d wrapped up Lexi and Cade’s video.”
“I did. This is a family reunion I shot last weekend. Rosie recommended me for it. I have most of it done but I promised to show them a preliminary version this afternoon.”
“Which means you’d be free tonight and I’m not.” He couldn’t miss that bachelor party, but he wouldn’t have to stay until dawn, or even close to dawn.
She flashed him a smile. “Like I said, anytime.”
“Count on me, then. I’ll be there.”
“I’ll leave the light on.”
That reminded him of the ribbing Cade had given him about being a cab with its roof light on. This situation with Drew didn’t fit that analogy at all, though. So what if she was the first woman he’d dated since he’d come back to town? He’d just been extremely lucky to find his soul mate immediately. Sometimes life happened that way.
He looked over at Drew. “Speaking of editing, how soon will you work on the video you took yesterday of the mustangs?”
“Since I won’t be seeing you until late, I’ll start on it after I finish the reunion one.”
“Will you try to market it?”
“I might, although if I do, I’ll give the profits to the folks who are doing so much to protect those horses.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“Until now, I wasn’t sure I had anything that would sell, but—” She paused as her phone chimed inside the console where she’d tucked it.
“Want me to get that for you?”
“That’s okay. It’s my sister texting me. I forgot that today she was supposed to hear whether she got an internship in Florence for the fall semester. If I find a good place to pull over, I’ll stop for a minute and text her back.”
“Florence, Italy?”
“Yep. She really wants the internship. It would be a great experience and it’d also look good on her résumé.”
“Is she your only sister?”
“No, just the one closest in age to me. There are six of us, three and three. Like I said, big family. And that’s only counting my siblings. The list of cousins goes on forever. No matter where you go in Billings, you’re likely to run into a Martinelli. We show up in—” Her phone chimed again with a different tone. “Huh. Now she’s calling. She must be really excited.”
“There’s a spot to pull over.”
“I see it.” She put on her blinker and moved to the side of the road. “I promise I won’t be long.” She switched off the engine and took her phone out of the console. “We both have things to do.”
“Sure, but an internship in Florence is important stuff.”
“It is, isn’t it?” She dialed, put the phone to her ear and waited. “Hey, sis! Did you... Oh, no!” She listened for a moment. “I can’t believe it.” Turning to Austin, she gave him a thumbs-down sign. “They’re idiots. Too bad for them.” She paused. “I know. It sucks.”
Even though Drew had the phone to her ear, Austin could hear her sister crying.
“Here’s what we’ll do.” She met his gaze as she talked. “I’ll come up and bring you down to Sheridan. You can be my assistant videographer for the wedding.”
He took a deep breath and nodded to show he understood how her plan would impact them. If she needed to help her sister, he’d deal.
“Elise, it’s absolutely okay,” Drew said. “I could use the help and you know the routine. Meet me at Mom and Dad’s and bring a suitcase. Tell Mom that I’ll stop and pick up a pizza from the restaurant. Call it in for me, okay? Love you, too. Bye.” She disconnected and looked at him. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. These things happen.”
She smiled. “When it comes to my family, they happen a lot and if it were anything other than this, I wouldn’t get involved. But Elise had her heart set on going to Italy and I can’t just ignore her right now.”
“Of course you can’t.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“Family’s important.” In fact, he was glad to see how much she loved hers. One more thing that proved how compatible they were.
Chapter Twelve
Drew had the rest of her day carefully structured. She’d finish the reunion video in two hours, tops. Then she’d shower and change, drive to Billings in time for dinner, and be back at her apartment with Elise before midnight. It was doable if she dropped Austin off and left immediately.
But when she swung her tr
uck into the circular driveway in front of the ranch house, she realized any plans of a quick exit were down the drain. Rosie and Herb sat on the front porch with Jonah but joining them was her former rafting guide Liam Magee and a pretty blonde woman who must be his wife. Another couple was there as well, probably Liam’s brother and sister-in-law.
Austin confirmed it. “Hey, it’s Liam and Grady! Perfect. You can say hi to Liam now instead of in the middle of the wedding chaos.”
“Quick, tell me the names of their wives again.”
“Hope’s the blonde with Liam and I think she just published a novel. The redhead is Sapphire, Grady’s wife. He sculpts with recycled metal and she’s a potter.”
“Oh, my God. That’s Grady Magee.” Drew parked the truck and switched off the engine. “I didn’t put it all together when you told me his name earlier, but I’ve heard of him. His work is in a gallery in Billings. Darn it, they all look like people I’d like to get to know better. I wish I didn’t have to rush off.”
“You’ll probably have more time tomorrow after the rehearsal.”
“Not really. I’ll be shooting during the dinner, too. My method is to get more than enough and then pick out the gems.”
“I see your point, but don’t worry. There will be other chances in the future.” Austin flashed her a smile as he opened his door. “I have a feeling you’ll be hanging out with this family quite a bit.”
His statement hit her like a splash of cold water. She’d meant to climb down herself to save time, but she was so startled by what he’d said that she was still sitting in the driver’s seat when he opened her door. She wanted to ask what he’d meant by his remark, but now wasn’t the time or place.
She let him help her down and automatically thanked him, but her mind was still busy with his comment. He could be referring to her growing friendship with the family through her work, but she didn’t think so. His jaunty smile and his confident tone indicated that he saw her as becoming part of the family. And he’d be the connection.
Not that she didn’t like him. She was crazy about him, in fact. But that didn’t mean she was ready for the kind of commitment she thought he was hinting at. Maybe she was imagining things.
He must have sensed a change in her, though, because his smile faded. “Are you okay?”
“Just thinking about all I need to accomplish.” Including a heart-to-heart with him, especially considering the imminent arrival of her sister. Good Lord, if Elise got the wrong impression of her relationship with Austin, that story would travel back to Billings. Her mother would start paging through wedding magazines and mailing Drew clippings of dresses and bouquets.
“Then let me grab my duffel out of the back while you head up to the porch. I won’t bother with the stew pot and anything else I brought to cook with.”
“Right. Just leave it. I’ll get everything back to you tomorrow.”
“Listen, you have my cell number if you need me for anything before then.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” She wished she didn’t have this uneasy feeling that he’d misunderstood her intentions toward him. Now with Elise coming, she would have no opportunity to clear that up.
That said, the sooner she could talk with him, the better. She didn’t want him giving his family the wrong impression about their relationship, either. But she couldn’t do anything about the situation now and she really was excited to see Liam and meet his wife.
They left their chairs and came down the porch steps to greet her. “Isn’t this a great coincidence?” Liam gave her a big grin and a hug. With his dark hair and green eyes, he could have been right at home in an Irish pub, except that he didn’t have the accent.
“I’m so happy to see you again!” She hugged him back and then turned to meet Hope. When Drew mentioned hearing something about a novel, Hope lit up. Once again, Drew was sorry she couldn’t stay longer and find out more about it.
She climbed the porch steps with them and was introduced to Grady and Sapphire, who were also extremely friendly and complimented her on the video she’d done for Thunder Mountain Academy, the residential equine education center for teens. That turned out to be a perfect lead-in to her news about selling the video she’d made while a passenger in Liam’s river raft.
Rosie and Herb were also eager to hear all about it. When Austin came up the steps carrying his duffel, Rosie insisted that everyone should have a seat while she and Herb went to fetch snacks. There was no stopping Rosie when she launched into hostess mode, so in less than five minutes Drew was drinking lemonade and eating peanut butter cookies while participating in an animated discussion of the best way to market creative work.
The gabfest was wonderful and could have gone on for hours. Drew enjoyed every minute but knew she’d have to make her excuses soon or her whole plan would collapse. Finding the right spot to slip in a comment about leaving wasn’t easy, though.
Then Austin did it for her. “I’ll bet Drew hates to take off in the middle of this, but we need to let her go. She has a work deadline.”
She sent him a look of gratitude. “He’s right, I do. I have to finish editing the Hayworth family reunion video by four this afternoon. And thank you, Rosie, for getting me that gig. It was wonderful.”
“The Hayworths are good people,” Rosie said.
“They’re terrific and they’d be okay if I took another day or two. But I need to get it done now because something else has come up I need to tell you about. I’ve asked my sister Elise to be my assistant while I’m shooting the wedding. She’s done it before and she’s a huge help.”
Rosie beamed with pleasure. “What a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to meet her. When will she arrive?”
“Actually, I’m driving up to get her tonight. So I really do need to leave.” She picked up her glass. “I’ll just take this into the—”
“I’ve got it.” Austin smiled as he took her glass.
“Thank you. And thanks for being my Sherpa.”
“My pleasure.”
Turning, she bid everyone goodbye.
“I’ll walk you to—”
“That’s okay. Gotta run.” She dashed down the porch steps. If she let him walk her to the truck he was liable to give her a quick kiss goodbye. Yes, they’d be on the opposite side of the vehicle, somewhat out of sight of the folks on the porch. But it was broad daylight and everyone would be able to see enough to know what was going on. She wasn’t ready for PDA.
What was she ready for? She debated that question on the drive to her apartment. When it had been just the two of them at the campground, she’d let herself enjoy the freedom of having a sexy interlude that her family didn’t have to know about. She’d been less guarded with him than the men she’d dated in Billings because he wouldn’t be running into one of her relatives on the street.
Instead she’d be running into his relatives. She hadn’t factored that into the equation. Now that she thought about it, all the Thunder Mountain guys she’d met either had wives or serious girlfriends. She hadn’t been introduced to any who weren’t in a committed relationship except Austin and his friend Jonah.
If finding a soul mate was a common trend in this group, she didn’t want to be a part of it. But had she said anything that would lead Austin to believe she was looking for a permanent arrangement? Whether she had or not, they’d work things out the next time they had a chance to talk in private. In the meantime, she had a schedule to keep.
By sticking to that schedule, she pulled into the driveway of her parents’ two-story frame house a little after six. She’d picked up the pizza her sister had ordered from the family restaurant, an extra-large called Everything but the Kitchen Sink.
On the drive from the restaurant it had filled her truck’s cab with delicious aromas and she was starving. Other than lemonade and cookies at Thunder Mountain, she hadn’
t eaten since breakfast.
Elise came out to meet her with arms open wide. She’d had her dark hair cut in an asymmetrical style that was very artsy. “You are the best big sister a girl could ever have.” She gave Drew a tight hug. “Mom and Dad mean well, but they’re trying to help me find alternatives. They’ve been on the phone with all the aunts and uncles discussing it.”
“Let me guess.” Drew returned her hug. “You’re not in the mood to consider alternatives.”
“Bingo. I want to wallow in my misery. They can discuss and debate this if they want, but I’m taking turns ignoring them or offering ridiculous options.” She grinned. “That frustrates the heck out of everybody, so it’s probably a good thing you’re getting me out of town.”
“I had a feeling you’d be ready for a change of scenery.”
“And pizza. I’m ready for pizza. It smells amazing. I’ll carry it in, okay?”
“Be my guest.” Drew was encouraged that Elise had an appetite. She was slim to begin with, so she couldn’t afford to skip too many meals.
Elise took the pizza from the passenger seat and closed the door. “You know what the worst part is? I almost got it. I’m the runner-up. Some master’s student from Seton Hill got it, but I’m in second place. Big whoop.”
Drew followed her sister up the walkway where they used to play hopscotch. “But that means if he or she can’t go—”
“Oh, she’ll go. If she applied for it, she has her ducks in a row. Who wouldn’t?”
“I hear what you’re saying, but stuff happens. Until the boat sails, or the plane takes off, you still have a shot.”
“I suppose.” Elise climbed the steps to the wide front porch. The wicker rockers that would be taken in with the first snowfall had patriotic cushions for the approach of Labor Day. “But it almost hurts worse if I nurture that hope. And wanting that means I’d like the woman who got it to have something major happen to keep her from going, which would be terrible for her. It’s bad karma to wish for that.”
Do You Take this Cowboy? Page 10