With his eyes still closed, he smiled. The dimple on his cheek deepened and the laughter lines around his eyes crinkled. “Sounds like you’re interviewing me for a job.”
His voice sounded soft and drowsy. Sarah snuggled deeper into the sofa. “It’s good to have goals.”
“That it is, Legs. Let’s see…” He opened his eyes and stared into the flames in the fireplace. “I’d like to have paid off most of the loan for the barn conversion. It worries me, owing the bank so much money.”
He frowned and Sarah waited for him to sort through the things in his mind.
“I’d like to be married, to have children. To be happy. Sometimes I envy Trent and Gracie. They found something special. It doesn’t come around often, that once in a lifetime love.” He sighed and looked across at her. “What about you?”
She thought about all of the things that used to matter. A career that was going somewhere, a successful business that would make her lots of money. She’d made lots of money, but it had come at a price. “I used to think what I was doing was the most important part of who I was. But it’s not. It’s who I am that’s important.”
Jordan nodded and closed his eyes. “Keep going. I’m listening.”
It was so much easier to think without his eyes resting on her, distracting her mind and body. What she wanted now seemed so much simpler, but she might never find it. “I want to be married to someone amazing. I want to wake up in the morning and know I’m the luckiest person alive.”
“What about children?”
Sarah looked at Jordan. His eyes were still closed. “Two.”
He smiled. “Two? I bet you’ve already chosen their names.”
It was Sarah’s turn to smile. “Fozzie Bear and Beaker.”
Jordan’s sleepy laughter made her heart flutter. “You’re Muppet crazy.”
It wasn’t the Muppets that made her crazy. It was the man sitting beside her. The one that made her glad to be here, in the middle of a storm, thinking about what she wanted to be doing five years from now.
Another song finished on the CD. The opening notes of the next song drifted across the room. She listened for any noise outside, the reason she was here tonight and not sitting in a restaurant sipping wine.
The storm sounded as though it had died out. She couldn’t hear the wind howling over the roof or the rain that had fallen hard and fast between bursts of snow.
She yawned and closed her eyes, let her mind drift. It would be so easy to stay here and let the rest of the world disappear. But she had a houseful of ranch hands that expected her to be home tomorrow. They’d spend a good part of their day outside. They’d be tired and hungry. She could make their day brighter by having hot food waiting for them.
“I should be going soon,” she said quietly.
Jordan didn’t say anything. She opened her eyes and smiled. He’d pulled his blanket under his chin and rested his head on the edge of the sofa. She watched his chest slowly rise and fall as he slept.
She’d seen how tired he was. It had been a big day and she didn’t want to wake him. So she pushed her blanket away and walked toward her bag. After sending a quick text to Mac, she went upstairs and took a couple of pillows and blankets off the beds.
She walked back downstairs, avoiding the stair that squeaked when you stepped on it. With a single kitchen light guiding her across the room, she blew the candles out and turned the music off. Jordan was still sound asleep.
Sarah stared at him for a few minutes before tucking one of the blankets around his shoulders. She kissed his cheek. And in some crazy way, at that moment, she knew she loved him.
***
Jordan opened his eyes and frowned. He was on the sofa, in the guests’ living room. It took a couple of seconds to remember why he was here.
He looked around for Sarah. It was still dark, but light enough to see that she wasn’t beside him. His nose twitched. He smelled fresh coffee and bacon. He rubbed his eyes and stumbled across to the kitchen. Sarah was standing in front of the toaster with a knife in her hand.
“Morning.”
She turned and smiled at him. “I thought you’d be asleep for a while longer.”
He glanced at his watch and groaned. Trent would be wondering where he was.
“It’s okay. Gracie texted me this morning to tell you to have a sleep-in.”
“She did?” It was worse than he thought. Gracie and Trent would think something had happened last night. A big something he would have liked to have happened. Except he’d fallen asleep. Probably snored like a train and turned Sarah off him for life.
“I told her to not to get her hopes up. That nothing happened.”
“You’re not making things any easier, Legs.”
The toast popped and Sarah started buttering it. “What do you mean?”
“Gracie’s got a romantic streak wider than the Grand Canyon. She’ll see us as a challenge.”
Sarah laughed. “Did you want me to tell her you had a hot babe almost in your arms and you fell asleep?” She passed him the toast then turned back to the oven. “Coffee’s ready. Bacon and eggs are about two minutes away.”
Jordan made two cups of coffee and left Sarah’s on the counter. “If you told Gracie I’d fallen asleep she’d think I was a lost cause.” He waited for her to tell him he wasn’t a lost cause. That they could be more than friends. But she didn’t say anything.
He cleared his throat and walked over to the window in the living room. Snow glistened in the half light of morning. It would be another long day, checking the cattle, fences, and any other damage the storm had caused.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Sarah stood beside him, sipping her coffee. In the early morning light, her blonde hair looked like a halo glistening around her head. Her eyes were focused on the view out the window, her lips curved into a soft smile. “I know why you live here. Each day is so different. Some days it takes my breath away seeing how amazing the land is.”
“It’s not the same when you live in town.”
She frowned. “I don’t expect it is.” She nodded at the table. While he’d been daydreaming and looking at the view, Sarah had set the table with their breakfast.
She sat down and reached for the ketchup. “Why did you mention living in town?”
“Last night you said you were looking at buying a property. If you want a good view of the mountains, you’ll need to look at one of the new subdivisions. But once you get neighbors they could block your view.”
“I’m buying a ranch.”
Jordan choked on the piece of bacon he’d just swallowed. “That’s…expensive,” he croaked.
“It’s not a big ranch, but eighty-five acres will be more than enough for me. There’s a nineteen-sixties home on the land. I don’t think anyone’s renovated it since it was built, but it’s solid and it’s got potential.”
He still hadn’t gotten past the eighty-five acres. “What are you going to do with the land?”
“Lease it. I know the people who own the neighboring property. I think they’d be interested.”
Sarah looked incredibly pleased with her reasoning. But eighty-five acres didn’t come cheap. He was worried that she’d fallen in love with a property that would bankrupt her. “Are you sure you’re not over-committing your money. I mean, eighty-five acres is a lot of land when you’re a city girl.”
“Jacob agreed with me. It’s a great investment. It’s got a wide stream running through it. I won’t need to worry about irrigation, even in the middle of summer. And it’s not far from Bozeman so the resale value will be huge. I could even subdivide the land into smaller blocks if I wanted to.”
“Jacob might think it’s a good investment, but he’s not the one paying for it. A piece of land like that would cost more than two million dollars.”
Sarah smiled at him. “Two point eight million.” She bit into a piece of toast and watched his face.
He shook his head. “You’re insane.”
“No. I’m rich.”
She smiled again and he felt a cold dread sweep through his body. “Rich?”
“I sold my software program for five and a half million dollars.” She seemed to realize he wasn’t feeling too great. “Are you all right, Jordan?”
“I’m just having a problem with…five and a half million?”
Sarah nodded. “The company have offered me a job, too. I’d be in their research and development team.”
“Five and a half million?”
“It sounds like a lot. But once I’ve paid for the ranch and spent some money renovating the home, I’ll probably only have about two million dollars left over.”
“You’re joking?”
“I’ve been working on a budget. The kitchen will probably cost me thirty thousand dollars on its own. And the bathrooms are a complete mess. I’d have to rip everything out and…”
“I mean about the money for your computer program.”
“Oh, that. No, I’m not joking. I’ve never seen so many zeroes in my life.” She seemed as happy as a Leprechaun sitting on a pot of gold.
“Where’s the ranch?”
Sarah’s smile dimmed slightly. “It’s not far from here.”
He pushed his plate away and had a feeling he knew just how far she was talking about. He could practically describe every dip and curve in his neighbor’s ranch. They’d been grazing Mrs. O’Ryan’s land for the past two years. After her husband had died she’d carried on as best she could, but last summer things had taken a turn for the worse.
She’d bought an apartment in a retirement village in town and put her ranch on the market. Jordan and Trent had talked about buying it, but with the cost of the barn conversion they couldn’t afford to get themselves into any more debt.
“You bought the O’Ryan ranch, didn’t you?”
Sarah nodded. “You don’t look too happy?”
“I’ve had better days,” Jordan muttered. “When were you going to tell me you’re a millionaire?”
Sarah stopped eating. Then she smiled, a huge enormous smile, that would have lit the entire barn with its brilliance. “I am aren’t I? I’d never thought about it like that. A millionaire. How awesome is that?”
Not that awesome as far as Jordan was concerned. Sarah had money, more money than he’d ever see in his lifetime. She’d just bought a prime piece of land, offered to let them keep grazing it. She was a greenhorn, she didn’t know what she was doing. Shit. He was in trouble now.
He picked up his coffee and emptied the cup in one gulp. “Have you told Gracie and Trent about the ranch?”
“Not yet. Mom and dad, Jacob, and Mrs. O’Ryan are the only people that know. Oh, and my accountant, but she’s in Portland.”
“You’ve got an accountant?”
“And a lawyer.”
He let all of that information settle in his brain. “When do you move in?”
“December twelfth. Mom and dad are staying at the Big Sky resort for Christmas. They’re going to help me choose an architect to change the layout of the house.”
Jordan didn’t care about the layout, but he did care about Sarah. “You’ll be living on the ranch over winter. On your own?”
“It won’t be a problem. This is my second winter. I know what to expect.”
Someone could have lived in Montana their entire lives and still get caught out by the storms that wrecked havoc everywhere. There was no way Sarah should be living in the middle of eighty-five acres on her own. “It’s too dangerous. Mrs. O’Ryan had her family close by. When the weather got bad, she’d go and stay with her daughter.”
“I’ve got you?”
The knot in Jordan’s stomach tightened. She did have him, more than she knew. But as soon as the general population found out they had another millionaire in town everyone would come and see who she was. And when some of those folks saw she was a beautiful, single blonde, they might get other ideas. Ideas that didn’t sit too well with him.
Sarah pushed her bacon around her plate. “I start my job on November fifth. I’ll be in San Francisco for a couple of weeks.”
He felt like he was in information overload and it wasn’t even seven o’clock in the morning.
“Jordan?”
“Sorry. It’s come as a shock, knowing you’ve got so much money.”
“Did you like me better when I didn’t have any money?”
He stood up and walked across to the kitchen. He rinsed his cup and plate and put them in the dishwasher. “I don’t know how I feel. Tell me about your job.”
Sarah described what she’d be doing at the company who’d bought her software program. It sounded interesting, just the sort of thing she’d enjoy. “Did you consider starting up your own business again?”
“I did, but I want a life as well. When you’re working for yourself, it’s too easy to let work consume you. I need to be able to step away.”
While he was in the kitchen, he rinsed the skillet, wiped down the counter. “How do you feel about having so much money?”
Sarah looked worried. “I’m still the same person, Jordan.”
“I know. It’s just a lot to take in.” And as much as he wanted to say that it didn’t matter, it did. And he wasn’t sure what it all meant. “I’d better go and see Trent before he comes looking for me. I’ll take you home in another hour if that suits you?”
“An hour would be fine.”
She watched him put his jacket on and hunt for his gloves. “There’s plenty of clean towels if you’d like a shower. Make yourself at home.”
“Thanks.”
Before he opened the door, he walked back to her. “Thank you for cooking breakfast and congratulations on buying a ranch.” He kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. “I just need time to get my head around everything.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
He pulled her closer. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all morning.”
***
Sarah packed another box into the back of her car and shut the door. It had been three days since she’d said goodbye to Jordan. She hadn’t heard from him or seen him since she’d left his ranch and it worried her more than she thought it would.
They’d had a wonderful dinner together, a great breakfast. Until she’d mentioned the money sitting in her bank account. Everything had been going so well. She still wasn’t sure why a few million dollars had made him leave the barn so fast. Most men would walk over hot coals to be dating someone with lots of money, but not Jordan.
“Do you need more boxes brought out?” Emily asked from the front porch.
“I haven’t got any more room. Are you sure you don’t want to come and have a look at my new house?” Even though she wasn’t supposed to move in for another few weeks, Mrs. O’Ryan had said it was okay to move some of her things into her new home.
“I’ll go with you next time. I promised Alex I’d make his favorite dessert tonight.”
Sarah smiled. “Would that come with or without whipped cream and chocolate sauce?”
Emily’s cheeks glowed. “What can I say? We’re in love.”
Sarah wished she could say the same thing. The object of her fantasies wasn’t talking to her and she still didn’t understand why. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Take care on the road. There’s ice everywhere.”
“You know me. I’m Miss Overcautious.”
Emily stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and smiled. “Tell me if you find more dead rats.”
Sarah started her car and drove down the driveway. The first time she’d seen the O’Ryan’s home she’d found a dead rat in the living room. It had been huge. Jacob had scooped it up and thrown it outside, but not before Sarah had seen its enormous teeth and long tail. She’d had nightmares about a zombie rat invasion for the next couple of nights.
As she drove along the highway, she thought about how it would feel once sh
e was living in her own home. She wanted to watch each sunset paint the mountains in glorious shades of pink and orange. She wanted to feel a deep sense of belonging, to be part of something that was bigger than herself.
She leaned forward and turned the radio on. She smiled as country music filled the car. It was one of her favorite songs and within minutes she was singing along with the lyrics.
She slowed down to make the first turn off the highway that would take her to the O’Ryan’s ranch. She indicated, turned her wheel, and panicked as her car slid across the road. She knew she shouldn’t have put her foot anywhere near the brake. But before her brain could catch up with her body, she’d slammed her foot hard against the pedal. The car spun, turned so fast that she didn’t know which way she was facing.
Then everything stopped. Sideways. Her car had left the road, flipped onto its side and left her pushed up against the driver’s door. After she’d spent a couple of minutes catching her breath and figuring out she wasn’t hurt, she turned the ignition off and looked around.
Her wallet, laptop, and sunglasses were sitting at her feet. The boxes of books and summer clothes she’d packed had been tossed around the back seat. All of that didn’t matter. What she needed was her cell phone.
She unclipped her seatbelt and spent a few minutes hunting under the seats, pushing boxes left and right, trying to see where it had gone. She couldn’t find it anywhere. She tried not to panic. Panicking had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
The best thing about the accident was that she’d stopped beside the main highway. The worst thing was that it was two o’clock in the afternoon. At times like this she would have given anything for a little Portland rush hour traffic.
She thought about whether she should stay where she was or try to walk to the nearest house to find a phone. One thing she knew for certain was that she couldn’t stay inside the car. She hid her laptop under her seat and looked around for her jacket. At least that had landed somewhere she could see it.
She crossed her fingers and prayed the car had enough power to open the passenger window. She smiled as the window slid smoothly down, then frowned as she tried to put her jacket on.
Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) Page 20