Closer to You (A Haven, Montana Novel)

by Jill Sanders

  No, she texted back.

  Can’t sleep?

  Nope. You? She sighed and took a sip of wine.

  Nope, laying in this bed all alone, dreaming of holding you.

  She settled farther down in the bed and smiled. It’s cold here without you.

  It’ll be warm soon. We’re supposed to have a break in the weather late next week.

  Who is your meeting with tomorrow?

  It’s just a meeting, he replied. Then, after a moment: What are you wearing?

  She laughed and thought of how she’d answer. Before she could compile a text, her phone rang and she smiled at seeing his number.

  “What are you wearing?” His voice was low and sexy, causing her body to respond.

  “Silk,” she whispered. “You?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Tell me what color the silk is.”

  “Pink. Like my skin.” She heard him groan.

  “Run your hands over it.” His voice sounded hoarse and low.

  “I am,” she replied, tucking her phone close to her ear. She did so, listening to him breathe and dreaming of him.

  “Slowly remove it,” he said. She did as he asked. “What about those yoga pants of yours?”

  “I’m not wearing them.”

  She heard him hiss in a breath. “What, then?”

  “Matching silk bottoms.”

  “Why haven’t I seen those yet?”

  “You chose to spend the night alone.” She smiled at the sound he made.

  “Slide them down . . .” he started to say, but she stopped him.

  “Not until you do something for me first,” she interrupted.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Touch yourself. Slowly,” she whispered. She’d never been so bold before. Never wanted to be.

  “Honey, I already am,” he said.

  Okay, so she didn’t know what to do or ask of him next. She’d never had phone sex before. And, it felt . . . sinfully wonderful.

  She was thankful he took the reins again. Telling her what to do, how to do it, and moaning his own pleasure as she made sexy noises while she imagined his hands doing what hers were.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The meeting the next day was hell. Tyler hated wearing a suit, hated being stuck in a stuffy room all day, full of stuffy people who presumed to know more than he did about what the town of Haven needed. The worst part of it was, it was on a Sunday.

  He should be sitting around, watching a game at home with his brothers, with his mother cooking dinner, but he wasn’t. He was here, listening to people talk and fight about the future plans for his town. They went over everything from the new construction for the grade school to speed limits, and even touched on if they should allow temporary signs above businesses.

  Even his brothers looked frustrated, sitting across from him in their own suits.

  He knew that most of the men and women in the room would be more comfortable in a worn pair of jeans, enjoying a beer after a long day’s work. But once a year, they dressed in their finest and argued about the future of Haven.

  Even Martha Brown, the mayor of Haven, had a hard time keeping everyone on topic. While everyone in town respected her, most had a hard time not stating their opinions and giving back a little attitude in the process.

  Everyone was arguing over what to do with the aging playground equipment in the public park. Some people wanted to trash it and buy all new stuff, while others wanted to have someone come in and clean it up. Either way, half of the people in the room were against the other half.

  By the time lunch rolled around, Martha finally had everything back under control and had promised to look into both options and get back to everyone by the end of the month. Her ability to control a room of irate people was one of the reasons Tyler knew she was perfect for the job.

  They took a break for lunch and ate the cold sandwiches that were supplied. He’d never desired a beer more than at that moment.

  “Can you believe we still have three more hours to go?” Trey tossed back a drink of water.

  “Why don’t I have a flask?” Trent added under his breath.

  “You know, that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.” Tyler slapped his brother on the back. “Guess I know what we’ll all be getting each other next Christmas.”

  Low twin chuckles could be heard from his brothers, just before the meeting was called to order again. He swore he’d find someone to take his place in the meeting next time, but when they came to the gossip about McGowan selling out, he knew it was no longer an option. Not if they planned to keep running their father’s business.

  Everyone in the room turned toward him.

  So he sucked it up and did his best to put out the fires of rumors. He raised his voice, arguing against people who swore he was lying since they had heard otherwise from secret sources.

  “We’ve had offers before, none of them have swayed us,” he argued.

  “No one has ever sent someone to town before,” Martha pointed out. “Especially not someone so young and attractive.”

  Tyler read between the lines and knew that the mayor of the small town knew everything that was going on. His eyes narrowed as he tried to outwit the woman who knew everything Haven.

  By the time the end of the meeting approached and past, he was still arguing with several people about selling out. His brothers stood behind him. Stating the facts over and over until finally, everyone had enough.

  “Can we all agree that as long as we”—he looked between his brothers, then back to the room of a dozen people who he’d considered friends—“have control of McGowan Enterprises, all of this hearsay will never be an issue.”

  The room was silent, but then Dennis Rodgers stood up, a damn smirk on his face, and said, “We heard you were selling out, that someone else will be running the shots around here. And that they plan to start fracking.”

  For the next few minutes, the room exploded with more arguments. When everyone finally quieted down, Tyler sighed.

  “Once again, we have no intentions of selling,” he started to say.

  “Then what’s that woman still doing in town?” The question was shouted out.

  “I’ve heard she’s paid for another two weeks at the hotel,” someone added.

  “That doesn’t mean we will sell,” Trent said.

  “She can set up a permanent residence in town for all I care, nothing is going to change our minds,” Trey added.

  “My brother is right. As long as I’m head of the company, nothing will change.” Tyler glanced around the room, his eyes narrowing to each individual in the room who he believed was responsible for most of the rumors. “If we’re done acting like a bunch of teenagers who like to gossip and spread lies, I’m tired and would like to call it a day.” He stood up, glanced around at his brothers who stood beside him. Several other people nodded their heads in agreement. “Then I call to adjourn this meeting.”

  “Second,” someone called out. The room stayed silent as everyone slowly started standing and gathering their things.

  “That was hell,” Trey said as they walked out of the town hall. “Who’s up for some real food?”

  “Me,” Trent said.

  “Me.” Tyler rolled his shoulders.

  “The Moose?” Trey asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” Tyler said before getting behind the wheel. Trent climbed in next to him while Trey got in the back. His little brother always had to sit in the back if they were together. He’d used to argue about taking turns, back when they were in school, but stopped trying long ago when Trent argued that as soon as Trey could beat him at arm wrestling, he would get to sit in the front with the big kids. Until then, he was stuck in the back seat.

  “That was a bitch of a day,” Tyler said once the truck was purring and heat was pouring out of the vents.

  “You handled it well.” Trey leaned forward and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “The kicker was”—Trent glanced over at him—
“I think you handled it better than the old man would have.”

  Tyler felt his stomach roll, then the strangest thing happened: his chest hurt and he found his throat closing up. So he drove in silence and parked in front of the Dancing Moose.

  “Isn’t that the car Kristen’s been using?” Trent said, looking at the car he’d parked next to.

  “Yup,” Tyler said under his breath. He didn’t wait for his brothers to respond since he was already out of the car and heading toward the doors.

  When he walked in, Kristen was sitting in the same booth they had sat in before. And she wasn’t alone.

  He walked over, knowing his brothers would follow.

  “Evening,” he said, causing her to jump and look up at him.

  “Oh, Tyler.” Kristen smiled and scooted over. He sat down and looked across the table at her dinner guest. “Mom.” His eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t look at me like that.” His mother’s chin rose. “She’s the one who invited me here.”

  His eyes moved to Kristen’s.

  “I . . . wanted to ask your mother some questions.”

  “About?” Trey and Trent walked up. Trent took the spot next to their mother, while Trey grabbed a free chair and turned it around backward to sit at the end of the table, directly in the aisle.

  “Business,” Kristen said, with some color rising in her cheeks. “How did your meeting go?” She tried to turn the conversation around, but he wasn’t going to allow her off the hook that easy.

  “Long and boring. What kind of business?” he asked.

  Kristen’s head tilted, then a slow smile crossed her lips. “I’ll tell you if you tell me first. What was your meeting about?”

  Everyone was silent, waiting for him to respond. Finally, when he’d decided to tell her, Trent jumped in.

  “It’s an annual Haven meeting. All of the business owners get together once a year to discuss what’s going to happen in the coming year.” He sighed. “Boring stuff.”

  “And they hold it on a Sunday?” she asked, still looking at Tyler.

  “Not normally. They hold it on the first day of spring. This year, it happened to fall on a Sunday,” Trey said, his eyes immediately going to the television over the counter, where the end of the game was playing.

  “What kind of business do you have with our mother?” Tyler asked.

  “The private kind,” his mother chimed in, but Tyler ignored her and kept his eyes locked on Kristen, who suddenly looked guilty.

  “I . . . I thought she might have some more insight as to who might be trying to buy out your company.”

  He thought about it for two seconds. “And?”

  “What is there to tell? I wish I knew someone with millions to drop on our business.” His mother sighed and leaned back, placing her arm around Trent. “But the McGowans aren’t known for hobnobbing.”

  Tyler and Trent chuckled. Trey was too involved in the game to take part in the conversation.

  “We’ve ordered dinner, would you men care to join us?” Kristen asked.

  “I’m starved.” Trey finally joined the conversation again and waved a waitress over to take their orders.

  “Were there problems with the protesters?” his mom asked.

  Tyler rolled his eyes at her for not dropping the subject, but he knew his mother desperately wished to know how the meeting went.

  “Yeah, but Old Smoothy here handled them like a pro.” Trey slapped him on the back. “Did a damn good impression of Dad up there while he was at it.”

  His mother’s eyes softened and he knew she was on the verge of tears. Tyler opened his mouth to change the subject, but she shook her head at him and reached across the table and took his hand. “They’re tears of pride,” she said, wiping the moisture from her cheek with her free hand as she squeezed his hand. “A mother is allowed to indulge in tears, as long as they are for the right reasons.”

  It was a statement all three of the boys had heard many times. As such, they knew better than to argue with her when she was like this. Instead, Tyler buried his head in the menu and tried to hide his feelings from everyone at the table.

  Kristen sat in the corner booth and listened to how the family interacted. She’d called Gail and asked her to meet since she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk business the other night. Nor had she believed it had been appropriate to do so. Gail had sounded eager to meet and suggested doing dinner.

  During the course of the time there, several town members stopped by the booth to talk to Tyler. They shook his hand like he was the most important person in town and told him how good of a job he’d done in the meeting and how proud his old man would be of how he was handling the family business.

  She’d always enjoyed people watching, especially when the people were as animated and fun as Tyler and his family.

  The brothers had a way about them that sucked her in. Just the way they treated one another was something she wished she could show the world. She’d heard about married couples who had been together so long that they could finish each other’s sentences. Well, with the four people sitting at the table with her, it was beyond that.

  Most of the time, the McGowans knew what their family members were going to say before they even opened their mouths. At one point, Trey was talking about a movie, but couldn’t remember the name or any of the actors in it. The only description he gave was that it was a horror flick. To which Trent jumped in and provided the title, actors, and even the scene in which Trey was trying to tie to the conversation.

  “I’d hate to play charades against you four,” Kristen joked. But instead of laughing, everyone looked at her like she’d grown two heads. She chuckled. “You’re so connected. It’s like you’re all part of the Borg Collective,” she joked.

  Tyler reached over and took her hand in his. “You like Star Trek?”

  “Who doesn’t?” She laughed.

  “Marry me,” he said, his brown eyes locked with hers.

  She laughed again and tugged her hand free. “You know, that’s the second time you’ve asked . . .”

  “Three times a charm,” Trey added with a huge smile. “That’s why Mom and Dad stopped having kids after me. I was so perfect, they knew they couldn’t top me.” He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled bigger.

  Everyone at the table laughed.

  “We stopped having kids after you because I decided to stop trying for a girl after the third boy.” His mother smiled at him. “Not because you were perfect, but because you all were a handful. We couldn’t have handled another child after you.” She smiled at Trey, who laughed back.

  “You keep lying to me, but I know the truth.” Trey finished his food and leaned back as the waitress cleared the table for them.

  Just then, a group of people came in the door. It wasn’t so much the sound of the door opening that had everyone glancing over, but the fact that it was a rather large group of loud people.

  “Protesters.” Trey sighed. “So far, they’ve stayed outside of town, eating their granola bars.”

  “That’s no way to treat someone you don’t know.” Gail slapped Trey’s hands. “Until you walk a mile . . .”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Trey sighed and leaned back. “I’m done here.” He started to get up, but then stopped. “Is that . . . ?”

  Kristen craned her neck around until she could see who Trey was nodding to.

  “Oh, yeah,” Tyler jumped in. “Addy said she went to school with you.” Tyler shrugged. “I can’t seem to remember her, though.”

  “That’s because she used to wear thick glasses, was rail thin, and had a boy haircut,” Trey explained. “Man, has she changed.” He whistled.

  “We ran into her at the grocery store the other night.” Trent nodded to her.

  “You . . . did?” Tyler asked.

  “I ran into Trent at the store and while we were talking, ran into Addy.” Kristen smiled and took Tyler’s hand in hers. “She was talking with Brian.”

  “Brian? Br
ian Laster?”

  “Yeah, he was harassing her.” Trent frowned as he looked over at the pretty brunette.

  When he did, it seemed to have gotten the woman’s attention. Her eyes scanned the group, then she turned and said something to the other woman—Kristen remembered her name was Joy. Then Addy began walking toward them.

  “Good evening.” Addy tucked her hands into her coat pockets. “Mrs. McGowan, I hope you remember me . . .”

  “Of course, I do, Adrianna. It’s so nice to have you back in Haven.” Gail reached over the table, across Trent, who looked frozen in place, to shake the woman’s hand. “I bet your parents are happy to have you back in town.”

  “I . . . I haven’t seen them yet.” Addy’s eyes moved down to her hands. Then she looked at Tyler. “I heard about the break-in. I was out of town and wanted you to know that if it was someone in our group, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “I appreciate it.” He nodded.

  “Well, I just wanted you to know . . .” Her eyes moved over to Trent, then quickly away. “Good night.” She waited a moment, then turned away and walked across the room to where her group was being seated.

  “That’s Addy?” Trey finally said. Then added a low whistle, which caused Trent to reach over and slug his brother’s shoulder.

  “Knock it off,” he warned Trey.

  Trey slapped him on the back and laughed. “Too bad she was the only girl in school you didn’t score.” Trey stood up quickly before Trent could return the punch and then walked over to the cash register. He glanced back and announced to the waitress, “Trent said he was paying tonight.”

  “Like hell . . .” Trent got out of the booth and headed toward his brother, who made a dash for the door.

  “I’m paying,” Kristen said.

  “We can’t let you do that,” Gail said.

  “It’s not a problem—besides, it’s a business expense.” She smiled and pulled out the corporate card.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When everyone stepped out of the diner, Tyler took a deep breath and could tell instantly that warmer weather was on its way.

  “We’ll have some rain first.” His mother smiled over at him as if she knew what he was thinking.