Almost A Bride (Montana Born Brides)

by Mayberry, Sarah

  “We can head into town now,” he said as they both hung up their kitchen towels to dry.

  “Thanks. And thanks, Judy, for a great breakfast. Best waffles I’ve had for a long time.”

  “Vanilla essence in the batter,” his mom said with a wink. “Works every time.”

  Reid stared at her. His mother was notoriously cagey about her recipes, yet here she was, handing out one of her most closely guarded secrets without being held at gunpoint.

  “I’ll have to remember that,” Tara said.

  “Reid, I need help in the laundry room, if I can borrow you for a moment,” his mother said. “It will only take a second.”

  The look she gave him was loaded with meaning.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Tara said diplomatically.

  His mother disappeared into the laundry room and Reid took a deep breath and followed her. The moment they were alone, his mother pushed the door closed.

  “What are you doing, Reid Dalton?” she hissed the moment it thudded shut. “That poor girl has just had her whole life turned upside down, and all you can think to do is snake-charm her into your bed?”

  He flinched away from the vehemence of her words, a little taken aback by the depth of her feeling.

  “Whoa. You want to calm down there a minute?”

  “I know you’ve always had a thing for her, but she is not one of your easy-come, easy-go women, Reid. I’m really disappointed that you’ve allowed your libido to put you in a situation where you’re going to hurt a person who deserves a lot better.”

  He was starting to get irritated by all the assumptions his mom was making. Sure, he hadn’t dated anyone steadily since he came home to Montana, but he wasn’t an alley cat.

  “I didn’t realize you had such a high opinion of my morals,” he said sharply.

  His mother set her hands on her hips and eyed him critically.

  “I love you, but I’m not so one-eyed I can’t see your faults. You’re charming and handsome, and women have always come too easily to you. Which is fine, except when they want things that you aren’t prepared to give.”

  “You have no idea what I’m prepared to give Tara,” he said.

  “A home? Your heart? A ring? Because those are the things that Tara wants and needs.”

  “You know what? I’m not having this conversation with you. What’s going on between Tara and me is our business, and I don’t have to justify myself or explain myself to you.”

  “No, you do not. But I just hope you can look yourself in the eye when you go sailing off to this new job in Chicago and leave her behind.”

  “For Pete’s sake, will everyone stop going on about the Chicago job as though I’ve got it already? It’s a second interview. Nothing is set in stone.”

  “If it’s not this job, it will be another one, Reid. Be honest with yourself, at least. You always leave. The grass is always greener, life is always elsewhere. And that’s okay, it really is, as long as you don’t set up expectations that you aren’t going to fulfill.”

  “You must think I’m a real asshole,” he said, thoroughly pissed off now.

  He yanked the door open and exited angrily to the kitchen before heading for the front door. Tara was waiting by his truck, her head downturned, when he emerged from the house.

  She scanned his face as he approached. “You okay?”

  “Yep.”

  He held her door open for her, and she considered him for a beat before climbing into the truck.

  She waited until they were pulling out of the driveway and onto the road into town before speaking.

  “I hope you and your mom didn’t fight over me.”

  “She thinks I’m going to love you and leave you,” he said shortly.

  “Did you tell her that I was on board with that?”

  “No. It’s none of her business.”

  He scowled at the road, his mother’s voice still echoing in his head. He wasn’t going to apologize for having a broader horizon than her. And he definitely wasn’t going to apologize or justify his private life. He always made sure that he was as honest as he could be with anyone he was involved with, and he’d had his fair share of wounded feelings and broken hearts over the years, too.

  “It’s very sweet of her to be so protective of me. Maybe I should have a word with her,” Tara said. “Explain to her that we both know this is only temporary.”

  “It’s none of her business,” he said.

  Her hand landed on his knee, warm and welcome. “It’s still nice that she cares.”

  His shoulders dropped a notch as he let go of some of his irritation. “That’s because you’re a better person than I am.”

  “I’ve just had more experience dealing with a high-maintenance mom. Yours is a piece of cake compared to mine.”

  “True.”

  She squeezed his thigh. “Count your blessings.”

  She’d managed to tease a smile out of him by the time they turned into her street. Then Tara’s own smile faded as she caught sight of the bright blue bomb parked in front of her townhouse.

  Scarlett.

  “Shit.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I forgot that Scarlett was coming over today to be here when Simon turns up to collect his stuff.”

  “You think she’s been waiting long?”

  “It’s not that.” Tara tugged on her ponytail nervously.

  “What is it, then?”

  “She’ll see you.”

  Right. And that was a bad thing, apparently.

  “Not that that’s a bad thing,” Tara said quickly, clearly picking up on his reaction. “It’s just I was kind of hoping we could keep this just between you and me.”

  “And my parents.”

  “And your parents.”

  Scarlett had already exited her car and was standing watching them, arms crossed over her chest, her expression unreadable.

  “Can I see you tonight?” he asked.

  Truth be told, he didn’t give a fat rat’s caboose who knew about him and Tara, and that included the crew down at the station. She was the only thing that was important, nothing else.

  “Um. Okay, if you want to.”

  “I want to.” He leaned across the hand brake, palming the nape of her neck as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  She tasted sweet, and she opened to him, her own hand coming up to tangle in his hair.

  “What time should I come?” he asked when they finally parted.

  “What time would you like to come over?”

  “Early.”

  She smiled, the slightly-dazed look fading from her eyes. “Okay. I’ll see you early, then.”

  She pressed a last kiss to his lips before grabbing her backpack and sliding from the truck.

  He watched her walk over to greet her sister, aware of a deep reluctance within himself to let her go. It wasn’t just because she’d be facing her ex today.

  It felt as though he’d been waiting a life time for Tara already.

  Unsettled by his own thoughts, he headed for home.

  “Wow. You are powering your way through the Fuck-it list, aren’t you?” Scarlett said as Tara approached.

  Tara couldn’t quite interpret the expression on her sister’s face. “Excuse me?”

  “Have a fling with a hot guy. Remember that one?”

  “Right.” Tara had honestly forgotten that stupid list. After her day at the lake and her night with Reid, it didn’t seem very important.

  A day beneath the big Montana sky had put things back into perspective for her. The truth was, she liked most of her life, was comfortable with most of the choices she’d made.

  And those she wasn’t so happy with would be in the past once Simon had collected his things today.

  Scarlett followed her as she let herself into the townhouse and dumped her backpack on the kitchen table.

  “You know, I always wondered about you and Reid,” Scarlett said.

  “Did you?” It w
as news to Tara.

  “Yeah, of course. He’s hot, you guys are stuck in a car together all day. If it was me, I would have jumped him a long time ago.”

  “I was engaged, remember?”

  Scarlett dismissed Simon with a flick of her fingers. Tara couldn’t help thinking that it would be nice to be able to do the same. She really wasn’t looking forward to seeing him today. If she and Scarlett were identical twins, this would totally be a situation where she would be prepared for her sister to pretend to be her.

  “So, has this been one of those simmering-beneath-the-surface things for the whole year you’ve worked together? Or did he just pounce on you out of nowhere? Or did you pounce on him...?”

  Scarlett’s eyes were bright with interest and Tara knew her well enough to understand where she was going with this.

  “Don’t get too excited. Reid is leaving Marietta soon, so this isn’t a star-crossed lovers scenario.”

  She pulled her wet swimsuit and towel out of the backpack and went through to the laundry room to dump them in the washing machine.

  When she turned around, Scarlett was standing in the doorway, and some of the sparkle had gone out of her eyes.

  “Why is he leaving?”

  “There’s a job in Chicago. Also, he’s a gypsy.” She shrugged, offering her sister a wry smile.

  “But you jumped into bed with him anyway?”

  “I’m living on the wild side, remember?”

  Her sister pursed her lips.

  “What’s wrong?” Tara asked.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  “Of course. I’m going in with my eyes wide open. I’m going to have a good time with a great guy, and it’s going to be okay when he heads off into the wild blue yonder.”

  Scarlett looked unconvinced.

  “You don’t believe me?” Tara asked.

  “It’s all great in theory, sweetie. But you didn’t see your face when you got out of his truck just now.”

  “What about my face?”

  “You looked happy. As though the lights were on, and someone was definitely home, and there was a party going on.”

  “I like him. So sue me. But I also know him, and I’m not stupid.”

  “Okay.”

  For some reason it was suddenly very important that she convince Scarlett that she meant every word that she said.

  “He’s got a second interview for a job on Tuesday, and when they offer him the job, they’ll probably want him to start as soon as possible. So we’re talking a couple of weeks, a month, before he’s on his way. I can handle that.”

  Scarlett held up her hands. “Hey, I believe you. You’ve convinced me.”

  Tara narrowed her eyes, but she knew that if she kept pushing, she’d be getting into “doth protest too much” territory.

  “You want me to start stacking the boxes near the door?” Scarlett said.

  “No. He can lug them around. He’s lucky that I packed his stuff up in the first place.”

  The house had been dotted with boxes and garbage bags full of stuff all week, and it would be good to have it gone.

  “I heard that he’s lost his job, as predicted.”

  “Good.”

  “I also heard something else, but I’m not sure if I should tell you or not.” Scarlett tucked her fingers into the front pockets of her jeans as she waited for Tara’s response.

  “Tell me.” Whatever it was, Tara could handle it.

  “There’s a rumor going around that Simon and Paige are engaged.”

  Tara set a hand on the cool metal of the washing machine. Simon was marrying her. That was...unexpected.

  “Is she pregnant?”

  “Who knows?” Scarlett moved closer, reaching out to rub her arm. “Sorry. But I thought you might hear it someplace else, or he might say something today, and I wanted you to be prepared.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m okay. It doesn’t make any difference to me.”

  It really didn’t. She’d made her peace with the mistake she’d almost made. Simon’s betrayal wasn’t any more or less palatable because he might end up married to a girl who was ten years his junior.

  “Good,” Scarlett said.

  She told her sister about her day paddle boarding then, and Scarlett told her that Mitch was due to land the day after tomorrow, having escorted his mother home and sorted out his affairs in Australia so he could join Scarlett in Montana permanently.

  “Any leads on a place for the two of you yet?” Tara asked.

  Scarlett had been living with their mother since she returned from Australia, not an ideal situation when you were a newly-wed woman.

  “I found a place yesterday, actually. Where’s your laptop?”

  They were scrolling through the photographs on the local real estate website when a knock sounded. They both looked at the door, then each other.

  “It must be douchebag o’clock,” Scarlett said.

  Tara smiled, reaching out to squeeze her sister’s hand. It was good to have her here for this. Not something she would have necessarily said about her sister not so long ago. But Scarlett had changed—and maybe Tara had, too.

  Taking a deep breath, she went to answer the door. Simon was standing on the other side, hands shoved into the pockets of his chinos, shoulders tense.

  “We’ll wait out on the deck while you clear your stuff,” Tara said, not bothering with greetings.

  She might be relieved that she wasn’t going to marry this man, but that didn’t excuse his bad behavior.

  “I was hoping we could talk.”

  Tara crossed her arms over her chest. “About?”

  “I wanted to explain. About Paige.”

  “I’m really not that interested, to be honest.”

  “I love her. We’re going to move to Vegas, get married. Start over away from all of this.”

  Tara sent a silent thanks to her sister for forewarning her.

  “I’m sure it will be a lovely ceremony. Don’t forget the stuff in the garage.”

  She turned way and Simon stepped forward, reaching out to try to stop her. She shot him a look and his hand fell to his side. Nice to know he’d learned from last time.

  “I’m sorry, Tara. I never meant for any of this to happen. For the record, I loved you. I loved you a lot. But the moment Paige walked into my class room at the start of the year I knew I was in trouble. I can’t explain it better than that, I’m sorry.”

  He looked so tortured, guilty and stressed that for a second she felt a little sorry for him. But only a second.

  “You’re not the man I thought you were,” she said. “You lied. You abused the trust of a student. You betrayed me. I don’t know what you want me to say to you, but I’m not going to give you a free pass, Simon.”

  “I don’t want that. I know what I did was shitty and wrong.”

  “Good. Then we’re on the same page. Like I said, we’ll be on the deck if you need anything.”

  Scarlett gave Simon a scathing head to toe before turning and leading the way to the deck. Tara actually had a smile on her face by the time they were outside in the early morning sunshine.

  “You have to teach me how to do that sometime. I swear, I could hear his balls shriveling,” Tara said.

  Scarlett looked at little startled by her laughter. Then she smiled, too.

  “That’s my Medusa look. I use it on grabby employers. It’s all in the lip. You have to get a little curl in it, and look down your nose.”

  By the time Simon had cleared the house of his things and rapped on the back door to let them know he was done, Tara had mastered the Medusa look. She was tempted to try it out on Simon, but her heart wasn’t in it.

  She was better off without him, in so many ways.

  “Well. I guess this is it,” Simon said on the front porch.

  “Yep. I’ll send you your share of the security deposit sometime next week,” Tara said.

  “Keep it. It’s the least I owe you.”
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  “I’ll send it ,” she said firmly.

  He nodded, then glanced at the ground. His throat bobbed a couple of times, and when he looked back up at her his eyes were glassy with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m going to miss you.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. He really was an idiot. A messed up, foolish idiot who had made a lot of really dumb moves.

  “I hope it works out for you,” she said. Otherwise all of this, all the ugliness and hurt and embarrassment would be for nothing.

  He nodded, then turned and headed down the stairs.

  Tara shut the door and leaned against it, waiting for him to go. She was aware of her sister watching her. Together they waited until the sound of Simon’s car had faded.

  “Well, that’s that, I guess,” Tara said, pushing away from the door.

  Scarlett came and put her arms around her. “You’re my hero. If ever this happens to me, if I can be one tenth as classy as you, I will be so proud of myself.”

  Tara blinked away sudden tears. Not because she was sad about Simon, but because she knew she was lucky. She had good people around her. People who loved and cared about her.

  They held each other tightly for a long beat, then eased apart.

  “Now, how do you feel about driving me over to The Wolves Den so I can collect my pickup?” Tara asked.

  Reid spent the day working with his father in the orchard. His thoughts were on Tara almost the whole time, mulling over the things she’d said to him and the time they’d spent together last night.

  At four he went up to the apartment and pulled out his suit, checking to make sure he didn’t need to get it dry-cleaned before his interview on Tuesday. It was fine, and he hung it with a fresh shirt, ready to be ironed the night before his departure—he’d already booked flights, and he planned to leave early Tuesday and get back late the same night.

  He was aware of a heaviness within himself as he contemplated the whole process. The flight, the interview, all the jumping through flaming hoops that would be required of him. Then he reminded himself that it was a great job, and an excellent opportunity. Three times the money he could make at Bozeman PD, and he’d be living in the vibrant, cosmopolitan city of Chicago.

  He walked to the window and stood staring out at the orchard. Trees stretched into the distance in orderly lines, branches swaying in the wind. He knew from his time out there today that the fruit was coming along nicely. Soon it would be harvest time and they’d be opening the orchard to the public.