Meant for You

by Samantha Chase

  “Why not? It seems to me like they’ve already done that. ” She turned back to Mike. “You clearly ignored the weather warning and just went about your business. Why not just do it again? Or is it because now you’d be risking more of your own people?” She stood and braced her hands on the man’s desk. “What’s a couple more lives to someone like you? You’ve already been paid in full by the people you’re leaving up on a mountain to die!”

  “Summer!” Ethan snapped.

  She spun around to face him, her eyes filled with fury. “That is my brother and your best friend up there. Why are you just sitting back and taking this nonsense?” Before anyone could respond, Summer stormed from the room.

  Getting through the crowd of people wasn’t difficult—especially when she didn’t care whom she shoved to do it. She was trembling with anger as she plowed through a maze of hallways before finding an exit and practically kicking the door from its hinges. It wasn’t until she was outside and unsure of where to go that she found Gabriella right beside her.

  “Are you okay?” Gabriella asked gingerly.

  “No, Gabs, I’m not. I’m abso-freakin-lutely not! They sent my brother out there knowing there was the possibility of dangerous weather, and now they’re too scared to do anything about it. What if he’s injured? What if he badly needs to be in a hospital right now? What if the temperature drops and he gets hypothermia? I mean, how can they possibly expect us just to sit idly by?”

  Gabriella grabbed one of Summer’s hands in hers and tugged her in close for a hug. “I’m just as frustrated as you, and if you hadn’t spoken up, I would have. I don’t know why Ethan isn’t making more of a fuss in there.”

  “Ethan never makes a fuss,” Summer grumbled. “He doesn’t like to rock the boat. Ever.”

  “Is that why he waited until Zach was firmly out of the picture before finally acting on his feelings for you?”

  Summer took a couple steps back and grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Sounds cowardly.”

  She wanted to disagree but couldn’t. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time for talking about relationships. “I know, and if it were any other time than right now, I’d be harping on it, but I can’t. I have to focus on Zach and getting him back safely.”

  “So what are we supposed to do?” Gabriella curbed the need to vent her own frustration.

  Summer shrugged. “I’m not sure. I know these guys know what they’re doing, and I haven’t a clue. There’s only one team that specializes in this kind of rescue, and I don’t have a choice but to defer to them, but I don’t have to like it. And I certainly don’t have to keep my mouth shut about it either.”

  Gabriella couldn’t help but smile at Summer’s attempt at being rebellious. “Okay then. Do you want to head over to the hotel? Or do you want me to leave you alone?”

  “Not really. I think I need a couple more minutes to cool off before I go back inside. Otherwise I’m bound to want to punch somebody in the face, and I can’t decide if that somebody is Ethan or Mike Rivera.”

  A laugh escaped before Gabriella could stop it. “I’d pay good money to see that happen.”

  “To which one?”

  “Either.” They both laughed and it felt good to have some of the tension leave their bodies. “It’s going to be okay, right?”

  Summer nodded but she wasn’t sure she believed it. “Okay, I think I’m done cooling off now,” she said with a shiver.

  Gabriella pulled her jacket a little closer around her. “You picked the perfect place.”

  Summer nodded and hugged her friend. “I’m so glad your brain works the way it does, because if it were left to me, we’d all be standing here freezing. I always manage to look at the high temperatures and never pay attention to the lows.” She chuckled.

  “Yeah, lucky me. It’s the main thing people notice about me. My efficiency.”

  “That’s not true. First they notice your scary good looks and killer figure, then the efficiency thing.”

  “And that scares them off.”

  Summer quirked a brow at her. “Who have you scared off with your efficiency? And for that matter, what kind of idiot would be scared off by that sort of thing?”

  Gabriella shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It makes me seem like a freak sometimes when I can think so levelheadedly in stressful situations and can troubleshoot at the drop of a hat.”

  “If you ask me, that’s a blessing.”

  “You wouldn’t think so if it were you.”

  “Right now? I most certainly would.” She stopped and considered her friend. “How would you troubleshoot this particular disaster? I mean, if it were you up there and had all of the data we’ve had access to. What do you think they could or should be doing that they’re not?”

  Gabriella stood silently for a moment. “I think they are doing okay going on the information they have, but…”

  “But?”

  “But they should have sent the rescue team out already. We’re losing a lot of time and have no idea how many people are injured. I understand the need to make sure the weather’s stabilized, but…I think that too much time is being wasted.”

  With a nod, Summer took Gabriella by the hand and dragged her back into the building. “Then that’s where we’re going to tell them to begin.”

  * * *

  As expected, the arrival of the Montgomery entourage was eventful and chaotic.

  “It’s a damn media circus out there!” Robert Montgomery boomed as he walked through the door to the office. He did a quick scan of the room and assessed the situation immediately. His voice was loud and commanding, and soon Mike Rivera was standing before him with an outstretched hand.

  “You must be Robert Montgomery,” he said nervously. He introduced himself and then gave him a quick rundown about the status of the search and rescue. “We’ve got a team set up at the base of the mountain and I’m getting all of the updates at the same time they are, sir. We should be getting word shortly.”

  Robert eyed him skeptically but then chose to focus his attention on his daughter, who was anxiously standing to the side. He strode over to her and he could immediately see she was exhausted; she was pale and she had dark shadows under her eyes, and he felt a mild tug of sympathy. “Are you okay?”

  Summer nodded and waited…waited to see if he’d hug her or lecture her.

  “All of this could have been avoided,” he said to her and then glared at Ethan when he stepped closer. “The two of you knew that Zach was endangering himself and others, and you didn’t stop him.”

  “Well…um…” Summer began.

  Ethan stepped forward and interrupted. “Robert, we’ve been over this already. No one would have been able to stop Zach from going. We need to stop playing the blame game and focus on getting him down safely.”

  Robert eyed him skeptically as well. He didn’t like that Ethan had spoken up when he had been talking to his daughter, but he supposed that he had a point. They couldn’t change what had happened, and they needed to focus on finding Zach and making sure he was all right.

  Unfortunately, in the midst of all this chaos, there were other things that were going to require their attention. He knew he couldn’t do it all himself, and Summer didn’t look like she was in any shape to do more than wait for news with the rest of them. He glared at Ethan again and knew he wasn’t prepared to have a rational conversation with him just yet. That left Gabriella.

  With a nod, Robert turned and began barking orders at Gabriella. “I need you to call the Portland office. Someone may have heard the news by now, and I want you to make sure no one is giving any comments to the press. Once word gets out that it’s Zach Montgomery up on that mountain, we’re going to have clients and employees alike who are going to start to get antsy. We want to assure them that everything is fine and the people we have left in charge are mo
re than capable of handling things.”

  With a quick nod, Gabriella strode away. When she had left the room, Robert returned his attention to Mike and walked over to speak to him privately.

  Summer was momentarily relieved, but she knew as soon as her father had exhausted all his options, he’d come back to letting her know how this was all her fault. She was doing her best to brace herself for it but wasn’t succeeding.

  “Hey, kiddo,” her brother Ryder said as he walked over and hugged her. “How are you holding up?”

  Summer almost wanted to cry. There was no condemnation in his tone; he was comforting her, being her big brother, and it was enough to shatter her already fragile state. She took a shaky breath and clung to him until she knew she’d be able to speak without falling apart.

  When she looked up at him, he smiled.

  And that was when her first tear fell.

  Ryder hugged her close again and let her cry it out. When he felt her shudders subsiding, he led her over to an isolated corner and sat down. “You know how he is, Summer; he speaks first and thinks later. He hates not being in control, and this whole thing makes him feel helpless.”

  Composing herself, Summer tested her voice. “He basically told me it was my fault if Zach was hurt because I couldn’t talk him out of going on the climb.”

  Shaking his head, Ryder said, “You had nothing to do with this. There are always risks like this and it sucks. We’re all scared, but arguing amongst ourselves isn’t going to help Zach. You’re not to blame here, and I think Dad knows that. He’s worried sick about Zach. He’s tough on all of us, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.”

  “He’s got a funny way of showing it,” she muttered.

  “You must be talking about Dad,” James said as he came over to join his siblings. Summer rose to hug him, and he held her just as fiercely as Ryder had. He pulled back and looked at her. “You look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?”

  “Some,” she said quietly, “but every time I close my eyes, I imagine the worst. I just feel so helpless! Maybe Dad’s right. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough to stop Zach.”

  James chuckled. “Please, we all know that Zach doesn’t let anyone tell him he can’t do something. It’s frustrating as hell.” He noticed the uncertainty on Summer’s face, and he placed his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. “You’re not to blame here, Summer,” he said softly.

  She sagged with relief. “Thank you.” She turned and reached out a hand to Ryder and pulled him in close. “Both of you. You have no idea how much I’ve been agonizing over this whole thing. Zach and I argued for weeks before he left. I knew he wasn’t strong enough for a trip like this, but no one expected it to reach this level of severity. Ethan and I—”

  “Did the best you could,” Ryder said curtly as he glanced across the room to where Ethan was standing. “Any idea why he didn’t go with Zach? I thought that was the plan all along.”

  Summer blushed and looked down at the ground. “He said he just changed his mind and realized it wasn’t something he wanted to do.”

  Ryder looked first at Summer, then to James, who shrugged, and then over to Ethan, who was now watching them with apparent discomfort. “It seems odd,” Ryder said. “They do everything together. Did he and Zach argue about this before Zach left? Do you think maybe Zach was distracted?”

  Summer’s head snapped up. “Why are you looking to blame this on Ethan?” she demanded. “And, for that matter, who says that this whole thing happened because of Zach? For all we know he had his head exactly where it should have been and it was somebody else’s screwup! Ethan wasn’t even there!” She pulled away from her brothers with a huff and missed the concerned glances they shared.

  “Excuse me for a minute,” Ryder said carefully as he walked away.

  James took Summer by the hand and motioned for her to sit down. Something was going on, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, so he did the only thing he could think of: he distracted his sister. “Did I mention that Selena and I are going to do some work on the house?”

  Confusion covered Summer’s face. “Why? The house is beautiful! And you just moved in not that long ago. What could you possible find to do to it?”

  He chuckled. “Well, with the baby coming soon, and knowing that family will be descending on us for quite some time, we decided to do a massive renovation in the yard.”

  Now she was really confused. “The yard? What does the yard have to do with extra people in the house? And you’re the big-shot landscape architect guy. Something yard related should be a cinch for you, not a massive renovation.”

  James leaned back in his chair and relaxed. “Oh, I am, but we’re doing something a little more elaborate. We decided we wanted to put in a pool.”

  “The yard is certainly big enough.”

  He nodded. “And in the far corner of the yard, we’re going to build a pool house that can be used as a guest bungalow. Just a one-bedroom thing. But this way, it’s a little extra space where guests can stay and still have their privacy.”

  “Sounds amazing,” she said with a smile. “Selena must be thrilled. How is she feeling?”

  The thought of his wife made James smile. “Good, real good. I know you haven’t been away long, but in the last seven or eight weeks she’s really started to show. It’s such an amazing thing to see.” A goofy grin covered his face as he pictured Selena in his mind. “We felt the first kick not too long ago and at night, I just like to lie in bed beside her with my hand over her belly and wait to feel it again.”

  Summer wanted to cry. She was so happy for her brother—he was happily married to the only woman he had ever loved and they were getting ready to have their first baby—but she was jealous too. Her brothers were supposed to want to be bachelors; they were supposed to enjoy their freedom. She was the one who was supposed to get married and have a baby first. As it was, all her brothers—including Zach—would be married and have a ton of kids, and she’d be the lonely spinster aunt.

  She’d probably have to get rid of Maylene and get a cat. Why? Because that’s what lonely spinster aunts do. Things were certainly progressing with Ethan, but she had no idea what was going to happen now that her family was here. This was going to be a huge test to their new relationship. She knew he didn’t like to rock the boat and that her family could be intimidating. Most of the men she’d been involved with had backed off after one Montgomery or another had glared at him or asked him what his intentions were. Summer shuddered remembering those fiascoes. Would Ethan cave under their scrutiny? She frowned at the thought.

  “What?” James asked when he turned back to her, out of his reverie of marital bliss. “What’s the matter?”

  Shaking her head and pushing away her negative thoughts, Summer went back to asking about the house. “So are you doing the work yourself?”

  “Are you kidding me?” he asked with a laugh. “I’m going to do the landscaping myself, for sure, but the construction?” He shook his head. “That is totally not my thing.”

  “So have you hired someone already?”

  He nodded. “I lucked out. I was asking around town if anyone could recommend a contractor and the name that kept coming up was Aidan Shaughnessy.”

  Summer’s brow furrowed for a minute. “Why do I know that name?” She wracked her brain, trying to remember why it sounded so familiar.

  “We used to hang out with them when we would spend the summers on the coast, remember? Big family…a lot like us: five brothers and one sister. You were a couple of years older than the sister but we used to go to the beach with them every once in a while.”

  “Oh, yeah! So Aidan’s a contractor now? That’s awesome. Have you talked to him already?”

  James nodded again and smiled. “I’m telling you, it was good to see him. I’m starting to get back into the swing of things and reconnecting with
people from home, so working with a friend has been good. He’s an amazing contractor and his business is huge in the area. I think he’s kind of doing me a favor by squeezing this job in. It seems to me he’s got signs up all over town on projects his company is doing.”

  “Well, good for him!” Summer said, and she genuinely meant it. “I think it’s going to be an exciting time for all of you. You’ll get to reconnect with an old friend, Selena’s getting a beautiful yard makeover and some extra space… I mean, you guys are totally living the dream.”

  Everything she said sounded sincere, and yet James noticed a hint of sadness in his sister’s eyes. It could stem from stress over Zach, or have something to do with the reason she left New York, but all of James’s years of being a cop told him it was something else. He looked around the room and wondered what to do. James spotted his uncle and discreetly motioned for him to come over.

  “Well, there’s my favorite princess,” William Montgomery said with a grin as he approached. “How’s my girl doing?”

  Summer stood and wrapped her arms around Uncle William. James quietly walked away to give them some time alone.

  William sat with Summer, looked down at his niece’s face, and was instantly concerned, even though his own expression gave nothing away.

  “I’m worried about Zach, of course,” she said and rested her head on his shoulder just as she had when she was a little girl.

  In return, William rested his head on top of hers. “We all are. But I have great confidence that today the rescue team is going to be successful.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” she said wistfully.

  William smiled. “I want you to know I’m proud of you, Summer.” She lifted her head and looked at her uncle as if he were insane. “It’s true. You came up here and represented the family, and you’re making sure things are happening as fast as they should.”

  “But—”

  “While you were over here with your brothers, I was with your father talking to Mike, and he told us how much input you’ve given and how wonderful you’ve been. I know this hasn’t been easy, but you stepped up and you took care of it.”