Jayden’s Hope: MacKenzies of Montana

by Hart, Liliana

  Home.

  His parents still lived in the same house they had when they’d first married. It had been a working ranch when he was a kid, but between his mother’s automotive business and his father’s writing schedule, it had been too difficult to maintain. The farmhouse still sat on top of the crest of the hill and the big red barn was still filled with horses, though they were the only animals that remained on the property besides two border collies named Bonnie and Clyde.

  There was something comforting about driving along the winding road and the neat white fences. As his parents had expanded the family, they’d done the same to the house.

  For the first ten years of his life, it had been just him and his mother since his dad hadn’t known of his existence, so Jayden remembered with vivid detail their marriage and the births of his siblings. The changes had been enormous to a boy his age.

  He hadn’t known what being a MacKenzie meant until he was ten. He hadn’t known his uncles or cousins. And part of him resented the fact that his brother and sisters never knew what it felt like to be anything but a MacKenzie. They didn’t know what it was like to go by another last name or wonder who they belonged to. Once his dad had found out about him, Jayden had been overwhelmed with family, and they’d never made him feel anything less.

  But there was still a separation there. He’d discovered art at a young age, and it had been his way to escape. In his art, he could create the reality he’d always wanted in his childhood.

  Who knew? Maybe he’d made art too much of an escape. He’d put distance between himself and people, choosing to be an observer instead of getting too involved. But that distance had helped him see things that most people never got to see—compassion, empathy, anger, joy, peace, despair—he saw people’s emotions as clearly as if they’d been wearing them like clothes.

  The driveway housed a basketball hoop where’d they’d played many an evening game, and he pulled up under the covered area that connected the house and the garage. He remembered his mom had insisted on having it built because she was tired of getting rained and snowed on while trying to pack the cars with kids or unload groceries. And what Charlie MacKenzie wanted, she got.

  The kitchen door was unlocked. Kids and family were always welcome.

  “It’s me,” he called out, waiting a few seconds before he went too far into the house. Family was always welcome, but he’d also learned you never knew what you might be walking in on. It was embarrassing the way his parents couldn’t keep their hands off each other. But there was comfort knowing they still looked at each other today like that had when he was a kid.

  He heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs and his mother calling, “Jayden!”

  She launched herself at him with a whoop and wrapped him in a hug, and he couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across his face. She was a small woman, but she was a force to be reckoned with. Her black hair was pinned up in a knot on her head, and tendrils fell around her face. She’d only been eighteen when he was born, and her face was still youthful, though a few laugh lines had snuck in around her eyes. She was beautiful, and he’d always loved painting her, capturing the joy that emanated from within.

  “What a pleasant surprise,” she said, giving him another squeeze and then pulling back to give him a long look like she liked to do. “Especially in this weather. Work not going well?”

  “No, it’s actually going very well. I finished a piece this morning. Caught the storm rolling in.”

  “I can’t wait to see it. The clouds were amazing. I’ve spent the morning doing paperwork in the office, but I had a front row seat to the show. Looks like it’s not over yet.”

  “Forecast is calling for rain the next couple of days,” he said, taking a seat on the barstool at the big kitchen island.

  “You hungry?”

  “I just had pizza,” he said.

  “Some things never change,” she said. “But your dad made brownies this morning, and I’ve got ice cream.”

  “Always room for dessert,” he said. “Too bad Aunt Cat didn’t make the brownies. Hers are the best.”

  “I’m crushed,” Dane said from the doorway. “And here I was, coming to greet my oldest son, only to be met with cruelty.”

  “You win some, you lose some,” Jayden said, getting up to give his father a hug. “If it makes you feel better, yours are a close second to hers.”

  “As long as they’re better than your mother’s, I’ll be content with that,” Dane said.

  Charlotte MacKenzie could do many things well, but cooking wasn’t one of them, and everyone knew it.

  “It’s a good thing I like both of you, or I’d eat all of this by myself,” she said, scooping ice cream on top of the large brownie slices she’d put into bowls.

  “Where’s everyone else?” Jayden asked, referring to his siblings.

  Dane looked at him funny for a second, and then his face cleared. “You’ve been holed up a couple of weeks working. Rose and Dempsey are back off to college. Victoria spent the night at a friend’s house last night, but we just told her to stay put today because of the weather.”

  That made him think of Holly. What had she been thinking getting out in this weather? Alice or Mac should’ve thrown themselves on her hood instead of letting her leave the diner. And boy, was he going to have a word or two with them the next time he saw them.

  Jayden noticed his parents give each other one of those silent looks—the kind that only they understood, but somehow held all the meaning of a full-blown conversation.

  “So…” Dane said. “Who is she?”

  “Is it Kana?” his mother asked. The look that passed across her face made Jayden realize something he’d missed the entire time he and Kana had dated.

  “Definitely not Kana,” he said. “How did I not know you don’t like her.”

  How had he missed that? His mother had always gone out of her way to be friendly to Kana and make sure she felt comfortable. But he guessed now that he thought about it, the warmth she shared with everyone else had never been there.

  “Of course I liked her,” Charlotte said. “She was a sweet girl. I just didn’t like her for you. But you get to make your own choices, and if she’d been your choice I would have loved her like a daughter.”

  “How do you know she wasn’t the right one for me?” he asked.

  “Jayden…” she said.

  “No, I really want to know. How do you know?”

  How had his mother known that Kana wasn’t for him when he’d been so sure she was the right one?

  Charlie paused and looked at Dane again.

  “Don’t look at me,” Dane said, holding up his hands. “You stuck your foot in your mouth on this one.”

  “But you agree with her,” Jayden said, looking at his father. “I can tell you do.”

  “Sure, but I’ve found it wise over the years to always agree with your mother,” he said, winking at Charlotte. “I don’t like sleeping on the couch.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes and then looked back at Jayden. “It’s just one of those things, son. You can just tell. When you’ve met your match, you’ll feel it. You’ll see it. It’s not just a friendship or physical connection when you meet the person you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with. Your souls…”

  “Are connected,” Jayden finished for her. It worried him to hear her say it. That kind of soul-searing love went into his painting. He wasn’t sure there was a woman he was capable of connecting with on that deep of a level. And if there was…maybe she’d crashed through his door that morning because he’d definitely felt a connection.

  He’d never believed in the idea of love at first sight. In his mind, love was so much more than how people often described it. Hearts and butterflies and physical attraction were all surface. Love—real love—was making the choice to be there when things got hard. Coping with the death of a loved one, through sickness, and through the fights where it feels like things might be hopeless. That was real lo
ve. But he’d never been able to see himself doing any of those things with any woman. Until now.

  “Why does that bother you?” Charlotte said.

  “No,” he finally said. “It doesn’t bother me. I just don’t understand it.”

  “Not yet,” Dane said. “But you will. You’re gifted in a lot of ways. You can look at something or someone and understand them with a depth I’ve always found astonishing. It’s intuitive and insightful. But love doesn’t work that way, and I think you pull back from it because it doesn’t come easy to you like other things do. It takes patience and unselfishness. And it takes time.”

  “I think I’m just tired,” he said. “Work has been going well for the most part. I’ve got enough to ship for a show in L.A. next month. But I was on a roll today and got interrupted, and I guess I’ve been out of sorts all day.”

  “Gee,” Charlotte said. “I have no idea what that’s like.” She gave Dane a pointed look. “If you creative types would just find a good engine to bang on when you get stuck or things aren’t flowing right, then life would be so much easier. And it’d make the people who live with you not want to kill you.”

  “It takes a special person to love people like us,” Dane said, grinning. He took her hand and kissed the palm. “We’re so moody and prickly.”

  “Didn’t mom throw a wrench at you one time?” Jayden asked.

  “That’s different,” she said. “That was before we were married. And he deserved it.”

  “That’s probably true,” Dane confirmed.

  Charlotte turned her attention back to Jayden. “What was it that interrupted you?” she asked.

  “Someone knocked at the door,” he said, shrugging.

  Dane and Charlotte both raised their brows in surprise.

  “Does Declan know?” Dane asked, worry replacing the surprise. Years had passed, but they all still remember the day the compound had been breached and Shane had lost his leg.

  “He knows,” Jayden said. “When I opened the door a woman all but fell into my arms. She was soaking wet. Her car had gotten stuck almost a mile down the road.”

  “Yes, but what was she doing there?” Dane asked. “That’s a hell of a wrong turn to make.”

  “Declan leased her the lake house. Apparently she missed the fork in the road, and the rain was so bad she veered pretty far over and the car stalled. She ended up just past Grant and Annabeth’s, but she couldn’t see their house, so she just started walking. When I opened the door she fell right into my arms.”

  “Holy smokes,” Charlotte said. “She’s lucky to be alive, poor thing.”

  “She’s very…resilient,” he said for lack of anything better.

  Charlotte tilted her head and studied him. “And what is it about this woman that has you so bothered?”

  “I’m not bothered. I just want to paint her.”

  Dane snorted. “What else is new? You’ve been painting or drawing pretty women since you were twelve. Remember that nude I caught you drawing of Naya Greyson? I saved your life that day. Naya would’ve hunted you down and skinned you alive if she’d caught wind of that. She’s no one to mess with.”

  “But gorgeous,” Jayden said, grinning. “Which is why twelve-year old me chose her for my study. She was perfectly proportioned.”

  “And twenty years older than you,” his mother said, shaking her head. “But you don’t just want to paint her. When something beautiful catches your eye you put it to paper no matter what. Nothing has ever gotten in your way. But you’re hesitant about her.”

  “She’s hard to describe,” Jayden said. “She looks like an Amazon warrior ready to lead her troops into battle. I can see it on canvas so clearly. White-blonde hair that flows behind her as she rides her stallion full speed ahead. She’s a queen and regal with it, with bones that could cut like a knife and a presence that’s both strong and submissive at the same time.”

  “She sounds…interesting,” Charlotte said, biting back a smile. “I can see why you want to paint her.”

  “Oils, watercolors, charcoal, pencil…it doesn’t matter the medium. I just have to get the images of her out of my head. There’s a sadness about her…I want to know. She’s a puzzle. And Declan is helping her escape something. I’m sure of it. He’s hired her as the manager for the sporting goods store. Dollars to donuts she doesn’t know anything about fishing rods or kayaks. And he’s leased her the lake house, so she’s in the middle of family and protected.”

  “Maybe she needs family,” Charlotte said. “I did.”

  Jayden nodded. “She said her father had died and he and Declan were close as brothers.”

  “Then that’s all the reason you need,” Charlotte said. “Family is family, whether it’s by blood or not. And to Declan, that girl is family.”

  “And you’re halfway in love with her,” Dane said. “I’ve never heard you talk about Kana the way you’ve talked about a woman you’ve known a matter of hours.”

  “Love is a far cry from art,” Jayden said.

  “You and I both know that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” Dane said.

  “Is she still at your place?” Charlotte asked. “Lord, son. I know I raised you with manners. Please tell me you didn’t leave this woman in your house, sopping wet, while you came to bum brownies and ice cream from your parents.”

  Jayden’s lips twitched. “It sounds like dad isn’t the only writer in the family. Y’all are both a little dramatic this morning. And no, the rain let up a little while ago, and I drove her to the lake house. I even stopped by her car and got her stuff out. I didn’t drop it in the mud or anything.”

  “You’re such a romantic,” his mother said, patting her hand across her heart.

  “And then I drove her home and dumped her in bed, where I’m sure she’ll stay for a couple of days. She drove pretty much non-stop from New York.”

  “The plot thickens,” Dane said.

  “Yeah, she’s let a couple of things slip,” Jayden said, remembering what she’d said before he’d left her. “I can get her car chained and towed sometime tomorrow. Sophia stocked the fridge, so she should be good the next couple of days. She needs to stay put and rest.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Charlotte asked.

  “I’m going to home and paint her. And then I’ll wait until she’s coherent see if I can convince her to sit for me.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to be painted?” Charlotte asked.

  “I can be charming when I need to be,” he said, making his father laugh uproariously. “All that matters is that I get her out of my head.”

  “Good luck with that, son,” Dane said, clapping him on the shoulder.

  * * *

  They waited until he’d pulled out of the driveway before either of them said anything.

  “Well,” Charlotte said. “This is an exciting new development. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Dane said, coming up behind her and massaging her shoulders. “Why don’t we plan on a big family dinner soon?”

  “You’re so crafty,” she said. “Declan moved her here for a reason. She’s either got trouble or about to have some.”

  “Or maybe it’s like you said,” Dane said. “Maybe she just needs family. What circumstances would lead a young woman to pick up and move everything to a place she knows no one unless she was alone?”

  “I was just about to call and ask him,” Dane said. “And maybe he can give us a little more information about her than what she looks like leading her Amazons into battle.” Dane shook his head. “It’s just sad. Jayden really needs to get out of the house more.”

  “I spent two hours last week listening to you describe a murder you’re cooking up for your next book in great detail. I couldn’t eat all day. Let’s not get too comparative on the crazy in this family.”

  “Good point,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He moved down a little lower and nibbled at her ear, then her neck. “Maybe I could call Declan in
an hour or so,” he said, pushing her toward the stairs and up to their bedroom.

  He felt her laughter as she turned in his arms and he picked her up. “Yeah, maybe you could.”

  Chapter 8

  Holly didn’t know how long she slept, and waking in an unfamiliar darkened room had given her more than a moment of panic. As it was, an even more pressing matter was finding the bathroom.

  The bathroom light had been left on, and she breathed out of word of thanks as she threw back the covers.

  When she was done with the necessities, she was able to take stock of the rest of her body. Her legs felt weak and her joints were stiff, and she was sore all over. Walking into rain and strong winds used muscles she didn’t even know she had. Then her stomach growled and she remembered the pizza she’d eaten that seemed so long ago.

  She hadn’t taken time to look at the house earlier. It was pitch black outside, and she assumed it had only been earlier that afternoon that Jayden dropped her off and not days later. Rain still pattered against the roof.

  It was a good space. Just two bedrooms and the one bathroom, but it was more than enough to meet her needs. The living room, kitchen and dining area were all open and built to face the windows across the back of the house. She couldn’t wait to see the lake on a clear day, but for now, the thought of all that darkness was unsettling. Anything or anyone could be out there.

  The clock in the kitchen said it was just after midnight, and her stomach rumbled again. She opened the refrigerator, hoping she hadn’t imagined it being completely stocked, and she gave a sigh of gratitude to the MacKenzies.

  There was a fresh fruit tray, tiny sandwiches, and several pieces of Tupperware with instructions taped to the top. There were individual bottles of water and juices, coffee creamer and milk, and a selection of condiments. They’d thought of everything, and this small act of kindness touched her more than she could express.

  She took one of the Tupperware bowls out of the fridge. The label said it was corn chowder and it gave the microwave instructions. While that was cooking, she made a small plate of fruit and took a sandwich and bottle of juice to the table.