When it was finally time for lunch, she locked up the studio and hurried out to get into Michael's truck with him. “Tacos!”
He laughed. “I think you only like me for the food I provide . . .”
“Like you provide food often. I provided food yesterday—well, my parents did, and that's pretty much the same thing.”
“Hey, I'm providing food today. Tacos.”
“What if I want a burrito? Or chips and queso? Or a combination of all three?”
“Get whatever you want. You know I'm not going to complain.” He paused for a moment, looking at her before pulling out of the spot in front of her studio. “Well, I won’t if you kiss me.”
She laughed and scooted across the bench seat, lifting her lips to his. “I was confused as I danced this morning. All the kids were giggling as I tried to teach them the wrong steps.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Why are you in Texas for such a short time?”
“Because my life is in Idaho.” He wanted to say more about how her life could be there, too, but he sensed it wasn’t really time yet.
They picked up the tacos and headed for the big park at the center of town. It was filled with walking trails, and there were plenty of picnic tables. It would be a little chilly, but Heather didn’t care. Spending time with her man in the middle of the day was worth anything.
She grabbed the bag with the food while he took the drinks, and they carried them to a picnic table at the edge of the woods. She sat down and divvied up the food, taking the burrito and chips and queso she’d decided on. Michael handed her the Dr. Pepper and frowned. “How can you drink that swill? I don’t even like kissing you after you’ve had it in your mouth.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to let that stop you?”
He laughed. “You know me better than that.”
“I do know you better than that! How are things going at your ranch?”
Michael frowned. “It's been a couple of days since I checked in with my brother. I should call after I drop you off.”
Heather nodded. “You probably should. I can’t imagine trying to be away from my studio for that long . . . well, if there was a break in classes I could. I like to have a couple of long breaks every year to rejuvenate myself.”
“Then you can spend those breaks in Idaho. It’s been decided.”
She laughed. “You really think I’m just going to obey that way? You don’t know me at all yet, do you?”
“I guess not!” He watched as she finished her burrito, and then the two of them cleaned off the table, throwing their trash in a nearby can. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Sure.” She didn’t say that she got enough exercise by teaching because she truly believed that everyone needed more than what they got. Always. “This is my favorite park. We used to come here in high school and walk. Well, my friends and I did. The kids who were into parties had better places to go.”
“I can see that. In Idaho the kids went to some of the mountain parks and had parties there. They always left a big mess, and the locals always complained about them, claiming they were city kids who had no respect for nature.”
“So would I be considered a city kid?”
He shook his head. “Nah, your town is too small for that. You’d have to be from a big city like Dallas to qualify as a city kid. Why? Would you have partied in the mountains?”
Heather shook her head emphatically. “No, and I wouldn’t leave my trash if I did. I don’t believe in littering and leaving messes for others. I’ve been taught this little thing called responsibility. I think it’s important.”
“Sounds like we have the same ideas on child-rearing. Wanna have babies?”
She felt a tear pop into her eye, realizing that what she wanted more than anything would be to have babies with him. If only he was local. “Yeah. I do want to have babies.”
“Does that mean you’ll marry me?”
She shook her head. “Honestly, if you lived closer, I’d run away to Oklahoma and marry you this afternoon. But you live in Idaho. Who lives in Idaho?”
“Are we back to that? Idaho is the most beautiful place on God’s green earth. Come visit and you’ll see what I mean.”
She sighed. “I think maybe I will come up after we perform The Nutcracker in December. I’ll have a full month off before we start getting ready for the spring shows, and I need to see where you live.”
He grinned, taking the hand he was holding and bringing it to his lips. “I’d love that.” In his mind, he was already thinking of a place for a dance studio for her. Surely, she’d agree to move to Idaho if he had a place where she could work and do what she wanted to do happily.
She had no idea what was running through his mind, but the goofy grin on his face told her that she wouldn’t like it. “That's not an agreement to move to Idaho and have your babies, you know.”
“I know. But it’s one step closer, and I believe in taking things one step at a time. We’ll get there. I promise you.”
Heather wished she felt as strongly about it as he did. She wanted to spend forever with him, but she just wasn’t sure they could make it work. Idaho to Texas was such a distance. She’d never see her family again. “I honestly don’t know if moving across country is something I can ever agree to. I love my family too much.”
“I know. We’ll make the decisions together.” He didn’t want to think about what it would mean to her to move, just as he didn’t want to think about what it would mean to him. If only one of them had a job that was easier to transfer.
After dropping her back at the studio, he headed to the hotel to catch up on his laundry. He’d only brought a few changes of clothes, and everything that wasn’t on his back was dirty. As he walked into the hotel, Beth was at the front desk. “Mr. Muir! You have a phone message.”
Michael walked to the front desk and took the message. It said to call home. It was an emergency. He frowned. No one in his family would insist he call home unless it was something real. None of them were given to drama.
“Thanks, Beth.” He took the note and hurried to his room, pulling his calling card from his wallet as he rushed through the hall. He dialed his mother’s number, knowing she’d know whatever it was that was going on. “Hey, Mom. It’s Michael. What’s wrong?”
“Joshua got kicked by that stallion he’s been trying to tame. Three broken ribs and a concussion. He can’t cover for you anymore, and honestly, he needs you to help cover for him.”
Michael frowned. His brother had been trying to tame a stallion for months, and it hadn’t been going well. He didn’t know why the idiot didn’t just give up. “All right. I’ll sleep for a bit and leave tonight.”
He could hear his mother’s sigh of relief. “Thanks, Michael. We’ll make it up to you.”
“I know.” He hung up the phone and rubbed his hands over his face, glancing at the clock. Heather’s class didn’t start for another twenty minutes. He could hurry to her, tell her what was happening, and then sleep until he had to leave. Oh, and he needed to arrange for the bull to be in the trailer he’d brought with him. He sighed. It was time to get back to the real world and stop living in his little world of romance.
When Heather got home from work that night, her house felt so empty. The previous day had been all about her and Michael, and now here she was, alone. She had his address to write to, but he wouldn’t even be home for a couple of days. How she wished her dad’s computer was hooked up to more computers nationwide, and then they could at least message each other without long-distance bills.
Instead of thinking about how much she already missed him, she hurried around the house, doing the chores she’d put off on Sunday so she could spend the day with him. Chores were boring, but at least she wasn’t dwelling on her Michael.
It was Thursday evening when Heather’s phone rang. She had been jumping at every little sound, hoping he would call her. “Hello?”
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“Hey there. I made it home safe and sound. I just needed to hear your voice before I sleep for a few hours and then get back to work.”
“It’s good to hear your voice, too,” she said softly. “I miss you.” She probably shouldn’t admit it, because surely for both of them it had just been a quick vacation fling. Well, a vacation fling for him and a quick romance for her. It couldn’t last. Could it?
“Come see me in December. Please. I’ll even buy your plane ticket. You just give me the dates, and I’ll make it happen.”
“I’ll buy my own plane ticket, thank you very much!”
He chuckled softly. “Does that mean you’ll come?”
She sighed. “Yes, I’ll come. What airport should I fly into?”
By the time they’d hung up the phone, she had given him the exact days she planned to be there. She would call a travel agent the next day. She couldn’t give up on him, no matter how far away he lived.
After the call, she sank down onto her couch and looked at a calendar. Six weeks. It would be six weeks before she could see him and touch him and hug him. It would seem like a lifetime.
Heather threw herself into her work. Every waking moment was spent at the studio or planning her lessons. And she started thinking about people she knew who could take over the dance studio if she left. She made a few calls to different friends she had cheered with, and she found one who was definitely interested.
“I do need to see if I feel the same after I see him next month,” she explained to Tricia when they met for lunch. “It might be completely different.”
“Do you really think that’s even possible?” Tricia asked. “It sounds to me like you knew it was love from the first moment you set eyes on each other.”
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be different. Maybe absence is making the heart grow fonder. When I see him, maybe I’ll realize he’s not a friend to those with noses, and he drools.”
Tricia laughed. “If that happens, I’m going to be shocked. You never even noticed when the head quarterback noticed you. You’re not falling for some Idaho rancher without a real reason.”
Heather headed back to the studio after her lunch with her friend, knowing she was right. She needed to admit it to herself. She was in love with a man who lived very far away.
As they got closer to the performance, her nerves started to get the better of her. She wanted to be with Michael. They talked every Friday night for a little while, but neither of them wanted to waste the kind of money it would take to talk more than that.
The Friday before the pageant, he called at eight, as he always did. “Hey you!”
“Hi! How’re the cows?”
“They’re good. How’re the kids?”
“Getting on my last nerve! They are forgetting all their dance steps, and the performance is next week!”
“I know it is. And you’re going to be here two days later. I have a calendar, and I’m crossing off the days.”
“Is your mom still okay with me staying with her?”
“Of course she is. She’s so excited to meet you, it’s ridiculous. I might be a little excited myself.”
She laughed. “Maybe I’m a little excited. I do miss you. Terribly. You can’t possibly be as wonderful as I remember, though, so I’m sure that it’s going to be different once I get there.”
“It better not be. I expect you to walk off that plane and run into my arms, kissing me madly! If you wanted to just tell me that you were moving to Idaho then, it would be acceptable.”
She shook her head. “You’re a mess, Michael Muir. Do you know that?”
“Yup. I do know that. But I’m your mess. What else could you ask for?”
“I’ll see you soon. Ten more days.”
“That’s ten days too long, but I’ll have to deal with it.” Michael’s voice was sad but excited all at once. He felt the same as she did. That they were meant to be together.
Chapter Seven
When Heather got off the plane in the Salt Lake City airport, she was exhausted, but her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar face she so badly needed to see. Her parents weren’t thrilled about her flying across the country, but they knew at her age, they had little they could say about it.
As soon as she saw Michael standing off to one side, his cowboy hat in his hands, she rushed toward him, dropping her carryon bag at her feet as she flew into his arms. After they’d embraced for a moment, he whispered, “We need to hang out watching other couples. See if we should let them be together.”
She laughed softly, lifting her face for his kiss. “You know what? I like the way you think.”
“That’s a good thing. I would hate it if you thought I was insane.”
“Well, let’s not go that far . . .”
He leaned down and picked up her bag, nodding in the direction they needed to walk. “Let’s get out of here. It’s a three-hour drive to Mom’s house, and it’s already four in the afternoon. We don’t want to get hit by a snowstorm.”
“Is it snowing?” She hadn’t even thought to look. She had been more focused on him than she’d realized. She glanced toward the window, but she couldn’t really see much. The tarmac was clear, but the mountains in the distance looked snow covered. Of course, for all she knew, they were snow covered year-round.
“Not at the moment. There’s a dusting on the ground, though, and a little more at home. Do you drive in snow?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I never have. When it snows in Texas, the entire world shuts down. When would I learn?”
“Well, the world doesn’t shut down for snow around here,” he said with a grin. “Let’s go get your stuff.” They’d agreed she’d stay for a week, getting to know his family and the area.
She was excited to finally be with him but nervous as well. What if his family didn’t like her? “Your mom really doesn’t mind me staying?”
“Are you kidding? She’s been after me to marry for years. She heard there was a woman coming to visit me, and she was walking on air. She even made a new quilt for the spare room for you.”
“I hate that she went to that kind of trouble . . .”
“Trust me. She was thrilled to do it.”
They got to the baggage claim, and she spotted her suitcase pretty quickly. She walked over to pick it up, but his hand was there before hers. “I got it. You just step back.”
She grinned. As independent as she was, she’d always wanted to be with someone who would take care of her. It was odd, and she knew it. “Thank you.”
As soon as they were in his truck, she leaned back, looking all around. “I didn’t realize that Salt Lake City was surrounded by mountains. It seems like there should be a huge lake and nothing else here.”
He laughed. “I can see that, but there are mountains in every direction.”
“It all looks amazing.” The mountains weren’t the kind she’d seen in Colorado; they were more of a black rock and not nearly as pretty in her opinion.
“Are you hungry? Did you eat on the plane?”
“I had some pretzels. I’m due for a real meal.”
“Okay, we’ll find something.”
“Is your mom expecting us to eat there?” she asked.
“Nope. I told her you’d probably be hungry when you got off the plane.”
Heather grinned over at him. “You think you know me so well.”
“I do know you well.” He reached over and entwined his fingers with hers. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I am, too. I feel out of my league, and it’s weird that I’m staying with your mother, but I’m glad I’m here.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Tell me about your family.”
“My dad died about five years ago, and I now run the family ranch. I’m the oldest son. I have two brothers and two sisters. My sisters are super excited to meet you. Karen is married with two little ones, and Isabelle is in college, but she’s out for the semester.”
“I
’m sorry about your father.”
He nodded. “He had stomach cancer. By the time they caught it, it was way too late.” Michael had always felt like his father had been taken from him way too soon, but he didn’t add that. He wasn’t ready to talk about that with anyone outside his family. He pulled off the interstate and onto a side street, heading for a small family-owned restaurant. “I love to come to this little café whenever I’m in Salt Lake. Do you trust me?”
“I sure hope so since I just flew across the country to see you.”
He grinned. “I guess you do.” Pulling into the parking lot of the place, he stopped the truck. “Have I told you yet how happy I am that you’re here?”
“Once or twice. Tell me again!”
“I’m happy you’re here!”
She grinned, getting out of the truck and walking around to the front to meet him, their hands gripping one another. “What kind of food do they have here?”
“It’s a little Italian place, and the family who runs it is actually Italian. They have the best chicken fettuccini alfredo I’ve ever had. And the garlic bread is to die for!”
“Sounds yummy. I’ll give it a try.”
Once they were seated with their menus, she read hers over, deciding that she would go with his suggestion. She put the menu down and saw him watching her. “I can’t believe we’re actually together again,” she said softly. “It felt like it was never going to happen.”
“How was the recital? Did the kids do well?”
She nodded. “They did really well. I was getting nervous toward the end there because none of them could seem to remember the right places to put their feet . . . but when it all came out in the end, it was great. The children were sweet, and their parents were thrilled.” For a minute she considered telling him about Tricia being ready to take over her school, but she changed her mind. She wasn’t quite ready to tell him, because she needed to know if he was serious about her first.
For a little while as they sat waiting for their food, there was an awkward silence, but then they both started talking at once, and it was as if they’d never been apart. “How’s your brother feeling?” Heather asked.
Heather (Seven Sisters Book 1) Page 5