by Lane, Soraya
The workman disappeared down the stairs, and Scott grinned over his shoulder before doing the same. Amanda let them go and went to explore the master bedroom without him, finding it hard to believe that she was actually going to be moving in to such a gorgeous new house.
She shook her head. A home. It wasn't a house, it was a home. And it was the first time she'd walked into a place, except her own family home, and felt that way. She could imagine children running down the stairs in years to come; a lively, busy household that was full of fun and happiness. For now, she wanted to just enjoy being with Scott, letting herself open up to someone without fear of the consequences, without compromising the work that she loved so much.
She was finally home.
EPILOGUE
"Hey beautiful."
Amanda put down her paintbrush and turned, wiping her paint splattered hands on a towel she had beside where she worked.
"Hey," she said back to Scott, wondering why he was grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
"I know you're trying to get this finished, but I just passed your mom and she said that Maddie was in labor."
Amanda leaped to her feet, heart racing. "Should we go? I mean, do we need to get there right away or…"
"Whoa, sit back down," Scott told her, one hand on her shoulder as he pushed her back onto her seat. "As soon as Jack calls us we can head there, but until then I think we need to give them some privacy. Didn't she just want it to be the two of them in there when she delivered?"
Amanda sighed. "You're right. I just…"
"Want to be there for her. I get it."
"So did you get what you needed in town?"
Scott's grin was firmly back in place and she wondered what was going on. There was more to his smile than just knowing he was about to become an uncle.
"Mandy, I know we said we were going to take things slow, but we haven't spent a day apart since you came back."
She chuckled. "So you're already sick of me and this is your way of telling me it's time to go back to New York for a bit?"
Scott shook his head. "No, this is my way of telling you that I want to marry you."
Amanda froze, hardly able to believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. He what? She must have heard him wrong. But now he was reaching into his pocket, holding something in his palm that she was almost too scared to look at.
"I had this made for you, but if you don't like it we can always find something else," he said, dropping onto his knees in front of her so she didn't have to stare up at him.
"It's beautiful," she managed to say, her voice barely a whisper. "I don't know what to say."
The large round diamond was set on a band of smaller diamonds, sparkling in the light as she stared at it. Amanda took a deep, shuddering breath as she looked from the ring and into Scott's eyes.
"All you have to say is yes. That you want to be my wife."
"Then yes," she said straight back, blinking away tears. "Yes, I'll be your wife."
Scott pushed the ring onto her finger, both of them taking a moment to look at it before he stood up and scooped her into his arms, spinning them both in a circle before stopping and kissing her. His mouth was familiar now - a warm and soft touch that she'd grown accustomed to craving from first thing in the morning until late each night.
"I love you, Scott Gregory," she told him when he finally let her catch her breath. "I love you more every single day."
"So what do you think about us getting married as soon as Maddie's back home with the baby?" he asked, still holding her in his arms and looking down at her.
"I say," she said, "that this is the only time I'll ever be getting married, and there's no way you're going to rush me into a quickie wedding."
Scott laughed - a deep, hearty laugh that filled her with warmth.
"How about we drive over and see your mom, wait for news from Jack."
Amanda looked down at her ring, held her hand out so it sparkled in the sunlight. Today she'd said yes to marrying Scott, and today her big sister was going to have her first baby with Jack. She couldn't have planned a more perfect day if she'd tried. Add to that the fact she'd managed to almost finish the first piece in her new collection, and it was shaping up to be an incredible few hours.
"Can we have that talk about kids yet?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows at Scott.
He shook his head. "Baby steps, sweetheart. Baby steps."
She grinned and threw her arms around him again. "That's why I love you."
"Because I keep avoiding that particular subject?"
"No, because I know that you want it just as bad as I do one day, you're just too damn scared to admit it."
Scott might not be ready to talk about children yet, but for the first time in her life, she had no doubts about what the future held. No doubts at all.
"Lucky you know me so well then, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah," she whispered, nibbling his freshly shaven jaw. "Lucky I do."
THE END
Want to read more of Soraya’s Montana series?
MONTANA REUNION – available now!
MONTANA CHRISTMAS – available now!
MONTANA LEGACY – coming soon!
Preview – Montana Christmas
CHAPTER ONE
BLAKE Jones opened the door and tucked his face down into his scarf. Inside the tractor cab was heated and warm – outside the snow was starting to fall so hard he knew he was going to have to turn back. He’d managed to get his cattle back in the field they’d escaped from, drag the downed tree off the collapsed fence and repair the wire, and now he was slowly inching along the road, doing his best to clear it even though it was an impossible task.
What the hell? He turned his lights on high beams, even though it did little to help him see, and squinted as he looked down the road. How the hell had a car managed to get down there, let alone still be trying to navigate the road? Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but now he was going to have to go see who it was, and figure out how to help them.
Blake drove slowly down the road, his eyes fixed on the car. With the light fading fast and the snow thickening, there was only so long he wanted to be out in the elements. He carefully stopped the tractor when he neared the vehicle, which he could now see had fishtailed and was half off the road, and zipped his jacket up as high as it would go, pulling his hat down low.
He jumped down, braced himself against the wind and fought through the foot-deep snow. The car windows were all steamed up, and he hoped he wasn’t going to find a family with injuries – there was no way an ambulance would ever make it to them and he could only fit one other person in his cab, if he absolutely had to.
Blake tapped on the glass, peered in the driver’s side and received a scream in response. He waited, smiling when the window finally slid halfway down to reveal a scared looking woman staring back at him. Clearly she had no idea that he’d been freezing his ass off waiting for her to acknowledge him. Her eyes were a deep brown, almost the same shade as her hair, and Blake wasn’t going to deny being pleased that the person he had to rescue was a beautiful woman on her own.
“You shouldn’t be out in this weather,” he said, hunching his shoulders as the wind picked up. “You okay? Not hurt?”
“I didn’t think it would get this bad, but we’re okay,” she muttered. “And we kind of got lost.”
“We?” Blake peered through the back window, barely able to see with the car so fogged up. Then he locked eyes with a little girl, staring at him like she was about to scream, too.
“Can you help us?” the woman asked, eyes brimming with tears that made Blake groan – he was fine in an emergency, but he was no good with crying. “I don’t know what to do and my phone’s not working.”
She was clearly wary about him, but probably also knew she didn’t have any other options at the moment. He was her only hope of getting rescued, and besides, he was hardly going to leave a woman and child stranded in a storm on the side of th
e road. He’d grown up with three sisters – aside from the fact they’d kick his ass if he left her, it wasn’t something he’d ever do.
“I can’t do anything with your car, we’re best just to leave it here until the snow subsides,” he told her, bending low so she could hear him. “It’s off the road, so it’ll be fine, and I can fit you both in my tractor if we squeeze.”
She looked worried, so Blake gave her a big smile despite the fact that he could no longer feel his fingers. It was like she had no damn idea how cold it was.
“You’re sure?” she asked, glancing back at her daughter.
Blake moved from foot to foot. “I can’t stand out here any longer, so yeah, I’m sure. I’ll carry your little girl, you follow me. Only bring what you need because we’re short on space.”
He was ready to throw his hands in the air when the car door opened and the woman emerged. Blake slowly walked around to the other side of her vehicle, careful not to slip, and opened the door to retrieve the child.
“Just take small steps,” he called out, bending to help the girl. Her eyes were wide, but she let him scoop her up.
“Bunny!” she squealed when he stood upright, her little body twisting.
He bent, retrieved the fallen rabbit and shut the door, trying his best to shield her from the snow, hunched forward and hurrying toward his tractor. Blake got there before the woman did, hauling the door open and hoisting the girl up, before going back to help her mom the last few steps and get her in, too. Blake pulled himself up behind them and settled into the seat, pulling the door shut and checking the heater was on full. He’d left the engine running in case it hadn’t started again in the freezing cold, and he could already feel his body starting to defrost.
Pity the cab was so small that it felt like they’d all just been trapped in a tiny elevator.
“Sweetheart, why don’t you sit on my knee,” he suggested, nodding to the little girl. “Then your mom can squeeze on the edge of the seat and hold on.”
The child was still wide-eyed, but her mom nudged her forward, no doubt uncomfortable squished against the glass. They both looked freezing, not dressed for the conditions, but his only concern right now was getting back to his house.
“It’s okay, go sit with…” her voice trailed off. “Sorry, I don’t even know your name.”
“Blake,” he said, smiling at the pair of them and trying to stay relaxed. He wanted to get moving, and he wanted to get moving now.
“Blake,” she repeated. “This is Chloe, I’m Jasmine.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but if we don’t get going soon? I might not even be able to drive this thing out of here and we’ll be stranded until daybreak.”
Chloe jumped into his lap, clearly afraid of being stuck out in the dark. He moved to the right a little, as much as he could, so Jasmine could perch on the edge beside him, and then he put the tractor into gear. The cab wasn’t made for company.
“Hold on ladies,” Blake muttered. “We don’t have to go far but it’s gonna be a slow trip.”
Christmas Eve. Of all the nights to be stranded and stuck with a stranger, it had to be Christmas Eve.
“We’re almost there.”
Jasmine nodded and glanced at the man she was pressed against. She was still a bundle of nerves, worried that she shouldn’t have accepted a lift from a stranger, but then it wasn’t like she’d had any other choice. And he was kind of gorgeous. He’d pulled his hat off to reveal thick brown hair, and paired with his intense blue eyes and stubble-grazed skin, she wasn’t exactly complaining about the look of her rescuer. But he was still a stranger, and she wasn’t used to letting anyone help her.
Thankfully Chloe was grinning, clearly having decided the whole adventure was kind of fun now that they were bumping along in the snow. If they’d had more space, and she wasn’t feeling that awful de-frosting toe tingle from her wet shoes, she might have agreed.
“So what were you doing stuck out around these parts anyway?” Blake asked, never taking his eyes off the white road ahead.
“Visiting family. Only I think I took a wrong turn, or ten,” she admitted.
She noticed his eyebrows bunch up. “So you’re from around here?”
Huh. She got the irony of a local being lost. “Not for a long time. I moved away when I was 20 and I haven’t been home since.” She was lying, there had been that one time, but it had lasted just long enough for her to tell her parents she was pregnant… and that she was keeping the baby. “Are you new or have I just been gone so long I’ve forgotten everyone?” Surely she would have remembered him from school.
“I grew up near Billings, but I’ve been running this ranch for the past few years. My family still has our place in Rancher’s Valley, but…” his voice trailed off and she watched him grimace as the tractor struggled through the deeper snow, requiring all his concentration. “I run this place, my sister’s just taken over the other one.”
She nodded, holding on tight to the overhead handle as they made their way up an incline. Something about his tone told her there was a whole lot more to his family story, but she wasn’t going to pry.
“You do realize that there’s no chance of making it home tonight, don’t you? To your home, I mean.
She nodded, reaching for Chloe’s hand when she saw the look on her daughter’s face. Chloe been so looking forward to Christmas away from the city, and she knew how scared she’d been when the car had spun. This whole plan to come back had been a disaster from the start.
“Are you sure your family will be okay with us just turning up?” she asked.
He made a noise deep in his throat. “My family is back at our other ranch, probably all in front of the fire drinking wine and eating my mom’s pumpkin pie,” Blake said. “I’m stranded too, so I’m not gonna pretend like the company won’t be nice.”
She was about to answer when she realized they were outside his home – it was completely covered in snow, but the lights from inside made it stand out against the whiteout. It was a large ranch house, lights flickering on the wrap around porch to show them the way.
“At least the power’s not out,” Blake said as he leaned across to open the door. “Take it slow up the steps and I’ll carry Chloe again.”
She did as she was told, grinning as he put his hat on her daughter before lifting her and making a run for it. Just as they stepped through the door, the warmth a shock to the system after the freezing wind chill outside, there was a loud bang followed by complete darkness, inside and out.
“Fu—,” Blake started to curse then stopped. “You guys go in, I’ll go flip the generator on.”
Jasmine clutched Chloe’s hand tight and they walked slowly toward the fire, which was casting enough light for them to see the way.
“Mommy, why did the lights go out?”
She sighed. This was why she preferred the city, why she should never have listened to her daughter and made the trip back here. It was like the universe telling her what a bad idea the whole thing had been.
“Maybe a tree went down over a power line,” she said, not wanting her to be alarmed. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll be fine.”
“Your mom’s right,” a deep voice said from behind them. “I think a tree took out a line, but I have plenty of candles and the generator system here can power almost half the house.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Jasmine asked, feeling awkward just standing in his living room at loose ends.
He moved past them, no longer wearing his jacket and scarf. He was in jeans and a wool sweater now, and she lost sight of him almost as soon as he crossed the room.
“You can light these candles,” he said, putting them on the low table in front of her. “I’ll load the fire up.”
“What about dinner?”
“Chloe!” Jasmine was mortified.
“But Mom I’m hungry and we were gonna have dinner when we got there.”
Blake laughed as he knelt in front of the fire
, piling wood onto the flames. “I’m sure we can rustle something up, sweetheart. Don’t you worry.”
Jasmine lit the candles and watched as her daughter stood closer to the fire.
“Like what?” Chloe asked.
Seriously, it was like the child had no manners. Unbelievable.
“Well, maybe some grilled cheese, or…”
“So, no turkey?”
Jasmine threw her hands up in the air and received a laugh in reply from Blake as he turned, still on his haunches and staring straight at Chloe, giving her all his attention.
“You know, I was supposed to be somewhere real good for dinner tonight too, but this damn,” he cleared his throat, “darn storm had other ideas. How about I take a bird out of the freezer tonight and then we’ll have something to cook tomorrow for lunch. I actually have a turkey in there. Sound good?”
“Mmm, sounds real good,” Chloe said, practically licking her lips.
“I did raise her with manners, in case you’re wondering,” Jasmine said, pretending to swat her daughter over the head. “She’s usually too shy to even say anything to a stranger.”
“But he’s not a stranger, mom. He’s our rescuer.” She emphasized the word way more than was necessary.
Jasmine looked up at Blake and they both chuckled. “How about you go put this candle on the table, and I’ll make something for us all to eat. It’s the least I can do.”
Blake gave her a smile that made her heart thud all the way to her frozen toes, his face even more handsome in the flickering light from the fire. Pity she wasn’t looking for love, because if there was any mistletoe around, she’d be hard pressed not to grab the man and kiss the hell out of him.
CHAPTER TWO
“I can’t believe she’s asleep already,” Blake said, grinning at the little girl sound asleep on his sofa. “That hot chocolate must have done it.”