Montana Promises

by Law, Kim

  “No,” Gabe argued. “It’s early yet. There might still be more that make it. We won’t know for a couple more weeks.”

  Nate twisted his mouth. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”

  “Well, even if it is only fifteen percent”—Dani jumped back into the conversation—“that’s still enough to supply the store. The farm is still viable.”

  Nate shifted his gaze to his sister then, the movement slow, and found himself feeling bad for what he was about to say. He knew how much she wanted both the orchard and the store to last. How much she always had. He also knew that she had a history of not exactly seeing reality at first glance.

  “That was enough to supply the store,” Nate explained. “Before we moved it here. Before we became the new ‘darlings of downtown.’”

  “Hey.” Jaden’s chest puffed up at the mimicked catchphrase Megan had coined. “Don’t blame Meg for this. All she’s done is try to help. She didn’t know we were going to lose the trees.”

  Nate turned back to his youngest brother. “And how about you don’t take up for her? You broke up with her, remember?”

  The words fell into silence, with more than one of his siblings now wearing a perplexed expression.

  “Fine.” Nate rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the moment. “I know. She’s the one who broke up with him. And the two of them are still great friends.” Whatever. It still annoyed him how they both acted as if their feelings had just turned off.

  No one said anything else for several seconds, and Nate simply waited, still standing in the middle of them, being surrounded as if they’d closed in bully-style instead of their earlier firing squad attack.

  And then someone did speak.

  And the words could have knocked him over.

  “Is something . . . going on . . . with you and Megan?” Nick asked the question slowly. Carefully. And Nate just as purposefully turned his head and stared at his twin.

  “Something . . . like what?”

  He narrowed his eyes at the person who knew him best, and Nick wisely didn’t voice any more of his thoughts. But Nate could feel the question now not only pulsing through Nick but also circling around each of his siblings. Disgust rolled through him.

  Really? This was what they thought of him?

  “Fuck you all,” he gritted out. He did not have the hots for his baby brother’s ex.

  And he owed Nick an ass-kicking for even going there.

  He forced his way back between Dani and Gabe and crossed back over to the window, then he pulled in a deep breath and once again turned to his family. His patience had vanished. “We’re supposed to be talking about the farm,” he repeated his earlier reminder. “Have all of you forgotten that? We’re supposed to be addressing the fact that our dad almost died because of the farm. Not ambushing me. Not bringing up”—he shot Nick a scathing look—“ridiculous accusations.”

  “No one is accusing you,” Cord finally joined the conversation. “Nor ambushing you.”

  “Well, it sure as hell feels like it.” He glared. “And I am leaving, by the way. Tonight. If someone needs to stick around to care for Dad, then how about you do it? You’re the doctor.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Right. Like you would, anyway.” A muscle jerked in Nate’s jaw. Cord had been the first of them to move away.

  “You’re right.” Nick pushed his way forward until he stood directly in front of Nate. “We can take care of Dad. And yes, one of us will likely be over there every day once he gets home. But we do need help with the orchard.”

  Again, Nate laughed. “What orchard?” He stretched his arms wide, and his voice took on heat. “We. Have. No. Orchard.”

  The rest of them went quiet again, everyone contemplating the reality in their own way, before Cord finally cleared his throat. They all dragged their gazes to his, and hesitantly, he brought up the question they each knew had to be addressed. “Is it time we discuss selling?”

  Everyone else remained silent, but slowly, one-by-one, they all glanced at Dani.

  Eventually, she spoke. “Not yet.” She shook her head. “We never wanted to—”

  “You never wanted to,” Gabe corrected softly.

  “And you do?” Dani shot him a look, and the two of them locked into a full-fledged stare off.

  “First things first. Dad will need a place to come home to.” Nick’s tone was genial, but it did little to ease the tension. “It’s been his home again since Dani and Gabe turned over running the farm, so whatever happens in the future, we can’t just kick him out right now. And whether we do decide to sell down the road, or whether we replant, at the moment there’s still fifteen percent of the trees that need tending to.”

  Nate scowled at his twin. “I am not sticking around to run a non-existent orchard.”

  “Well, it’s not like you’ve been doing anything else lately.” Nick fired back, and as Jaden had done when the conversation first started, his gaze immediately shifted off to the side.

  Nate swore as realization dawned.

  “Jaden told us that you haven’t been out on a crab boat in over a year,” Dani offered.

  “And crabbing isn’t the only thing that I do,” Nate rebutted. “It’s seasonal. Did you all forget that?” He didn’t take his eyes off Jaden. He knew he never should have admitted anything to his “all-too-helpful” brother.

  “Do you have something lined up that you actually need to get to?” Nick asked. “Or are you just running?”

  Exhaustion suddenly swamped Nate at the no-nonsense tone, and he dragged a hand down over his face. “What would I possibly be running from, Nick?”

  Two beats later, Dani said, “Us?”

  Though the question came as a surprise, Nate didn’t even have to consider the answer. Not like he once would have.

  He shook his head, the lump in his throat keeping him from speaking at first. The truth was, he didn’t have to go. And he didn’t even know where he might end up. But he also couldn’t stay.

  “I’m not running,” he denied. Not from them, anyway.

  He was running to save them.

  “Then stay.” Nick nodded in encouragement. “Even if only fifteen percent survive, that means eighty-five percent won’t. We’ve all been so focused on getting the store moved and reopened that we haven’t looked past today. Dad’s going to need a ramp put in. Other modifications. The orchard will need a wood chipper working overtime. I can help around my classes and work. We all will help. But we need someone there full time.”

  Nate replayed the words before reacting. Thought about what really may need to be done for a seventy-year-old who was down a leg and had rapidly progressing Parkinson’s.

  His siblings may be asking him to stay simply because it was the easiest option for everyone, but they weren’t wrong. This wasn’t the time to have anything less than all hands on deck. If he did this one last thing before he went . . .

  He stared at his brother and promised himself that he wouldn’t stick around for longer than a couple more weeks. He wouldn’t get to the point where he’d rather stay.

  “The fifteen percent,” he finally spoke. “If the trees actually make it and don’t need to be cut down themselves, I’m not sticking around to take care of them. I’m not running a dilapidated orchard.”

  “Fine.” Cord spoke up before anyone else could. “Then stay long enough to hire someone to do it. Or to hire someone to replant. Whatever is decided. But stay to help get Dad settled.”

  “And then leave if you have to,” Nick added. He shared a knowing look with Nate. “Whatever you need to do. We’re here for you. But we need you to be here for us right now.”

  Chapter Two

  “That’s right, Mrs. Kerry. We should have more of the cherry-and-orange scone mix in by Wednesday at the latest.” Megan opened the door for the last two customers of the day. “And I promise to call you the second some hit the sales floor.” She wished the fifty-something couple a good evenin
g and closed and locked the door behind them.

  Then she turned, put her back to the door . . . and she smiled. What an exhilarating day!

  Success had whispered in her ears all day. As customers had come in—and left grinning ear to ear—as moans and groans sounded when bites of cupcakes or muffins were sampled, as the register had continuously been worked. But the biggest success had been screamed from the size of the crowd that had shown up that afternoon. Birch Bay loved The Cherry Basket, that was for sure.

  The store had been cherished before, no doubt. In all the years it had been open, sales had never been “bad.” But according to the books, they had flatlined over the last couple of years. With the new downtown location, though, as well as the revamp of the website and the work both she and Dani had put into the new marketing plan, it was now—so it seemed—a place which would be sought out on a much more frequent basis. And she couldn’t be happier that she’d been a part of that.

  That she’d been the reason for it.

  She turned back to the door, the smile still on her face, and peered through the glass. There was still a crowd lingering. Not huge, but enough to continue giving off a party atmosphere outside. She supposed with it being Friday afternoon, less people were in a hurry to get home and start any end-of-day routines.

  Some of those who remained had also rolled up their sleeves and were helping with cleanup. There were tables, tents, a stage, even strings of old-fashioned Edison lights draped from tree limbs that branched out over the street. It all had to come down, and no one stood around waiting to be paid in order to pitch in. This was simply their town, and there was something that needed to be done. So they were doing it.

  That was one of the reasons she’d wanted to set down roots in Birch Bay.

  One of the reasons she wanted it to be her town, too.

  Her gaze flickered over the crowd, her managerial instincts kicking in to ensure her employees—whom she’d sent outside with the Wilde family when they’d returned from their meeting thirty minutes earlier—were doing their part. She should probably head outside herself, if for no other reason than to be a part of things. But she wanted a few minutes to be alone first. A few minutes more to revel in the fabulousness that was the day—as well as to wonder what tomorrow would bring.

  The smile slipped from her face. “Tomorrow” being more metaphorical in her mind than the actual day, but the future nonetheless. Because no matter what today’s success implied, if there weren’t cherry trees to be harvested come late summer, she wasn’t sure what would become of The Cherry Basket.

  Moving to the front counter, she logged in to the point of sale system and began closing out for the day. All the while, she kept an ear tuned for any sounds from above. Because though the majority of the Wilde family was outside helping with breakdown, Nate was not. He hadn’t returned with the rest of them earlier, nor had she heard a peep out of him since the meeting had broken up.

  She glanced at the ceiling, wondering what he could possibly be doing up there, then she shifted her gaze to the hallway that led to the stairs and the back door. Maybe he’d come down and left when she hadn’t noticed?

  She shook her head slightly. She didn’t think so. First of all, previous instances of being around Nate told her that he wasn’t the type to “tiptoe” anywhere. He had a presence when he entered a room. And second, she’d been actively listening for him. Because she wanted to know the outcome of today’s meeting.

  She’d hoped that Dani, who she reported to as manager of the store, would give her a heads-up when they’d come down. Or even Jaden. She’d known the family had planned to meet today to discuss both the future of the farm as well as the state of the cherry trees, and both of those things pertained to her since they pertained to the store. Yet not one word had been spoken by any of them. They’d simply filed through the crowded store, all of them either focused on getting outside to start cleanup, or—as in Dani’s case—heading for a baby anxious to be fed.

  Megan tapped a final key and sent a report to the office printer, then closed out the software system. They’d had a wildly successful day in terms of sales, which meant that her next step should be taking inventory. An order would need to be placed tonight so product could be restocked the first of next week. Otherwise, all this success would quickly backfire. However, going to the stockroom was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment. There was a man loitering on the floor above her. And she intended to stop him on his way out.

  Grabbing a notepad, she decided to work on a personal task while she waited. Now that the store had been moved and reopened, it was time to concentrate on her apartment. She’d rented the place two months before, and honestly, since it had come furnished, there wasn’t a lot that she needed. But she wanted to make it her own. Until now, she’d never lived fully on her own, and as each day passed, she found more and more that she liked about it.

  Drawing a line down the middle of the sheet, she started two lists. Things that remained in storage from the apartment she and Jaden had once shared in Seattle, and items she wanted to buy new.

  Tangerine-colored dish towels.

  Honeysuckle-scented soaps for the bathroom.

  A girly comforter set.

  Laughter from out on the street reached her ears, and her earlier smile returned. This was her life now, and she couldn’t be happier.

  She continued jotting, jumping from list to list as ideas came, and even making a couple of smaller sub-lists. She became so engrossed in what she was doing, in fact, that she physically jerked when someone cleared their throat.

  The pencil went flying, and her hand slapped to her chest.

  “Nate!” The man stood directly in front of her.

  The corners of his mouth quirked up. “Scare much?”

  She smirked. “Creep much?” She stooped to search for her pencil.

  “I didn’t creep.” He leaned over the counter and watched her. “I even said hello as I came into the room.”

  From her position squatted on the floor, she looked up. “You spoke . . . as in, out loud?”

  Her question had him chuckling. “Is there any other way to speak?”

  She shot him another smirk. Then she snagged the pencil out from under the edge of the storage cabinet and stood. Though she’d met Nate three years before when she’d first visited Birch Bay with Jaden, she hadn’t really gotten to know him until the last two months. And what she knew, she still could probably fit on the tip of her pencil. But since she’d been staying with Max and Gloria when Nate had first come home for Gabe’s wedding, their paths had again crossed. They’d both been under the same roof for those few days, and since then, he’d been a help in finding the store’s new location, as well as in getting it up and running. In that time, her opinion of him had morphed from strictly troublemaking, do-what-he-wanted loner brother to possibly past troublemaker, definitely do-what-he-wanted loner, but a brother with a potentially good heart.

  She’d also come to the conclusion that though he was a smartass—which she could fully appreciate—he was also surprisingly funny. And he seemed to embody the type of protectiveness that would have him kicking anyone’s rear who dared threaten his family. Not exactly the man she’d originally thought him to be.

  “So, what has you so focused down here?” he asked now, and Megan’s eyes dropped to the counter.

  She slid the notepad closer. “Just working on a to-do list.” Flipping the pad over, she pointed to the ceiling with her other hand. “What kept you so focused up there?”

  His gaze followed her finger. “Just working on my own list.”

  He pulled a rolled-up clump of papers from his back jeans pocket and peeled off a single sheet.

  “My list,” he announced. He waved the piece of printer paper in front of her before cramming it back into his pocket, then he handed over the rest of the papers. “And your amazingly impressive sales report.”

  “Ah,” she murmured, pride once again fluttering in her chest. S
he took the report. “Thank you very much.”

  “I think we’re the ones who should be thanking you.” Nate’s voice was deeper than the rest of his brothers’. And that was saying a lot. He curled both hands around the front edge of the counter and leaned in, looking over the report as she did. “I have to say, you seem to be a genius at this whole retail thing.”

  The flattery warmed her. “I am pretty good, aren’t I?” She couldn’t contain her smile, and she found herself laughing freely. “Imagine that . . . a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, both in computer science, and I turn out to be exceptional at selling things.”

  “Well”—Nate straightened—“a degree doesn’t always mean what a person might expect it to. I’ve known others to get one and not use it.”

  “Yeah? Who else do you know?”

  His gaze suddenly clung to hers. His eyes could be so expressive at times. The only problem was, she’d yet to figure out the meaning behind any of the expressions.

  “Why are you still in here, Manning?” Nate nodded toward the windows spanning the front of the store, rather than answer her question. “Instead of out there being loud and rambunctious with everyone else?”

  She wanted to ask him the same thing. She also wanted to ask why he’d changed the subject. She suspected he wouldn’t answer either question, though. That was another thing she’d picked up about him. He only answered the questions he felt like answering.

  Which wasn’t a lot.

  “I was waiting for you,” she admitted, and that had him stepping back.

  His stance went from friendly to back off. “Why would you be waiting for me?”

  The trigger-fast tension, now sitting high and tight in his shoulders, had her wondering at the change. What was his issue?

  She narrowed her eyes as she stared back at him, and he mimicked the action.

  So, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  He did the same.

  His movements had her sighing with a long, drawn-out sound. The man could be ridiculously difficult.